I saw the Buddha in the stone

The heritage from the old capital city of Chenla is still visible in the Kampong Thom area.

When it comes to the art of stonework is still kept in high regards in the modern day just south of Kampong Thom city.
Driving southeast along National Road 6 towards Kampong Cham, Skoun and Phnom Penh, you will drive along stone masonries and cement sculptures along the road. And you get to see how its done.

Like in this photo.

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Common heritage framed by trees

Framed by trees and jungle, the Sâmbor Prey Kŭh temples of pre-Angkor Chenla kingdom was added to our common World Cultural Heritage list in 2017.

I visited this site and took this photo the year before this admittance, in the end of December 2016.

The bridge city near the river city Kampong Thom
North of the Kampong Thom city area the Sambor Prei Kouk complex marks the old capital Isanapura of the Chenla civilization.

The Funan state was a loosely organized confederation of cities and lesser kingdoms with large population centres and advanced technology. It was established around the start of current Common Era and lasted about 500 years, covering most of today’s Cambodia and Thailand, Southern Viet Nam, and northern part of Malaysia.

Establishing the Chenla kingdom marks the rapid development of architecture, culture and society building into a unified centralised kingdom and culture. This led into the foundations of the Angkor era. The Chenla kings increased their power north into today’s Laos and close to Burma.

The Chenla capital city Isanapura (Khmer: ឦសានបុរៈ – Isan Borak) was the core city of pre-Khmer Empire for 250 years, between 550 and 800 CE. The first writings in the Khmer alphabet are found here, marking a continuous written culture lasting up to modern times.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambor_Prei_Kuk

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Morning with some warm sun rays at Prasat Kravan

This five-tower temple was built at the same time as the pyramid at Koh Ker. It gives a glimpse into the earliest city and capital sites of the Khmer Empire.

The red brick construction surrounded by a moat are stunning in its simplicity.

Inside the towers, there are large bas-reliefs of the Hindu god Vishnu and his partner Lakshmi. They are on the other hand grand examples of complex artwork.

Two of the towers still have a roof telling of an architectural style of early Angkor Empire. The side gates on all towers are sealed. But the east gates are open in all towers.

In front of the temple to the east there is a platform with some stairs. To the south there are a base structure for another building, presumably a library. Most of the area is green turf with some red brown gravel walk tracks.

The whole site is surrounded by a square moat. Parts of it still has water, but there are roads over land bridges east and west. Along the moat there are trees on the temple side, and forest on the other side on the east and south side.

Kravan is on both the main guided tours into Angkor Architectural Park. Having a roomy area in front of the moat on the west side, the temple is often used as a background for cultural performances and special events.

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