Lost City of Isanapura: World Heritage Site


 

Last post of my Cambodian trip.  It seemed crazy to omit a UNESCO World Heritage Site from my blog, so here's a brief entry about Sambor Prei Kuk and its dozens of temples and ancient structures. The site dates back to the late 6th Century--centuries older than Angkor Wat.  This temple complex has been identified as the lost city of Isanapura, capital city of the Chenla civilization, which pre-dates the Angkor Khmer period.

These temples are located halfway between Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) and Phnom Penh.  I had flown to Siem Reap, but there were no flights back to Phnom Penh on the day I needed to get back, so I booked a car and driver and arranged a stop at the Sambor Prei Kuk complex along the way. 

There are several clusters of temples and I visited two of the largest.  The temples are still in the renovation process, but several are reasonably intact. The site contains unique constructions, primarily Hindu in nature. There are religious monuments, statuary, hydrological engineering features, and other indications of a surprisingly advanced civilization for the time.

When hiking through the tropical forest toward one of the temple clusters, it really felt as though I was taking a walk into a lost world.  Not only can travel inform us, but it can also offer our imaginations portals into the past.



My hike through the tropical forest to one of the temple complexes. I was the only international visitor on that day and there were very few others around as well, allowing me an unbothered tour of Sambor Prei Kuk. 







Some of the temples were lacking their roofs, but that made for some arresting views of the temple structures.




Much of the statuary has crumbled away, but there are still some examples of the art that adorned the temples.

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