Bayon

An enormous sandstone monument in northwest Angkor, Cambodia, built c 1200 by the Buddhist king Jayavarman VII (1181-c 1220), the last great ruler of the Khmer empire. It was his temple-mountain and the center of his restored capital Angkor Thom. Bayon had a central circular sanctuary, situated within two bas-relief covered galleries, which vividly depicted the king's battles with Cham forces. Bayon was a distinctively Mahayana Buddhist central pyramid temple designed to serve as the primary locus of the king's royal cult and also as his own personal mausoleum.

A majestic monument in sandstone in the northwestern part of Angkor, Cambodia, built cl200 by the last great ruler of the Khmer empire, the Buddhist king Jayavar-man VII (1181-C1218) as his temple-mountain and the centre of his restored capital Angkor Thom. It consists of a central circular sanctuary representing a mountain, situated within two relief-covered rectangular galleries, the outer one measuring 160 by 140 metres. This architectural ensemble is crowned by 54 towers, the central tower reaching a height of 43 metres. Each tower is decorated with four enigmatically smiling faces, representing the king himself in the form of the compassionate Bodhisattva Lokesvara. Moreover, the monument is also integrated in the general architectural symbolism of Angkor Thom — the Churning of the Ocean, according to Hindu mythology — with the central mountain serving as the chum.