Introduction to Angkor

 

I have been a tourist guide for more than ten years but I have never felt tired of seeing the same temples everyday.They startle with their splendour and perfection, but beyond the emotions they evoke lie complex microcosms of a universe steeped in cosmology. While a thorough understanding may be out of reach for many, the monuments profound beauty touches everyone. Even though there is little doubt the temples of India served as models for Angkor initially, there are concepts found in these Khmer structures that are rare on the sub-continent. Ideas such as the association of architecture with a capital, the link between the rulers and a divinity, the symbolism of the pyramid temple with Meru, a cosmic mountain, are prevalent throughout the Khmer monuments.The sculpture is equally as individualistic. Sensuous, yet never erotic, male and female forms stand in grandeur and dignity offering universal appeal, past and present.