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Banteay
Srey
"The Citadel of the women"
The tenth century temple of Banteay
Srei is renowned for its intricate
decoration carved in pinkish
sandstone that covers the walls like
tapestry. This site warrants as much
time as your schedule allows. The
roads have been recently repaired
and it takes about 30 minutes from
Siem Reap to get to the temple. To
reach Banteay Srei, follow the main
road north out of Siem Reap, turn
right at Angkor Wat and follow the
road to Srah Srang where you turn
right past Preah Rup. At the East
Mebon there is a check post where
you need to obtain clearnce. Turn
right again at the road before the
East Mebon; pass through the village
of Phoum Pradak, where there is a
junctions (if you continue straight,
after about 5 minutes, you will
reach Banteay Samre). At this point,
you come to a fork; take the road on
the left and follow it to Batneay
Srei which you will reach shortly
after crossing two rivers - on your
left hand side.
Banteay Srei is an exquisite
miniature; a fairy palace in the
heart of an immense and mysterious
forest; the very thing that Grimm
delighted to imagine, and that every
child's heart has yearned after, but
which mature years has sadly proved
too lovely to be true. And here it
is, in the Cambodian forest at
Banteay Srei, carved not out of the
stuff that dreams are made of, but
of solid sandstone.
Location: 25
kilometers (15.5 miles) north-east
of East Mebon
Access: enter and leave the temple
by the east entrance
Date: second half of the 10th
century (967)
King: Rajendravarman II (reigned
944-968) and Jayavarman V (reigned
968-1001)
Religion: Hindu (dedicated to Shiva)
Art style: Banteay Srei
Background
The enchanting temple of Banteay
Srei is nearly everyone's favorite
site. The special charm of this
temple lies in its remarkable state
of preservation, small size and
excellence of decoration. The
unanimous opinion amongst French
archaeologists who worked at Angkor
is that Banteay Srei is a 'precious
gem' and a 'jewel in Khmer art'.
Banteay Srei, as it is known by
locals, was originally called
Isvarapura, according to
inscriptions. It was by a Brahmin of
royal descent who was spiritual
teacher to Jayavarman V. Some
describe it a s being closer in
architecture and decoration to
Indian models than any other temple
at Angkor. A special feature of the
exquisite decoration was the use of
a hard pink sandstone (quartz
arenite) where enabled the
'technique of sandalwood carving
with even an Indian scent to it'.
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