Bayon Templeប្រាសាទបាយ័ន

Bayon Temple stands at the heart of Angkor Thom, raised by Jayavarman VII in the late 12th–early 13th c. as his state shrine when the Khmer court embraced Mahayana Buddhism. Its crowded towers bear the famous serene faces—read as Avalokiteshvara, the king, or a fusion of both—watching over the former capital as a sign of protective rule. The surrounding galleries’ bas-reliefs fold empire into daily life, from naval battles and crocodile attacks to markets and rituals, turning stone into living memory.