Angkor is now in my blood, like the memory of a seductive oriental woman. Ever since I got to know this temple city, I have come back here over and over the years. It turned into an obsession, a fabulous mirage, which does not seem to manifest itself too clearly, but from which it is impossible to get rid of.
I love this city the way it is. I want to absorb everything that is connected with it - and the brilliance of its forms, and its fragility, and the enchantment of the mystery that surrounds it.
I must hurry, because Angkor, this mysterious temple city, will not be as beautiful for long as it is now. That is why, following one of the inconspicuous paths, I appear here with the first rays of the sun. A dense fabric of intertwining branches and leaves overhangs with an impenetrable vault, stands up as a wall, scratches you, preventing you from passing, as if defending yourself. It's hard to breathe, it seems that you are moving in wet cotton wool, wet clothes are glued to the body, the air is filled with a strong smell that this rotting green kingdom exudes. Mercilessly thorny shrubs, lianas, tree ferns have grown lushly around. In this semi-dark earthly park, time seems to have stopped, multi-colored butterflies slowly challenge each other for the right to drink nectar from the cups of large flowers here. A twisting but tightly welded tapelike an endless snake, ants, huge like wasps, crawl up the tree branch.
Here everything is changing rapidly, the semi-darkness of the undergrowth suddenly thickens, and a truly prehistoric downpour drives me into some kind of dark hole, but I have no way out. I hide from the stream of water in the ruins of a dilapidated gallery, which was crushed in their deadly embrace by huge ficuses, which have gripped the stones with their powerful roots, like anacondas. Together with me there are two rather brave monkeys. Maybe I invaded their "privacy", or maybe they, like me, hid here from the raging downpour.
The tension that has gripped everyone passes along with the rain. Thin stalks of tropical plants hang from the "ceiling" of my refuge. The drops of water flowing down them sparkle in the sun, and there, further, behind the pile of stones, in all its powerful beauty and grandeur, the Bayon temple mausoleum, erected on the territory of Angkor Thom, rises. This is a huge mountain of brittle sandstone, which was hewn here, on the spot, then stacking huge blocks on top of each other, without even cementing them with lime. Out of haste or inexperience, the designers of this structure overlooked something in the supporting structures of the Buddhist temple.
In this extraordinary sanctuary, both architecture and sculpture have merged into one inseparable whole. The central "body" of the temple, once crowned with a golden tower, is surrounded by 54 more towers. On the four sides of each of them, facing the four cardinal points, are the smiling faces of Buddha. The powerful Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII, who ascended the throne in 1243, apparently suffered from megalomania. Gripped by a construction fever, and also wishing to cause the envy of his neighbors - khams and thais, he ordered the sculptors to give the faces of the Buddha a portrait resemblance to himself …
The rain that had passed washed away the dust from the lichen-stained faces. The sun's rays are reflected from the water droplets that tremble on the Buddha's eyelids. He smiles, he shows affection, but so does his own wounds. They were inflicted by parasitic plants. Where these plants were uprooted by pilgrims, there is a deep gap. The wind threw a handful of earth into it - and now sharp shoots are turning green here again …
The Khmer civilization reached its peak in the 9th-13th centuries, especially during the reign of Jayavarman VII. He gave a powerful impetus to the development of agriculture by developing irrigation systems. If you look at it from a height, then the huge Angkor complex appears to be a symmetrical network of the widest canals and huge water reservoirs "barai". One of them could store up to 13 million cubic meters of water, which could be consumed as needed. In addition, the canal system was also used as a convenient waterway, serving all seasons, allowing, in particular, to transport huge blocks of sandstone from the Kulen quarries, located 50 kilometers away. For decades, forest echoes have responded to the roar of stonecutters who have been driven here for thousands of years. This rumble drowned out the incessant clatter of cicadas,which in these places is a monstrous multitude.
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I stop in Siem Reap, which is six kilometers from Angkor. In this provincial town with its 40 thousand inhabitants, nothing changes. The same sleepy silence reigns here. Perhaps, the appearance of the city has changed somewhat since last year. A dozen new hotels have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. And although they are in good European style, I prefer the old Grand Hotel, built at the beginning of the century, with its high ceilings and huge fans with wide blades hanging down. They evoke memories of Eastern secrets from the times of Konrad and Kipling …
… The city is lazily awakening from the night's lethargic sleep. At five in the morning I am already on the road leading to Angkor. In three days of battling sunlight, I only photographed a couple of monuments in total. And what do the eternally hurrying tourists who come here from Bangkok or Phnom Penh and who only have "twice half a day" manage to shoot or just watch?
