Thursday 5 April 2012

E is for East Mebon - Temple



East Mebon sits in the centre of Baray - which is a self made reservoir that measures 4.3 miles. The island on which stands the delightful monument East Mebon with its receding terraces with five towers, the central tower is quite large in comparison with the other smaller four.  What a perfect setting beneath the sky-line the radiant sunsets reflecting in the surrounding water.

East Mebon was built by King Yasovarman II in a similar style as Pre Rup in Eastern Baray in early years of  900-986 AD. They called it temple mountain. It was built east to west and entry to it was from the east entrance. It was built of durable materials of that time, mainly brick, sandstone, laterite and stucco. The layout of the temple consisted of tiers with a central tower placed on a square platform built up of three levels. The smaller towers were built surrounding the central tower, plus an inner and outer  stone wall.

Religious carvings and statues were selected to decorate the temple monument and stone carved two metre high elephants standing independently in each corner on the first two tiers.. Sadly, the waters of the Baray have dried up, but there is still proof that water had been there by the dyke's surrounding it.




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2 comments:

  1. I love your descriptions of this country. It's not somewhere that I know much about but it sounds absolutely beautiful!

    Enjoy the rest of the challenge!

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  2. Thanks Denise for your kind words I am pleased my descriptions give that good impression.

    Best of luck with the Challenge!

    ReplyDelete