The Ta Prohm ("Ancestor Brahma") temple was the last site we visited within the Angkor Archaeological Park. Located approximately one kilometer east of Angkor Thom, this 12th century Buddhist temple was built by King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and center of learning. It was dedicated to his mother, whose face was supposedly used to create the temple's main image -- the Prajnaparamita Devi, a female Buddha who embodies the Perfection of Transcendent Wisdom. The design of the Ta Prohm is relatively 'flat' as compared to the other multi-towered Khmer temples we saw. Five rectangular enclosing walls surrounded a central sanctuary. The sanctuary contained the stone image of Prajnaparamita. The site also encompassed a small town that has been largely consumed by the forest. According to the temple's stele (the official stone marker) the site was home to 12,500 people (including high priests and dancers) and had roughly 80,000 inhabitants living in the nearby villages providing essential services and supplies. Unlike other temples within the park that have undergone restorations, Ta Prohm has been left mostly undisturbed for one specific reason: over the centuries it has slowly been taken over by the trees of the surrounding forest. And this, by the way, is the site's most striking feature (as you will see below). The temple buildings were constructed without the use of mortar and when it was eventually abandoned the trees began to take root within the loosening stone blocks. These trees (from the taller silk-cotton and thitpok trees to the smaller strangler figs) are reminiscent of ancient redwoods and oaks. In many sections they have wrapped themselves in a jaw-dropping manner around and within the structures. This has made the Ta Prohm temple one of the most popular sites to visit within the Angkor Archaeological Park. If the images below look familiar, that's because Ta Prohm was used as a location in the action-packed Angelina Jolie movie, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. The final photos on this page were taken the following evening on the last full day of the tour at a dinner show in Siem Reap.
(captions coming soon)