A lost city has been discovered in the impenetrable jungle in Cambodia. Miracle of the world. Angkor city forgotten in the jungle (video) Angkor city forgotten in the jungle
The country, which will be discussed further, probably got the most in Indochina. In addition to the standard set, French colonization, Japanese occupation and civil war, it also had an internal dictatorship, the analogues of which history did not know. We are talking about Cambodia, which I still remember from my pioneer past, as Kampuchea, I think, even from the generation of those who are now over forty, not many remember how those tragic events developed. When a civil war is going on, besides the right and the left, the reds and the whites, there are always all sorts of radicals and anarchists (remember Father Makhno and a bunch of all sorts of atamans), who strive for power or money no less than anyone else, and sometimes even come. The same Makhno had vast territories under his control, and if it were not for the “cunning move” of the First Cavalry, it is still not known how it would have ended. Also in Cambodia, during the civil war, the radical Khmer Rouge guerrilla group gradually took control of the country. But then the saddest thing began, called the genocide of their own people. Moreover, it was carried out with Asian cruelty and perversion - people were killed because they were of the wrong nationality, because they were intellectuals, because they picked up a banana that fell from a tree, even because they wear glasses. We have a different topic. But some things must be said - it was in Cambodia that they came up with the idea of saving cartridges and killing people with hammers and hoes, crushing them with bulldozers and throwing them to crocodiles. According to various estimates, during the Pol Pot genocide, from a million to three local people died in the country. So, despite all these horrors, the Cambodians are so friendly people that all that remains is how to be surprised at their philosophical outlook on life. A country where, due to the huge number of mines left from the previous regime, it is still impossible to move outside the main tourist trails; where wages are at the level of a few dollars; where the main food is still rice (and they also eat spiders and other insects with great pleasure - this is not from global gourmetism, but more on that later), and so this country is replete with so many smiles that you just wonder and start yourself walk around with a smile on your face. It involuntarily lifts the mood.
By the way, with regard to mines, this is an absolute reality, if you were told that these territories have not been cleared of mines, you should not experiment. Look at 
a huge number of cripples, of all ages and sexes, and the desire to check will disappear by itself. Moreover, there is no such need in Cambodia, since the two main cities are also the two main tourist trails - Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Phnom Penh is the capital, in which, in addition to the standard set of royal palaces and museums, there is generally nothing to see, with the exception of the Genocide Museum, but Siem Reap is just the town near which Angkor Wat is located, one of the most famous places on the planet. Almost every person in our country knows about Angkor Wat from external media - if he didn’t even watch Lara Croft, the tomb raider, or didn’t play the first videos with Indiana Jones, then Mowgli must have read or watched the cartoon. But Kipling wrote his The Jungle Book, just under the impression of visiting Angkor. So we have known about this wonderful place since childhood.
So, what is Angkor Wat, and why is it so famous, why, after almost a century and a half, people still dream of seeing it and talking about it with aspiration? The thing is that it is Angkor that is perfect for the legend of the lost city: it was built, it was great, people left it and the jungle really swallowed it up. These are not poetic lines of introduction to the article - this is an absolutely real story of Angkor Wat. The primary history of the construction of the entire temple complex is already being lost - historians disagree on the timing of the completion of construction, either the twelfth or the fourteenth century. It has already been forgotten that the discoverer of Angkor was not a Frenchman, he just walked on other people's maps, many Europeans had been there before him, which means it is not clear how many years this city stood in desolation. For many years, archaeologists from all over the world have been arguing about what the complex really was - a tomb for a king, like pyramids, or was it still a residential settlement. All this went on and on, and Angkor Wat, as it stood, still stands. And all because for the bulk of all this is secondary, and the primary thing is that it is this very 
the lost city, which for eight hundred (according to other sources four hundred to five hundred) years stood completely absorbed by the jungle, and now we can walk along it and look at these stones. And the city was really completely absorbed by the lush Asian vegetation. What we see now cannot be compared with what the Frenchman saw in front of him in 1861, our guide told us that the entire territory of Angkor is looked after daily, continuing to clear it from the advancing vegetation, and if you stop working at least on month, the monument will be unrecognizable. Angkor is being monitored very well, its territory is being cleaned, cleaned and restored, it is guarded around the perimeter and to get inside, you need not just buy a ticket, you have to take a whole ritual with photographing and making an individual badge. Such attention to Angkor is not surprising - it gives a real part of the funds in the budget of the whole of Cambodia, it is not for nothing that one of its monuments, Angkor Wat, flaunts on the national flag of the country. Even during the reign of Pol Pot, none of his soldiers entered Angkor, and they were not afraid of either God or the devil. For unclear reasons, they went to the territory of the complex and therefore the monument was almost not damaged.
Angkor means city in Khmer. According to one version, the pioneer of Angkor began 
build the capital of the Khmer state here in the ninth century, and accordingly, after his death, his followers decided to move the capital to Phnom Penh, which led to the “dying” of the city. It is very important to understand that the temple complex itself is a huge structure, it is located on an area of more than two hundred square kilometers and more than two hundred monuments are located on its territory, i.e. one per square kilometer. At the same time, it was not built by one Khmer ruler, and, accordingly, it carries the distinctive features of different eras and religions. In all guidebooks and travel companies, you will definitely be told that when planning a visit to Angkor, you need to lay down a week for a stay - perhaps, but, in my opinion, you can fit in two or three days. It is important to decide in advance what is important for you to watch. If you break the city into main attractions, then you get the following mandatory program:
1. All tourist buses and taxis arrive at one place, all excursions in all directions begin from it, impromptu strollers depart from it, here a helicopter takes off and a balloon ride. Do not spare the money, be sure to take to the air over Angkor on a balloon or helicopter: firstly, climbing to a height is always an unforgettable experience, even for air cowards like me; and secondly, it will give you an additional sense of the greatness of this city, because even from the air you cannot fully realize how great and beautiful it is. Here you just need to decide when it is worth doing: before all excursions, or after - both are equally good.
