Pandoraspace

 

 

On the second day of our stay in Siem Reap, our guide excitedly told us that he was taking us to the jungle temple where the movie Lara Croft was shot. Although I enjoyed that movie, using it to promote Ta Prohm did such an injustice to this alluring and mystical temple.  Ta Prohm is a sight to behold and no words are needed to promote it.  Fortunately, our guide later redeemed himself by taking us around Ta Prohm and sharing with us a wealth of information he had about this jungle temple.

 

 

According to our guide, Ta Prohm is a temple built in the twelfth century by, and in honor of, the Khmer god-king, Jayavarman VII. Sometime later (probably in the fifteenth century), Ta Prohm and other temples were abandoned because of war. As a result, plants and trees literally took over and occupied those temples. In the nineteenth century, when the Europeans (the French in particular) took an interest in the temples, those that were uncovered were slowly cleared of the foliage.  Ta Prohm is, however, left in the way that it was found in the nineteenth century as only the road leading to it and the surrounding areas were cleared of the folaige.  (See www.sacredsites.com.)

 

 

Leaving Ta Prohm as it was found is perhaps a fitting tribute to the many plants and trees that had occupied the temple when humans had abandoned it.

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 12:08 am and is filed under Siem Reap, Cambodia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.