A Giant Wonder: The Angkor Wat Architecture
Cambodia’s Angkor Wat is regarded as the largest temple around the globe. However, for architecture experts, this place of worship is much more than just a temple for the Khmer people. For those interested in structural design, the Angkor Wat is “the supreme masterpiece of Khmer architecture.” This place signifies the union of history, faith and cultural development and it is not quite surprising why it is also the biggest tourist attraction in Cambodia.
As noted by Maurice Glaize, one of the conservators of the Angkor Wat architecture, the structure “attains a classic perfection by the restrained monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions. It is a work of power, unity and style.”
General description
The Angkor Wat architecture has two enclosures. The first field is comprised of four rooms arranged in a series that appears much like a cruciform. As most visitors observe, the typical feature of every room is the sunken flooring. All of the rooms are also bordered by continuous galleries.
As for the striking inner enclosure, this is built against a two tiered pyramid that is eleven meters high. The pyramid is decorated with steep stairs. There are five towers that protrude on the upper tier. There is also a continuous gallery that surrounds another cruciform of four rooms. Since the shrines that used to occupy the rooms have already been damaged, they look more like passageways nowadays.
What makes the temple very unique?
The inimitability of the Angkor Wat architecture generally stems from the rich historical background of Khmer. The cultural prosperity of the Cambodian people definitely contributed much to the creativity and inspiration that gave birth to the exquisite stone carvings and dancing female sculptures that abound the walls and pillars of the temple. Not like other temples, this Khmer architecture is mostly made out of sandstone blocks and laterite. As noted by many experts, the designs and styles of the temple are quite comparable to the ancient structures in Rome and Greece.
Unlike the typical places of worship, Angkor Wat faces west and it is nestled on a sandstone plinth that’s raised a meter high from the ground. It is also surrounded by the elaborately designed naga balustrades. Among the most peculiar features of the Angkor Wat architecture are its towers that will often remind visitors of lotus buds. There are also colonnades that extend to elaborate passageways and axial galleries that join the temple enclosures. Moreover, there are some ornate terraces that perfectly complement the superb stone carvings of devtas and apsaras, bas-reliefs, and pediments that tell stories of ancient Khmer culture. GP
Posted in Angkor Wat Architecture on January 19, 2009 - 4:45 pm by admin |