2. From the central point of arrival there is a direct stone road - this is the main entrance to Angkor Wat, the most hyped of all the monuments of Angkor. The temple complex itself is surrounded by a fairly high wall and a moat filled with water. According to one version, Angkor Wat was built as a huge tomb of the king, and is nothing more than an Asian pyramid. By its design, it is exactly a pyramid, only of three levels. In general, the whole structure of this structure is quite complicated - remembering it now, I caught myself feeling that I probably would not be able to walk through it, so as not to get lost, there are so many passages and stairs in it. 
The main thing, which is absolutely certain, is that galleries go along the first level, where bas-reliefs on epic, mythical or religious ones have been preserved on stone; on the second level there are bas-reliefs of dancers, of which there are already two thousand pieces, despite the fact that all are not repeated, at the same time four corners serve as the basis for four towers; the third level is the last, central tower. A few important points: first - pay attention to the epic bas-reliefs of the first level, besides the fact that they are more than a thousand years old, they are also really interesting, especially if you are told details from the life and myths of the ancient Khmers. Second, the steps to the towers and levels are real steep, reminiscent of the Mayan pyramids, be careful, last year a German tourist fell from there and access to them is limited. Thirdly, all structures are not very reliable, because everything is very old, and the stone used in construction is soft, so everything is constantly shifting slightly.
3. Again, next to the place of arrival is the entrance to Angkor Thom, a mini-city, with real walls, gates and bridges. Gates are located in all parts of the world and are perfectly preserved. Cambodians believe that Angkor Thom was built by the greatest Khmer king, but this is not the most interesting thing - what is inside it is much more important. Literally right away (I don’t know what part of the world this gate is, but right from the central point of arrival) the Elephant Terrace is located inside, another monumental monument, which is a perfectly preserved sculptural group of real elephants, with trunks, ears and tusks, only supporting their backs building that has not survived to this day. It’s worth looking at them, this place is described in all guidebooks, but you don’t need to linger for a long time, especially because the terrace of the Elephants is just on the way to the famous Bayonne. 
4. Bayon - a place known no less than Angkor Wat, the famous smiling faces of Angkor, its business card and the most massive view for tourist postcards. Remember, huge towers and the same huge faces on them, from all sides, there are no eyes, but it seems that they are all looking at you and there is nowhere to hide from them. The temple itself is huge, just like all the others it is confusing and incomprehensible, but the most important thing is at the top - more than fifty towers, decorated with two hundred smiling masks. By the way, according to one version, the king himself posed for these masks.
5. To visit Angkor and not see Ta Prohm is simply blasphemous. After all, Ta Prohm is a city left in the state in which it was found. It is certainly being cleaned up, but just enough to make it possible to understand the monstrous power of nature. Stone trees sprouted through stone, turrets entangled in branches, intertwining vines already a meter from the paths, trees burning like a match, and not burning at all, Ta Prohm is a nature reserve. The trees are especially amazing, in all their majesty they really pass through meter-long stone walls and it somehow doesn’t fit in the head: after all, here it is the trunk, here are the branches, here are the leaves - but the stone passed through like a knife through butter. True, thinking about it, we forget. That it took centuries, and that the wood of this breed is as hard as iron. It even makes a sound, if you knock on it, by no means wooden.
6. With all the movements around the big Angkor, you will definitely have the opportunity to see the local residents of Cambodia, ordinary, those who are not engaged in servicing the tourist business, but simply live in the neighborhood of Angkor. Do not neglect this opportunity, look, and especially pay attention to the craftsmen involved in the process of extracting palm sap and making sugar from it - this is especially interesting for us. The very procedure of climbing a six-meter bamboo pole, along sharp protruding knots, with ten or even more bamboo canisters on the belt, commands respect. And what can we say about the simple idea of boiling the juice, from which then a very thick and viscous mass is obtained, which, when frozen, turns into palm sugar. And all this in the midst of miserable huts, with completely naked children running around, with vats over the fire right there, and with a merchant who, right there, in front of you, deftly wraps a piece of brown sugar, wrapping it with leaves all the same. 
or palm trees. Exotic!
6. A special sightseeing attraction - watching the sunset from Mount Bak-Heng. This is really an attraction, because this is a whole action: first you need to climb the mountain - while you have two options, either walk for half an hour, or ride an elephant for the same half an hour; to find a place for oneself among the ruins of the next temple, because there will be a wagon and a small cart for such people; settle down, see the sun go down in ten minutes, and then come back down for another half an hour. Despite all this fuss, it's all worth it, it's not in vain that so many people crowd the hill - the sun is really a bright orange kolobok very rapidly, right before your eyes, sinking below the horizon. At the same time, before it began to sit down, you have time to admire Angkor Wat - the view from the hill is simply amazing.
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The Kingdom of Cambodia - the Lost City and snow-white beaches - note to the tourist. Useful articles on the "Subtleties of tourism".
For many Russian tourists, holidays in Cambodia have become quite popular and a priority. A tour to Cambodia will impress even the most sophisticated traveler.
