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Angkor Travel
Guide
Bayon
Temple
We stand before it
stunned. It is like nothing else in
the land.
The Bayon is located in the center
of the city of Angkor Thom 1500
meters (4921 feet) from the south
gate. Enter tower of the Bayon is
from the east.
Prasat Bayon was built in late 12th
century to early 13th century, by
the King Jayavarman VII, dedicated
to Buddhist
Background
The Bayon vies with Angkor Wat the
favorite monument of visitors . the
two evoke similar aesthetic
responses yet are different in
purpose, design, architecture and
decoration. The dense jungle
surround the temple camouflaged its
position in relation to other
structures at Angkor so it was not
known for some time that the Bayon
stands in the exact centre of the
city of Angkor Thom. Even after this
was known, the Bayon was erroneously
connected with the city of
Yasovarman I and thus dated to the
ninth century. A pediment found in
1925 depicting an Avalokitesvara
identified the Bayon as a Buddhist
temple. This discovery moved the
date of the monument ahead some 300
years to the late twelfth century.
Even though the date is firmly
implanted and supported by
archaeological evidence, the Bayon
remains one of the most enigmatic
temples of the Angkor group. Its
symbolism, original form and
subsequent changes and constructions
have not yet been untangled.
The Bayon was built nearly 100 years
after Angkor Wat. The basic
structure and earliest part of the
temple ate not known. Since it was
located at the centre of a royal
city it seems possible that the
Bayon would have originally been a
temple-mountain conforming to the
symbolism of a microcosm of Mount
Meru. The middle part of the temple
was extended during the second phase
of building. The Bayon of today
belong to the third and last phase
of the art style.
The architectural
scale and composition of the Bayon
exude grandness in every aspects.
Its elements juxtapose each other to
create balance and harmony. Over
2000 large faces carved on the 54
tower give this temple its majestic
character. The faces with slightly
curving lips, eyes placed in shadow
by the lowered lids utter not a word
and yet force you to guess much,
wrote P Jennerat de Beerski in the
1920s. It is generally accepted that
four faces on each of the tower are
images of the bodhisattva
Avalokitesvara and that they signify
the omnipresence of the king. The
characteristics of this faces - a
broad forehead, downcast eyes, wild
nostrils, thick lips that curl
upwards slightly at the ends-combine
to reflect the famous 'smile of
Angkor'.
Layout
A
peculiarity of the Bayon is the
absence of an enclosing wall. It is,
though, protected by the wall
surrounding the city of Angkor Thom.
The basic plan of the Bayon is a
simple one comprising three levels
(1-3). The first and second levels
are square galleries featuring
bas-reliefs. A circular Central
Sanctuary (4) dominates the third
level. Despite this seemingly simple
plan, the arrangement of the Bayon
is complex, with a maze of
galleries, passages and steps
connected in a way that make the
levels practically indistinguishable
and creates dim lighting, narrow
walkways, and low ceilings.
Enter the Bayon from the east (5) at
the steps leading to a terrace. The
interior of the Bayon, the one a
visitor first encounters, is a
square gallery on the ground or
first level (1). This gallery is
interspersed with eight entry towers
(7)- one in each corner and one in
the middle of each side. All of the
eight structures are in the shape of
a cross. The gallery was probably
originally covered with a root,
perhaps of wood.
Tip: For those who have limited
time, enter the Bayon at the east,
turn left at the first gallery and
follow the arrow marked on the plan.
The decoration on the pillars in
front of the entry tower at the east
is characteristic of the Bayon style
and is exceptionally beautiful. It
is the recurring theme of the
Apsaras but with a different
treatment. A typical composition is
a group of three Asaras dancing on a
bed of lotuses. They are in a
triangular formation. The figure in
the center is larger than those on
either side. A plain background
highlights both the dancers and the
intricately carved frame comprising
a lightly etched pattern of flowers
and leaves that look like tapestry.
(Although a group of three dancers
is typical, similar scenes are made
up only one or two dancers.)
Tip: The absence of a roof on these
pillars allows sufficient light for
the visitor to view and photograph
this motif at all times of the day.
The two galleries of bas-reliefs are
distinguished by the degree of
elevation .The first or outer
gallery is all on one level whereas
the second or inner gallery is on
different level and the passage is
some times difficult. The layout of
the inner gallery can be misleading
but as lone as the relief are in
view you are still in the second
gallery .
On the interior of the first level
there are two libraries (6), one on
each side near the corners at the
east side of the gallery.
The second gallery of bas-reliefs
has a tower in each corner and
another one on each side which
combines to form an entry tower(8).
On the interior of the second level
there is a unit of galleries at each
corner that form a cross with
indentation. Each corner has a tower
and a courtyard. Agigh terrace
parallels the profile of the
cross-shaped gallery.
The architectural climax is the
third level (3) ,with the Central
Sanctuary and the faces of
Avalokitesvara .The east side of
this area is crammed with a series
of small rooms and entry towers .The
multitude of faces at different
levels affords endless fascination.
Godliness in the majesty and the
size; mystery in the expression
wrote de Beer ski when he looked at
the faces in the 1920s.
The central mass is circular , a
shape that is uncommon in Khmer art.
Small porches with pediments provide
the bases for the monumental faces
while windows with balusters keep
the diffusion of light to a minimum.
The faces on the four sides of the
eight tower marking the cardinal
directions are exceptionally
dramatic depictions.
The interior of the Central
Sanctuary is and surrounded by a
narrow passage. The summit of the
Central mass is undoubtedly the
Golden Tower which Zhou Daguan said
marked the center of the Kingdom and
was flanked by more than twenty
lesser tower and several hundred
stone chambers.
The Gallery of Bas-Reliefs
The have homely human things to tell
and they tell them without
affectation, wrote H Churchill
Candee of the bas-reliefs in the
galleries of the Bayon.
Tip: View the galleries of
bas-reliefs clockwise , always
keeping the monument on the right.
Do not get so absorbed with the
reliefs that you forget to stop at
each opening and enhoy the view of
the faces on the third level.
The bas-reliefs at the Bayon consist
of two galleries. The inner one is
decorated with mythical scenes. The
bas-reliefs on the outer gallery are
a marked departure from anything
previously seen at Angkor. They
contain genre scenes of everyday
life-markets, fishing, festivals
with cockfights and jugglers and so
on-and history scenes with battles
and processions. The relief are more
deeply carved than at Angkor Wat but
the representation is less stylized.
The scenes are presented mostly in
two or three horizontal panels.
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