Jan's Blog: The Royal Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

12th August, 2012

The Royal Palace is a complex of buildings which has served as the royal residence of the King of Cambodia since the capital moved to Phnom Penh from Oudong in 1866.

The Kings of Cambodia have occupied the palace since it was built in 1860's, with a period of absence when the country came into turmoil during and after the reign of the Khmer Rouge. The palace has undergone a recent renovation, funded by the Japanese government.

This building, the Moonlight Pavilion, has become very familiar to us, as we have walked past it quite a few times now, on our way from our hotel to the main part of town, along the river.

The Moonlight Pavilion is an open-air pavilion that serves as stage for Khmer classical dancing. This pavilion has a balcony that can be used as a platform for viewing parades marching along Sothearos Boulevard of Phnom Penh.

This is the side view of the Moonlight Pavilion, seen from inside the palace compound.

One of the two front gates, with fancy trees. We got to go in by a lesser gate.

Buddhist monks outside the palace, walking somewhere.

The Throne Hall is where the king's confidants, generals and royal officials once carried out their duties. It is still in use today as a place for religious and royal ceremonies (such as coronations and royal weddings) as well as a meeting place for guests of the King. The cross-shaped building is crowned with three spires. The central, 59 metre spire is topped with the white, four-faced head of Brahma.

The Throne Hall contains a royal throne and busts of Cambodian kings of the past.This Throne Hall is the second to be built on this site, constructed in 1917 and inaugurated by King Sisowath in 1919.

We weren’t allowed to go into the throne room, but could walk around the tiled veranda and look in the windows.

The carpet inside the Throne Hall exactly matched these ceramic tiles on the veranda outside.

White, four-faced head of Brahma on top of the 59 metre central spire of the Throne Hall.

Jan on the steps of the Throne Hall, beside one of the Seven-Headed Nāga serpents.

In a Cambodian legend, the Nāga were a reptilian race of beings who possessed a large kingdom in the Pacific Ocean region. The Nāga King's daughter married an Indian Brahmana named Kaundinya, and from their union sprang the Cambodian people. Therefore still Cambodians say that they are "Born from the Nāga".

The Seven-Headed Nāga serpents depicted as statues in Cambodia represent the seven races within Nāga society, which has a symbolic, association with "the seven colours of the rainbow". Furthermore, Cambodian Nāga possess numerological symbolism in the number of their heads. Odd-headed Nāga symbolise the male energies of Infinity, Timelessness, and Immortality. Even-headed Nāga are said to be female, representing Physicality, Mortality, Temporality, and the Earth.

Nāga also represented the moon and the night.

To complement the Nāga, mythical lions, representing the sun and the day, jointly guarded the temples with them.

In Cambodian (Khmer) mythology, Khmer Kings are praised for unifying the solar and lunar races of kings.

It was hot work taking in all the different buildings in the palace compound. Here’s Pat taking a break beside a Nāga in some welcome shade, (with a complementary lion not far away.)

While I was sitting next to Pat on the steps in the shade beside the Nāga, these three pretty girls came past, and one of them took a photo of us (exhausted foreign tourists?) so I thought it was fair enough to ask to take a photo of them. I think I ended up with a better bargain!

Hor Samran Phirun

Well, that’s as much info as I have on this one, but it’s very pretty.

The gardens were meticulously maintained.

The Silver Pagoda is located on the south side of the Royal Palace compound.

It is so named because during King Norodom Sihanouk’s pre-Khmer Rouge reign, the Silver Pagoda was inlaid with more than 5,000 silver tiles and some of its outer facade was remodelled with Italian marble. While most of these tiles were covered with carpet, we were able to see some of them – spectacular!

The Silver Pagoda houses many national treasures such as gold and jewelled Buddha statues. Most notable is a small 17th century baccarat crystal Buddha (the "Emerald Buddha" of Cambodia)

The Silver Pagoda also contains a life-sized gold Maitreya Buddha decorated with 9584 diamonds, the largest of which weighs 25 carats. Created in the palace workshops during 1906 and 1907, the gold Buddha weighs in at 90kg and is dressed in royal regalia commissioned by King Sisowath.

The Silver Pagoda is the official temple of the King of Cambodia.

Needless to say, photography was not permitted inside the Silver Pagoda, but I feel very lucky to have been able to visit it.