Magically Baphoun Temple ,Kingdom of Cambodia 🇰🇭
Today, let’s explore The Baphoun Temple, in Cambodia, which immensely impressed the Chinese traveler Zhou Daguan, who visited Angkor toward the end of the 13th century.
It is located in Angkor Thom, north-west of the Bayon, built in the mid-11th century. It is a three-tiered temple mountain, built as the state temple of King Khmer Udayadityavarman-II dedicated to the Hindu God Shiva.
It is the archetype of the Baphuon style with intricate carvings covering every possible surface. The temple measures 120m east-west and100m north-south at its base and stands 34 meters tall without its tower, which would have made it roughly 50 meters tall.
In the late 15th century, the Baphuon was converted to a Buddhist temple by introducing a statue of Reclining Buddha - 9m tall and 70m long at the second level, which probably required the demolition of the tower above to supply stones for the statue, thus The temple tower does not exist today.
The temple was built on land filled with sand, and due to its immense size, the site was unstable throughout its history. Large portions had probably already collapsed by the time the Buddha was added.
