PREAH KHAN TEMPLE

Preah Khan was built in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII, with the goal of honoring his father, King Dharanindravarman II. It was once an important temple complex that simultaneously served as a city, a temple, and a Buddhist university. One of the most interesting aspects of the temple is the Preah Khan stele, which is a carving 2 meters by 0.6 meters that features inscriptions on all four sides. It was discovered in 1939 by Maurice Glaize, the French conservator of Angkor. It contains a large amount of information about the history of Preah Khan. It includes an invocation to Lokeshvara and Prajnaparamita. It also pays homage to the three jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dhamma (Buddhist teachings), and the Sangha (the Buddhist community). It contains praise for king Jayavarman VII and includes details like the name of the city within the complex, Nagara Jayasri (the Holy City of Victory). Population information on the inscription lists the number of inhabitants of the temple city at 100,000. This includes rice farmers, monks, and dancers. An accounting of the treasury of the Kingdom is also listed, which included silver, gems, and gold.Since 1991, Preah Khan has been undergoing a restoration and maintenance project. The project is managed by the World Monuments Fund and was the first of its kind after the end of Cambodia’s devastating civil war, which took place between 1967 and 1975.

Preah Khan’s architecture is intricately decorated, especially the outer wall, which is adorned with five-meter-tall Garudas that are frozen in battle with fighting Naga snakes. A moat surrounds this outer wall. There are four gates that allow entry into the temple complex, and each has a causeway over the moat. The main entrance is the eastern one, where there are the ruins of a small landing stage for boats, and two lions standing guard. This pier lies on the western bank of the Jayatataka Baray. From here, the King would depart by boat to the Neak Pean temple at the center of the reservoir. On the north side of the complex is a House of Fire, which was created in a style similar to the houses of the same name located at Ta Prohm and Banteay Chhmar. Historians speculate that these houses probably functioned as rest houses with fireplaces for travellers. The complex consists of four enclosures. Long ago, wooden houses of servants and villagers could be found along the edge of the fourth enclosure, or the outer wall.Also similar to Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei, Preah Khan has a stunning and majestic Hall of Dancers. This is within the third enclosure and located just beyond the Gopura of the east entrance. Just above the entrance doors are beautiful and meticulously carved Devatas. The second enclosure has only a narrow gap between it and the first, and it contains six sanctuary buildings on the eastern side of the temple. The first enclosure, also called the inner sanctuary, is the most sacred part of the temple. Buddha images cover the walls, and small chapels line the small space, as do tombs.

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MEETING ON KAMPOT SEA FESTIVAL STRATEGY

Phnom Penh: During the meeting on August 26 in preparation for the 8th Round of Sea Festival in Kampot, Tourism Minister HE Dr. Thong Khon has instructed the task force to set up a new tourism destination and invest in a 500 hectare island off the coast. He appreciated the tourism potential of the island because of its close proximity to Vietnam.In a meeting to prepare the tourism event smoothly, the government decided to set up an inter-ministerial committee to prepare for the Sea Festival. Among them are HE Dr. Thong Khon, the President of the Council of Ministers, and the Vice-President and Member of the Association. At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism has introduced a number of recommendations to each sub-committee, including:
- In order to identify Kampot as a model province in the preparation of the Food Sreet, HE Dr. Thong Khon instructed the team to speed up the preparation of Food Street in time for the upcoming Sea Festival by establishing infrastructure in the Food Street area. The city has to be orderly, beautify the streets and houses, especially the residential areas of the French era, near the street.
- While the construction of the Kampot tourist port is under way, the Minister urged the construction of a new road to the new port in order to serve tourists.
- For the plan to create a new Kampot beach, HE Dr. Thong Khon recommends taking a lot of sand to set up services, latrines and safety upgrades, especially for sustainability.
- It is necessary to improve the quality of water transport services such as the construction of a boat port on the Kampot canal. The waterway police force have to strengthen the work.
- His Excellency has recommended to restaurant owners that the restaurant must be listed and its service schedule to continue to improve hygiene. There is a “no-trash-under-the-table” restaurant campaign to stop littering.
- Increasing the training of tourist guides and strengthening their capacity to respond to the increasing number of tourists who are visiting Kampot.
- Tourist resorts in Kampot Province need to improve services, proper waste management, and parking.
- Increasing the road to some of the key resorts in the province, such as Phnom Kampong Trath, Phnom Chhouk, Pepper Vineyard, and more.
- Be sure to have plenty of entertainment on the Bokor Mountain, because Bokor is an attractive tourist destination.
- To develop a new tourist destination on the island of more than 500 hectares. Kampot. He appreciated the tourism potential of the island because of its close proximity to the sea with Vietnam.
- Be careful in order to protect the security of order and avoid traffic jams, and to be careful in order to protect the security of the public, especially when traveling to Bokor Mountain.

