Phimeanakas: Mezoamerican Maya Style in Cambodia

#voyagevibes It is one of the temples of the city of Angkor Thom in the Angkor Temple complex near the city of Siem Reap in Cambodia. It is located on the territory and was part of the Royal Palace of Angkor Thoma (see Pimeanakas on the map of Angkor). It is dedicated to Hinduism, built in the Kleang style. The construction of Phimeanakas was carried out from the end of the X to the beginning of the XI centuries. under Rajendravarman II (Rajendravarman II, ruled 944-968), after the restructuring in the reign of Suryavarman I (Suryavarman I, ruled 1002-11049) appears in its present form. At the beginning of the XX century, restoration work began to clean the temple. The temple is notable only for the fact that it "served", so to speak, as a temple at the Royal Palace. Unfortunately, the only tower that has not been preserved was originally covered with gold. A Khmer legend is connected with the purpose of this tower: here the king indulged in amorous pleasures with a nagas (snake), who appeared to him in the form of a beautiful woman. If the naga did not appear on some night, it meant death to the king, and if the king did not appear, then misfortune to the kingdom. There are no bas-reliefs in the temple. It is enough to allocate no more than half an hour for the inspection of Phimeanakas. Pimeanakas is considered by some as a must-visit place. This is dictated by the fact that it is part of the Royal Palace, the inspection of which is included in most excursions. In fact, there is nothing interesting here, except, perhaps, the legend. Since it was built of sandstone, it has not been preserved very well, especially the upper tier and the central tower, which tourists are trying to explore. The staircase from the main (eastern) entrance is quite steep, so a staircase from the west side is equipped for safe ascent. Phimeanakas is a three-tiered rectangular pyramid. The base of the pyramid measures 35m by 28m. The height of the temple is 12 m. The temple has four axial staircases, framed in some places by preserved statues of lions, and destroyed statues of elephants at the corners of the pyramid. The first two tiers are nothing of themselves, and it is impossible to walk through them (very narrow), and they are not designed for this. The third tier (30m by 23m) contains a narrow courtyard with a number of windows, both open and false around the perimeter. In some places, carvings with ornaments have even been preserved on the platbands. Previously, small pavilions were located in the corners. In the center there is an elevation of the ground, framed by sandstone blocks – this was once the central tower of the temple, its sanctuary. It had a cruciform shape with exits and entrances to all four cardinal directions and a gilded dome. This is where the events described in the legend mentioned above took place. Today, only the remains of the doorways remain from the former greatness of the tower.