The Terrace of the Leper King

Don’t miss: - the nine-headed nagas - the ladies wear a crown of nagas - beautiful carvings in the inner wall as well as the exterior wall The Terrace of the Leper King (or Leper King Terrace) is located in the northwest corner of the Royal Square of Angkor Thom, Cambodia. The statue was called the "Leper King" because discolouration and moss growing on it was reminiscent of a person with leprosy, and also because of a Cambodian legend of an Angkorian king Yasovarman I who had leprosy. Some scholars thought that the statue represented Kubera, guarding the underworlds with his yakshas, but some considered the statue as Yama, the god of the dead. The Terrace of the Leper King has carvings of nagas (dragons), demons and various mythical beings. The inner wall was built first, and the outer wall was added later covering the inner wall. Archaeologists excavated the inner wall in the late 1990s. The four tiers of apsaras and other figures, including nagas, look as fresh as if they had been carved yesterday, thanks to being covered up for centuries. Some of the figures carry fearsome expressions. As you follow the inner wall of the Terrace of the Leper King, notice the increasingly rough chisel marks on the figures, an indication that this wall was never completed, like many of the temples at Angkor. #historical #temples #awesomepic #2023旅行願望 #2023trip #2023travel #2023travelwish