Cambodia: Angkor Wat – Bas-relief Galleries
Angkor Wat is famous for insane amount of galleries of bas-reliefs depicting different mythologic Hindu stories and actual historical events – 1200 square meters of carvings! Bas-relieves cover the walls of the lower-level galleries of the rectangular structures built at the periphery of the inner temples. In total, there are eight sections of bas-reliefs, each with a different theme. The carved scenes are extremely elaborate and extensive – processions of the kings, fighting with mythical creatures, battle scenes, heaven and hell, and so on. One of the best bas-reliefs is to be found on the wall of the east gallery of Angkor. The myth of creation, displayed as the Churning of the Sea of Milk unfolds across nearly 50m of continuous panel scenes. The gods and demons pull back and forth on the serpent, churning the cosmic sea to produce the elixir of immortality aka amrita. The composition of the entire relief appears as a massive single chain of movement.all together – absolutely mind blowing and very well-preserved, a true wonder of the world!