Cambodia is a state located in Southeast Asia in the south of the Indochina peninsula, bordered in the east by Vietnam, in the north by Laos, and in the northwest by Thailand. The shores of the country go to the Gulf of Thailand of the South China Sea. Cambodia is rich in unique monuments of religion and architecture. One of the main attractions is the ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat, which annually come to see from all over the world.
Angkor Wat is the largest temple complex in the world, a unique monument of religion and culture, awarded the right to be depicted on the national flag of Cambodia. Every year, Angkor Wat is visited by more than two million people from different parts of the world, constantly admiring the incredible beauty and grandeur of the grandiose religious building.
The name of the temple is fully consistent with its monumental splendor: the name Angkor Wat in translation means the phrase "city-temple". It is often referred to as the best example of traditional architecture, a monument that laid the foundation for the Khmer canons of building. However, the history of the temple is complex and confusing. According to some assumptions, Angkor Wat does not belong to the heritage of the Khmer civilization, since it is an atypical building for them. Today it is known that the temple complex of Angkor Wat was built in the 12th century, during the reign of King Suryavarman II in the Khmer Empire.
By purchasing tours to Cambodia, you get a unique opportunity to choose an excursion route or combine relaxation on the snow-white beaches of Cambodia with sightseeing.
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After wonderful excursion programs to the ancient temples of Angkor, you should go on vacation on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, to the resort town of Sihanoukville. It is the largest city in the country located on the sea. Sihanoukville is very young, it arose in the 50s of the 20th century and played the role of a large deep-water port, and later, twenty years later, it turned into an elite seaside resort. The rapid development of Sihanoukville began around the 1990s and continues now, it is constantly building new high-class hotels and improving the necessary tourist infrastructure. The beaches of Sihanoukville are famous for their fine golden sand and azure clear waters of the sea. There are almost no nightclubs, discos and similar entertainment here, but in Sihanoukville you can feel the spirit of real Southeast Asia, see its stunning natural beauty and colorful national traditions. The resort offers visitors many opportunities for water sports and a wide range of excursions, including trips to nearby islands where you can enjoy sea fishing. It is best to start your acquaintance with the nature of Cambodia with a trip to Ream National Park. For many tourists, tours to Cambodia with sea holidays are a great opportunity not only to get acquainted with the traditions of the ancient Khmers, but also to feel the beauty of the best beaches.
Ream is one of the largest national parks in the country, at the same time well protected and the most comfortable for guests. The park is located southeast of Sihanoukville, not far from the city, and occupies a vast territory on which several ecosystems are located at once. Here you can see plants of the marine coastal zone, tropical and mangrove forests. Ream Park is a habitat for many species of animals, including those that are under the threat of complete extinction and have been taken under state protection. On special trails in the park, you can take walking tours and watch colorful butterflies and amazing birds, some of which are found only in Cambodia or Southeast Asia.
Miracle of the world. Angkor city forgotten in the jungle (video)
Continuation. Start: 1. Pattaya - Aran. 2. Aran-Siem Reap.
Having agreed with the tuk-tuk driver in the evening, in the morning we went to explore the greatest miracle of the world and the pride of the Khmer civilization, the temple complex of Angkor, a city forgotten in the jungle. This is a giant Hindu temple complex in Cambodia. It is one of the largest religious buildings ever built and one of the world's most important archeological monuments. Built in the 9th to 12th centuries. For 4 centuries, different monarchs each built their own temple or terrace or completed the previous ones in connection with a change in the cult.
The tuker arrived for us exactly as agreed at 9-00. Later, I concluded for myself that I had to leave for Angkor early, from 6-30 to 7-30, but I didn’t want to get up so early after the previous busy day. We explained to the driver that we were going to have breakfast and then to Angkor. In general, I concluded that if you ask a tuker to show you a hotel or a place where you can have a bite, or just tell him to stop by to buy water on the way, he will only take you to his relatives and friends, or those places where he is at least 10 cents of commissions will fall, completely without reflecting your wishes and interests. If you want to save money, then you yourself must clearly understand where to go. Here is a simple example. I asked him to stop somewhere on the way to Angkor, buy a couple of bottles of water with me. He passed all the shops along the way, then turned off somewhere, into pickles, wandered among the huts and stopped at a vendor on the street, where I was offered to buy water at $1 for a 1.5 liter bottle. Yesterday I bought this water at the store he passed by for 60 cents. And you can take it from shopkeepers for 50. I categorically stated that the price was too high and named the price of the market. The carrier swallowed, but did not argue. Since neither I nor the seller probably have a small dollar coin and did not want to waste a lot of time on water, I offered $ 1.5 for two bottles and a deal. Keep in mind, here you will be bred for every cent. By the way, I received change from two dollars in local Riels. The rough rate is 4000 reaels for 1 dollar, in official places up to 4100. Be careful - they don’t want to take torn and tortured dollars, but they give change.
Finally, we advanced to the mysterious and mysterious, covered with the dust of time and the lianas of the jungle, the majestic architectural monument of ancient civilizations, the temple complex of Angkor.
The best way to start your trip early followed by a break for lunch. Return to the hotel, relax in the pool, and closer to 15 hours, repeat the conquest of the temples. By 18:00, choose the top point of one of the temples to watch the sunset. In these places, sunset always occurs at the same time, around 18-30. As I understand it, on the territory of the complex it is problematic with normal nutrition. And if you decide not to return, take food with you, everything will be much more expensive here. Also, there is never too much water. Even if you take a significant supply, you are unlikely to stay on the way back.
