The Bayon temple, located at the center of Angkor-Tom in the kingdom of Cambodia, is remarkable architecture and a large scale site. Unluckily, some part of the Bayon temple was devastated in the course of civil wars and Pol Pot’s dictatorship. Conservation and renovation work of the Bayon temple had been bring into being by the Japanese government team for Safeguarding Angkor. Significant construction projects were undertaken, such as major roads, stone bridges, hospitals, and temples, which testify to a deep interaction with the local environment and knowledge of its natural resources. Simultaneously, a great number of free-standing sculptures were mass-produced and installed in sanctuaries throughout the empire which encompassed, besides present-day Cambodia, parts of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam (Cœdès, 1958; Stern, 1965; Woodward, 1994/95). Several likenesses of the king and members of his family rendered in stone are known, together with numerous images of Buddhist and Hindu deities in the so-called Bayon style. The temple was constructed around the end of the 12th century to give relief from the crisis in the Angkor era. It is renowned for the exterior of, 51 towers, more than 100 m length on each side by 43 m height at the most, 173 calm, smiling faces engraved on towers, and double corridors carved in beautiful interesting relics.
The Temple is very compact and the space between the towers is very small, giving it a very different feel to the other Temples in Siem Reap.
After Angkor Wat, this is the second most popular Temple and it can get very crowded but is well worth the time to visit.
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