The temple's three-tiered structure steps up to five lotus-bud towers. There is mystery here. The polished sandstone pinnacles probably represent the five peaks of Mount Meru, mythical home of the Hindu gods. The building faces west, either because it was intended as a funerary temple for King Suryavarman II or because it was dedicated to Vishnu, god of the west. World's largest temple with an estimation five millions tons of sandstone was brought down river from a quarry 25 miles away. The central tower, once a holy of holies accessible only yo the priesthood and now a tourists' viewpoint over the city. The moat proved a strong defence, for Angkor Wat is but a fraction of a large metropolis that was reclaimed by nature after it was abandoned in the early 16th century. It is the only Angkor temple to have survive as a significant religious centre, first for Hindus and then for Buddhist.
The workmanship is awesome. Instead of mortaring, the stone blocks are seamlessly interlinked with carved mortise-and-tenon or dovetail joints, and then buffed to a marble sheen. The internal work is equally fine, and equally immense, with endless bas-relief carvings covering walls, columns and roofs. One frieze shows the Hindu creation myth, the Churning of the Sea of Milk, with Vishnu in the centre above his turtle avatar Kurma, and there are depiction of scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata epics. Sculpture becomes architecture in expanses of exuberant stone comic strips showing battles and chariots, unicorns and gryphons, dragons and elephants, garlands, dancing girls and cheery guardian spirits.
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| Angkor Wat |
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| Inside Angkor Wat |
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| Angkor War skyview |
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| carve on Angkor Wat wall |
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