After flying around the globe and stopping at world-class destinations, I realized that the only “fabric” that weaves these different places together is stone. Whether it’s the carved Mesozoic sandstone of Angkor Wat, the Neoproterozoic marble of the Taj Mahal, the Archean granite of the Serengeti plains, or the Eocene limestone of Egyptian temples and tombs, stone is the most basic material that shaped structures and allowed civilizations to develop. Few of us came on this exotic journey to learn about stone, yet nearly every stop was shaped by stone in some way. I picked up this whirlwind story in Cambodia and its stone temples.
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| A French poster showcasing the splendor of Angkor Wat in Indochina (poster displayed at the Raffles Hotel) |
Cambodia – Siem Reap
On the other side of the globe, in Southeast Asia (although quite a distance in terms of culture, economy and cuisine), lies the temple complex of Angkor Wat. Nearby is the bustling city of over one million inhabitants, Siem Reap, close to Angkor Wat and the Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in Southeast Asia.
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| The new airport, funded by the Chinese government, opened in October. |
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| Tuk-tuks are a popular and inexpensive form of transport on the streets of Siem Reap. |
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| We stayed three nights at the Raffles Hotel, a colonial masterpiece in Siem Reap. |
Angkor Wat was built as a religious complex by King Suryavarman II in the 12th century. It is the largest religious complex in the world, covering over 400 acres. It took 28 years to build (1122-1150 AD) and the stones for the complex were quarried from the Krung Mountains 25 miles away. The rocks were transported on rafts in canals and by oxcarts over roads (see the second photo below). There are between 5 and 10 stones in the ruins. a million It contains far more stone than all the Egyptian pyramids combined, and its outer walls are 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) long and 4/5 kilometers (0.5 miles) wide — a truly magnificent monument to the Khmer Empire.
