Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat!  When I first heard about Angkor a few years ago, I thought that Angkor Wat was the name of the whole area of ancient temples.  Turns out that this structure, which is the largest religious shrine in the world, is Angkor Wat.  It was built by the Khmer people between 1113-1150.  You can see in the photo above that there is an area to the right covered by blue and green tarps... we learned while we were in Siem Reap that many different countries take on restoration projects for the temples of Siem Reap, likely because Cambodia cannot afford to to it.  Below we all rest under the long corridor you can see on the left in the picture above. 

 

 

 

Madelyn poses between the columns in the long corridor.  Funny how the stone looks different colors in different light.  She is in the same place we are in the photo above, but the stone looks tan here instead of the dark grey.

On the back wall of the long corridor is this intricate carving, depicting a story of the battle between monkeys and demons over a certain human princess.  Gwen had many questions for our guide about this!

There were four pools inside the temple.  Here we are standing on the edge of one of them.  You can see the steps descending into the pool.

The central tower.  Gwen is standing at the base, near the middle of the photo.  An interesting note~  it is believed that all the sandstone used to build Angkor Wat was quarried at a site 50 km away and floated down the river.  Can't imagine how that was accomplished that 900 years ago...

Resting from the heat inside the courtyard of the central tower. 

Love this... just checking messages on the Blackberry real quick, in the courtyard of the central tower.  :-)

We came across this sweet local lady on our way out.  She was selling her wares in the animal gate on the far side of Ankor Wat, a place designated for elephants and horses to come through into the complex of the temple.

My fave photo of Angkor Wat... beautiful reflection in the massive moat around the temple.