This westerly shot is taken from the bridge of the western causeway, which creates the east/west axial line of the entire complex. The bridge and causeway are part of the cosmological structure of Angkor Wat which is meticulously outlined and researched by Eleanor Mannikka's 1996 book 'Angkor Wat: Time, Space, and Kingship.' Mannikka asserts that the western entrance of Angkor holds importance in facilitating the transition from the realm of the ordinary to that of the sacred. Angkor, being constructed like most Khmer temple mounts as a microcosm of Mount Meru, is isolated from its surroundings by a moat measuring 5 Km in circumference, making Angkor Wat one of the world's largest religious foundations. The western entrance is the main, and only (save a dirt path from the east) entrance into the great complex. Constructed of sandstone laterite and earth, the bridge leads the individual over the moat and through the external wall of the complex. The bridge then extends into a causeway which passes through the four enclosures of Angkor Wat, representing the concentric rings of land and water that surround Mount Meru, and then to the central pyramid of the complex which represents the peak of Mount Meru itself. This photo features the external wall of the compound which is crowned by three towers that prevent a full view of the main towers of the temple. The two tips of the northern and southern towers of the inner complex poke out on either side of the central tower. Also visible are the northern and southern staircases that lead from the bridge down to the moat, which are each guarded by a set of lions, as well as the multi-headed heads of the naga balustrade that once ran the entire length of the causeway.