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In the south of Laos, in Champasak Province near the Cambodian border, some 200 km from Angkor Wat and about a one hour drive from Pakse on a good road, is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Vat Phou. It is an exceptional archeological site originating in the 6th century and thriving until the 15th Century. Its influences come from Khmer, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions that blend elegantly in its architectural, ritualistic, and artistic designs. Construction on what we see today as Vat Phou started around 1000AD, and bears clear visions of Hinduism. Taking advantage of a natural axis from Phou Kao Mountain - from which flows a natural spring that is still considered sacred nowadays - to the Mekong River, the ancient khmers designed a geometric pattern of temples, shrines, and man-made waterways. The deliberately chosen location of Vat Phou along an east – west axis, is coupled with the fact that the peak of Phou Kao Mountain is shaped like a lingam. Such a phallic shape is usually associated with the Hindu God Shiva, as is the worship of the rising sun, hence the east – west alignment of the temple. After centuries of lying in ruin, hidden within the jungle, a French explorer, Henri Pamentier, rediscovered Vat Phou in 1914. After photographing the site, it once again disappeared form the world’s consciousness. Interest resurrected itself again in the mid 1980’s when UNESCO initiated an archaeological survey of the site. This survey led to heritage legislation being implemented, with the conferring of protected status being given to the site in 2001.
Vat Phou is known for the intricacy of its carvings. I entered the East West Corridor Northern Palace. High above on the corner was a naga ante-fix "snake heads" staring out onto the grounds warning off any who would come too near. The two tiered triangular pediments form a truss like structure for the roof beams which originally enclosed the great corridors truly giving the impression of a vast temple pointing to the heavens. This was surely Shiva's earthly home. Vat Phou is built largely of sandstone, a medium that lends itself to the elaborate decorative wall carvings which are still observable today. The buildings themselves are miniature in scale, unusually so when measured by the standards of Angkorian construction. These factors have made this temple a pleasure to explore, and have led to its being widely praised as a "precious gem", or the "jewel of Khmer art.". Vat Phou in Champasak is a scaled down version of Angkor Wat but that can only mean a change for an almost tourist free experience at a one of the most significant Buddhist religious sites of Laos. I enjoy to photograph ruins, trying to catch that ancient atmosphere. Here you don't feel like a tourist but more like an explorer.
Het Wat Phou tempelcomplex ligt op een uurtje fietsen vanaf Champasak. Een fiets kun je voor 0,50 per dag huren via je guesthouse. Je kunt Wat Phou ook met een gecharterde tuk-tuk bereiken. Wat Phou betekent in het Laotiaans bergklooster. De Wat Phou, de meest interessante Khmer-ruine buiten, ligt op 8 kilometer ten zuidwesten van Champasak. Het is in feite een verzameling tempels en heiligdommen aan de voet van de Lingaparvata berg. Het Khmertempelcomplex werd in de 9de eeuw door koning Jayavarman IV als Shiva-heiligdom gebouwd. In vroegere tijden verbond een 200 km lange weg deze tempel met Angkor Wat in Cambodja. Hoewel de plek nu verbonden is met het Theravada Boeddhisme, wijzen zandstenen reliefs erop dat de ruines ooit aan de Hindoe-goden gewijd waren. Met de ondergang van het Angkor rijk werd Wat Phou overwoekerd door de jungle. In 2001 is Wat Phou door UNESCO uitgeroepen tot een World Heritage Site. Met steun van de UNESCO zijn restauratiewerkzaamheden in volle gang. UNESCO heeft inmiddels wel geleerd van eerdere restauratiewerkzaamheden aan Angkor Wat. De inmiddels gestarte herstelwerkzaamheden stuitten daar op opmerkelijk verzet van deze bezoekers. Ze waren ontstemd over de pogingen het overwoekerende oerwoud terug te dringen. Voor hen werden een paar gebouwen ongemoeid gelaten, zodat het beeld gelijk bleef aan de op foto's vastgelegde dromen die ze, eerder thuis hadden gezien. Gelukkig krijg je hier als je door de gedeeltelijk overgroeide ruïnes dwaalt een goede indruk hoe groot het complex geweest moet zijn. Boven op de heuvel staat een verborgen tempel in het oerwoud. Je voelt je even geen toerist maar ontdekkings-reiziger! Vanaf de boven op een heuvel gelegen centrale tempel kijk je uit over een groot deel van het complex en de in de verte gelegen Mekong.
mikazu001 on vacation, and 199 other people added this photo to their favorites.
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JACQUELINE :-o( GALERIA CERRADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [deleted] 38 months ago | reply
This excellent photo was seen in
Stela Plamada [deleted] 38 months ago | reply
Indeed ! Great title, Ben ! Wonderful place ! Excellent imagine !
Frizztext 38 months ago | reply
dank je wel for supporting my abc project
www.flickr.com/groups/abc-visualized/discuss/721576234070...
V for Vat Phou
Gregor Samsa 37 months ago | reply
ancient ... touching shot
JACQUELINE :-o( GALERIA CERRADAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA [deleted] 37 months ago | reply
This wonderful image was seen in
Élite Group
i n i m i n i 36 months ago | reply
this photo brought me unspeakable calmness and excitement all at once- thanks so much!
texastravel 36 months ago | reply
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Great World Architecture, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Tony Carlos Br 34 months ago | reply
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isisconstancerose 34 months ago | reply
HI I am making a music video for a friend and i am doing green screen and wonder if you would let me use some of your landscapes as a background. Credit for you of course...
Thanks
Constance
dmott9 33 months ago | reply
Wow, majestic perspective
[ via 'Better Than Good - Level 1 (P1/A5) Sweeper in use NO PEOPLE' group on flickriver --dmott9 ]
k33rm [deleted] 32 months ago | reply
such an ambient photo :) I like it a lot
Emotioned.com 28 months ago | reply
www.flickr.com/search/?s=int&ss=2&w=all&q=asi...
Maureclaire 21 months ago | reply
This is one of the best images ever!
You deserve an award from...
Best Images Ever
Maureclaire 21 months ago | reply
Wow ! This is amazing, Ben !!!
aartime728 21 months ago | reply
You know I have decided, you need your own TV show....:)
This is one of the best images ever!
You deserve an award from...
Best Images Ever
lovemyblackcat 21 months ago | reply
Wow..beautiful
vytko1.618 20 months ago | reply
amazing
vytko1.618 20 months ago | reply
god like photo!
Frizztext 13 months ago | reply
beste Ben,
thank you for sending your photo to my group BLOG IT!
So I could introduce your picture in my V-archive at
flickrcomments.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/the-v-photo-archive/
I hope, that will support your work!
Lil [Kristen Elsby] 5 months ago | reply
Again, what I saw today looked amazing different - almost like a different place! No greenery, no mist, and most of the interiors of buildings within the site off-limits.