Bayon (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបាយ័ន) is located in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Bayon is the last state temple to be built at Angkor (Khmer: ក្រុងអង្គរ), and the only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist shrine dedicated to the Buddha, it is famous for its The ‘Smile of Khmer’.
Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom (Khmer: អង្គរធំ). In Khmer language, ‘Ba’ means beautiful, while ‘Yon’ means tower, so ‘Bayon’ means ‘beautiful tower’.
Bayon was built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII (Khmer: ព្រះបាទជ័យវរ្ម័នទី ៧), 100 years later than Angkor Wat.
‘The smile of Khmer’ comes from the 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers, those faces are generally considered as the representations of Jayavarman VII (Khmer: ព្រះបាទជ័យវរ្ម័នទី ៧) himself.
The tallest tower is in the center of Bayon, while 48 shorter towers in the surrounding, including 5 towers of the gates, Bayon has 54 towers in total, which represents the 54 provinces once governed by the Khmer Empire.
The design of Bayon is unique, the whole temple is composed of stone towers, all visitors can be ‘seen’ by the faces no matter where they are, such ingenious design is not only unique in Angkor, but also unique in the world.
Be careful, all stone railings are not allowed to lean or sit, if all people who come here are leaning and sitting as they like, such an old and beautiful temple will become ruin.
