This temple was erected in honor of the god Shiva. It became the first in Angkor to be built in the form of a temple-mountain. Its creation began under Harshavarman I, who was in power in 900-915, and then in 922-923, and was completed in 948, when Rajendravarman was already ruling. The temple is located to the left of the road leading to Angkor Thom. It is a 13-meter pyramid with rather steep staircases on all four sides.
The name "Baksei Chamkrong" means "the bird that sheltered beneath its wings" in translation. There is a legend that a Khmer king, when he was still a boy, was nearly captured during an enemy attack, but a huge bird saved him by hiding him under its wing.
Baksei Chamkrong is not very popular with tourists, although it was once the main temple of the capital. There is another curious fact that few people know about. Baksei Chamkrong Temple in Cambodia is practically a copy of the Temple of Masks in Guatemala. If you take a world map and find these countries on it, you will see that they are located on the same parallel, but the Pacific Ocean separates them. Scientists still cannot give an answer as to how people in ancient times built identical temples while being at such a great distance from each other.
