Ta Som was built at the end of the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII (reigned c.1181–1218). Little is known about its history and purpose though.
The eastern gate...
... was slowly being consumed by a strangler fig.
Being swindled by a kid?
The East Mebon was built in 952 by king Rajendravarman II. He dedicated it to the Hindu god Shiva. It used to be on a small island in the middle of the Eastern Baray, a large reservoir (1.2 miles wide by 4.3 miles long) fed by the Siem Reap River. It was only accessible by boat. Today the baray is now fields.
The temple has three tiers.
Guarded by lions
Elephants
A short distance away was Pre Rup, another very similar Hindu temple that King Rajendravarman II built nine years later in 961. Meaning "turn the body", the name comes from the belief that funerals were held here, with the person's ashes being ritually rotated in different directions throughout the service.
It was excavated by French conservators in the 1930's. It had been completely overgrown and covered with soil.
