Angkor National Museum

We spent almost four hours in the National Museum of Angkor and it is very well done and air conditioned as well which made for a pleasant afternoon. It documents the Khmer Empire (802-1431 AD): a Hindu-Buddhist empire centered around hydraulic cities. The time lines are defined after the empire's most well known capital and UNESCO heritage site, Angkor. Pre Angkor (about 100-800 AD), Angkor (800-1400 AD) and post Angkor (1400 AD-present). Galleries were devoted to various timelines and themes.

The relationship and interplay between Hinduism and Buddhism is complex. Both have their origins in India and the Buddha, one of mankind's great spiritual luminaries, was born Prince Siddhartha Gautama in 563 BC in Nepal. From a simplistic point of view, the Hindu beliefs are contained in four scriptures making up the Vedas. Three main "God" players are Brahma (The Creator), Vishnu (The Protector), and Shiva (The Destroyer). In addition there is "animism" which roughly defined is belief systems about the natural world. Mount Meru is conceptualized as the center of the Hindu universe and the temples of the Angkor period were designed so Meru, was the central structure and the moat around the temple represented the oceans. Of interest is the lotus which we see for sale near any Buddhist temple and a symbol in a variety of ways for Egyptians, Hindus and Buddhists.

The styling of the sandstone statues and carvings changed over time and scholars can identify all the various periods depending on the features. King Jayaraman VII who reigned 1181-1219 AD (European Middle Ages and Doug noted the equal quality of carving to that seen in churches of the Medieval period) is generally considered to be Cambodia's greatest king and is still revered today. He was both a great military leader who expanded the empire to its zenith and also regarded as a man of compassion for his subjects.

The evolution of Buddhism into the Khmer civilization while respecting Hinduism was a major achievement. The museum did not have a section on what happened to this great civilization, but we had seen an IMAX film previously which postulated climate change: a drought that lasted so long, all the people left. Of interest, there was no jewelry or other objects as part of the museum, although certainly their costumes suggest jewelry was worn.Read more