To meet the dawn, it is worth visiting the remote Banteay Srei, Koh Ke or the nearby Angkor Wat and Ta Prohm. Sunsets are best seen at Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakeng, Pre Rup, East Mebon and Ta Keo. Sitting on a stone heated during the day by the sun's rays, imagine how the people who built them a thousand years ago met the sunset, hear the voice of an ancient civilization, the noise of battles.
The main thing is not to forget to fully charge the batteries of photographic equipment and free up space on flash cards.))) Alcoholic drinks are not recommended, the sun and heat will do their job and disable them, and when examining these stairs, skill is needed. Therefore, in any case, it is better to put all things and equipment in a backpack when ascending and descending. The stairs of the temples are very steep, the steps are narrow, at this time the hands should be free for safety net. When visiting Phnom Kulen, Kbal Spina, Banteay Chma, and Koh Ke, look out for signs along the roads and trails that say “Danger! Mines". Not all territories are cleared here, so it is better to take a conductor or guide.
Ancient Angkor is a city forgotten in the jungle, located almost 6 km north of the modern settlement of Siem Reap. Separate temples are several kilometers apart from each other, and the whole complex occupies more than 200 sq. km. That's why on foot you won’t walk, but many dare to ride bicycles (you can rent it in some guest houses), but for this you need to study the map well. And keep in mind that it is 12 km to Siem Reap and back, and you will wind at least 8 km around the complex, plus on foot, are you ready for such a marathon?
Entrance to the temple complex is allowed from 5.30 am to 5.30 pm local time, the box office is open from 5.00 am, and from 5.00 pm you can buy a ticket for the next day and enjoy the sunset in any temple for free on the current day.
Our tuk-tuk driver took us to the ticket office. Price ticket for 1 day visits to any temples of Angkor $ 20 per person, children under 12 years old are free. The price for a 3-day ticket is $40, and for a week of studies $60. Moreover, now there is an indulgence ticket for 3 days can be used during the week, the days may not go in a row if you are waiting for good weather or decide to relax. A ticket for 7 days can be used for 1 month. Beware - torn, soaked, lost tickets lead to the purchase of a new one, and being on the territory without a ticket leads to a $100 fine.
The cashier takes a picture of you and issues a ticket with your photo, at the entrance to each temple the ticket is checked - they look at the date and photo. If you want to get a ticket with your beautiful photo in good quality as a keepsake, you can bring your own in the size of a passport and it will be applied to the ticket (they laminate only for $ 60). Try not to be at the box office at 7.20-8.00 - this is the peak time when tourists are brought in from Korea, Japan and China. A lot of them. So many. And all of them without prepared photos, respectively, the procedure is delayed and you can enjoy the queue for a ticket to Angkor, the wonder of the world, for quite a long time. We are not such early birds, we left the hotel at 9.00 - there was no queue at the box office, we got tickets in 5 minutes.
Again we go to our tuk-tuk, on the map we agree with the driver what we want to see for today and which route we will move on. On the standard map of Siem Reap for tourists, on the reverse side is a diagram of Angkor, where the large and small circles are indicated. By and large, you can slowly move within 3 days. Within 1 day it is possible to catch only a small circle.
There are usually three main itineraries to visit.
One day.
If you have one day to visit the temples of the great Khmer civilization, you will have to get up before sunrise and drive to Angkor Wat. Near the temple, without entering its central territories, you meet the dawn and immediately go to Bayon, stopping at the southern gate of Angkor Thom along the way. After visiting Bayon, you can see Bapuon, Pimeanakas, the terraces of the Elephants and the Leper King. If you have finished before lunch, then you can have time to drop into Pre Can and its long suite of rooms. The second part of the journey will pass through the Angkor Thom Victory Gate and Ta Koe Temple. Next - Ta Prohm, lost in the jungle, and at the end of the trip, go from the opposite, eastern side of Angkor Wat. Walk through the entire temple (about 2.5 km), climb the central platform with towers, see galleries with carved bas-reliefs. If you have time before sunset, climb Phnom Bakheng and watch as the most famous temple of Cambodia disappears in the last rays of the sun.
Two days.
A two-day itinerary is preferable. Based on the itinerary of one day, you get more time to explore the temples on the first day. Start the morning of the second day in Banteay Srey (37 km from Siem Reap), and on the way back visit Ta Som, Nick Ping and Pre Can.
Three days or more.
With such a margin of time, you become the master of the temples, there is a unique opportunity to choose three options for inspection. First: You are using the two-day option tour, just combine a trip to Bentei Srey with a visit to the sacred mountain of Phnom Kulen with waterfalls and the Thousand Lingam stream. In the following days, you capture Roluos, and also visit Tonle Span Lake with water villages. In the remaining time, revisit the places you like.
Second option. Slow, gradual inspection of the temples day after day, one after the other.
Third option. Inspection of the monuments of Khmer architecture in chronological order by the time of construction. 1. Day - Roluos, Koh Ke, Bentey Srei (before Koh Ke you can stop by Ben Melia). Day 2 - Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Ta Keo, Angkor Thom (Terraces, Bapuon, Pimeanakas, Bayon). Day 3 - Anchor Thom Gate again Bayon, Pre Can, Nick Pin and after lunch Tonle Sap.
The last two options are interesting in that you seem to be immersed in the atmosphere of an ancient civilization, you start to live and think like local residents, at the same time, at any moment you can turn off the chosen route and lay your own, unknown until now.
