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Within Angkor Thom, one can admire the famous Bayon Temple,
which emerges from the jungle as an incredible forest of
heads. Built by Jayavarman VII in the twelfth century, its
100 meter wide extending 12 kilometers, larger than any
city of medieval Europe and is protected by a population
of as many as one million people.
It now encloses a dense tropical jungle that appears to
have stood the test of eternity in silence.
The smoky colours of the Bayon add to the eeriness and gives
a haunting impression of all Khmer monuments. Its 45 meter
high tower is topped by four huge carved heads, and surrounded
by 54 towers, at different levels, each containing four
mysterious smiling faces. These faces are said to resemble
Jayavarman VII himself as the omnipresence of the Bodhisattva
Avalokitesvaara.
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