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Bakheng Temple

Phnom Bakheng was constructed more than two centuries before the Angkor Wat. It is a Hindu temple originally built in the form of a temple mountain dedicated to Shiva. Historians believe that Phnom Bakheng was in its heyday, the principal temple of the Angkor region. It was the architectural centerpiece of a new capital that Yasovarman built when he moved the court from the capital Hariharalaya in the Roluos area located to the southeast. Located atop a hill, this is the most popular tourist spot for sunset views of the much bigger Angkor Wat temple which lies amid the jungle about 1.5 km away.

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Bakong Temple

Bakong Temple: Distance from Siem Reap to Bakong Temple is around 13.5km (20 minutes by car, 30 minutes by Tuk Tuk) from Siem Reap. Take NR6 from Siem Reap town towards Phnom Penh, for about 12km, turn south for about 1km to Bakong. You can visit Bakong temple at any time of the day, but late-afternoon is a good time to see the temple with relatively few crowds, with the possibility to enjoy the sunset there
Bakong Temple is another member impressive temple of  Roluos Group (Bakong, Lolei and Preah Ko Temple), sitting at the center of the first Angkorian Capital – Hariharalaya. Bakong Temple stands 15 meters tall and is 650x850m at the outer wall. Constructed by the third Angkorian-era king as his state-temple. Bakong Temple represents the first application of the temple-mountain architectural formula on a grand scale and set the architectural tone for the next 400 years. The temple displays a very early use of stone rather than brick. Though begun by Indravarman I, Bakong received additions and was expanded by later kings. The uppermost section and tower may have been added as late as the 12th century AD. Some of the lintel carvings, particularly on the outer towers, are in very good shape. Picturesque moat and vegetation surround Bakong Temple.

Bakong Tour Note

You can visit Bakong temple at any time of the day, but late-afternoon is a good time to see the temple with relatively few crowds, with the possibility to enjoy the sunset there. A Bakong Temple plan can be useful for orientation, and for highlighting key sights. Both Lolei and Preah Ko are a few minutes drive from Bakong, as well as the seldom-visited Prasat Prei Monti and Prasat Trapeang Phong – refer to our Roluos map. An expert local tour guide from Siem Reap will ensure you get the very best from your visit and the journey between Siem Reap and the site.

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ANGKOR ELEPHANT RIDES

Angkor Elephant Rides is one of the popular Siem Reap’s attractions. It is now becoming the more and more popular way of visiting Angkor Wat and many of surrounding temples. You will understand how the elephant has been a very important role in the creation of fabulous Cambodia temples. The elephant has been used by many kings and queens as they have traveled to and from the temples and has even helped to construct those same temples. Unfortunately,the elephant has also been used by soldiers in wartime. The elephant is a highly regarded and respected animal, and one of our main concerns, at Adventurous Asia, is to educate the people of Cambodia to preserve and sustain the elephant, and all wildlife, especially those that have become endangered because of warfare. An Elephant ride in Siem Reap is a great way to soak up the atmosphere under the shade of the huge trees and also offers a different view on the temples. The first elephant ride starts in the morning at 08:00 from the South Gate of Angkor Thom to the Bayon Temple. The elephants is located next to the Bayon Temple for rides around Bayon temple. The last elephant ride is at 10:30 from Bayon Temple back to the South Gate.