We decided to see first Prasat Kravan, Ta Prohm, Bayon, Baipon and, in the evening, Angkor Wat, with a break for lunch.
Prasat Kravan- look at the beginning. Interesting, but if you are not an orientalist, after Ta Proma or Bayon you will not be impressed. There are many bas-reliefs here. Only 5 prasats standing in one line, entrances from the east side. If you stand 1-2m from the central tallest building and look up, an incredible illusion is created that prasat is falling on you.
Built in 921, it is unique in that the bas-reliefs are carved directly into the brickwork. On the bas-reliefs you can see Vishnu, either riding Garuda, or with indispensable attributes in his hands: a lotus, a mace, a chakra and a shell. We spent about half an hour here. It is better to visit in the morning, then the lighting is more interesting.
Ta Prom- here the tuker will have time to rest properly, you will not leave this amazing place quickly. When we drove up - several groups of barangs came out to meet us (in Tae farangs, here barangs are all people of non-Asian appearance) completely stunned - we asked the tuker "What's wrong with them?" - he replied: this is normal, everyone goes out like that, you just see the temples of our Gods - he proudly declared.
And right. A temple built in 1196 by King Jayavarman VII in honor of his mother, whom he identified with the Goddess of Wisdom. Conceived as a monastery and university, the temple consisted of 39 prasats and more than 800 brick and stone structures. Left at the mercy of the jungle in the 15th century, after the fall of the Khmer empire, it began to look even more bewitching. Trees sprouted through the walls and wrapped around the top of the buildings - such a landscape was ideal for filming films about the tomb raider, the locals call this place - Angelina Jolie. In the 20th century, a program to restore the temples of Angkor began, and then they opened Ta Prohm among the jungle.
They decided to only strengthen and support it a little, but on the whole leave it in the form it was found by the researchers - now we can see in it how nature takes over everything.
We take a few photos. Here it is especially not easy - a lot of people, especially the Chinese. They are everywhere. They strive to take pictures everywhere, they generally have some kind of photo cult. They film everything. In general, everything. In the most interesting places, especially near the temples overgrown with trees, people line up for a good shot. The Chinese run in without a queue and break the entire exposition.
Here, too, amazing bas-reliefs are everywhere.
Further bayon. The famous gem of Angkor Thom. It is better to drive straight to Bayonne, because. from the gate of Angkor Thom, it is located about 1.5 km. The best time to visit is early morning - there are fewer tourists and the dawn beautifully illuminates the towers. Or at sunset, it's also beautiful, but there are a lot of tourists.
There are about fifty towers in the temple, on which there are 200 huge faces.
The faces on the four sides of the tower speak of the omnipresence of the Buddha, whose prototype was the founder of this temple, King Jayavarman VII, who identified himself with God.
It is said that at different times of the day, faces have different expressions from kind and peaceful to angry and terrifying.
Restoration of the lost parts of faces has not yet yielded results, tk. there is no technology for such precise stone turning as during the construction of these temples! None of all the world's experts without concreting, cementing, etc. did not figure out how to fasten these huge cobblestones. The photo shows that the left, restored part of the face breaks the symmetry. In contrast to the unrestored faces with the complete identity of the left and right sides, which surprises scientists.
This is simply incredible, with our development of civilization, science and technology, with the presence of laser technology. What other technologies have not been mastered by modern homo sapiens in order to catch up with the knowledge of the 11th-12th centuries.
Amazed, we spent about 2 hours here. Went up to levels 2 and 3. We saw guardian monks.
The little son greeted the giants with pleasure.
From here we decided to go to dinner. I explained to the driver that it was time to go to the hotel, and then we would return to Angkor Wat and continue sightseeing. Then I didn’t think at all that this would cause a discussion with the tuker in the future and be a reason for begging for money. We returned to our guesthouse, ate, and rested in the pool. As it turned out, a lot of young people from different European countries live in our guest house, and in the afternoon almost everyone fell out to relax in the pool, so the tank was full, but it was fun enough. Although the temperature of the heated water tended to body temperature))).
At 15-00, a tuker drove in, we moved on to continue the inspection. He drove to Angkor Wat and said: everyone, you wanted to come back here after dinner, please. For lunch, we left Angkor Thom, which is a couple of kilometers further, and planned to return there. I began to explain to him that we had interrupted the tour elsewhere and wanted to return there. He parried, you said Angkor, here he is, and Angkor Thom is further away and, like, you have to pay extra for gasoline. I was starting to get annoyed with this arrogance. Yesterday the price was agreed for the whole day with a break for lunch at the hotel. I explained to the tuker that he was very upsetting my disposition towards him, and I would be ready to pay only 10 dollars out of 15 for spoiling the mood and the excursion. Realizing that money cannot be squeezed out, but you can also lose it, the tuker moved on with a frustrated look. He was unlucky with travelers from Russia, where you sit on us and get off.)))
inspected Bauphon.
There are several restrictions when visiting this temple, children under 12 years old are not allowed, etc.
The temple was built as a five-stage pyramid of three tiers. This is a temple-mountain, personifying the sacred mountain Meru. During its heyday, the dome of the temple was covered with copper plates.
Bapuon was built by King Udayadityavarman II (Udayadityavarman II), who ruled from 1050 to 1066, and was the center of the former capital - the city of Yashodharapura. Restoration work has been going on for more than half a century, the temple looks dilapidated and not all places are open to the public.
The temple is located 200 meters northwest of Bayon, south of the Royal Palace and about 10 kilometers from the center of Siem Reap. Usually, it becomes the next object for inspection after Bayon. You can spend no more than half an hour here. If you don't have much time to see all the sights of Angkor Thom, then Bapuon might be worth skipping. There are few people here due to ongoing work.
