Beng Mealea

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Floor plan by Beng Mealea

Beng Mealea ( Khmer ប្រាសាទបឹងមាលា , lotus basin ) is a Hindu temple in Cambodia and forms one of the most dazzling centers of the Khmer empire Angkor . The plant belongs since 1992 to the World Heritage of UNESCO .

Plant of the temple

Beng Mealea is about 40  km east of Angkor and its style belongs to the middle of the 12th century , but there are no inscriptions. Therefore one can only assume that the complex was built under King Suryavarman II . Although designed as a Hindu temple, there are also Buddhist symbols. The temple is mostly built with sandstone and has been largely left in its original state with partially overgrown structures. Until a few years ago, the facility was difficult to reach, but a new road to Koh Ker now ensures better connections.

The structure of the temple covers an area of ​​181 meters by 152 meters and was the center of a city, which in turn was surrounded by a 45-meter-wide city moat, 1,025 meters long in west-east and 875 meters in north-south direction. Beng Mealea is oriented to the east, but also has entrances in the other directions. To the east is a baray . Many of the reliefs show scenes from Hindu epics with Vishnu and Shiva .

World Heritage

Since September 1, 1992, Beng Mealea has been on Cambodia's National Proposal List (Tentative List) for World Heritage.

photos

  • One of the sublime “libraries” in the complex

  • Fine reliefs of the pediment

  • Blind door, lintel and pediment, like in Angkor Wat

  • Five-headed naga

  • Overgrowths

  • Door lintel depicting the whirlpool of the Milky Ocean

literature

Web links

Commons : Beng Mealea  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Freeman and Jacques (2006), pp. 220-223
  2. ↑ Ensemble de Beng Mealea on unesco.org

Coordinates: 13 ° 28 ′ 35 ″  N , 104 ° 14 ′ 18 ″  E