The Bayon is the most impressive temple in Angkor Thom city and is really one of the most spectacular ruins of Angkor, its gigantic smiling faces looking at different directions, so the elephant ride around the Bayon is an interesting and meaningful ride to explore the faces and see its huge scale from outside.

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Source By Cambodia Tourism

Ancient Hindu rock carvings in Phnom Kulen

The scenic northern section of Phnom Kulen National Park was once the site of ancient city of the Khmer Empire Mahendraparvata, or
Mountain of the Great Indra. Today, the long gone city’s splendour lives on in stunning rock carvings depicting Hindu deities.
Hidden in the forest, the 11th century carvings have a wonderful history that attracts archaeological students and tourists curious about the ancient city. In Hindu-Buddhist belief, people consider mounds, cascades, valleys, storms, rain, thunder and spirits as guardians that look after forests and villages.

Overhanging rocks on mountains are also believed to be a sacred place to have temples or shrines, and though they are rare, carvings and ancient inscriptions of deities in such locations can still be found today. Among the already discovered carvings is Poeung Komnou, or Poeung Keng Korng, on the northern side of Kulen Mountain. It is located in Ta Siem commune’s Trapaing Toem village in Svay Leu district. There are several carvings depicting beautiful scenes from the Khmer Empire during the 11th century rule of Harshavarman III

The first one is an oval shaped rock depicting the Hindu God Vishnu sleeping on Adishesha (king of all nagas).
The second rock carving is located in front of Vishnu and depicts an eight-handed Ganesha (the Hindu God with an elephant like head)
surrounded by three columns.
The third carving depicts many deities in green with inscriptions and animals, including Vishnu, Vamana and Shiva. About 40m from that carving is the fourth rock, Vishnu on a Garuda. “We know that stones to build Angkor Wat were brought from quarries at the base of the nearby Kulen Mountain. The temple was built with between five million and 10 million bricks, some weighing up 1,500kg per piece,” said Meas Sovannaroth, a tour guide from Siem Reap.
Plants and wild flowers blossom in rainy season on the green rock carvings. But today, some of the overhanging rocks on which the carvings are etched sit precariously.

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The Art of War in Siem Reap

Siem Reap: About 20,000 decommissioned weapons have been transformed into sculptures at the Peace Museum of Mine Action in Siem Reap province.
On June 19, 2019, the Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) revealed the artworks to educate the younger generation about tragedy of the country’s wartime past.
Heng Ratana, director-general of the Cambodian Mine Action Center, told reporters that the weaponry was broken three weeks ago. CMAC took samples of about 20,000 rifles to be turned into art and exhibited at the museum in Siem Reap.

The design of these guns, such as elephants, trees, maps, and clocks, aim to show these weapons of war can be made into peaceful objects.
If the guns are destroyed, they will lose the evidence to show the younger generation the war issue in Cambodia, but this project highlights the war, while promoting peace.

He said that an elephant was designed from nearly 5,000 old guns, while two were made from other former explosive devices that were kept in the museum.
These elephants will stand by the young generation to understand the strength and materials of the civil war in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
According to the museum staff, CMAC has an agreement with the National Police to accept old guns and ammunition for recycling purposes.

Source by: CNE

Kep Sea Port Plans

Kep: The Royal Government of Cambodia has announced plans to construct a tourist seaport in Kep province to serve the transport of international and national tourist arrivals.
Observing the growing influx of international and local tourists in Kep, the Cambodian Government and the Ministry Public Works and Transport are discussing the construction of a port in Kep. The project is in the process of seeking funding for implementation. According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Kep sea tourism port project is a state-sponsored project and the Ministry of Economy and Finance are discussing budget expenditures to implement the project. Because Sihanoukville and soon Kampot have a port for sea tourism, the ministry has proposed plans to build a tourist port in Kep to serve smaller numbers and reduce pressure on Kampot.

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