Bayon

Bayon stands at the geographic heart of Angkor Thom and served as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist king Jayavarman VII, built at the turn of the 13th century.

Its signature feature is the forest of towers carrying more than two hundred large serene faces. Later Hindu and Theravada rulers modified the sanctuary without erasing its Buddhist character.

The outer gallery carries lively bas-reliefs of naval battles, markets and everyday Khmer life — an unusually human counterpoint to the mythological scenes found elsewhere at Angkor.