Cambodian temple Ta Prohm and giant trees. Temples of Cambodia - Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm(Ta Prohm, Ta Prum, Ta Prohm, Ta Prohm) is one of the most impressive temples of Angkor. If you haven't been to Ta Prohm, you haven't been to Angkor. Among the people, another name has been assigned to Ta Prohm - Angelina Jolie Temple, because it was in Ta Prohm that many scenes of the film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” were filmed.

Ta Prohm– this is a must see. If you don’t have time to visit all the temples of Angkor, then, in principle, you can limit yourself to three: the temple itself, Bayon (part of the group of temples) and Ta Prohm (the temple of Lara Croft). Yes, this, of course, is very little, but still better than nothing.

Ta Prohm translated from Khmer means “ancestor of Brahma,” Brahma, in turn, is one of the main gods. But initially Ta Prohm had a different name: Rajavihara- “Royal Monastery”.

As I already said in the post about, Ta Prohm was built by King Jayavarman VII in honor of his mother Queen Jayarajakudamani.

Jayavarman VII identified his mother with Prajnaparmina - the mother of all gods, goddesses and all things, the goddess of “Perfect Wisdom”. Ta Prohm was consecrated personally by King Jayavarman VII in the 1186.

By tradition, I’ll tell you a little about the “entertaining” mathematics of Ta Prom, but this time it will be not so much entertaining numerology, but real numbers, statistics that allow us to understand the full scale of the royal monastery.

Entertaining mathematics Ta Proma:

• The area of ​​the entire Ta Prohm temple complex is approx. 700 thousand m². At the same time, the area of ​​​​the Ta Prohm temple itself is about 10 thousand m²;
• On the territory of the monastery lived 12,640 people, including:
• 18 high priests (high priests);
• 2 740 ordinary priests (clergy);
• 2 232 servant (assistant priests);
• 615 dancers (apsaras).
• In addition, the monastery was subordinate to 3,140 villages with the population 79,365 people And 102 hospitals(hello to the story about the leper king);
• According to the records of archaeologist F. Stern, Ta Prohm consisted of 39 “corns” (prasats), 566 stone and 288 brick structures;
• In addition to the statues dedicated to the mother of Jayavarman VII, in the role of the goddess of Perfect Wisdom, the temple also had statues in honor of 260 other less significant gods;
• The fact that the temple was treated with royal attention is also confirmed by the inventory of Ta Prohma's wealth. Thus, according to the records found, the following were stored and used in Ta Prohm:
• 5 tons gold utensils;
• 512 silk bedspreads;
• 523 silk umbrella.

But over the years, all these riches either migrated to other temples or were stolen by invaders, looters, colonialists, and the walls and buildings of the temple were gradually “eaten” by the jungle.

New "architecture" Ta Proma created by nature and time with the help of two types of plants:

Silk-cotton tree ( Ceiba Pentadra) are the largest trees in Ta Prohm. They are distinguished by thick, pale brown roots with a knotty structure.

Fig tree - strangler ( Ficus Gibbosa) - his distinguishing feature is that the roots of a tree grow from top to bottom, hanging from its crown like vines.

The thin, smooth root easily seeps into almost any crack or hole, gradually filling it with itself and making adjustments to the architecture of buildings.

But such deep penetration also has its downsides; if the tree dies, most often this entails the destruction of the entire structure.

Due to its “symbiosis” with the jungle, which modern archaeologists decided not to destroy, Ta Prohm has a very special atmosphere.

...It was as if the trees had been flooded.
Alexey Karmanov, traveler, 2006

It is not known whether the Cambodian authorities are familiar with the term product placement, but it is a fact that they successfully used it to the fullest. This happened with the release of the Hollywood film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” in 2001. Location shooting took place in Cambodia. Angelina Jolie in leading role Traditionally, she jumped deftly, shot accurately and, emphasizing her form favorably, climbed ancient ruins and the aerial roots of giant trees. This is how Ta Prohm, a temple recognized by many as the hallmark of Angkor - the remnants of the huge and powerful medieval empire of Kambujadesh, was presented to the general public. Product placement worked, money from tourists - yesterday's audience of Lara Croft - flowed into the treasury like a river...

