Angkor Wat Part 2: What a Relief!

Many of the temples of Angkor are covered in massive bas reliefs. These reliefs depict historic events and contain lots of religious imagery. Many bas reliefs in the Buddhist temples contained large empty spaces where images of the Buddha had been removed by Hindu leaders. Although the historical significance of the reliefs is generally lost on me, what is really surprising is what good quality most of the reliefs are still in, especially considering they are 600-1,000 years old.

Human battle.

Rooster battle.

A "stick in the eye" specialist.

Some bas reliefs are shiny from being rubbed by foreigners as well as Cambodians in search of protection from the Khmer Rouge. No surprises about which parts get rubbed the most.