Siem Reap is the second big city after Phnom Penh. The Temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap. The majestic temples of Angkor in the Northwest of Cambodia belong to the classic period of Khmer art and civilisation. Today, a millennium after they were built, they awe visito
rs with their perfection and enormity. The temples are the creation of a succession of Khmer Kings who presided over an empire that dominated most of present-day Southeast Asia from 800 to 1430 AD, reaching its peak in the 12th century. The period began with the ascension to the throne by King Jayavarman II. Angkor was the basis for the Khmer empire and continued to grow and evolve into a vast city of over a million inhabitants and hundreds of temples dedicated to the Khmer gods. In the 14th century the empire was in decline and the grand wooden houses and palaces have disappeared. From the 15th century the temples were abandoned by the Kings and subsequently forgotten until their “rediscovery” in 1961 by a French explorer. The jungle setting and silence enhance the mystery of the temples. One early discoverer’s reaction upon seeing Angkor is not so much different as the feeling of the visitor of today: “The temple stands solitary and alone in the jungle, in too perfect order to be called a ruin, a relic of a race far ahead of the present”. Please download HERE for more places.
rs with their perfection and enormity. The temples are the creation of a succession of Khmer Kings who presided over an empire that dominated most of present-day Southeast Asia from 800 to 1430 AD, reaching its peak in the 12th century. The period began with the ascension to the throne by King Jayavarman II. Angkor was the basis for the Khmer empire and continued to grow and evolve into a vast city of over a million inhabitants and hundreds of temples dedicated to the Khmer gods. In the 14th century the empire was in decline and the grand wooden houses and palaces have disappeared. From the 15th century the temples were abandoned by the Kings and subsequently forgotten until their “rediscovery” in 1961 by a French explorer. The jungle setting and silence enhance the mystery of the temples. One early discoverer’s reaction upon seeing Angkor is not so much different as the feeling of the visitor of today: “The temple stands solitary and alone in the jungle, in too perfect order to be called a ruin, a relic of a race far ahead of the present”. Please download HERE for more places.
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