GHF workers install stainless steel ‘staple’ to add strength to the reconstructed southeast enclosure wall. Photo: Bob Stanton

By Vincent L. Michael

After nearly six years, Global Heritage Fund has raised the profile of one of Cambodia’s most endangered temples through a careful program of conservation, training and community development. Banteay Chhmar – the Citadel of the Cats – is home to one of Cambodia’s hidden gems, a temple constructed by the famous king Jayavarman VII in the late 13th century.

The temple features the famous “face towers” and wonderfully detailed bas-relief panels that Jayavarman VII also built at the Bayon in Angkor. The difference? At Angkor you are surrounded by busloads of visitors from dawn to dusk. At Banteay Chhmar, you have the place to yourself: you feel as if you discovered a ruined temple in the jungle.

Until recently, the area was dangerous, mined and subject to looting. Global Heritage Fund has documented the vast temple complex, developed plans for a heritage park, restored a face tower, and is now completing the reconstruction of the Southeast Enclosure Wall that features the famous bas-reliefs depicting Jayavarman VII’s military victories and scenes of daily life in the Khmer kingdom. Unlike the Bayon, though, the bas-reliefs here actually depict the King himself.

The wall had to be excavated down to its foundations, and new laterite and sandstone inserted to stabilize the collapsing structure. Using the latest techniques, stones were scanned and digitized. Workers have been trained to repair and re-set the heavy stone blocks that make up the face towers and bas-relief walls. GHF helped the community tourism bureau set up homestays and train tour guides. Today the site offers a rare glimpse into a great and forgotten temple.


Iron-rich laterite stone form the foundation work on the reconstruction work on the southeast enclosure wall. Here, GHF workers carefully position a large stone. Photo: Bob Stanton

What is next? One goal is to restore the famed Avalokiteshvara wall, which originally featured eight life sized, multi-armed figures of the Buddhist deity of compassion. These are unique in Khmer art, but four were ripped down and looted in the 1990s! Two have been recovered and are on display in the National Museum in Phnom Penh, while the other two remain at large. At the site itself, two remain standing in place and the last two lie jumbled on the jungle floor.

View a photo story of the trip:

http://www.fotopedia.com/reporter/stories/nC9oL75BvDz