Life cycles

Behind its sophisticated, intellectual beauty, there is something profoundly simple, something archetypal and natural that reaches the heart without needing to pass through the head.
Tiziano Terzani, in A fortune teller told me, talking about Angkor

Some days ago I had the privilege of spending 14 hours (04:30 a.m. to 06:30 a.m.) in one of the most amazing architectural projects ever built by humankind: the ruins of Angkor, in Cambodia.

Erected between the 9th and the 13th centuries when the Khmer Empire was the main force in Southeast Asia, the temples (the only structures remaining, as the other constructions used less durable materials) were palaces of the ruling king-god. They commemorated Hindu, Buddhist and Animist figures (especially Vishnu, Shiva and Buddha) and had more or less the same general configuration: one main tower in the middle, various other towers nearby and a squared moat surrounding them. That's because the temples were the physical representation of the universe, where the gods sit on Mount Meru (the centre), amongst mountains and surrounded by the primordial ocean.

The uniqueness and richness of the details of the sculptures and bas-reliefs is unbelievable, as well and the grandeur of the constructions. Angkor Wat, for example, is 1,5 km X 1,3 km and its moat is 190m wide.

More than an isolated historical moment, Angkor for me represented the cycles of life: creation by a strong empire; fall of the empire and abandonment of the site; rediscovery centuries later (1863) by a French naturalist; partial destruction by the Khmer Rouge another century down the road; and finally the main symbol of a country, one that 1) attracts thousands of foreigners to visit Cambodia and 2) gives Cambodians a big reason for being proud, to the extent that they use the image on their national flag and the name in businesses, beer brands, guesthouses and any other possible opportunity.

This cycle feeling is especially strong in Ta Prohm, certainly my favourite site, where restoration was limited and the vegetation was mainly kept, showing that nature eventually takes over and life changes its forms, but never stops re-creating itself.

Sun rising behind Angkor Wat

Amazing architecture features in different temples

Giant tree taking over man made construction