Phnom Bakheng

     In the period before the end of the 9th century, the king Yashovarman transferred the capital of Hariharalaya (in the region of Roluos) to Yashodhara (in actuality ‘Angkor’) by choosing the small hill of Bakheng (some 60m in altitude), to be the symbolic centre. Phnom Bakheng, in effect was given the Khmer name ‘Vnam Kandal’, or the ‘Central Mountain’.

On the summit a pyramid was built, comprising of five tiers, surmounted by a central sanctuary that sheltered a linga. This structure differs from all other similar Angkorian architectural models as the interior was not filled with fine compacted sand, but rather this monument is constructed directly on the rock.

An extremely complex study by a scholar has resulted in an understanding of the number of towers and their position in space that demonstrates the ensemble is a materialization of the Indian cosmic calendar. The 16th century seems to have marked a period of renewal of this place and a conversion to Theravada Buddhism. The temple became a symbolic beacon for pilgrimages to the Angkor region with the quincunx of the highest towers almost completely engulfed within an immense seated stone Buddha (the lower part of this image was still partially visible in the early 1920.