Despite the foregoing, from the platform of the central tower (third tier) a panoramic view of the surrounding area opens up, in particular, the towers of Phnom Bakeng are visible from the south side, and Pimeanakas from the north. For good photos, it is better to choose the first half of the day or sunset.
Looked into Pimeanakas.
This so-called "heavenly temple" has no bas-reliefs.
Dedicated to Hinduism, built inX-XI centuries under Rajendravarman II (ruled 944-968), after restructuring under the reign of Suryavarman I (ruled 1002-1049) served as a temple at the royal palace. At the beginning of the 20th century restoration work began on cleaning the temple, some stairs were supplemented with wooden ones for ease of viewing.
There is a nice little pond nearby.
Nearby are two more small, not so popular Temples, which are why they are less trampled by tourists. Preah Pitu And Prasat sur Prat.
Inside the bas-reliefs, so clear, symmetrical and all different.
It's dangerous to enter, but soooo interesting.
Despite the clearing that has been going on for more than half a century, the jungle is advancing.
Surrounded by greenery, the buildings look exotic and bewitching.
The twelve towers of Prasat sur Prat served as a kind of court. One of the disputants sat on one tower, the second on another. Whoever gets sick first - he was wrong in the dispute. Such is the judgment of heaven. Yeah, under the local sun, it's no wonder both sides of the lawsuit will blister in a few days.
Moved to Ta Keo outside of Angkor Thom.
Temple mountain. Built as the center of the new capital Jaendranagari.
Ta Keo began to be erected under Jayavarman V, but was never completed.
Built of sandstone with a jeweler's precision of fitted blocks, it is oriented to the East and is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
To visit no more than half an hour, better in the first half.
For dessert left the most famousangkor wat.
This is the symbol of Cambodia, it is depicted on the national flag.
It is considered one of the largest human settlements of the pre-industrial era.
I was struck by the abundance of tourists at the entrance. The hope of seeing a majestic and secluded place quickly melted away. Crowds of tourists scurried back and forth, as if on the main street of the city at rush hour. Such fuss does not at all encourage one to think about the connection of times, about the spiritual meaning of being and about the greatness of ancient architects. What to do, apparently the time for solitude in this great place has been lost and the ruthless feet of mass tourism, barbarously erase the stone pavements of the great temples to the ground.
I can advise you not to buy anything at the entrance to Angkor Wat. Prices here are three times more than you can find going deep into the temple. For example, one brisk young man offered me a guide to Cambodia in Russian for $25. I saw the same ones in the shops near the temple already for 10. The calculation is simple - tourists, not having time to adapt to local economic conditions and, in anticipation of meeting with a piece of great history, cannot adequately assess the price level. For a tourist, in principle, 25 dollars is not that much money, but the reality is that here it is a huge capital.
Angkor Wat, originally dedicated to the god Vishnu, from the point of view of architecture combines the typology of the Hindu temple-mountain, representing the mythical Mount Meru - the abode of the gods
and a typology of galleries characteristic of the architecture of later periods.
The stones that make up the structure are extremely smooth, almost like polished marble.
Surprisingly, without mortar, the stones are so tightly fitted to each other that the seams between them are sometimes impossible to find. Stone blocks sometimes do not have any connections and are held only by their own weight.
Modern estimates were made, according to which it turned out that the construction of only one temple of Angkor Wat in our time would take more than one hundred years. However, Angkor Wat was begun shortly after Suryavarman II's accession to the throne, and completed shortly after his death, that is, no more than 40 years later.
The temple consists of three concentric rectangular structures, the height of which increases towards the center, surrounded by a wall 1.5x1.3 km along the perimeter and a moat with water, the length of which is 3.6 km. The inner structure contains five lotus-shaped towers. The 65m high central tower is very impressive. The total area of Angkor Wat is 200 hectares. On its territory there are such small buildings.
In the 15th century, it ceased to be used and was abandoned. Opened to European civilization in 1860.
One of the first Western visitors to the temple was António da Madalena (Portuguese monk), who visited it in 1586, he described what he saw as follows: “this is such an unusual structure that it is impossible to describe it with a pen, especially since it does not look like any other building in the world. It has towers and ornaments and every subtlety that human genius can imagine."
Khmer temples were not a meeting place for believers, but served as the dwelling place of the gods, and access to their central buildings was open exclusively to representatives of the religious and political elite. Angkor Wat is distinguished by the fact that it was also intended for the burial of kings.
The architecture of Angkor Wat is organically combined with its sculptural design. Bas-reliefs on the themes of Hindu mythology, the ancient Indian epics "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata", as well as on the theme of Khmer history are placed on three tiers of the bypass galleries of the temple.
The most noteworthy are 8 huge panels on the first tier with the compositions “Churning the Milky Ocean” (churning the milky ocean with a mountain to get the divine drink of immortality and gaining power over the universe), “The Battle of Kurukshetra” and others, the total area of which is 1200 m 2. The walls of the second tier are decorated with about 2000 figures of celestial maidens - apsaras. By and large, all surfaces, columns, lintels and even roofs are covered with carvings.
The outer wall of 4.5 meters is surrounded by a moat 190 meters wide.
The passage to the temple is carried out along an earthen embankment from the east, and from the west along the crest of a sandstone dam. The entrance from the west is the main entrance, and perhaps in the past there was a wooden bridge instead of a dam. Each of the cardinal directions has its own gorupa (a gate tower that serves as an entrance to the temple complex). Accordingly, the western group is the largest, it consists of three, now destroyed, towers.
