28. East Mebon & Ta Som
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East Mebon Is Within the R. Blue Rectangle, an Artificial Reservoir (Baray) Made With Dykes.
Ta Som Is Almost Directly N. of East Mebon |
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| Little Bikes Always Heavily Loaded |
Early in the 10th
Century (903 AD) or so, this area needed water, just like it does today. Water
in the dry season is always a problem.
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| Park Maintenance People |
The King at the time, Yasovarman I,
ordered a huge, 7.5 km long and 1.83 km wide, reservoir to be built. This
reservoir could hold 55 million cubic meters of water when the later level was
4 meters deep.
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| Steep Stairs, No Handrail at East Mebon Temple. A Pair of Lions At the Top of the Stairs Guard the Entrance |
This reservoir
was EAST of the greater city of Angkor Thom, so canals had to be dug too. A
small river (Roluos) used to feed into this reservoir from the NE.
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| One of the Guardian Lions |
The plan was
fantastic, the work was done. And during the rainy season this Baray (diked
area) filled up nicely. But the water ran into the ground too fast which was
something nobody understood. So, the answer was to build a Temple (in 953 AD) to
the God Shiva and ask for the god’s blessing.
Voila! That is how
these ruins of East Mebon became to be.
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Mr. Touch, Our Tuk Tuk Driver With One of the Elephants
Which Is in Each Corner of Each Terrace |
East Mebon was on an artificial Island in this reservoir, this
diked up area they call Baray. What we see today is not just the old Temple but
also the Island that was created years ago. It looks like the old Temple stood
on a hill but in reality it was a smallish temple standing in a lake.
The large lake,
this reservoir is totally dry today, no longer holds any water.
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| Guardians and Doors to the Inner Sanctuary |
We know all of
this because again, steles (an upright slab bearing inscriptions) were found
spelling it all out.
This Temple is
‘famous’ for the terraces it had, for the 2-meter-high elephant statues that
were placed on the corners of each terrace.
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| Kids Are the Same Everywhere |
There are still
a few of those elephant statues visible.
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All Cambodian Children Have
Flawless Complexions |
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One of the Many False Doors,
Beautifully Carved |
This old temple
is a good example of how temples were constructed; all the elements of
materials used are visible. The base layer of laterite, and then the additions
of sandstone, stucco and brick creating this temple are all visible. Small
holes in the walls throughout this temple were created to attach the said
sandstone add-ons.
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| West Gopura at Ta Som |
Ta Som is a small temple;
we entered on the western side, walked toward the East through nice Gopuras (gates) which have faces on them.
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| Carved Figures Near the Gopura |
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| Treacherous Footing on the Causeway Over the Moat (Now Non-Existent) |
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| Foliage Is Taking Over Many of the Structures |
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| A Well? A Fire-Pit? Or...? In the Shape of a Lotus Flower |
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| Strangler Fig Is Obliterating the East Entrance |
On the most easterly Gate
(Gopura) is a strangler fig tree that is so large it partially blocks the
entrance. The gates are covered with nicely carved figures of Apsara and more.
