Chapel of the Hospital, Cambodia
Copyright © Timothy Tye. Stock Photo for Sale
Chapel of the Hospital
Cambodia
Chapel of the Hospital is a small, insignificant ruin located on the opposite site of the road, a short distance from the temple-mountain of Ta Keo. This sandstone monument was one of the chapels for an arogayasalas, or "houses of the sick" - hospitals - erected by King Jayavarman VII around Angkor Thom.
Hospitals have been established in the Angkor area as early as the reign of King Yashovarman I (ca. 889-907AD), but it was King Jayavarman VII who made a special effort to ensure that they are run smoothly. The Chapel of the Hospital near Ta Keo. The hospitals themselves have long disappeared, but this chapel being built of stone still stands.
The sanctuary of this chapel faces the east. Its other sides are adorned with false doors. This being the work of Jayavarman VII, the decoration is similar to that of the Bayon. A drainage channel, called somasutra, takes lustral water out of the sanctuary through its northern wall, just like at Ta Prohm Kel. Scattered on the ground around the chapel monument are fragments of pediments and lintels carved with scenes from Buddhism.
