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Angkor - 2003
Angkor - 2003
Jacek Pałkiewicz2006-06-25 13:29:32
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To this day it is still a spiritual centre where, before making important decisions, King Sihanouk often comes to meditate. The characteristic and unmistakable cone-shaped towers that boldly soar skywards, are the same ones that figure on the red field of the Cambodian flag, on the country’s banknotes, on the labels of its beer bottles, and on its cigarette packets.
Someone has calculated that in its compass one could enclose a good part of the architectonic monuments of ancient Greece, while someone else has likened Angkor Vat to Versailles, emphasizing the common expansion of scenic effects, the perfection of its planes and the proportions of its open spaces. In my opinion Angkor Vat is unique and incomparable, a structure not created for man, for indeed the king does not reside there, but conceived while thinking of the sublime, as something to be contemplated.
In the afternoon light slanting along the sculptured stone, I gaze in admiration at the delicate artistic execution of the delicious nymphs, whose clinging veils enhance and follow the sinuous movements of their slender bodies. A musical singsong and gaudy colours capture my attention as I turn to see three splendid girls who, I cannot tell by what magic, suddenly materialize, dressed in silk with gold-brocaded costumes and pearls, and sway with the ancient rhythm, just as the dancers did centuries ago, when they offered the king the joys of life. Gently and elegantly they move their hands and eyes, their heads and bodies expressing love and gaiety, but also hate and pain. The girls are dancers of the Ballet Royal du Cambodge, who are performing for a documentary film being shot there against a perfect background.
A few days before, accompanied by an Indian archaeologist, I had flown over the region where the ruins of this temple are situated. The scientist drew my attention to the amazing hydraulic system, which was far superior to the grandiose constructions that from above
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See photographs from:
Cambodia Gallery