...Ta Prohm was built at the end of the 12th century. The country was at the zenith of its glory - the enlightened monarch Jayavarman VII sat on the throne, not just anyone, but Java itself paid the empire a compensation tax, the irrigation system made it possible to harvest three rice crops a year. Under these conditions, the emperor could easily afford to honor the memory of his mother with dignity. And he respected her - he built a monastery in memory of her.
In those days, both in Europe and in Cambodia, monasteries were small real cities. The monks held services in stone buildings dedicated to the gods, and owned a certain amount of property given to them by the king and flock. And around the monasteries, with their capital, a completely worldly life was going on: rice was grown in the villages, there was brisk trade behind the fence of stone walls, and theatrical performances took place. So, Ta Prohm was a VERY rich monastery. The extent of his wealth was impressive even when the empire was heading towards decline.

An accurate description of Ta Prom's property was given by Zhou Daguan, a Chinese chronicler who visited here at the end of the 13th century. By that time the following were assigned to the temple:
3,140 villages with a population of almost 80 thousand people;
12,640 people service personnel, including 18 high priests and 615 dancers;
500 kilograms of gold plates;
35 diamonds;
40,620 pearls;
4,540 gems;
512 silk palanquins;
876 Chinese bedspreads;
523 sun umbrellas.

In return for this wealth, the temple maintained 102 hospitals, which provided free services to the local population and pilgrims to Angkor Thom - the city of Jayavarman VII.

Today Ta Prohm - a large, but, in general, ordinary temple - is shrouded in special charm. One of the French who were excavating here came up with a bright idea: what if we leave the trees in place? Yes, they are destroying ancient walls. But they don’t let them fall! Restorers spared the huge banyan trees with their aerial roots. The preserved symbiosis of stone and wood allows us to see Ta Prohm in the form that appeared before the amazed first explorers of Cambodia. In the practice of guides, there are often cases when their clients deliberately break the program of their stay in Angkor, refusing to visit other temples for a second visit to Ta Prohm. Jayavarman VII brilliantly immortalized the memory of his mother...

Cambodia: upcoming tours

For those who have no idea what Ta Prohm is, the easiest way to explain it is: “It’s a nice place with huge tree roots, among which Angelina Jolie (aka Lara Croft) ran, in the film about the irrepressible tomb raider.” If you dig deeper, Ta Prohm is a mysterious temple of the Khmer civilization, located on the territory of Angkor in distant Cambodia. It is shrouded in a simply fantastic atmosphere of mystery and undoubtedly deserves the attention of those who have come to get acquainted with the sights of Cambodian heritage or are just planning their trip.

After filming the aforementioned film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,” the Cambodians themselves nicknamed Ta Prohm “the temple of Angelina Jolie.” It is not surprising that after this the temple-monastery became super popular among tourists who literally poured here in a flood. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that Ta Prohm gained its popularity not only due to the fact that the actress beloved by many walked along it, but also because it itself is very extraordinary and very colorful.

What is Ta Prohm?

Today Ta Prohm is one of the most beloved temples of Angkor, which was once built by the restless Khmer king Jayavarman VII as a monastery and university in one. It was founded for a reason, but in honor of the king’s mother, so it original name translated as "Royal Monastery". Ta Prohm is paired with Pre Kan, erected in honor of his father. This is how the grateful son honored his parents, fortunately there were funds for this during his reign.

In the fifteenth century, after the fall of the Khmer Empire, the temple was abandoned and remained in obscurity until the twentieth century, when the “discovery” of the Angkorian heritage began. During this “downtime”, Ta Prohm was swallowed up by the jungle, so much so that the researchers did not immediately discover it, and when they finally got to it, they were amazed at how closely the trees and stone buildings had become friends over the centuries of close proximity.

