Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm was our next temple-- and my favorite one. Built in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and  founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a Mahayana Buddhist monastery and university. At the fall of the Khmer empire, this temple was abandoned and the jungle quickly started to reclaim the area.  When the temple was rediscovered in the mid-19th century, it was decided to not remove the trees, which had started to grow into and around the walls of the structure.

 The trees growing into the temple are Spung trees (Tetrameles nudiflora) and Sralao trees (

Lagerstroemia calyculata - Lythraceae).  The Spung is the one on top and with massive roots and the Sralao tree eventually grows around the Spung, killing the Spung, and growing long, rope-lie roots. 

Spung tree on Ta Phrom

 

The authorities are having a hard time with this temple-- they want to maintain it and prevent more of it from collapsing.  That means, removing the trees, but the trees; roots have now grown into the walls.  Removing the trees would mean having to prop up walls, etc. but keeping the trees means having to prop up the wall, etc.  A catch-22 if there ever was one. 

Slowly, and surely, nature is taking back this temple.  Buddha faces peer through roots and will soon disappear.  Roots squish through layers of stone.  Roots push against the foundation, collapsing the walls.  But, it is for those very reasons that this temple is so unique and beautiful, not to mention eerie. 

This temple was used as a major set for the movie "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" and even our guide refers to this temple as the Tomb Raider temple.  There is a tree that Angelina Jolie climbs down the roots into the temple in search for her treasure (or escape... or....  can you tell that I haven't seen the movie??).  It is a massive Sralao tree that has surrounded a Spung. 

Tomb Raider Tree

 This complex was built to honor the king's mother and the god Brahma.  The bas-reliefs tell stories of the Buddha's transformation or depict the holy dancers and praying monks.  Many of the Buddha faces were destroyed when the Hindus came into power. 

 It is such a sight to see how evasive the tree roots are, but it makes this temple quite beautiful.  There are some building works happening to restore some of the walls and fallen towers, but for the most part, everyone agrees to keep the somewhat neglected appearance of Ta Prohm.