Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-29
SHRINE Of KHMERS
DEF|ES CENTURIES
Asiatic Rcce Built Tower OF
Babel and Then Dis
appeared.
Fly ROBERT I. CASEY.

C,r~rs9cr:coyc II The star and thr Chi
caSo nstN News. co"N@1A, l"2N.
ANCHOR. Can,hodia December Ia
Half q mile south Of Angkor Thorn,
shrine Of thr SOD Of destruction, ;hc
vanished Khmcrs built their Tower Of
Babel. anG. having built II. were dis
pcrScd Here rises ApGkar Wal, the
fneSt EXPRESSION ct the NhnlCr culture,
structure which f0v its boldNcSS Of
coNCeDiion ard intricate ornament
probably stands without parallel il all
the word
Measured a'Nnz the exterior quay
Ct IS r>n7t tbs tcNgplC AREA i about
one mis- square The moat itself is
100 fcet wide crossed by a cauScway
Of stone that leads u 4 clustered
portico through which one crosses 10
enter tle grounds Of III" sanctuary.
inside continuation O: thc cause
vsy-a sort g Via SaCre somehow rcNl-
in:Scent of thc temple road IN the
runs O. Babylon ~taNrs lis elevated
coarse past tNA small SirireS and Two
square lacoonS 10 The broad stone
stairs II :ne main edi0ca
Pyramid in Form.
Anchor Wat r>clf IS primarily Va
stfN NvTan.-d--aN iCF2i,TCd E2bylOuiiN
r.s-uraf-~rls;Hc III II three principal
stages - Summit Of FIVE t2rer,Ng
towers. the central one Of which is
go feet above ground level
As GRE h-S; S..TpseS AngAor from
the road after turning ncrtlward
Rear 4 mile - the south. the temple
is ike soma thing that Aladdin built.
Il rises n It's heights III q steady,
rlastertul sweep Heat waves give it
s1irrlcring UilTe2lity and The eye has
difficulty focusing on its piInacleS.
i Is part az the mystery Of ANgkor
Wat that no beholder can guess &C
curately how high il really is. The
towers arc lottlcr than the talleSt
palms Of TIE Jungle but they are lifted
Still higher by tricks IN perspective
which form ne most interesting part
o. thc!r design. In the mass Angkor
Is rs impressive as the Great Pyramid
Of Egypt-n,oTe striking as an artistic
ensemble tran the Tai Mahal. But it
Is not for these attributes that explorers
today classify il as the most fascinating
place il the world.
Like Deserted Ship.
~. Pierre Furneau Of the French
road engineers gave hint Of it as he
stood looking across the moat at the
cloud Ct white doves circling about the
arrow point Of It's central spire.
1T reminds NE" he said. of the
mystery o. the Marie Celeste.
You know the Story-the ship that was
found deserted at sea with all the sails
Sc. and a fire burning in the COCKS
galley and the table set for dinner
and not soul on board or hint of
what had happened.
That * Anckor Wat for you. It is
no ruin. The carvings in the galleries
are complete The roofs still turn The
rams. The walls are as solid as they
were when The Khnler nasons built
them up without binder or cement. And
ore cannot put feel that only a few
hours ago il was palpitating with life.
The altar fires were burning. Com
psaies Of priests were IN its galleries
chanting their rituals. Dancing girls
were fitting up and down the steps
that was only an hour or two
ago. monsieur. II cannot have
been more
And now AL these people are gone
ard the temple Is still. although it
seems 70 echo with the sounds they
left there -
Which. 20 any one who has ever looked
Upon Angko- Wat seems 10 be no more
than Inc truth. II is the mystery Of
ErEk6T. the feeling that people did
things here and will presently be back
70 c0 them again. that IS the temples
chief attraction
Walls Open for Kings.
High walls surround ali Of the temple
area. bG' on the west side. where came
the kings from An2kor Thorn, the wall
becomes a colonaded pavilion. running
most cf the length Of the grounds and
pierced n the center by gateway. over
which rise three Of the steep towers in
which the Khnler art came TO is high
e. development. L is 10 this gateway
thu the cauSevaY leads.
Orce the balustradeS of the stone
bridge were the nultineaded cobras sa-
cred 20 E!ra. and Us guardian sculptures
were fat little lions with a singuiariy
short wheel base. Some of these inter-
estlng figures are left. but tnc faniike
heads o1 he cobras are somewhat splin-
tered and most Of the little lions nave
los their tails, which wcre none too
iorg 70 begin with.
The MOS. beauftf;;! ornament 70 the