Face towers of the Bayon
Late 12th – Early 13th Century CE 13.441°N 103.859°E

The Bayon

ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន

Jayavarman VII's state temple at the exact centre of Angkor Thom, crowned by 216 serene faces gazing along the cardinal directions.

Era

Late 12th – Early 13th Century CE

Category

temples

Media assets

2

Sources

1 verified

The Face Towers

ប្រាង្គព្រះភ័ក្រ្ត

Scholars remain divided on whether the faces depict Avalokiteshvara, Brahma, or an idealised Jayavarman VII. The likeliest reading is deliberate ambiguity: a Mahayana Buddhist sovereign presenting compassion and kingship as one continuous surface.

អ្នកស្រាវជ្រាវនៅតែពិភាក្សាថា ព្រះភ័ក្រ្តទាំងនោះជាព្រះអវលោកិតេស្វរៈ ឬព្រះមហាក្សត្រ។

Reliefs of Everyday Life

ចម្លាក់ជីវភាពប្រចាំថ្ងៃ

Unlike Angkor Wat's mythic programme, the Bayon's outer gallery documents markets, cockfights, childbirth, fishing on the Tonle Sap and the naval battle against the Cham — the richest visual record of Angkorian daily life that survives.

ចម្លាក់ខាងក្រៅបង្ហាញពីជីវភាពប្រជាជន ផ្សារ ការនេសាទ និងសង្គ្រាមជាមួយចាម។

Media

Gallery & Sound

វិចិត្រសាល

Play soundscape

Ambient temple soundscape · Pinpeat ensemble

Synthesised tones · In-house Original