Ta Prohm belongs to the group of temples of the so-called Small circle of Angkor* and is included in the mandatory program of every visitor to these attractions, that is, even if you have only one day allotted to Angkor, you simply must visit Ta Prohm.

Location of Ta Prohm: approximately 1 km east of Angkor Thom (on the road from Angkor Thom through the Victory Gate).
Construction time: mid XII - beginning of XIII centuries
Duration of inspection: 1-2 hours (depending on the density of the visit schedule).

General layout of Angkor:

Diagram of Ta Prohm Temple:

Attractions Ta Prohma

The territory of Ta Prohm, compared to the same Angkor Wat, or even more so Angkor Thom, is very small and there are no individual outstanding attractions as such; the monastery itself is one big attraction. Probably not even makes a lot of sense be guided by the above diagram of the temple and look for the separate buildings marked on it (although the guides would probably argue with me, they like to tell stories about every stone and nook and cranny). If you, like Andryusiks and I, are the type of tourists who “love with their eyes, not their ears,” go to Ta Prohm and just enjoy everything you see around you. Well, let's go for a walk?

Weather: We were in Angkor in mid-February and the weather was beautiful; during the whole week during which we explored the temples, there was not a single rain.

Ta Prohm greets its visitors with gates with beautiful gapurs (gate towers), crowned with the faces of Avalokiteshvara, in whose image Jayavarman the builder immortalized his beloved and thus crept through the centuries to us, curious tourists.

To a viewer unfamiliar with Khmer construction principles, the local buildings may seem like one big labyrinth in which one can simply get lost. However, if you look at the temple from above, then everything seems quite logical and orderly: the layout resembles a kind of cube within a cube, in the center of which is the main tower.

During the heyday of the empire of Jayavarman VII, there were many villages outside the monastery, the total population of which was about eighty thousand inhabitants, and almost thirteen thousand people lived on the territory of Ta Prohm itself, or so the surviving inscriptions say, although somehow with difficulty I can imagine how they could all fit here.

Today is bright distinctive feature Ta Prohma, which sets it apart from other temples of Angkor, is the powerful trees entwining the buildings, which have become integral part complex both literally and figuratively. On the one hand, giant roots are business card Ta Proma, and one would think that they were left mostly for the amusement of tourists, but on the other hand, start destroying them, and many buildings will simply collapse, since they are held together precisely by these very roots. Such a close union!

Many of those who find themselves in Ta Prohm immediately begin to look for “the same trees” that they saw in the film about the clever adventurer Lara Croft. The guides, of course, will show you everything and tell you in detail, but, as it turned out, it’s not so easy to find them on your own; Andryusiks and I, for example, managed it only on our second visit, so look more carefully. Here are a couple of stills from the movie:

Next, for those who are interested, I will briefly tell you how all these lovely intricacies are created when the tree seems to grow from the roof, and its roots go down to the ground. Everything is much simpler than it might seem: tree seeds, carried by the wind and birds, fall onto buildings, fall into cracks in the masonry, after which some of them take root and take root. Gradually, the trees grow, their roots become thicker and seem to grow into the stones, repeating their shape.

There are mainly two types of trees found in Ta Prohm: the large and powerful cotton trees and the smaller but no less persistent strangler ficus trees.

Cotton trees are distinguished by thick, light-colored roots that wrap around the buildings of Ta Prohm like big hands.

Strangler ficuses are characterized by numerous thin gray roots that entangle stones in a lacy web. Ficus trees with overgrown roots are called banyans.

If you take a leisurely walk around Ta Prohm with a camera, you can collect a whole collection of picturesque photographs with the quaint trees for which this temple is so famous.

They decided to practically not carry out restoration work in Ta Prohm in order to leave it in a state close to its original state and to show what the untouched temples of Angkor were like. However, something still had to be done and is constantly being done in order to give visitors the opportunity to touch the beauty, preserve what is there and prevent further destruction.

