The Royal Enclosure - Cambodia
The palace itself was constructed of wood so nothing remains except for said surrounding walls which were constructed out of laterite, the sandstone-clad entrance gopuras and some stone lined bathing pools.
The Royal Enclosure is a walled-off area slightly to the north and west of the centre of Angkor Tom and which housed the palace complex of the Angkor kings. The palace itself was constructed of wood so nothing remains except for said surrounding walls which were constructed out of laterite, the sandstone-clad entrance gopuras and some stone lined bathing pools. The remains as seen today date from the late 12th c. and the reign of Jayarvarman VII but kings going back to at least Suryavarman I are thought to have sited their palaces at, or close by to, this site.
The 2 largest pools, known as the King’s pool and the Queen’s pool, (or ‘baths of the men’ and ‘baths of the women’), still contain water and are lined with laterite and fringed by carved sandstone steps.
The carvings on the south and west sides of the larger of the 2 pools are particularly spectacular being well-preserved and with a wide range of subject matter. It appears sculptors were allowed a bit more free rein to indulge their imaginations here than at some of the actual temples and a variety of water creatures and monsters vie with the ‘standard’ apsaras, garudas and demons.
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