Most of the space is now covered with forest. The western group with the temple is connected by a 350-meter stone road (platform) with a balustrade in the form of Naga figures. The road has six exits to the city on each side. A cruciform terrace, guarded by lion figures, connecting the stone road to the complex itself and the ponds were added later.
On this we, for a start, finished our acquaintance with ancient Khmer and world history. We returned to the room by 19-00 and went for a walk around the city at night. Are you here
Good luck friends!
Angkor Wat (Temple City) is an ancient city near the city of Siem Reap, 322 km northwest of Phnom Penh (Cambodia), which was forgotten for a long time in the jungle. It was first discovered in 1601 by the Spaniard M. Ribandeiro, secondarily by the Frenchman A. Muo (1861).
Angkor Wat, covering an area of 2 million m2, consists of 72 main monuments, the construction of which began in 900.
It is the center of a huge temple complex dedicated to the king of the Angkor Empire, Suryavarman II, whom the Khmers considered the earthly incarnation of the god Vishnu. The temple was built by the architect Preah Pushnuk around 1150.
Angkor Wat is famous for the symmetrical arrangement of buildings (which is almost inexplicable for Khmers who do not know the laws of balance), the amazing placement of five towers in the form of lotus buds (the highest is 65 m) in relation to the facade (a traveler always sees only three towers when approaching). An unusual three-level terrace with covered galleries, the surroundings of the temple with columns, a stone fence and a 180 m wide moat - everything speaks of the gigantic scale of the structure. It is estimated that the construction of this complex took as many stones as the pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre in ancient Egypt. Angkor Wat is included in the list of sites protected by UNESCO. It is famous for its art paintings on stone, which occupy a total area of more than 2 thousand m2. Reliefs on mythological, historical and everyday themes adorn the walls hundreds of meters long. The Pol Potites caused irreparable damage to the architectural monument, destroying many sculptures that are now being restored.
Angkor Wat is considered the largest religious building ever built.
angkor photo
A sensational discovery was made by a group of archaeologists in Cambodia - an ancient lost city was discovered in the impenetrable jungle, which was searched for more than a dozen years. 
The exact location of the city, until recently, was hidden from the general public, thanks, among other things, to the inaccessible terrain covered with minefields and swamps, as well as hidden in dense forests, hostile settlements of Khmer ethnic minorities: tribes far from civilization and professing animism. 
Not so long ago, I came across a lidar survey map of part of Phnom Kulen Mountain. There was fragmentary information and coordinates of one of the objects the ancient city of Mahendraparvata, located just 27 km from Wat Phrea Ang Thom, on Mount Kulen. 
Using the scarce information about the location of the ancient city, we deciphered the map and, superimposing it on the GPS, planned a walking trek along the excavation route. In this article you can see the results of our walking expedition to the area of the ancient city of Mahendraparvata, carried out on February 23 and 24, 2016. We set out along the route early in the morning. The entire area around the ancient city is overgrown with impenetrable rainforest. 
In the forest there are paths blazed by poachers who extract valuable tree species, as well as by sappers who clear mines in some areas. 
Plateau Kulen d about recent times was a stronghold of the Khmer Rouge and became available to archaeologists only in the 1990s. You can read about the history of the Khmer Rouge in the article 
There is currently no way to visit the excavation area by car. 
Paths in the forest give way to swampy areas and thickets of yellowed grass, in which there is a full range of venomous snakes living in this region. 
Pedestrian trekking along the route is complicated by clearing the area and careful tracking of reptiles. We chose not to think about mines, relying on the fact that archaeologists, as well as activists from the demining group, had gone this way before us. 
The first 25 kilometers we did not meet a single living soul along the route. Only giant silent trees hiding centuries-old secrets of ancient civilizations. 
Suddenly, a clearing opened up to us with a characteristic mark of the ubiquitous Apsara fund, from which we concluded that we were already close to the first object: 
The main secret is in discovery ancient cities in Cambodia lies in the fact that on the territory of the Kulen Plateau, as in the main part of the country, the terrain is exceptionally flat, and any mound or unevenness on the earth's surface is nothing more than an archaeological object covered with sediment of sand and withered foliage. 
Excavations of an ancient city in Cambodia
Any such irregularities indicate the presence of a human settlement.
Intuition did not deceive us, and now, a clearing with the first archaeological objects opened up to our eyes:
There were five rectangular prasats (brick towers) in the clearing, of which only one has survived:
Inside the towers and in the area around, we found these artifacts
By the similarity in size, these two elements resemble a certain installation with a lid.
with characteristic high-tech processing.
The purpose of these objects is not entirely clear, as well as the reason why such elaborate and difficult doorways were installed in simple brick structures.
After a thorough inspection of the nearby area, we discovered three more dilapidated complexes, consisting of similar brick towers, on a laterite platform.
In each of them was a stone artifact unlike the others. It could be ancient wells, water purification systems or something else.
These structures have long since disappeared into the jungle, leaving only traces of mounds and depressions that are easy to see among the trees and overgrowth, and which are hidden by the moss-covered ruins of the temple.
The mounds are several meters in diameter and to the untrained eye look like ordinary natural hills. However, archaeologists know that they mean much more.
Scientists suggest that the population the ancient city of Mahendraparvata died out due to lack of water - land resources were exhausted and not restored, and people had to leave in search of territories conducive to the prosperity of life.
