Banteay Srey - The Citadel of Women

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Banteay Srey is a magnificent jewel of a temple @ Angkor Wat. Finely sculpted, with an incredible richness of details, the pink shades of the sandstone come alive in the early morning and at the end of the day. The temple's relatively small size, pink sandstone construction and ornate design give it a fairyland ambiance. The colors are best before 10:30 AM and after 2:00 PM, but there are fewer tourists in the afternoon.Monkeys and Garaudas (Solar Eagles) replace the lions that traditionally guard the temple doors.

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Banteay Srey loosely translates to ‘citadel of the women,’ but this is a modern appellation that probably refers to the delicate beauty of the carvings. Built at a time when the Khmer Empire was gaining significant power and territory, the temple was constructed by a Brahmin counselor under a powerful king, Rajendravarman and later under Jayavarman V. Banteay Srey displays some of the finest examples of classical Khmer art.
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