Ta Prohm: "The Tree Temple"


 

Ta Prohm Temple is definitely my favorite temple beyond main Angkor Wat.  When the entire archeological complex was "discovered" by the French in the 19th Century, most of it was in ruins and they embarked on a decades-long restoration project.  Though the French are no longer in charge of Cambodia, constant restoration efforts are continuing at the Angkor complex to make sure the temples survive into the next decades.

The French made a brilliant decision when they started their restoration to keep one of the temples in the semi-ruined state that they found the entire site.  They chose Ta Prohm to keep in a semi-ruined state, though some restoration is constantly done there, just to keep the structures from completely falling down.

Ta Prohm is somewhat unique also, in that, while parts of it served as a temple, the majority of the structure served as a monastery and has a distinctive design as opposed to what one would find at more-standard temples.   

Ta Prohm today is an aesthetic triumph that carries a romantic appeal for most visitors. One can almost visualize Indiana Jones searching for some lost treasure amidst the semi-ruins.  What's particularly unique are the silk-cotton and strangler fig trees that are interlaced among the structures of Ta Prohm.  I will refrain from further comment and let my pictures do the rest of the talking. 
















Look very closely and you will see the bas relief sculpture now almost completely surrounded by the tree.






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