Today’s A Journey through Aesthetic Realms will be presented in Khmer and English, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, (Khmer,) Korean, Mongolian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Greetings and welcome to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television. Today, we’ll present the first of a two-part series dedicated to an architectural wonder of modern history – the Royal Palace of Cambodia in the capital city of Phnom Penh.

The Kingdom of Cambodia neighbors Âu Lạc (Vietnam) to the east, Thailand to the west, and Laos to the North. Home to 14 million kindhearted ethnic Khmers, this Southeast Asian country is situated on the fertile flood plains of the Mekong River and the spectacular Tonle Sap, or the Great Lake. Tonle Sap is a major geographical feature of Cambodia and a designated Biosphere Reserve of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Its surface area naturally expands once a year from 2,700 square kilometers to 16,000 square kilometers in the monsoon season. During this period, the usual draining of the lake into the Mekong River reverses its course when the deluge of rain water flows back into the lake, inundating surrounding areas. Seasonal flood brings nutrient-rich sediments, supporting a unique ecosystem with a tremendous biodiversity.

Over millennia, the rice-producing fluvial plains evolved into the cradle for a magnificent civilization. It is not known when humans first set foot on the Lotus Land. The most distinct prehistoric sites are the circular earthworks found near southeastern Cambodia. Dated between 3000 to 1000 BCE, these well-organized villas measure 150 to 300 meters across, and housed permanent rice-farming communities.

After a few thousand years of cultural development and exchanges, the history of Cambodia reached unprecedented height during the Angkor Period between the 9th and the 15th centuries. The Buddhist Khmer Empire was one of the most glorious kingdoms in Southeast Asian history, leaving behind numerous architectural, artistic and cultural heritages. The national symbol Angkor Wat is among the hundreds of distinctive Khmer sites found in Cambodia. Built in the 12th century, the well-preserved architecture is among the best ancient monuments on Earth with its aesthetic design and outstanding masonry.

Having served as a Hindu, and later Buddhist temple, it is characterized by roundly tapered temple mountain edifices symbolizing the splendid spiritual realm, and exquisite relief galleries depicting the images of dancing devatas (deities). Fascinated by its harmonious beauty, the 16th century Portuguese monk Antonio da Magdalena wrote after becoming the first Western witness of the amazing structure, “[Angkor Wat] is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world.

It has towers and decorations and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of.” Angkor Wat is a UNESCO World Heritage Site attracting millions of admirers each year from around the globe. Since the 19th century, Cambodia has been blessed by several wise rulers. During King Norodom’s time, the country gained nearly a century of much cherished peace. Under the leadership of King Sihanouk, Cambodia achieved independence on November 9, 1953. King Sihamoni ascended the throne in 2004, leading the harmonious people of Cambodia into a new era of prosperity.

As a symbol of Cambodian regality, the Royal Palace complex in Phnom Penh was designed to represent the country’s extraordinary cultural heritage. Located next to a beautiful riverfront park, it was built in classic Khmer style consisting of three groups of buildings, the Khemarin Palace, a central compound encompassing the Throne Hall, and the Silver Pagoda Temple.

Numerous gardens adorn the palace with local flora. Except for the Royal residence of Khemarin Palace, the entire complex is open to the public under the instruction of the benevolent king. The construction of the Royal Palace began in 1866 during King Norodom’s reign right after Phnom Penh became the capital. The original palace was designed by Khmer architect Neak Okhna Tepnimith Mak.

Over the course of the next century, the initial wooden buildings were replaced and expanded with new structures. But the predominantly Angkorian-style design retained through the renovations. Most recently in the mid-1990s, the entire complex was refurbished to restore its original splendor. Now, let’s follow Mr. Chea Sothearith, Deputy Chief of Tour Guide Office, and explore the various aspects of this spectacular landmark.

Welcome to Cambodia, and welcome to the Royal Palace right here. This is the Royal Palace of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

This palace is built with special significant meanings with the special Cambodian sculpture.

The location of this palace is face to the river. We have the Mekong Rivers and the water also divides into lower Mekong and also divides to the Tonle Sap Lake in Siem Reap; and another one branch is Bassac River. So it is in the front of the confluence of the four rivers.

His Majesty the King Norodom Sihamoni, he’s now 57 years old, and he has been crowned since 2004. So right now His Majesty the King, he is still living inside the palace in his residence. The whole palace compound is 435-meter long by 421-meter wide, so totally is almost half kilometer square.

