Lions at the Mebon Temple
Banteay Chhmar-Cambodia-2022
20.02.2023
During my visit to Banteay Chhmar, I saw pictures of the Lions at the Baray (Lake). I have never seen anything quite like this before so this became a "must see" visit during one of our tours.
We reached it at the peak of the day when it was very dry and hot, so we didn't cross the bridge to the Mebon on the Island. Instead we explored the steps and Lions at the edge of the Lake.
Banteay Chhmar's baray lies approximately 7-800 metres east of the main temple site and measures some 800 metres by 1.6 kms. Alignment is as per Banteay Chhmar, so slightly north of east-west. The baray today is filled with paddy fields rather than water but a mebon temple is located in the centre of the reservoir.
In 2020, the local authorities have restored the west terrace of the baray, where they discovered a large immaculate sandstone lion buried in the baray, along with a range of other carved stones. The stone terrace has now been restored using old and new blocks to replace those that are too damaged or missing.
What you see in this slideshow is it's current restored state 2022.
Posted by TheJohnsons 08:13 Tagged art architecture monument culture temple religion history travel statue cambodia buddhism jungle building world famous angkor heritage sculpture wat buddha stone old site religious destination buddhist wall asian east asia antique ancient tourism historic reap brick landmark hinduism structure archaeology khmer siem archeology civilization ruin indochina hindu background mebon