Moreover, the mysterious objects of the ancient city that have stood for centuries, the unique, technologically skillful stone carving, and unparalleled engineering structures, the intended use of which has not yet been solved, are a mystery.
You can read about the intended purpose of some artifacts in the article:
The most interesting objects were found 6 kilometers to the north:
Archaeological maps assure that this is nothing more than a quarry in which stone was mined for the construction of Angkor.
On the lava that has frozen thousands of years ago, artificial recesses and perfectly even cuts are clearly visible:
From the stone mined in these quarries, the gigantic structures of ancient Angkor were built.
A laterite pyramid rises in the center of a kilometer-long territory, lined with cut lines and rectangular trenches.
The pyramid is crowned with a destroyed brick prasat, inside which, nevertheless, another mysterious installation has been preserved:
Let me lay out some historical versions of what it is:
Archaeologists are sure that this building is called
Yoni
(ancient Ind. yoni, “source”), in ancient Indian mythology and various currents of Hinduism, a symbol of the divine generating force. Cult yoni seems to date back to the earliest period of Indian history.
Within Indian culture, worship yoni most clearly seen in the mythology and rituals of Shaivism and related sects, where yoni revered in conjunction with the corresponding male symbol - linga(creativity) as a natural energy that contributes to its manifestation, as well as a way to obtain "sacred" healing water.
The water that falls on the top of the Linga and flows into the Yoni is considered sacred and endowed with healing properties.
All found Yonis have this perfect treatment
A rather interesting fact is the presence under each "Yoni" mine, going vertically underground. In some natural depressions, you can see mines covered with sand and compressed leaves. 
In these photos you can see, perhaps the last of the untouched mines, which we cleared a little of the cultural layer. 
Some information from the press about the discovery and research in the area of the ancient city of Mahendraparvata:
The ancient city of Mahendraparvata, which disappeared in the wilds of the tropical forest, was previously known only from legends.
Mahendraparvata, or "Mountain of the Great God Indra", - this name has been conveyed to this day by an inscription on one of the ancient temples, discovered 40 kilometers from this place. In 2013, in the jungles of Cambodia, Australian archaeologists using the Lidar laser system discovered an ancient lost city. 
Ancient city in Cambodia, lost 1200 years ago on a misty mountainside, archaeologists have tried to find it repeatedly. So, in 1936, the expedition of the French archaeologist and art critic Philippe Stern explored the Kulen plateau. He discovered previously unknown temples and statues of Vishnu and described the area as the first mountain temple complex. But only an expedition of scientists from the University of Sydney finally managed to find the ancient city itself. 
The organization of the study was supported by the Cambodian government APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap), which is responsible for the protection of the archaeological sites of Angkor and the entire province of Siem Reap. 
archaeological expedition, the purpose of which was to find Mahendraparvata city, were led by Damian Evans of the University of Sydney and Jean-Baptiste Chevans of the Archeology and Development Foundation (London). The team presented preliminary results in June 2013. An important feature of the expedition was the use of the Lidar device attached to the helicopter to scan the Kulen area and then mark the city on the map. The results of the first land expedition of a group of Australian archaeologists are mentioned in the article: 
The survey of the territory with the help of "lidar" is the frequent emission of signals from the generator and the measurement of the time of their return. The slightest change in time is instantly calculated by the system. 
Later, 30 more previously unknown temples were discovered using Lidar technology. “Suddenly, a whole city appeared before us, the existence of which no one suspected. The impression cannot be expressed in words,- says Evans, not hiding his amazement. 
In addition, scientists have discovered a complex network of roads, dams and ponds that formed the infrastructure of the city. While scanning the area, the laser radar also found numerous hills scattered throughout the city. 
According to the preliminary assumption of archaeologists, these are temple and burial mounds. “What we saw is similar to the central part of the city. There is still a lot of work ahead, we need to learn more about this civilization.- said the leader of the expedition. 
discovered ancient city of Mahendraparvata historians refer to the era of the Khmer Empire in Cambodia. The name Mahendraparvata, meaning "Mountain of the great Indra", was first discovered by scientists in the inscriptions on the temple of Ak Yum in the Angkor region. The period of the foundation of the city refers to the reign of Jayavarman II, who is considered the founder of the Khmer empire. During excavations of an ancient city in Cambodia, scientists came to the conclusion that the city he founded was one of the three capitals of the empire, among which were also Amarendrapura and Hariharalaya. According to Dr. Evans, the decline of civilization could be due to deforestation and problems with water supply. The expedition team dated the founding of Mahendraparvata to 802 AD. Thus, the city was founded before the famous Angkor Wat by about 350 years. Recall that Angkor Wat is a giant Hindu temple complex in Cambodia, dedicated to the god Vishnu. It is one of the largest places of worship ever built and one of the most important archaeological sites in the world. You can read more about the history of Angkor Wat in the article: Thus, thanks to modern technology, today scientists have managed to unravel the mystery of the history of the Khmer Empire. However, despite the significance of the discovery, the most important finds are probably still ahead of archaeologists. 
The main goal of our mission was achieved - this is an indisputable proof of the existence of a long-destroyed the ancient city of Mahendraparvata which each of you can see and touch with your own hands. 
In the bed of a dried up river, you can see the so-called cultural layer, in which fragments of ceramics and other artifacts stand out. 
These findings will help shed light on the history of human civilization.
By special order, we carry out trekking walking tours to the excavations of the ancient city of Mahendraparvata, as well as one-day excursions on motorcycles with a driver, as part of individual tours:
