3380 CAMBODIA (Phnom Penh) - Norodom Sihanouk Memorial

The Norodom Sihanouk Memorial is a monument commemorating former King Norodom Sihanouk located in Phnom Penh. The bronze statue is 4.5 meters tall and is housed under a 27 meter high stupa in the park east of the Independence Monument. Norodom Sihanouk died on October 15, 2012, at the age of 89, in Beijing, China, and survived by his son, current King Norodom Sihamoni, and his wife, Norodom Monineath. The statue is dedicated to Sihanouk's accomplishment on liberating the country on November 9, 1953 from French Protectorate in Cambodia.

3376 CAMBODIA - Royal Ploughing Ceremony

The Royal Ploughing Ceremony is an ancient royal rite held in many Asian countries to mark the traditional beginning of the rice growing season. In the various versions of Ramayana, Sita, the heroine appears from the ploughed earth as a baby when Janaka, the king of Videha ploughs the field in the royal ceremony. This is the earliest historical account of this agricultural ritual Sita#Birth. Traditionally, the ceremony is performed in the month Pisak of the Khmer calendar (usually in May, after european calendar), but varies as it is determined by Hora, marking the beginning of the rainy season.

1160 CAMBODIA (Siem Reap) - Traditional Apsara dancer

Apsaras are female spirits of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, assimilated to some extent with nymphs from european mythology. They are youthful and elegant, and superb in the art of dancing, being associated with fertility rites. They are often the wives of the Gandharvas, the court musicians of Indra. They dance to the music made by the Gandharvas, usually in the palaces of the gods, entertain and sometimes seduce gods and men. They are said to be able to change their shape at will, and rule over the fortunes of gaming and gambling. Apsaras represent an important motif in the stone bas-reliefs of the Angkorian temples in Cambodia, about which I wrote here.

0092, 0171, 0534, 1004, 1005, 1044 CAMBODIA (Siem Reap) - Angkor (UNESCO WHS)

Posted on 06.01.2012, 14.04.2012, 02.03.2013, 16.02.2014 and 03.04.2014
Subjected to the Indian influences, passed through filters Thai or Lao, for more than 1,000 years, the Khmer have created firstly kingdoms of Funan and Chenla, to achieve peak during the Khmer Empire (centuries 9th-15th), of which greatest material legacy is Angkor, the site of the capital city during the empire's zenith. The spiritual legacy is Theravada Buddhism, introduced to the area through monks from Sri Lanka in the 13th century, considered for centuries an esential element of the khmer's ethnic and cultural identity. If about the early days of the empire we don't know too much, after the 13th century Angkor was visited by many travelers, starting with chinese Zhou Daguan and continuing with Portuguese and Spanish missionaries. The Khmer already constructed the most important architectural masterpieces in the area known as Angkor, the largest preindustrial city in the world, with more than one million inhabitants. .Angkor, located to the north of the Great Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site from 1992.

The principal temple, Angkor Wat (in the first three postcards), was built between 1113 and 1150 by King Suryavarman II, as his personal temple mausoleum. It’s the world's largest religious building and it has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag. Very well preserved, it’s the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation - first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The most comprehensive presentation of the temple and the most easily accessible to a wide public seems to be that of The Monuments of the Angkor Group by Maurice Glaize, published in 1944 in Saigon. I will quote only a few short, but representative fragments, a "snack" if you like:

"Angkor may be visited in all seasons. However the most favourable period extends from November to March, during the first months of the dry season, when the temperature is particularly clement. […] It is preferable, particularly in the hot season, to leave early in the morning and to return before eleven o'clock, and not to revisit in the afternoon until three or four o'clock - the light at the end of the day being generally more favourable. The majority of the monuments - and in particular Angkor Wat - lose much in being viewed against the light. […] We would especially recommend the setting of the sun at Angkor Wat, where sometimes the spectacle will include the flight of the bats in the fading light, or from the top of Phnom Bakheng or Phnom Krom, or the terrace of the Srah Srang - or else from the beach of the baray, where the bathing is delightful. Finally, if you have the opportunity, do not miss, by the light of the full moon, the second level courtyard of Angkor Wat at the foot of the central tower, or the upper terrace of the Bayon."

"Constructed to the south of the capital (Angkor Thom), Angkor Wat is sited in the south-east corner of the ancient city of Angkor - Yasodharapura - built by Yasovarman I, centred on Phnom Bakheng and which stretched between the Siem Reap river to the east and the dike of the baray to the west. […] Isolated from the forest by its moats, Angkor Wat was, of all the monuments of the group, the best placed to escape the invasion of the jungle and hence ruin. Moreover, following the establishment of Buddhism of the small vehicle, it has always sheltered pagodas, as a place of pilgrimage for the Khmer, within its enclosure - though at one time partially masking the main façade these had to be re-sited in order not to detract from the overall perspective."

