Sambor
Prei Kuk is a collection of 7th century
(600 years before Angkor Wat) temple ruins
located in Kampong Thom province about 120km from Siem Reap town.
The Hindu temple complex of Sambor Prei Kuk was established in the early
6th century AD at the city of Isanapura, the capital city of the Raja
Isanavaram.
The site, part of the Chenla Kingdom, includes an area of
nearly 1000 acres enclosed by double walls, and over 150 temples and
towers; its construction predates
Ankgor Wat by several
centuries. It
is the ruins
of the city of Isanapura,
the pre- Angkor khmer Kingdom
known from Chinese chronicles as Zhendla (Chenla).
There are
three main complexes: Prasat Sambor (North Group), Prasat Tor - Lion
Temple (Central Group), Prasat Yeah Puon (South Group).
Most ancient Hinduism state of Indochina, goes back
up to the 1st
century A.D.
and it is
known on
Funan name 
which gave
it the Chinese.
Its capital was situated in the current Cambodian province of Prey Veng.
The
dynasty claimed to go down from
Brahman Kaundinya, having come from
India.
Except for some Sanskrit's registrations among which the most ancient
former) date of the 3rd
century, all that we knows about this realm
comes from Chinese texts. The first embassy of the Funan in
the court of
China dates of the year 225. The Funan collapsed in the 6th century,
under the pressure of a vassal state, Kambuja of the North annexed
Cambodia of the South. One of their kings, Içanavarman I, based its
capital to Sambor Prei Kuk, for which we still admires the ruins, in the
North-East from Kampong Thom at 30 km.
This complex groups together at least 150 monuments, among which 106 in
a ray of 5 km.
Three complexes, dedicated to Shiva, were surrounded with two
surrounding walls. They are towers in bricks, varied forms, square,
oblong, octagonal, ten meters high on ten meters wide. The brick is very
finely
sculptured in strong relief whose decoration is typically of
inspiration or Indian copy. (The lion is often represented but this
animal did not exist in Cambodia) The door's frames are in stoneware.
Ancient Bridge of Spean
Kampong Kdei
was
built in 12th century
the ancient bridge of
made 1000 years ago by stone).
60km southeast of the Siem Reap Town. It is
80m long and 14m wide and has 21 axes.
The people in Angkor period, built temple and bridge in
different way.
To preserve the valuable cultural bridge,
Mr. Bernard Phillippe Groslier, the French Angkor curator, restored
it in 1965. At the age of 1,000 years, the bridge is
still being used as main infrastructure for facilitating the heavy
loaded trucks.
