Building materials for the temple complexes included brick, timber, stucco, sandstone and laterite. Grey-green sandstone, quarried from the Kulen hills 19 miles northeast of Angkor, was used for decorating door and window openings and for the intricate bas-relief and high-relief carvings found throughout all of the temples. It replaced brick in the 10th century and its use was extended to facades, roofs and galleries. Laterite, a mud stone that is soft when quarried but hardens in the sun, was used for foundations, the internal structure of thick walls, plinths, bridges and roads.

Angkor Wat ("wat" is the Thai word for temple) was built in the first half of the 12th century and dedicated to Vishnu, the Hindu god revered as the preserver of life. It is an immense sandstone creation that requires a good bit of exploration to grasp its complexity. It occupies 500 acres; its perimeter is 3 1/2 miles long; and the enclosure wall is surrounded by a moat 200 feet wide. The 820-foot causeway leading to the temple is built of irregularly shaped sandstone blocks. The central tower is built on three progressively smaller and higher rectangular platforms, making it appear higher than it really is; the third platform supports five conical-shaped towers, four at the corners and one in the center. The overall profile imitates a lotus bud.

As you approach the entrance, the beautifully proportioned symmetry of the temple draws your eye to the left, to the right and then up to the tower. Walking along the causeway, you pass through a great courtyard where there are two jewel-like buildings, referred to as libraries, on either side -- each perfectly proportioned in the shape of a cross with a large central area, four porches, columns and steps. But this still doesn't yet reached the temple proper.

The central sanctuary is built on three levels, with galleries featuring thousands of bas-relief carvings in sandstone. In one gallery, over 1,500 apsaras (celestial dancers) perform their joyous rituals. The initial effect is overwhelming and on close inspection, it becomes clear that they are all different -- hair styles, jewelry, headdresses and costumes all vary from figure to figure. In the largest of the galleries, there are 12,900 square feet of sandstone carvings depicting stories based on Indian epics, sacred books and warfare of the Angkor period. Mythical battle scenes show troops marching, hand-to-hand combat, flying arrows and commanders giving orders from the backs of elephants.

The third level of the sanctuary is the base of the five towers. There are 12 sets of stairs with 40 steps in each that ascend at a 70-degree angle to the top. Looking up, the climb is a daunting proposition -- especially if you're carrying two cameras and have film, lenses and guidebook stuffed in your pockets. But once at the top, the reward of the spectacular view of all Angkor Wat is well worth it. From that height, the overall plan of the temple becomes clear, and its beautiful symmetry and pleasing proportions demonstrate the mastery of the Khmer artists and architects.

The best approach to Angkor Thom, the "Great Capital City," is through the south gate, where 108 stone figures -- gods on the left and demons on the right -- hold the scaly body of the naga, with its nine heads spread in the shape of a fan to guard the entrance to the city. Enclosed by a laterite wall two miles long on each side and surrounded by a 328-foot-wide moat, the city may have held a population as large as one million people. Called splendid and opulent by writers of its history, the city served as the religious and administrative center of the Khmer Empire at the end of the 12th century. Within its walls are some of the greatest monumental structures remaining in Southeast Asia.

The Bayon is the Buddhist temple that dates to the 13th century and was built 100 years after Angkor Wat. There are 200 large faces carved on its 54 towers, with enigmatic smiles that leave one pondering their significance and meaning. Two great galleries of sandstone bas relief carvings depict scenes from everyday life, important battles and the lives of the gods. Nearly life-size bas reliefs of elephants hunting and fighting off tigers grace the facade of the Terrace of the Elephants that may once have served as the base for wooden pavilions. The Terrace of the Leper King, whose naked figure is depicted in a seated statue with its right knee raised, may have been the royal crematorium.

The exquisite 10th century temple of Bantay Srei -- the "citadel of the women" -- sits in the forest about 20 miles outside of the main Angkor complex. The intricate decorative carvings cover the pink sandstone temples and shrines like a fairy tale tapestry. Unlike the massive proportions of the other Angkor temples, Bantay Srei is petite, remarkably well preserved, and has been called the jewel of Khmer art. Hardly any space has been left uncarved with delicate foliage designs entwined with geometric patterns. Relief narrative scenes are carved in the tympanums and on the frames of arches, doors and windows. Standing figures in the niches are male and female gods; the females richly bejeweled with heavy earrings, necklaces, arm and ankle bracelets while the males, dressed in simple loincloths stand guard holding a lance, a lotus or another icon.

There are many other temples within the Angkor complex that deserve special attention and exploration -- Neak Pean, the Khmer equivalent of a spa where pilgrims could take the waters; Preah Khan, a monastery and teaching center that guards the sacred sword; Preah Rup, a temple-mountain symbolizing Mount Meru that is associated with funeral and cremation rites; but unless one is moved to spend a month or more in exploration, time simply runs out.

Sidebar:
Feeling the history of Angor

It's just after sunrise and already it's near 90 degrees. The humid morning mist still hugs the ground, magenta-feathered birds sing their melodies, and shadows cast by the towering fig and kapok trees on the ruins of Ta Prohm create just the spooky kind of atmosphere that makes you feel for one brief moment that you're an explorer about to stumble onto a spectacular discovery. There were no other tourists at the temple site yet, and we were loving that special time when we had the place to ourselves. Ta Prohm remains untouched by restoration except for clearing walkways through the broken and tumbled down stones and some structural strengthening to prevent further deterioration. The fig, banyan and kapok trees spread their gigantic roots over, around and between the temple's walls and foundations, devouring some and holding some together. Overhead, branches merge together and form a green canopy where birds and monkeys play. In its day, Ta Prohm was a rich and well-populated monastery complex that owned over 3,000 villages. It took nearly 80,000 people -- from high priests to dancers and musicians - to maintain the temple, and among its possessions were a set of golden dishes that weighed 1,100 pounds as well as thousands of precious gems, diamonds and pearls. I think I can hear the musicians tuning up now.