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.

#Website: Asia Explorer Travel