MangoVine - The Comprehensive Preah Khan

09 December, 2009
Wednesday

Preah Khan, built in the 12th century, was the first temple we visited on our third day of Angkor tours, of which we covered the second circuit of temples.

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Preah Khan was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost a hundred thousand officials and servants including a thousand dancers and a thousand teachers.

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The place combined the roles of city, temple and Buddhist university, and was flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions.

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Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins. With the size of the grounds and combination of stone and natre, we found these ruins to be particularly interesting. Here's what we saw.

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