There is something else in Ta Prohm that deserves close attention - its bas-reliefs. The red thread running through all the depicted scenes is the image of Prajnaparamita, who is the personification of wisdom. Model in in this case was none other than the mother of Jayavarman VII, in whose honor, if you remember, the monastery was built.

Finally, I’ll tell you about one secret of Ta Prom, which surprises, puzzles, and somewhat shocks. Just imagine that one of the temple bas-reliefs depicts a dinosaur! Yes, yes, that's not a typo. A real dinosaur, namely a stegosaurus. Where he came from and what he’s doing among the deer and swans is a big question.

Finding a dinosaur is also not at all easy, and we still don’t remember at all where it settled down, so if you are interested in looking at the creature with your own eyes, picking at it with your fingernail and checking whether it is real or a joke of the restorers, ask any guide passing by to tell you where to look "dino".

Perhaps these other people's photos showing the location of the stegosaurus will help you, but in my opinion they are completely uninformative. I can only suggest what you need to look for at the western wall, that’s it, then do it yourself))

Undoubtedly, photographs do not convey even a hundredth of the atmosphere of this magical place, its energy, aura of magic and a certain touch of untouched purity of antiquity. It’s all worth seeing with your own eyes and feeling with your own skin.

Scheme of a walk along Ta Prohm for those who are afraid of getting lost:

Virtual walk around Ta Prohm with Google Maps: If anyone is interested, click here.

Video about Ta Prom:

Recommendation #1: I strongly recommend going to explore Ta Prohm as early as possible in the morning, or vice versa, in the late afternoon, because in the daytime, from about nine o’clock until three or four in the afternoon, the temple territory is almost like a bazaar - full of people, noise, noise and other distractions that do not encourage thoughtful inspection. We checked it ourselves: the first time we arrived at the monastery at about eleven o’clock and it was already full of tourists, and the second time we arrived at six in the morning and walked for a couple of hours almost alone, not counting a couple of the same cunning people.

Recommendation #2: Ta Prohm can be reached through two entrances - western and eastern. If you want to quietly slip into the temple, use the far eastern entrance, because the western one has a lot of beggars and obsessive sellers of all sorts of trifles who will follow you around. If you are interested in souvenirs, there are several stalls with all sorts of things.

Recommendation #3: Once we find ourselves among famous roots, take a photo as a souvenir a la “Lara Croft”, then you will show it to your friends and brag)) To do this, watch the movie, notice a couple of cute shots from Ta Prom and go ahead!

They say that during filming in Cambodia, Angelina fully felt the plight of the local population, became imbued with the whole matter and began to devote a lot of effort and money to charity. She also really liked Cambodian children, to such an extent that she even took one into her family.

Tip #1: came to Ta Prohm at the height of the visit, but want to minimize bumping elbows with other tourists? Go for a walk counterclockwise. Guides lead groups mostly clockwise, and as soon as you see them, immediately move in the opposite direction.

Tip #2: Since restoration work was carried out in Ta Prohm in a minimal volume, some places in the temple are difficult to pass due to piled up stones (and in some places you can’t even see where to go because it’s dark), so wear comfortable shoes.

Tip #3: I write about this in every article on Angkor - take plenty of water with you! It is very hot during the day, the prices for water and other snacks near the temples are not at all affordable, so it is better to hide a few spare bottles in your backpack so that you can drink and wash yourself if desired.

Tip #4: have some small change with you, i.e. small money, I already mentioned somewhere that the entrance to the temples is full of Cambodian children with pitying eyes who ask to buy some small change from them or simply give them “one dollaaa” for free. It seems that for them we are not people at all, but just wallets, so they beg for money very persistently and not always in a pleasant manner, which over time begins to become somewhat annoying, but all that remains is to understand and forgive))

Impression: Ta Prohm is another attraction of Angkor that deserves close attention. Undoubtedly, this temple will be remembered almost more than all the others for its atmosphere and colorfulness. The main thing is to be here at the right time, so that crowds of tourists do not become an obstacle to getting to know this mystical place.

