These are all words that sprung to my mind when exploring the jungle temple of Ta Prohm, by far my favourite of the temples around Siem Reap. Unlike most of the temples of Angkor, Ta Prohm has been largely left to the clutches of the living jungle, making it a dynamic interaction between Nature and man-made works of art, and a photographer's dream location.....
Construction on Ta Prohm began in 1186 AD. Originally known as Rajavihara (Monastery of the King), it was a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of King Jayavarman VII. Sadly, Ta Prohm was looted quite heavily in recent years due to its relative isolation, and many of its ancient stone reliquaries have been lost.
Visitors to Ta Prohm can't help but feel a little like Indiana Jones or Lara Croft (which was filmed here) as they pick through the rubble of the ruins....
Wow, amazing and beautiful! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow . . . I can't believe that the trees (those are trees, right.) have grown right into the ruins. That is so beautiful! Hard to believe you can just walk among this space. Really great pictures, Nat!
ReplyDeleteThis place is a lost city and fills the imagination with mysteries and stories. Your photos are fabulous, and I can imagine squeals of delight at all you camera captured. The one with the hand and pointing finger is delightfully creepy!
ReplyDeleteBises,
Genie
Dear Nat- that really is otherworldly, the trees and their growth are extraordinary. That puts paid to H always saying to me that the plants in our garden need more compost and soil. They can obviously do very well left to their own devices without soil at all - the trees look like aliens creeping over the buildings.
ReplyDeleteI would have been in surreal heaven! This is magical looking thanks so much for sharing these. It's almost like the trees are taking back the temples into the earth. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI love how the trees have taken root giving it that other worldly feel. Great pictures, Nat. Yet another place to add to the wish list! x
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteWow! So beautiful and so spooky looking. It does look like a movie set.
ReplyDeleteFantastic images! What an amazing and beautiful place to visit.
ReplyDeleteCrikey, those are the coolest trees I've ever seen!
ReplyDeleteWow, that's amazing, simply amazing! Great pictures!
ReplyDeleteOh my word! This place is stunning. I would much rather explore a place like this than somewhere crouded or modern.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments everyone! Really an amazing place to visit...
ReplyDeleteMindboggling images Nat, I had heard about Ta Prohm, but these pictures show it so well. Your whole trip has been so beautifully shown here. It sort of reminds me of our trip to Egypt, everything is just so BIG and ancient and 'un western', fascinating!
ReplyDeleteI would be in photo op heaven...
ReplyDeletewhat a great site to wander around.