Bayon-a-crown-jewel-at-the-hearth-of-Angkor-Thom-or-the-Great-city-was-built-as-a-state-temple-by-Angkor-greatest-Khmer-king-Jayavarman-VII-who-took-over-after-the-disaster-of-losing-the-old-Khmer-capital-to-the-Chams.-Bayon-which-is-standing-at-the-exact-centre-of-the-Angkor-Thom-city-is-maybe-best-known-for-its-collection-of-54-Gothic-style-towers-decorated-with-no-less-than-216-smiling-enormous-faces-of-Avalokiteshvara-a-Buddhist-bodhisattva-depicting-the-king-Jayavarman-VII-himself.-The-temple-is-also-known-for-two-impressive-sets-of-bas-reliefs-which-present-an-unusual-combination-of-mythological-scenes-depicted-on-the-inner-gallery-and-historical-and-everyday-life-on-the-outer-one.-The-outer-gallery-is-also-enclosing-a-courtyard-that-used-to-contain-16-chapels-that-were-demolished-along-with-a-statue-of-Buddha-seated-in-meditation-in-the-central-tower-by-the-Hindu-restorationist-monarch-Jayavarman-VIII.-Photo-by-Marko-Preslenkov