If you have little time, but want to see and learn as much as possible with minimal effort, you can book in advance a tour of Angkor with a Russian-speaking Khmer guide, for example, on the website, which offers unusual excursions from local residents. For example, the tour, in addition to a walk through the most famous temples accompanied by a guide, includes transfer from the hotel and back and a car for the whole day. The organizer is our compatriot, so it will be possible to discuss all the details without any problems.

Ta Prohm means "ancestor of Brahma" in Khmer. However, its name is initially mentioned as Rajavihara (Royal Monastery). It is a Buddhist temple complex and is part of the structure of the city of Angkor.

It was dedicated and erected in honor of the mother of King Jayavarman VII in 1186. It reached its greatest prosperity by the 13th century, more than 12 thousand people lived here, but, like the entire city of Angkor, in the middle of the 15th century. destroyed by Siamese troops and abandoned.

Clearance of the complex began in the 20s of the 19th century. However, the specialists who carried out the restoration of Ta Prohm decided not to radically change appearance the temple and its surroundings. Therefore, today this is the only temple “swallowed” by the jungle, the walls and towers of which are entangled with tree roots, and this was done deliberately. That is why it, along with Angkor Wat and Bayon, is considered the most popular place for pilgrims visiting Angkor. Greater fame Among tourists, Ta Prohm received after filming the film with the participation of Angelina Jolie “Lara Croft. Tomb Raider".

Attractions Ta Prohma

The territory of Ta Prohm is very small and there are no individual outstanding attractions as such; the monastery itself is one big attraction.

Ta Prohm greets its visitors with gates with beautiful gapuras (gate towers), crowned with the faces of Avalokiteshvara, in whose image Jayavarman the builder immortalized himself.

The layout of the temple resembles a cube within a cube, in the center of which is the main tower.

Today, a striking distinctive feature of Ta Prohm, which sets it apart from other Angkor temples, is the powerful trees entwining the buildings, which have become an integral part of the complex. On the one hand, the giant roots are the hallmark of Ta Prohm, and one would think that they were left mostly for tourists, but on the other hand, if you start destroying them, many buildings will simply collapse, since they are holding up just due to these very roots.

The deeper you go into the temple territory, the more of these giants there are and the more bizarre their root system is. It seems a mystery why trees grow precisely on the surface of stone slabs and the ruins of ancient temples, and not on open ground. The thing is that sandstone absorbs a lot of moisture, and seeds that fall on the stone actively germinate. Young shoots grow quickly, and soon entire buildings are engulfed by their root systems.

There are mainly two types of trees in Ta Prohm: large and powerful cotton trees and more modest in size - strangler ficus.

Cotton trees are distinguished by thick, light-colored roots that wrap around the buildings of Ta Prohm like big hands.

Strangler ficuses are characterized by numerous thin gray roots that entangle stones in a lacy web. Ficus trees with overgrown roots are called banyans.

The bas-reliefs at Ta Prohm deserve close attention. The red thread running through all the depicted scenes is the image of Prajnaparamita, who is the personification of wisdom. The model in this case was none other than the mother of Jayavarman VII, in whose honor, if you remember, the monastery was built.

It is very surprising that on one of the temple bas-reliefs, among deer and swans, a dinosaur is depicted - a stegosaurus.

This type of dinosaur became extinct millions of years ago. Scientists still cannot explain how his image ended up on the wall of the temple.

In the center of the complex is the heart of the temple - a room that once brought people into sacred awe. The walls there were covered with precious stones and gold. The dome of this room is a long pyramid, at the top of which there is a hole through which light falls. The light reflected from the precious stones and crystals, and created an amazing, magical atmosphere. It was here that especially important events were held religious ceremonies Khmers. Only a select few could see this incredible beauty.

