Caves of Phnom Sampow
May 18th, 2008 by Jinja
Part of our Battambang visit included a visit to Phnom Sampow.
As with many historic sites in Cambodia, old legends are overlaid with newer stories and juxtaposed with recent events. One grim reminder of the not so distant past are the mountain’s caves which contain the bones of Khmer Rouge victims, whose demise is depicted in the painting below.
Below: tally of donations.
To avoid disturbing the bones they are now locked away in wire cages, and there is a small stupa at the bottom of one cave.
Generally the dead are cremated in Cambodia, but the remains of KR victims often are given a different treatment.
[...] Sampow is a bit overwhelming, as you have Neak Ta shrines, ‘killing caves‘, a fully functioning Buddhist temple, gun emplacements, and an awesome view with a mythic [...]