Beth and Michael in siem reap, march 2007

 

Text about the temples copied from the APSARA website (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap) if you want to know more...

The next morning we started off at Ta Nei, which we walked to through a trail in the forrest.  The temple as such had four gopuras joined by galleries with corner pavilions, a central sanctuary and, in the eastern part of the internal enclosure, a single "library" on the southern side - the whole arrangement forming a rectangle of 26 metres by 35. At some time, the eastern gallery was moved out to the wall of the second enclosure, blocking this side of the surrounding courtyard and transforming the original eastern gopura into a second isolated sanctuary within the enclosure - extending it from 35 metres to 46.

The sandstone gopuras form towers with two upper tiers. They are cruciform in plan and crowned with lotuses. The central sanctuary, also forming a cross but additionally with four small vestibules, had four storeys, was open to each side and joined to the north gopura by a passage. Its sanctuary chamber forms a square of 2m.75 each side.


  • Ta Nei: Beth and Michael outside the ruins
  • Ta Nei: Statue and false window
  • Ta Nei: Sometimes the only way to get from one place to another is walking on the carvings!
  • Ta Nei: View through a series of doorways
  • Ta Nei: The late-afternoon sun lights the trees.
  • Ta Nei: Late afternoon sunlight
  • Ta Nei: inside the courtyard
  • Ta Nei: doorways
  • Ta Nei: Beth and Michael inside one of the towers
  • Ta Nei: A tumbled linga on the broken remains of the yani
  • Ta Nei: central tower
  • Ta Nei: Inside the courtyard
  • Ta Nei: Weather station
  • Ta Nei: Lintel carving
  • Ta Nei: Lintel carving close-up
  • Ta Nei: Carvings between false windows
  • Ta Nei: Buddha's followers holding up his horse so he can get away (from his mistress, i think) without making any noise...
  • Ta Nei: Close Up of lintel carving
  • Ta Nei: Supported doorway with lintel carving
  • Ta Nei: Crack in the wall through statue
  • Ta Nei: Looking past the central tower to the southeast corner of the cortyard as the sun sets...
  • Ta Nei: Wooden supports (termite food)
  • Ta Nei: Beth near the central tower
  • Ta Nei: Detail, statue with crack
  • Ta Nei: A trail of termites heading for the braces
  • Ta Nei: Statue in a niche
  • Ta Nei: braced doorway
  • Ta Nei: the central tower
  • Ta Nei: Looking into a tower
  • Ta Nei: remains of a doorway
  • Ta Nei: Steps up to the outside
  • Ta Nei: Dorway and tree
  • Ta Nei: Tree root running through broken wall
  • Ta Nei: Tree growing on the steps
  • Ta Nei: Close up of tree with roots and wall
  • Ta Nei: Beth and Michael with tree overgrowing wall
  • Ta Nei: Sunrise over the ruin
  • Ta Nei: First glimpse through the trees
  • Ta Nei: Walking down the path in the early morning
  • Ta Nei: On the way in the remok