Banteay Samre

Construction: Mid-12th century

Religion: Hindu
Style : Angkor Wat
King : Suryavarman II   (1113 – 1150 )
Location : Outside of the large circuit, one finds Banteay Samre three kilometers in the East of East Mebon.

Banteay Samre is associated with a tasty legend which connects three temples: Eastern Mebon, Pre Rup and Banteay Srey, the legend of the king to soft cucumbers. Samres were large warriors, supposed to be mercenaries, shaven, tattooed and very impressive. It is said that the inhabitants of the village of Pradak, located beside this temple, are their downward. One of them, a gardener had inherited a divine soft cucumber seed that the king adored at the point to have condemned to die any person who would enter the cucumber field to steal them.

By greediness, it penetrated during the night in the field and was killed by the gardener. Not having a descent, one called upon “the elephant of the victory” of Mebon Oriental to appoint the future king, and it appointed the gardener. The late king was buried in Pre Rup, but its subjects refused to recognize the gardener for king and this one went to be locked up in Banteay Samre to protect himself. Enormous work of anastylose made possible to emphasize a splendid unit and well preserved. The visit of Banteay Samre is to be combined with that of Banteay Srey.

Temple Detail : The Banteay Samre temple with the Angkor Wat style which has feature in the central hall which places the tower of conical condition on top, has the unique atmosphere like the fortress. As for the cause of that the high peripheral wall and, there is constitution inside the inside perimeter kind of wall where quite the central hall stands in the bath pond. The temple is surrounded in the wall where the laterite is high, the corridor and the hall; two scripture houses are crowded in the space where the inside of that is narrow relatively.

As for the construct density with other things it is something which is not felt excessively. The stylobate section was a height, in order to be able to stretch the water inside. The lattice window of the corridor condition is good, also shape is beautiful. The temple itself is small relatively, but it has the long going/participating road on east west. As for the length on east going road 200 meters, on west going road 350 meters. As for the east going road being similar to the Angkor Wat west going road, the style which lays the sandstone on the stylobate of the laterite.