 

Another very interesting work that talks also about Angkor is Voyage dans les royaumes de Siam, de Cambodge, de Laos et autres parties centrales de l'Indo-Chine (Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China, Cambodia and Laos During the Years 1858,1859, and 1860), by Henri Mouhot, published in 1863 in Paris. Mouhot is the one who popularized Angkor in the West, naming it "the work of the King of Angels."

In the fourth postcard are two Apsaras, females spirits of the clouds and waters in Hindu and Buddhist mythology (also known as Vidhya Dhari or Tep Apsar in Khmer, which means "nymph" or "celestial maiden"). Beautiful, youthful and elegant, often the wives of the Gandharvas (the court musicians of Indra), Apsaras are superb in the art of dancing, seducing equally gods and men. As caretakers of fallen heroes, they may be compared to the valkyries of Norse mythology, and as ethereal beings often depicted taking flight, to angels, but sometimes are also compared to the muses of ancient Greece. Probably due to the association with water, they are able to change their shape at will. Apsaras represent an important motif in the stone bas-reliefs of the Angkorian temples, but not all female images are considered to be apsaras, the ones who have static attitude being called devatas. Angkor Wat features both apsaras and devatas, but the devatas are the most numerous. Khmer classical dance, the indigenous ballet-like performance art, is frequently called "Apsara Dance" and reflects one of the origin myths in Cambodia, depicting the union of Mera, a celestial dancer, and Kambu, a wise man.

Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon Temple (in the fifth postcard) stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom, meaning the intersection of heaven and earth. Following Jayavarman's death, it was modified and augmented by later Hindu and Theravada Buddhist kings in accordance with their own religious preferences. Bayon is known for its huge stone faces of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, with one facing outward and keeping watch at each compass point. The curious smiling image, thought by many to be a portrait of Jayavarman himself, has been dubbed by some the "Mona Lisa of Southeast Asia." There are 51 smaller towers surrounding Bayon, each with four faces of its own. The temple is known also for two impressive sets of bas-reliefs, which present an unusual combination of mythological, historical, and mundane scenes. I have to appeal again to the book The Monuments of the Angkor Group, comprehensive and accessible:

 

"Separated by less than a century, the Bayon is the antithesis of Angkor Wat. While this latter sits at ease in its successive enclosure walls, realising according to a spacious plan a vast architectural composition through the harmonious equilibrium of its towers and its galleries, the Bayon, enclosed within the rectangle of 140 metres by 160 that constitutes its third enclosure (the gallery of the bas-reliefs), gives the impression of being compressed within a frame which is too tight for it. Like a cathedral built on the site of a village church, its central mass is crammed into its second gallery, of 70 metres by 80, in a jumbled confusion of piled blocks."[…]

0723 CAMBODIA (Phnom Penh) - A fruit market

It is said that South East Asia’s markets are some of the most interesting of the world, and the Cambodia's ones aren't exceptions. Obviously that in such a traditional market (psah) the fruit and vegetables section isn't the most attractive from the point of view of smell, but has without doubt the most colorful stalls. Needless to say that Cambodia, as a tropical country, has a wealth of fresh fruits on daily offer. Moreover, fruits in this country are so popular, that they have their own royal court: the durian is considered the king, the mangosteen the queen, sapodilla the prince, and the milk fruit the princess.

0439 CAMBODIA - A Buddhist monk with its traditional kasava

Buddhism is one of the oldest religion still practiced, so the Buddhist Monasticism is also one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism, the order of Buddhist monks and nuns being founded by Gautama Buddha himself, over 2500 years ago. The Buddhist monastic order is theoretically divided into two assemblies, the male Bhikkhu, and the female Bhikkhuni. Monks and nuns are expected to fulfill a variety of roles in the community, to preserve the doctrine and discipline, to provide a living example for the laity, to live an austere life focused on the study of Buddhist doctrine, the practice of meditation, and the observance of good moral character. Unlike Christian monastics, the Buddhist ones aren't required to be obedient to a superior, but it's expected that they will offer respect to senior members of the Sangha (community). In generally, the groups of monastics make decisions collectively, and individual relationships of teacher/student, senior/junior, and preceptor/trainee are no formal positions.

0382 CAMBODIA - Public transport, Cambodian style

Wikipedia say that "war and continuing fighting severely damaged Cambodia's transportation system - a system that had been inadequately developed in peacetime", and that "only about 50 percent of the roads and highways were covered with asphalt and were in good condition; about 50 percent of the roads were made of crushed stone, gravel, or improved earth; and the remaining approximately 30 percent were unimproved earth or were little more than tracks."

0257 CAMBODIA (Preah Vihear) - Temple of Preah Vihear (UNESCO WHS)

Built by the Khmer between 9th and 12-th centuries, hindu temple of Preah Vihear was designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2008. Situated atop Pey Tadi (525m), a steep cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, practically on the border between Cambodia and Thailand, it belonged successively both countries, during different periods, area being claimed by both countries, in the last hundred years. In 1962 the International Court of Justice in The Hague awarded the temple to Cambodia, but the territorial dispute continued, military actions causing damage to the monument. In 2011, the same international body ordered that both countries immediately withdraw their military forces, and further imposed restrictions on their police forces.