The mystery of the place is how did these people achieve such a momentus achievement.
It a miracle. The scale and grandure is like I have never seen before and then for it all to be
forgotten.

Angkor Thom means "Great City". It was the last capital of the Khmer empire and succeeded Hariharalaya (today called Rolouos) and Yasodharapura, the old capital founded by Yasovarman I, located around Phnom Bakheng. Angkor Thom as it is today was built under the reign of Jayavarman VII in the 12th century; however, some parts of it, such as the Phimeanakas, the temple inside the Royal Palace where the king worshipped, are older (from the tenth century). Angkor Thom is laid out on a square grid; it is enclosed by an 8 meter high laterite wall; each side of the square is ca. 3 kilometers long. The city is surrounded by a 100 meter wide moat; access is provided via 5 gates, one for each cardinal direction, and an additional one, the Gate of Victory, that leads directly to the Royal Plaza. All gates are crowned with a Gopura (entry tower) that carries 4 large stone faces (similar to the ones at the towers of the Bayon).

Enter Angkor Thom through the South Gate. A large, dramatic causeway crosses the moat; ask your driver to drop you off at the beginning and pick you up beyond the gate.(The light for photographing is best in the morning, by the way). The causeway is flanked by 108 impressive statues, 54 on each side - the ones on the right side (with the grimacing faces and military headdresses) represent demons, the ones on the left (with beautiful, serene face expressions and conical headdresses) represent gods. They hold on their knees the body of a large Naga (mythical serpent) that at the beginning of the causeway raises nine heads on the shape of a fan (this arrangement is thought to represent a scene from "The Churning of the Ocean of Milk", a a famous Hindu epic). Walk towards the high entry tower (Gopura) with its characteristic large stone faces. As you proceed along the causeway you will notice that the bases of the gates are decorated with finely modeled three headed elephants, in Hindu mythology the mount of the god Indra. He is also depicted, sitting at the centre of the elephant. Walk through the gate and there you are, in Angkor Thom.