Preah Khan is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built in the 12th century for King Jayavarman VII to honor his father. It is located northeast of Angkor Thom and just west of the Jayatataka baray, with which it was associated. It was the centre of a substantial organisation, with almost 100,000 officials and servants. The temple is flat in design, with a basic plan of successive rectangular galleries around a Buddhist sanctuary complicated by Hindu satellite temples and numerous later additions. Like the nearby Ta Prohm, Preah Khan has been left largely unrestored, with numerous trees and other vegetation growing among the ruins.
Preah Khan
One Gigantic Guardian Dvarapala at the West Entrance to the Interior Galleries, photo taken in 1942.
The fourth enclosure wall bears 5 m garudas holding nagas. Buddha images in the niches above were systematically destroyed during the reign of Jayavarman VIII.
The purpose of this two-storied building with round columns is unknown.
Angkor, also known as Yasodharapura, was the capital city of the Khmer Empire. The city and empire flourished from approximately the 9th to the 15th centuries. The city houses the Angkor Wat, one of Cambodia's most popular tourist attractions.
Angkor Wat
South gate into Angkor Thom
Angkor Wat at sunrise
Suryavarman II
