The Bayon was one of my favourite places at Angkor complex. The faces of buddha/King Jayavarman VII are everywhere, there were originally 49 towers, now there are 37, each is decorated with the faces, sometimes on all 4 sides, sometimes two or three sides. It is believed that his face in all directions represents his omnipresence and power. It was built late 12th Century to early 13th century
Like Borobudur Angkot temples were lost to the jungles overgrown and forgotten. For a long time after they were rediscovered it was not realised that The Bayon was located at the geographical centre of the city of Angkor.
It is a maze of levels, corridors, and stairs, from a distance it looks like a pile of rubble, but when you get close all the towers, doorways and the 216 enigmatic smiling faces become clear. It is decorated with bas relief carvings depicting life at the time.
I hope he liked the carvings of his face - it would be a bit depressing to have lots of bad carvings of your face looking around at you! Great capture of the textures in the stonework too.
Gosh that's mesmerising... I think I could spend all day counting them and still miss some! Again the B&W gives it a real pop. @alia_801 Hahahha good point!! :)
@alia_801 Hahahha good point!! :)