Heritage site
Banteay Prei Nokor
បន្ទាយព្រៃនគរ
Banteay Prei Nokor (បន្ទាយព្រៃនគរ, Banteay Prei Nokor) is a temple complex of sandstone and laterite near Kampong Cham city, Cambodia.[1] It is known locally as Wat Nokor and Wat Angkor, and it stands about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the provincial capital.[2]
History
Accounts of the temple's age differ. One gives the 11th century and the reign of King Suryavarman II for its core.[3] Another dates the monument to the last years of the reign of King Jayavarman VII.[2] The complex is believed to have been his headquarters for a time, and from here he extended his influence over nearby principalities.[1]
A local legend tells how the temple began. A seer warned a king that his son would kill him, so the king sent the boy away. The son survived and came back without knowing who his father was. He killed the king after a quarrel and married the queen, his mother. When he learned the truth, he built the temple as an act of penance.[2]
Theravada Buddhism spread through Cambodia between the 14th and 16th centuries, and the sanctuary slowly became a Theravada monastery. Wooden and masonry buildings rose among the older stone.[3] By the 20th century it was a living monastery with resident monks, daily offerings and new halls decorated with Buddhist stories.[3] Monks still sweep its courtyards, and local women bring offerings.[3]
The site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on September 1, 1992, in the Cultural category. The Cambodian government withdrew it from the list in 2022.[1]
Architecture and layout
The complex faces east at a bearing of about 84.5 degrees and covers about 15 hectares (37 acres).[2] A central tower stands inside four laterite enclosure walls.[1] The outer rectangular wall measures about 420 by 370 meters (1,380 by 1,210 feet), and the inner wall about 100 by 130 meters (330 by 430 feet).[2] Inside are galleries, courtyards and shrines that lead toward the central sanctuary.[3]
The temple is built of black sandstone, which sets it apart from other temples of its period.[1] It is the largest of the old temple complexes in Kampong Cham Province.[1] A newer temple in a very different style was built over and around the original Angkorian structure, so the two styles now stand together.[1]
A large baray, or reservoir, lies about 350 meters (1,150 feet) east of the temple and measures about 950 by 480 meters (3,120 by 1,570 feet).[2] It has been abandoned. In the mid-20th century the reservoir area was used as a hippodrome, a track for horse racing, and traces of that use can still be seen.[2]
Art and inscriptions
The central tower carries motifs in the style of the Bayon, with Buddhist scenes on its pediments, the triangular panels above the doorways.[1] The complex has false doors and windows framed by small columns, and carved sandstone lintels, the stone beams over doorways, showing deities and scenes from myth.[3] An inscription stands in the central pavilion.[1]
A modern vihara, or prayer hall, stands inside the old enclosure. It holds seated Buddha images and offerings, and its walls carry brightly colored murals of the life of the Buddha and the Jataka stories of his earlier lives.[3] The new paintings stand out against the older, darkened sandstone.[3]
Visiting
A sign at the entrance gives the temple's official name as Nokor Bachey Temple (ប្រាសាទនគរបាជ័យ).[1][4] Visitors may see and even touch the inscription in the central pavilion.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., Banteay Prey Nokor - Wikipedia (2009-02-20)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 The Traveler, Kampong Cham Temples Explained: Wat Nokor and Ancient Ruins (2026-02-14)
- ↑ Wikipedia, Banteay Prey Nokor