We’ll continue our tour of the Royal Palace of Cambodia and hear about the compassionate monarch right after these messages. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

You can look at this palace. There are two main colors. Yellow represents Buddhism; white means Brahmanism.

Welcome back to A Journey through Aesthetic Realms on Supreme Master Television as we resume our tour of the Royal Palace of Cambodia in the capital city of Phnom Penh. With a single-spired roof, the Khemarin Palace is the residence of His Majesty King Sihamoni and the Royal Family. On the same line of axis as the Moonlight Pavilion, it is separated from the rest of the complex. The triple-spired Throne Hall is the most prominent architecture in the central complex. It is used for royal celebrations and official meetings.

Inside the Throne Hall, one finds the thrones for the King and the Queen, along with the busts of past monarchs. The ceiling of this great hall is garnished with colorful frescos depicting stories from the Reamker, the Cambodian version of the Indian epic of Ramayana. With its front side facing east, the Throne Hall was constructed on a citadel and has a 30-by-60-meter footprint. The central spire rises up to 59 meters, on which the four-faced head of Brahma overlooks four directions, reminiscent of the face towers of Angkor Wat.

Brahmanism, we believe in one god that has four faces. And the Brahman is very peaceful in his world, so that is why the King also put the four faces on the top and representing that he doesn’t want to have fightings against any nation. So this is a sign that we would like to have peace.

Brahma has four faces, and each face means mercy, compassion, sympathy, and equality.

All edges and corners of the Throne Hall’s golden roof are embellished with dragon sculptures, which have a special significance.

You can see the roof. They represent the dragon skin. And every small spiral on the top of the roof represents the tail of the dragon, and from the tail lower down the body. And the head of those dragons on the lower part of the eave of roof. His Majesty the King put the dragon. So we also believe in dragon because dragon is very important. Everywhere when you visit Cambodia you always see the statue of dragon because we consider dragon our ancestor too.

How is the dragon related to Cambodia’s past? Let’s find out from this time-honored folktale.

The dragon is related to one of the legends that about 8000 years ago this country has no land. It was under water. And the water was ruled by the dragon. And the female dragon, when she had a baby, her baby was a human daughter. And the daughter ruled part of the water.

There was a prince from India, and they fell in love with each other. So then the daughter took him to meet the father in the seabed. So the father made the wedding ceremony for them. During the wedding ceremony, the father, in need of dowry, tried to suck the water of this area.

And here the water dried, then the land took over. So the land was given by the dragon. That is why we always think the dragon is important and we never insult the dragon. We always make offering, food, cakes to the dragon. And the dragon is a symbol of the rain also. 85% of us, we are rice farmers, so we plant rice, depending on the rain water.

Dragons are also symbols of the Royalty. The special arrangement of dragon tails on the roof of the Throne Hall is a metaphor of peace.

And the dragon is a symbol of our ancestor, our protector. That is why we put the dragon statue on the top. There are many, many dragons on the roof. It means that this country is led by many, many leaders, but all the leaders have the same ideas. How could they have the same idea? You can look at the tower. The main tower is the symbol of all the combination of all the dragon tails.

They combine their tails in a single way and point upward. It means prosperity and wisdom, and protects the country very well. All of our leaders have the same idea to protect the nation and to make happiness and peace for the nation.

Below the dragon roof, the eaves of the Throne Hall are supported by the images of Garuda, a flying deity of Indian mythology.

This architecture also is decorated with the statue that is called “Garuda” at the corner of the pillar. Those statues have wings, and now they are supporting every pillar of these buildings. So it means that these buildings now they are not on the ground. They are now floating in Heaven because of every pillar supported by the statue have wings. And they are flying right now.

So the palace means paradise. So we always consider our kings as the god-kings as well. This is the culture of god-king. We practice this religion since the 9th century, since we started establishing the great empire Angkor Temple.

The Throne Hall is really a heavenly edifice expressing the noble wishes of the dragon descendants. May the Kingdom of Cambodia be blessed with lasting peace and happiness. Join us again tomorrow when we continue our visit to other inspiring structures of the Royal Palace complex in Cambodia.

Thank you for your wonderful presence on today’s episode of A Journey through Aesthetic Realms.

Up next on Supreme Master Television is Vegetarianism: The Noble Way of Living, right after Noteworthy News. Wishing you an uplifting week filled with divine glory.