Ta Prohm & Thommanon, Siem Reap | Cambodia

Ta Prohm is the modern name of the temple at Angkor,  built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. Located approximately one kilometre east of Angkor Thom and on the southern edge of the East Baray, it was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII.

Unlike most Angkorian temples, Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found and the atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors.

UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 199. Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).

After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 17th century, the temple of Ta Prohm was abandoned and neglected for centuries. When the effort to conserve and restore the temples of Angkor began in the early 21st century, the design of Ta Prohm is that of a typical "flat" Khmer temple, Five rectangular enclosing walls surround a central sanctuary. Like most Khmer temples, There are entrance gopuras at each of the cardinal points, although access today is now only possible from the east and west.

The trees growing out of the ruins are perhaps the most distinctive feature of Ta Prohm, n fantastic over-scale, the trunks of the silk-cotton trees soar skywards under a shadowy green canopy, their long spreading skirts trailing the ground and their endless roots coiling more like reptiles than plants.

ThommanonThommanon is one of a pair of Hindu temples built during the reign of Suryavarman II (from 1113–1150) at Angkor. This small and elegant temple is located east of the Gate of Victory of Angkor Thom and north of Chau Say Tevoda. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed by UNESCO in 1992 titled Angkor. The temple is dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu

Scholars studying the carvings of the devatas in Thommanon have concluded that Thommanon was built around the time when work on Angkor Wat was begun. However, Some believe that the distinctive carvings of females, known as devatas indicate that they were built during the reign of Jayavarman VI.

Thommanon is located directly opposite the Chau Say Tevoda and just 500 metres east of the Victory Gate on the way to Ta Keo. In the 1960s, the temple underwent a full restoration, The temple's carvings are very well preserved and the aged sandstone provides a distinct contrast to the surrounding jungle. The architectural style of its tower is also akin to the Ankor Wat temple and the Chau Say Tevoda in its vicinity.

The compound walls around the temple have all disappeared, leaving only the entry gates on the east and the west, the central tower is all that remains of the main temple. It is inferred that both Thommanon and Chau Say Thavoda were interlinked to the central tower under one large compound with large gates. The independent building separated from the main temple was the library.