Now atmospherically encroached by forest, Banteay Chhmar housed one of the largest and most impressive Buddhist monasteries of the Angkorian period and was originally enclosed by a 9km-long wall. It is one of the the few temples to feature the enigmatic, Bayon-style four-faced Avalokiteshvaras with their mysterious and iconic smiles. The temple is also renowned for its 2000 sq metres of intricate carvings that depict war victories, scenes from daily life and a spectacular bas-relief of multiarmed Avalokiteshvaras.
The sequence of eight multiarmed Avalokiteshvaras , on the exterior of the southern section of the temple's western ramparts, is unique to Banteay Chhmar. Unfortunately several of these were dismantled and trucked into Thailand in a brazen act of looting in 1998; only two figures – one with 22 arms, the other with 32 – remain in situ, but the dazzling, intricate artistry involved in creating these carvings is still easily evoked. The segmants of the looted bas-reliefs that were intercepted by the Thais are now on display in Phnom Penh's National Museum .
On the temple’s east side, a huge bas-relief on a partly toppled wall dramatically depicts naval warfare between the Khmers (on the left) and the Chams (on the right), with the dead (some being devoured by crocodiles) at the bottom. Further south (to the left) are scenes of land warfare with infantry and elephants. There are more martial bas-reliefs along the exterior of the temple’s south walls.
The once-grand entry gallery is now a jumble of fallen sandstone blocks, though elsewhere a few intersecting galleries have withstood the ravages of time, as have some almost-hidden 12th-century inscriptions. Sadly, all the apsaras (nymphs) have been decapitated by looters.
