Beginning of 12th century Suryavarman II Hindu (Vishnu). A pyramid temple in three tiers built on an artificial mound with four enclosures and opening unusually to the west, suggesting this was the funerary temple of Suryavarman II. The external wall forms a rectangle of 1025 by 800 metres which is enclosed by a moat 190 metres wide. Overall a square kilometre of bas-relief sculpture to view. More at ‘The Angkor Survey‘.
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The Dancers
During the Khmer Rouge regime (1975-1979) in Cambodia all the intellectual class were seen as enemies of the state and therefore killed in concentration camps. Sadly the old ways in which dancers perform during the Khmer Empire era was lost because artists were considered intellectuals. Today the only reference these new dancers have on how to dance in the old Khmer Empire era style is on the walls of Angkor Wat and other similar temples. They are reconstructing how to dance from the depictions on the walls of these temples consequently recovering the culture they ones lost.
Main temple external walls
The Main building first floor walls of the Angkor Wat temple are covered with beautiful artistic depictions of ancient war scenes in which chariot lancers, war elephants, mounted cavalry, and foot infantry engage the opponent in epic battlefield in which the defeated become slaved and the victorious venerates their gods for granting them victory. These war scenes at Angkor Wat is what brought me there in the first place, as part of my scientific research on the after life. Why did General George S. Patton had these strange dreams of the Punic Wars, in which he took part of as a infantry officer in his past lives dreams? Why I have had these strange dreams in which I have taken part of many wars as a military architect/engineer officer and still to this date in a wheel of life reincarnation loop? Part of the answer to these questions are enclosed on the walls of Angkor Wat.