Unfortunately, over a thousand years, the temple was plundered. The French made the final contribution. It was they who finally plundered the decoration of this amazing place, at a time when Cambodia was a French colony.

During the Vietnam War, the Americans caused even more damage to the temple. Their bombing of this territory, with the aim of destroying the Vietnamese army units sheltered in this area, caused irreparable damage to the temple structures. Many buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged by the acoustic waves from the detonating bombs. But, despite everything, this temple has survived to our times!

In general, between the Angkor temples there is quite a lively wide road, but inside the temples you can’t really get anywhere, especially for Ta Prohm. Restoration work is underway, there is still a lot of destruction, and you could inadvertently fall somewhere. To prevent this from happening, the places where a tourist can set foot are outlined, but here the most famous Dak cave was generally fenced off and a wooden pedestal was placed nearby, where the folk trail is not overgrown and tourists only have time to take a turn for a photo.

I thought that Angkor was really such a jungle. At least photographs of the complex from a helicopter give just such an impression. That there are forests all around, and temples hiding between them. Of course there are jungles there, but there are no temples in them. Where there are temples, everything has already been cleared and restored.

Ta Prohm is perhaps the only island where you can see what a “temple in the jungle” is, unlike Angkor Wat and Bayon. Not all the trees have been cut down yet and not everything has been restored, so there is a chance to see how it was, and use your imagination to imagine what the Frenchman Henri Muo saw in 1861, when he rediscovered Angkor. Near each temple there are blocks, numbered, with signs not to touch anything and not to take anything with you. Restoration work continues, but it’s literally like putting together a Lego set or a puzzle without any idea of ​​what the end result should be. They select which stone should fit where literally by touch. And sometimes you literally go to a construction site.

The guide showed some places where it was possible to clear karma, some drawings on the walls of the temple, which could hardly be seen without a guide. But in principle, looking at where other guides point and visitors look, you can do without it if you don’t want to spend money. Our guide didn’t bother us and answered questions when we had them. He took photographs and gave us enough time where we wanted to stay. Overall he was a great guy. And of course, the Ta Prohm temple, like the entire Angkor complex, is a place that you need to see with your own eyes. Photos do not convey all the sensations, although after viewing them without saying “Wow!” not a single session is complete)))

Now, I have the opportunity to compare the jungle, say, in Malaysia on Borneo, and I understand that in Cambodia, at least in Angkor, there are none. This is not a jungle. What is this? It's just an ancient tourist attraction. However, see for yourself. Today we have Ta Prohm Temple in our slideshow.

Ta Prohm Temple, like all the temples in the complex, is surrounded by a wall, and only in the center is the temple itself. Inside the wall there is this kind of jungle, everything is real, with vines!

This pile of stones is still waiting in the wings. When restorers find them, they will return them to their rightful place in the temple.
The web, like the jungle, has taken over ancient temple.
The tree has grasped the stone and does not want to part with it.
Not only trees try to enslave the stone, grass also successfully grows on it.

Angkor temples were built from soft stone and then bas-reliefs were carved on it. There are no paintings or mosaics on the walls or floor, and probably thanks to the eternity of the stone, everything has been preserved to this day.

There are boulders of stone everywhere. In each of these holes was mounted gem.

Exactly this famous place at Ta Prohm Temple. This is where everyone takes photos, aka Angelina Jolie. But you have to wait in line, there are a lot of people willing)))

Hello Lesha and Yulia)))
And this is me)
Of course, no one will let you climb inside the buildings, and it’s dangerous, obviously without guides.
According to restorers, such iron pipes can keep the temple from further destruction.
The temple is quite large. You can walk along it for a couple of hours, making stops and wondering and admiring. Both human creation and natural.
This tree began to grow very strangely. On the roof. Tree roots sometimes look like ginger roots))
The roots hang down from above.
But what you see in the temple besides the temple itself, the workers
and construction...