East Mebon, Cambodia
Copyright © Timothy Tye. Stock Photo for Sale
East Mebon
Cambodia
East Mebon is a huge temple on the eastern side of the Angkor Archaeological Park. Modern visitors may not realize it, but East Mebon was once standing on an island, surrounded by a huge man-made reservoir called the East Baray. The East Baray was built half a century before the temple of East Mebon. The reservoir was constructed by King Yasovarman I in the early 10th century to ensure ample water supply for his city, called Yasodharapura. The reservoir was rectangular and measured 7.5 kilometers by 1.83 kilometers.
East Mebon is a three-tier temple. It is not regarded as a true temple-mountain, because it doesn't have the height. It was dedicated on Friday, 28 January, 953 AD at 11:00am. This precise date and time was drawn from ancient inscriptions. Even the architect's name was available: Kavindrarimathana - the only instance where the architect was mentioned.
Today the East Baray is dry, but when East Mebon was constructed, the water of the baray reaches 5 meters. The laterite base of East Mebon measures 126 meters by 121 meters. At each cardinal point are landing stages - piers for boats to dock. Between the inner enclosure and the central platform are eight small brick towers grouped in pairs at cardinal points. Also located here are five "library" type structures. On the central platform are a further five brick towers, all facing east. The central tower is the largest of the five, and stands on a 1.9 meter high platform.
Visitors to East Mebon can see the stone elephants located at each corner of the enclosures. There are eight in total. From the central platform of East Mebon, one can get a panoramic view of the surrounding land.
