West Mebon Temple

West Mebon (Khmer: ប្រាសាទ​មេបុណ្យ​ខាងលិច) was built on an artificial island in the middle of the West Baray.

The causeway leading to the centre of the monument ends with a nilometre – a two-metre deep pit in the shape of an inverted linga.  During the rainy season, the water level in the baray rose until it filled up the pond located within the West Mebon.  The water then made its way to the linga through a small channel, indicating that water contained in the baray had reached a proper level – it was time to irrigate the paddy fields with the baray's waters that had been ‘fertilised’ by their contact with the linga.

Map of West Mebon