Ta Keo Temple

Hello, and welcome again to Forgotten Temples of Cambodia, with myself, Mr. B. Now, this mighty giant that lays behind me, slumbering away in a far off land, is, in fact, Takau. And he is an absolute monster of a temple, but still a beauty. And there's an interesting story with this temple, because it lay unfinished for many, many, many a long year. And we have an inscription in this temple from an ancient priest that tells us why all work here was stopped. And it was because of a single lightning strike hitting this, and it was perceived to be a very bad omen. And that was enough for them to walk away and leave it for some time, until a future leader came along and said, let's get on with it, boys. So that very much highlights as to how connected they were to religion. And in some ways, I would like to add in the word addicted, because it was almost obsessional. When you're building temple after temple, building things of such might and such grandeur, that take an awful lot of your kingdom's resources, whilst, bear in mind, you're repelling your enemies at the borders because they want your riches, at that point, I think you're pretty much addicted to this stuff. But I'm glad they were, because look at this legacy they have left us. It only remains for you and I now to walk hand in hand and see what lays within. Now, the main entranceway would be here, but they have politely requested, with a single little simple sign, no entry that way. So we're going up this side way here, which is all fine by me. Now, I don't know where we're going to end up on this journey. I never do. Oh gosh, right, I almost fell backwards. That would have been an awful start. And that's the first lot of steps. There is going to be an awful lot more as we enter into what is an absolute monster of a temple. Now again, we can't get up these stairs here, so it's round the side. My goodness, my goodness. Have a look at this. Two oh my goodnesses on the trot. Well, I was bordering on three golly gos, and I should have gone for the golly go there, because have a look at this. Look, I'm just going to do a simple bit of magic here, right? I'm going to disappear in front of your very eyes, and it's not because I am in fact getting smaller. It's because this Goliath is about to flex his muscles and show you how very big he is. And in doing so, he shows how very insignificant I am. So, let's start the stroll away. Now, please note that this is hardly a long walk. It is barely a stroll. It potentially could be a minor amble, but it is hardly any distance before I turn into something that is really, really insignificant. I mean, look at the size of this thing. It is quite simply incredible, and there is a reason for this. And that reason is, it is to stamp its authority. I mean, that is what religion, power, and the monarchy is all about. And those threads are intricately weaved here. And when you walk up to this thing and you start to get that much smaller, you know you're in the presence of might. You are in the presence of great power. And here we look from the end of that wall. I was just standing here a moment ago, and it is quite simply breathtaking. It's awe-inspiring. If you stop in life and just take a moment to consider how much labor went into constructing this, and to think that the dedication to build this, they committed to building it. They worked out as to how much material, work power, and so on they would need. But a single lightning bolt from the sky was enough to bring that to a halt. And it remained unfinished for oh-so-many years, until somebody said, do you know what? That evil omen has now passed, and we can move on. Now, I've been following the wall around. Well, the base. It's not even a wall, for crying out loud. It's just the base of the first level. I mean, we shouldn't forget that fact either. This will take us to level one, for there are more. I mean, wow. And what I've been looking for is a stairway that we can actually go up. And I believe this one is the only one we're allowed up. So it's time to start our ascent up and up towards the home of the gods. And we move on and upwards. And this here is that first level. Now, see how broad this is? I mean, it's broad enough. You can just easily dump another large construction here, or one or two over there, because it just gets even more impressive. This is the second. Then there's the third. Then there's a fourth. And I believe there's one more after that as well. So we stroll past and say hello to the ancient water buffalo, I believe that is. And we continue heading towards the clouds, searching for those gods. And I'm now up on what I believe I quoted as the fourth level. And what a view it affords here is that gateway flanked by the jungle that is on all sides. But there's something I want to show you. This stairway. Now that stairway I've just showed you is the worst stairway I've ever been up. And I've been up some real shaky ones. It progressively got steeper and steeper until its genetic DNA, its makeup was more ladder than stair. But what really made an absolute horror apart from me being afraid of heights, so I call upon the Hindu god, Indra, to be with me, and I honestly do, is because the sun has been hitting it for many a long hour. You can't put your hand on the step above. So imagine walking up a ladder, but with your hands by your side, it leaves you very unstable. You touch it with your fingerprints, but you are touching a hot plate. It's an absolute horror of a stairway. But let's hope this final one is a lot better because this is what we've come to see. This is the sanctorum, the holy of holies, and in here there would have been the mighty deity. So just a few more steps to go. But before we open the final surprise, let's have a quick look around. I mean, after all, if I'm going to go up the stairways of the heated stone, then we do need to see as to what it is I'm putting myself into peril for. And we have an enormous plinth. My god, that's big. That's a huge one. And the only reason this could be broken is if the above masonry fell down. And we do know that the Chinese archaeologists came here and did an awful lot of work to put it back together. And one must admit, those rooms are pretty much devoid, aren't they? With just the broken plinth and not having the gods in them. There's one on each corner, in fact, and this one is exactly the same as the other two. But I think what would be a more worthwhile use of our time is taking advantage of this fantastic elevation. And then you can see as to how this jewel is placed in the most beautiful of settings, a lovely deep green forest, clouds, and an electric blue sky. And it's now for us to ascend those final stairways. And as I ascend these, it is filling me with some dread, because what I know is I've got to go down the heated steps of hell to get out of here. And there's only one way to overcome my fears, or even yours for that matter. And that is not to take on the whole task in your mind, only take on the next step. I'm dealing with this step, that's all I'm dealing with. And then you'll be able to overcome your fears. Good lord. Lordy, lordy lorks. Have a look at this. You are quite the magician, because it doesn't look that big on the outside, but my goodness, this is an incredible space. Wow. There must have been one almighty statue here. We have Buddha presiding. And this square on the floor gives us a very good idea as to how enormous this plinth was. Now I've had to just go down those stairs again to get my tripod, but I can't walk away from a job that's half done. I mean, the builders here paused, but they didn't walk away, did they? And it's for me to do these things their correct justice. Even if some of the videos are rather scant on information, each and every one has its rightful place in our library. And to me, the important thing with tying up this video is showing the size of this again. We've done it once before in this video, and I don't often do it, but here it commands that attention. I mean, let me go into the center where that, and it's way beyond my arm's length. It's way beyond that. It is absolutely, it's easily double, and double, and double, and double, and some more. So the statue that would have been here would have been enormous. And remember, they had to get it up here through all those steps, or however they did it. They probably built a ramp I would imagine, and they dragged it up with the force of pulleys and with elephants. There was no other way. The elephant brought the God here, and that's why I have a very fond affection for them. Through that doorway at the back of Buddha, we see the light coming through. I can see the trees, the tops of the trees, and I can see peace and calm. And I hope these videos bring you a little bit of wonder, a little bit of peace and calm, or may say, do you know what? I haven't got out and about. I need to get some crunch to walk through those fallen leaves in a forest and have an adventure of my own. If you do, please let me know. As always, this has been Mr. B, Forgotten Temples, Cambodia. Please like, subscribe, comment, and if by chance you can sprinkle just a few coins into my Patreon account to get me a meal or a tank of gas each month, I would be extremely grateful. The address for that is patreon.com forward slash temples. Until next time, as always, I wish you absolutely nothing but the very best. You take good care.