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Special One day tour:
            Visit only the most important temples.Start at 5:00am, sunrise at Angkor Wat =>Banteay Srey (37km)=>Ta Prohm==>Preah Khan=>Angkor Tom ( South Gate Angkor Tom, Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, Terra of the Elephants, Terra of the Leper King, North Kleang, South Kleang ) =>Angkor Wat=>Sunset Phnom BackengThe price is $45

                                          Banteay Srey temple

           Banteay Srei is considered by many to be the jewel in the crown of Angkorian art. A Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva, it is cut from stone of a pinkish hue and includes some of the finest stone carving seen anywhere on the planet. It is one of the smallest sites at Angkor, but what it lacks in size it makes up from in stature. It is wonderfully well preserved and many of its carvings are three dimensional. banteay Srei means “Citadel of the Women“ and it is said that it must have been built by a woman, as the elaborate carvings are too fine for the hand of a man.

          Construction on Banteay srei began in 967 and it is one of the few temples around Angkor not to be commissioned by a king, but by a Brahman who may have been tutor to jayavarman V. the temple is square and has entrances at the east and west, the east approached by a causeway. Of interest are the lavishly decorated libraries and the tree central towers, which are decorated with male and female divinities and beautiful filigree relief work.

          Classic carvings at Banteay Srei include women with lotus flower in hand and traditional skirts clearly visible, as well as breathtaking re-creations of scenes from the epic Ramayana adorning the library pediments ( carved inlays above a lintel ) However, the sum of the parts is no greater than the whole_ almost every inch of these interior buildings is covered in decoration. Standing watch over such prefect creations are the mythical guardians, all of which are copies of originals stored in the National Museum (p81).

          Banteay Srei was the first major temple restoration undertaken by the EFEO in 1930 using the anastylosis method. The project, as evidenced today, was a major success and soon led to other larger projects such as the restoration of Bayoun. However, it was not the first time the temple has hit the headlines, Because in 1923 frenchman Andre’ Malraux was arrested in Phnom Penh for attempting to steal several of the site’s major statures and pieces of sculpture. Ironically, Malraux was later appointed minister of culture under Charles de Gaulle.

          When Banteay Srei was finish rediscovered, it was assumed to be from the 13^th or 14^th centuries, as the refined carving must have came at the end of Angkor period. It was later dated to 967, from inscriptions found at the site. However, some scholars are once again calling for a revision of this date, given that the style of this temple and its carvings are unlike anything else seen in the 10^th century, New theories suggest that like the great cathedrals of Europe, some Angkorian temples may have been destroyed and than rebuilt, or altered beyond recognition, and that the inscription stele at Banteay Srei relates to an earlier structure on the site, not the delicate flower of a temple we see today.