Chapter 11. Tuesday: The Mountain, Rose, and Forest Temples

Let us return to our trip to experience some more of the wondrous Art of the Khmer. The next day we still had more temples to see. Leaving again at the civilized time of 9AM we drove a further distance this time, perhaps a half hour drive. Again the temperature was about 80˚ with high humidity. Although we were perspiring, it wasn’t uncomfortable as we were shielded by the tall trees of the rain-forest. We spent the first part of the morning exploring the Mountain Temple. This was built earlier than Angkor, as evidenced by the roughness of the construction. The entire temple was built around a small uprising of earth. It was intended to represent Mount Meru and the king’s association with the spirits of the mountain. Compared to what we had seen or were to see, it was almost primitive. It was a nice contrast which enabled us to truly appreciative the creative inspiration behind the later temples.

After viewing this earlier example of temple art, we drove to Banteay Srei or the Rose Temple. Its nickname is derived from its color. It was carved out of pinkish sandstone. It is called the gem of the temples because it is so small and beautifully preserved. It is most similar to the Indian temples after which it was modeled, which makes sense because it was constructed