On the bridge, which is crossed by a long ditch that encircles the citadel of Angkor Thom, I suddenly notice some inconsistencies. Yes, of course, the balustrade, which I remember very well from my previous visits to the temple city, clearly bears traces of a very "approximate" restoration. I saw earlier that some of the local statues depicting various deities and demons supporting the famous Naga cobra were beheaded - it was the "work" of local vandals who disfigure the sculptures and then sell their "booty" to various antique shops. Now, to all appearances, restorers have worked on the balustrade, but, alas, the new heads that they "attached" very often do not coincide with the bodies. Obviously, these heads were "obtained" in other, less significant temples, and brought here …
Here, in the jungle, the long-abandoned temple complex of Angkor was discovered
According to an ancient folk legend, somewhat, however, ambiguous, the Naga cobra, being one of the central figures of the Khmer beliefs, has a great influence on the prosperity of the kingdom. The well-being and happiness of the whole kingdom depends on the outcome of the king's meeting, when he goes on a night watch on one of the towers, and the cobra Naga, which appears before him in the form of a beautiful girl.
One cannot but be amazed in the face of this silent solemnity and splendid southern nature to the creations of human hands. However, the Ta-Prohm and Dust Khan temples are vivid examples of how the jungle is able to regain what was once taken from them. Lush flora devours stones. And it began after the fall of the Khmer empire - the most powerful in the Indo-Chinese Peninsula. The Khmers could not resist the constant raids of neighboring peoples …
The Ta-Prom Buddhist monastery is truly a divine pearl. The bas-reliefs that decorate it depict the history of the golden period of this kingdom. All the wealth accumulated in the monastery, gold and silver utensils, precious stones and pearls are scrupulously listed here. There is also other information: for example, during one of the festivities, 165,744 candles were burned, they illuminated everything around during the dance of the divine apsaras - heavenly dancers.
Bante Srei. Jacek Palkiewicz (center) guarded by local police. The area is still unsafe due to the actions of the Khmer Rouge.
Here you feel yourself out of time, out of everything that happens in the world. And only two French legionnaires, whom I suddenly notice among a small flock of tourists, remind that a large contingent of UN troops - "blue helmets" is deployed in Cambodia today: there are more than 20 thousand of them. The goal of the peace missionaries is to help the country get back on its feet, as everything here was destroyed during the years of senseless war.
The most significant religious building is Angkor Wat - among the monuments of Cambodia, it is the best preserved. It was built by King Suryavarman II. Among the Khmer traditions is the burial of kings inside temples. This mausoleum temple differs from others for its elegance and classical style of the outer colonnade. To approach it, I walk along a stone road paved with slabs under the scorching sun. Not a patch of shadow, not a tree around. It's stuffy. The air is literally saturated with moisture …
This temple is dedicated to the god Vishnu. The kings who ruled at that time worshiped him on a par with the Buddha. Angkor Wat today has again become the center of spiritual life, its towers are depicted on the Cambodian national banner.
Angkor Wat
From a distance on this huge stone mountain here and there I notice orange specks. They are bonza. What a contrast between the gloomy ancient places of worship and the modern light pagodas where these monks pray! Although, I must say that when the buildings of Angkor were being built, they were not so monotonous-gray. The ends of the towers were covered with the finest plates of gold, the bas-reliefs were painted with multi-colored paints, and a golden statue of Vishnu sat on a throne inside the Angkor Wat temple.
Today, there are no settlements on the territory of Angkor; here you can find only lonely huts, in which those who look after the cleanliness and order in the temples live.
Ta-Keo
A flock of chirping kids pounced on newly arrived American tourists, trying to sell them some souvenirs. Someone is clearly not giving a hand to elderly ladies for nothing, who, of course, find it difficult to climb the steep stairs. A flock of boys scatters, only one patiently stands in his place. He clearly noticed the "prey" fighting the heat, sweating from every pore. Life in the jungle taught him everything. Like a small predatory creature hiding in a secluded place and waiting for its hour to attack a weakened animal, he perched in the shadows under some decapitated statue, exposing a thermal bag with ice, beer and Coca-Cola. A permanent smile is glued to his lips. He is ready to wait for my surrender, even if he has to wait a long time. Small sprout, with black bangs and protruding teeth,he shakes from time to time with jingling banks.
Monks at the Walls of Bayon
However, he does not know that I am a stubborn person. But the boy doesn't give up either. I step aside, climbing up the giant roots of some tropical plant protruding from the ground. The cheeky Khmer doesn't give up either. He settles down with his banks right below me. "Persistent wins" - so the saying goes. Indeed, he won.
Ta-Prom. The jungle takes its toll.
The French botanist Henry Moose, who had heard a lot about the mysterious ancient city hidden in the jungle, discovered it in 1861, then he organized an expedition here with the support of the London Geographical and Zoological Societies. He saw this city, where even local residents were afraid to penetrate, because, according to stories, ancient temples were guarded by wild animals.
Even twenty years ago, hidden in the jungle, Angkor stood pristine. He began to disfigure and ruthlessly destroy his own barbarians - the bloodthirsty Khmer Rouge.
Author - Jacek Palkiewicz