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Siem
Reap – Angkor Wat
is located 314 km northwest of the capital Phnom Penh. The Angkor Wat temple
complex represented the apex of Khmer creativity and splendour of
the Khmer Empire. It covers 4000 square kilometres. At
the center stands of Angkor Wat, the largest and most famous of all the temples
and one of the seven wonder of the world. It symbolises the soul,
pride and life of the Khmer people. Angkor
Wat was built in the early 12th century by King
Suryarman ll who reigned from approximately 1113-1150, took 30
Years to complete and is the place where the Khmer kings worship and
pray for the protection of his people and kingdom.
The
whole Angkor Wat temple complex is surrounded by a moat 190 meters
wide. During the wet season the water in the moat mirrors the
splendid beauty of the complex. The Angkor Wat has only two
entrances, the east entrance and the west entrance. Both entrances
are guarded on both sides by the statue of Vishnu.
When you enter Angkor Wat, you will see a huge and an
imposing square column. On all four sides of this huge column are
relief sculptures –
each one telling you a different story.
The
first wall depicts on how the Angkor Empire was built and how the king and his generals planned to fight in battlefields. The second depicts Hindu reincarnation –
good deeds in this life will ensure a better life hereafter;
similarly an evil life will downgrade oneself in the next. The third
wall tells how Vishnu protracted the kingdom
and her people. And the
last wall shows how the people revered, praised and glorified their
god-king. The
Bayon Temple is located 3.3 km
north of Angkor Wat, within magnificent temple complex
Angkor
Thom
and consists of 54 towers,each with 4 faces. There are a total of 216 smilling faces at
the
site, all them resembling King Jayavarman
VII. Angkor
Thom is large Buddhist
temple city built at the end 12th century by King
Jayavarman VII. Within the Angkor Thom complex include other temples
like Baphuon, Elephant tarrace, Phimeanakas, ect. At present, both
Angkor and Angkor Thom are situated at an archaeological site called
Angkor.
Angkor
City was the capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th
century. Unfortunatly, in 1431 (recent research put it at 1444) the
Siamese captured and sacked Angkor. Temples were destroyed and
its inhabitants were driven to the south. From then on Angkor was
abandoned and Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom were left to ruin. It
was not until 22nd January 1860, that a French
explorer (Alexandre Henri Mouhot:
1
2
)
brought Angkor to the World´s attention.
He read about Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in a book titled cial envoy
named Chou Ta-Kuan.
At the time of the discovery, there were more than
600 tall temples and other structures at Angkor Wat. Unfortunately,
the history of Angkor Wat was sad and sorrowful because it was lost
and closed again to the outside world from around 1970 – 80s. At
present, the showpiece of Cambodia is once again open. Blessed with
peace and a stable government under King Norodom Sihanouk, the
people of Cambodia are determined to work hard to regain the glory
of their past, symbolized
by Angkor Wat.
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