South East Asian Trips

From Angkor - "Soon after Yasovarman became king in 889 AD, he decided to move the capital north-west from Roulos, where his predecessor reigned, to the area known today as Angkor. He named his new capital Yasodharapura, and built Bakheng as his state temple. Thus, Bakheng is sometimes called the 'first Angkor'. The original city, which is barely distinguishable to visitors today, was vast, even larger than Angkor Thom. ... The temple of Bakheng was cut from the rock that formed the natural hill and faced with sandstone. ... Bakheng was a replica of Mount Meru and the number of towers suggests a cosmic symbolism. The seven levels of the monument (ground, five tiers, upper terrace) represent the seven heavens of Indra in Hindu mythology. The temple must have been a spectacular site in its entirety because originally 108 towers were evenly spaced around the tiers with yet another one, the central sanctuary, at the apex of them all. Today, however, most of these towers have collapsed."