Prasat Suor Prat – Twelve towers in Angkor Thom

Prasat Suor Prat ប្រាសាទសួព្រ័ត is a row of twelve similar towers made of laterite and sandstone in Angkor Thom, which lies on the side of the South-North axis of the Angkor Thom crossroads. The so-called “Victory avenue”, which crosses on halfway the intersection in Eastern-West direction, divides the tower row into two parts with six towers on each side of the intersection.

Different architecture at Prasat Suor Prat

The architecture of the towers is different to other temple buildings: All twelve towers have big open windows on every side and all gates are towards the West. The function as well as the original name of the towers remains a mystery until today.

How the twelve towers of Prasat Suor Prat were used

Tcheou Ta-Kouan gave a pictorial but also inadequate explanation of what could have been the possible use of the towers: Supposedly when two men would have a disagreement with each other they were forced to sit for four days in one of the twelve towers, while their relatives were outside waiting for them. During this period, the one man who was wrong in the argument would start to feel sick from a gastric ulcer,  catarrh or bad fever. The other one would remain healthy. This is why we call right or wrong “divine judgement”.

About Tcheou Ta-Kouan

Tcheou Ta-Kouan was a Chinese clerk, who stayed for one year in Cambodia in the end of the 13th century (1296 – 1297).

Links and references with a * are an affiliate link (advertising link). If you like Visit Angkor and buy, book or subscribe to something via an affiliate link, the provider will make a small commission for Visit Angkor. Of course, there are no additional costs for you.

By the way: We write here at Visit Angkor with a lot of passion and love. Nevertheless, it can happen that information is no longer up to date or perhaps even incorrect. We would be happy to hear from you so that we can update the information accordingly. Thank you very much!