Prasat Kravan Angkor

Set just off the road from the east gate to Angkor Wat to Banteay Kdei, with its five squat brick sanctuaries Prasat Kravan looks like a bit of a drab affair, but the real attraction is within.

Rare for Khmer art, the interior of the sanctuaries contain brick bas reliefs of an outstanding standard. At the time of construction, Khmer brickies didn’t use mortar but a vegetable compound instead. This has allowed the bricks to sit very close together and further accentuates the appeal of the bas reliefs. The temple is also unusual for its layout—having five brick towers in a single row.

The temple has an unusual layout. Photo taken in or around Prasat Kravan, Angkor, Cambodia by Caroline Major.

The temple has an unusual layout. Photo: Caroline Major

If you see the occasional CA (it stands for “Conservation Angkor”) on some bricks, you’re looking at one of the bricks that formed a part of the restoration that took place in the late 1960s. The name Prasat Kravan means “Cardamom Sanctuary”, a reference to a large cardamom tree that once grew on the grounds. Conservation and restoration efforts continue.

Prasat Kravan has a twin temple, Prasart Neang Khmao (Sanctuary of the Black Maiden) near Takeo (to the south of Phnom Penh), which also has some very impressive brick bas reliefs.