Prasat Preah Vihear
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| Prasat Preah Vihear | |||
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| Name: | Prasat Preah Vihear | ||
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| Creator: | Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II | ||
| Date built: | 11th & 12th Centuries CE | ||
| Primary deity: | Shiva | ||
| Architecture: | Banteay Srei | ||
| Location: | Preah Vihear Province | ||
Prasat Preah Vihear (Khmer regular script: 
, Prasat Preah Vihear; Thai Prasat Khao Phra Wiharn) is an Angkorian temple situated on a ridge in the Dângrêk Mountains in Cambodia, just across the border from Thailand. It gives its name to Preah Vihear province, in which it is located.
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[edit] History
The first temple on the site was begun in the early 9th century; both then and in the following centuries it was dedicated to Shiva. The earliest surviving parts of the temple, however, date from the Koh Ker period in the early 10th century, when the capital of the Khmer empire was closer than when it was at Angkor. There are also some elements of the Banteay Srei style of the late 10th century, but most of the temple was formed under Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II in the first halves of the 11th and 12th centuries respectively.
Due to its location on the border between Cambodia and Thailand, ownership of the area was disputed until June 15, 1962, when the International Court of Justice ruled that it belonged to Cambodia — which soon after plunged into civil war. The temple opened briefly to the public in 1992, only to be occupied by the Khmer Rouge the next year. It opened again from the Thai side at the end of 1998, and Cambodia completed the construction of a long-awaited access road in 2003.
[edit] Access
The temple can be approached from Thailand through the Prasat Khao Phra Wihan National Park. Cambodia allows day-trip access to the temple on a visa-free basis from Thailand, but it is still occasionally closed due to border incidents. Cambodia imposes an entrance fee of US$5 or 200 baht for foreigners (as of 2006, reduced to 50 baht for nationals of Thailand), plus a fee of 5 baht for processing a copy of the passport. In addition, Thailand imposes an access fee of 200 baht for entering the National Park.
[edit] The site
The temple complex runs 800m along a north-south axis, and consists essentially of a causeway and steps rising up the hill towards the sanctuary, which sits on the clifftop at the southern end of the complex (120m above the northern end of the complex and 525m above the Cambodian plain). Although this structure is very different from the temple mountains found at Angkor, it serves the same purpose as a stylised representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods.
The approach to the sanctuary is punctuated by five gopuras (these are conventionally numbered from the sanctuary outwards, so gopura five is the first to be reached by visitors). Each of the gopuras before the courtyards is reached by a set of steps, and so marks a change in height which increases their impact. The gopuras also block a visitor's view of the next part of the temple until he passes through the gateway, making it impossible to see the complex as a whole from any one point.
The fifth gopura, in the Koh Ker style, retains traces of the red paint with which it was once decorated, although the tiled roof has now disappeared. The fourth gopura is later, from the Khleang/Baphuon periods, and has on its southern outer pediment, "one of the masterpieces of Preah Vihear" (Freeman, p. 162): a depiction of the Churning of the Sea of Milk. The third is the largest, and is also flanked by two halls. The sanctuary is reached via two successive courtyards, in the outer of which are two libraries.
[edit] References
- Coe, Michael D. (2003). Angkor and the Khmer Civilization. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28442-3.
- Freeman, Michael (1996). A Guide to Khmer Temples in Thailand and Laos. Weatherhill. ISBN 083480450.
[edit] External links
- Preah Vihear travel guide from Wikitravel
- Case Concerning the Temple of Preah Vihear - International Court of Justice
| Angkorian Sites edit | |
|---|---|
| Angkor | Angkor Thom | Angkor Wat | Baksei Chamkrong | Banteay Kdei | Banteay Samré | Banteay Srei | Baphuon | The Bayon | Chau Say Tevoda | East Baray | East Mebon | Kbal Spean | The Khleangs | Krol Ko | Lolei | Neak Pean | Phimeanakas | Phnom Bakheng | Phnom Krom | Prasat Ak Yum | Prasat Kravan | Preah Khan | Preah Ko | Preah Palilay | Preah Pithu | Pre Rup | Spean Thma | Srah Srang | Ta Prohm | Ta Som | Ta Keo | Terrace of the Elephants | Terrace of the Leper King | Thommanon | West Baray | West Mebon | Yasodharapura |
| Rest of Cambodia | Banteay Chhmar | Beng Mealea | Koh Ker | Prasat Preah Vihear |
| Thailand | Lopburi | Phanom Rung | Muang Tum | Phimai | Mueang Sing |
| Laos | Wat Phou | Oum Moung |
