Visiting Bayon, Cambodia

Hello Steemians,

In this post, I will talk about Bayon, a well-known mystic temple in Cambodia, which I visited in July 2008.

Bayon was built in the late 12th or early 13th century, by the Buddhist King Jayavarman VII. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and extended throughout the years by consecutive Hindu and Buddhist kings, each leaving his own mark on the temple. As a result, Bayon pays homage to both religions.

The temple's most characteristic feature is the serene and smiling faces on its many towers. The temple also boasts impressive reliefs on the walls, which depict mythological, historical, and mundane scenes (1).

Walking along the path that leads to the temple, one comes across a shrine of a very large Buddha image.

And then, after a couple of minutes walk in the greenery, the temple reveals itself.

Reconstruction from s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

A Kmer lion

Beautiful stone reliefs

Hindu deities guarding the temple

The faces, they looked so real. You felt like they were actually looking at you.

There was also a lot of monkeys on the grounds of the temple, as well as other creatures.

At the exit, there was a row of souvenir shops, selling some really lovely paintings. I should have bought one.

After Bayon, I visited Angkor Wat. But I took so many pictures there, I've decided to leave those last. So, next post will be about the river village.

I hope you liked my post, and that you will follow me to my next one. Have a good day, and we'll speak again soon!

References:
1.Text from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayon.