Banteay Samre Temple

Description: Banteay Samré (Khmer: ប្រាសាទបន្ទាយសំរែ) is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia located east of the East Baray. Built under Suryavarman II and Yasovarman II in the early 12th century, it is a Hindu temple in the Angkor Wat style.

Temple Banteay_Samre13

Banteay Samre is associated with a tasty legend which connects three temples: Eastern Mebon, Pre Rup and Banteay Srey, the legend of the king to soft cucumbers. Samres were large warriors, supposed to be mercenaries, shaven, tattooed and very impressive. It is said that the inhabitants of the village of Pradak, located beside this temple, are their downward. One of them, a gardener had inherited a divine soft cucumber seed that the king adored at the point to have condemned to died any person who would enter the cucumber field to steal them.

By greediness, it penetrated during the night in the field and was killed by the gardener. Not having a descent, one called upon “the elephant of the victory” of Mebon Oriental to appoint the future king, and it appointed the gardener. The late king was buried in Pre Rup, but its subjects refused to recognize the gardener for king and this one went to be locked up in Banteay Samre to protect himself. Enormous work of anastylose made possible to emphasize a splendid unit and well preserved. The visit of Banteay Samre is to be combined with that of Banteay Srey.

sourced:cambodia-tourism.org