Banteay Srei temple is the exquisite “Women’s Citadel” about 32kms from Siem Reap. It was one of Cambodia’s last major Khmer temples to be found “again.” It is a small temple, but has some of the finest stone carvings of any of the temples.
It has been partially restored, so there are some original carvings and some carvings that seem to be part of the restoration. I guess that with restoration, everyone has their own opinion of what should and what should not be done and how to do it and how not to. Many of the temples, including this one, are “adopted” by another country like Germany, France or Japan where they pay for and “may” do restoration. For some reason, we didn’t see any temples adopted by the USA. Maybe there is one, but we didn’t come across it, or perhaps, the USA spends its money on more humanitarian options (F16s??).
Our guide knew the story behind just about every single carved panel and he told us them until they ‘kinda’ bleed together. Here are some snaps:
This is the part of the lintel and pediment of one of the many doorways or hallways at Banteay Srey. According to WikiPedia, the lintel “is a horizontal beam connecting two vertical columns between which runs a door or passageway… A pediment is a roughly triangular structure above a lintel.
The monkey statue(s) you see in the above photo and the one below are faux. Lisa saw the originals in the National Museum.
A wide, a real wide angle lens is an excellent thing to have at the temples.
Due to the sun, the white shirt and Angkor beer, it appears I have a lot of “mana” stored. This is not the case….really.
There is a little area to the side of the temple which contains lots of info and photos from the area dating back quite a way. I like the way the French guy in the “Pith” is supervising some of the early restoration work.
very cool! wonder how long those took to carve