Angkor Temple Complex - Ta Prohm Temple

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The history of That Prom, general information

Angkor: Ta Prom

Ta Prohm (Ta Prom, Ta Prum, Ta Prohm, Taprom) translated It means "ancestor of Brahma" in Khmer. However, initially its name is referred to as Rajavihara (Royal Monastery). It is a Buddhist temple complex and is part of the the city of Angkor.

It was dedicated and erected in honor of the mother of King Jayavarman VII in 1186. It reached its greatest heyday by the XIII century., more than 12 thousand people lived here, but, like the whole city of Angkor, in the middle of the XV century destroyed by Siamese troops and abandoned.

The clearing of the complex was started in the 20s of the XIX century. However, the specialists who carried out the restoration of the Temple decided not to radically change the appearance of the temple and its surroundings. Therefore, today it is the only temple "absorbed" by the jungle, the walls and towers of which have entangled the roots of trees, and this was done deliberately. That is why it, along with Angkor Wat and Bayon, is considered the most popular place for pilgrims visiting Angkor. Ta Prom became very famous among tourists after filming the movie with Angelina Jolie "Lara Croft. Tomb raider". In honor of this event, the Cambodians unofficially renamed it the Angelina Jolie Temple.

Orientation in the temple, tips for inspection

The path to Ta Prom will never be overgrown

Taprom is located 2.5 km southeast of the Victory Gate of the Angkor Thom complex and is usually visited by following this path. See Ta Prom on the map of Angkor

Ta Prom is a must-visit place, thanks to the huge trees sprouting through the temple walls. One of the types of trees growing here belongs to the ficus variety, and the other is a cotton tree. With their powerful roots, they gradually destroy the buildings and structures of the complex, so you should be more careful near the walls, despite the attempts of scientists to strengthen the places of destruction with the help of beams and metal pipes.

It is recommended to allocate 1-1.5 hours for a measured inspection of the Ta Prom. But, it should be noted that there are always a lot of people here, and therefore you need to be very patient to take deserted photos. However, for the especially photogenic, a couple of special platforms have been created against the background of walls with tree roots, so the bulk of people are concentrated in such places.

It is recommended to inspect the temple starting from west to east, since the western gopura has preserved the only face of Avalokiteshvara for today, after passing through which you get to the dirt road leading to the second gate. Then, moving past the third and fourth lines of the fence, you get into the courtyards with trees, overcoming the fifth line, you find yourself in front of the main shrine – the central sanctuary.

Temple construction, architecture

The area of the Ta Prom complex is about 700,000 sq.m. and was surrounded by a laterite wall. The temple itself is shifted relative to the center to the west and occupies only 10,000 square meters.m. The rest of the territory once had a large city.

The temple has a single-tiered structure, the center of which is the main tower, consisting of four tiers, and hidden behind four lines of fencing. All four levels of the walls had four towers facing all sides of the world, and four corner gopuras. Previously, the Ta Prom complex consisted of 39 towers, 854 structures with more than 260 statues of deities. Subsequently, the construction of the temple was carried out rather chaotically, it was supplemented with new buildings and buildings: at the level of the third and fifth courtyards in their southeastern part there are dilapidated library buildings, the third courtyard is also complemented by two temples in the north and south.

Bas-reliefs of apsaras and deities have been well preserved on the pediments and external walls of the complex, and in some places they have been restored.