a quick stop...

at the Terrace of the Elephants...

before heading off to our next discovery...

- where do you come from?...

- Portugal!

- if i guess your country capital... will you lunch at my restaurant?...

- hmmmm... ok... why not?... you got a deal!!...

and so we did... :) delicious!!

smiles...

captured for eternity...

in hundreds...

faces...

carved in stone...

it is...

narrow...
you could also say dark...
suddenly... you look up...
and...
there they are...
facing the horizon... facing you...
your heart stops... time stands still... there is nothing but silence...
and then...
you breath...
as you just been touched by the hands of History...
and on its pace... to sum up... time... continues to be...

Prasat Bayon...

"...is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple at Angkor in Cambodia. Built in the late 12th century or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, the Bayon stands at the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom.

(...)
The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and massive stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak.

(...)

The Bayon was the last state temple to be built at Angkor, and the only Angkorian state temple to be built primarily as a Mahayana Buddhist shrine dedicated to the Buddha, though a great number of minor and local deities were also encompassed as representatives of the various districts and cities of the realm. It was the centrepiece of Jayavarman VII's massive program of monumental construction and public works (...) The similarity of the 216 gigantic faces on the temple's towers to other statues of the king has led many scholars to the conclusion that the faces are representations of Jayavarman VII himself..."

text from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayon