Beng Maelae

Beng Mealea is a temple considered a version of the temple Angkor discovered by French scientists in 1954 which is located in the relic complex of the Angkor period. This was used to be the burial place of King Suryavarman II. The Angkor dynasty used to be a mighty dynasty under the reign of King Suryavarman II - the king known as ‘the conqueror king‘’. It takes about 70 km from Northwest Siem Reap and about 40 km from Angkor group, followed National Highway 6 to Dam Dek junction, and then turns back up to reach Beng Mealea Temple.

Beng Melea temple is bordered Prasat Don Chan and Prasat Koh Chin to the west and Prasat Kong Pluk and Prasat Jrei to the east lies on the Royal Road which passes by many other famous sites such as Angkor, Bat Chum, Cao Srei Vibol, Banteay Ampil…

The temple was built according to the architecture of the Hindu temple incorporating carvings of some Buddhist motifs. Its majesty is not inferior to that of Angkor Wat, even the stone blocks to build Beng Melea were bigger than the temples of Angkor, weighing an average of 8 tons compared to 3-5 tons of Angkor Wat. Beng Mealea Temple in the old days was like a small city with an area of 108ha and a moat surrounding the city, some places were up to 45m wide. The temple has three layers of wall covering and was held by giant stone gates, there was a 42m high tower in the middle but it has been broken. The temple turned to the East but there were other 3 gateways to enter Beng Melea temple from three different directions. The temple layout was built with 3 galleries surrounding a central sanctuary. More specifically, Beng Mealea had four libraries in four corners of the city, compared with most of the Angkorian period temples that had only two. In the temple, there were many carvings of scenes from Hindu mythology such as Churning of the Sea of Milk and Vishnu being borne by the bird god Garuda… roads with long handrails formed from the bodies of seven-heads Naga snake.

Beng Melea is located deep in the forest, far away from the residential area, so it makes visitors feel more like the ancient scenery than the temples of Angkor. Moreover, because it is far from the residential area and is forgotten for a long time, most of the relics of the temple are preserved until now. Beng Melea is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Siem Reap which is one of the important proof for the property of the ancient Kingdom Cambodia under King Suryavarman II. Beng Melea was like other famous temples built under the Period of Angkor, has its distinctive feature of architecture and decoration reflect the harmonious combination between India and local Kmer culture. 

Today, the remains of the temple are ruined, the devastation caused by wars and humans, nature has made a relic sink deep into oblivion. Therefore, the APSARA Authority of Cambodia is doing some conservation action as a popular tourist destination and they can learn more about it.

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