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Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
GPS: 13.414221014805, 103.86898047414
Angkor temple is located in the northern province of Cambodia in Siem Reap, in a fertile valley between the Tonlé Sap Lake and the mountain range of Phnom Kulen. It is composed of approximately 200 temples, sanctuaries and royal palaces erected between the 9th and 15th centuries by several rulers of the Khmer Empire. The self-proclaimed god-king Jayavarman II was the founder of this vast empire after having conquered several territories. When most tourists visit Cambodia they love to visit the Angkor Wat complex to visit the best-preserved monument of the old capital of Angkor which is the now Buddhist temple complex of Angkor Wat which is a world heritage site. The construction of Angkor Wat was built so that it occupies the central position of the capital city of a vast kingdom that ruled over the entire peninsula of Southeast Asia in the Middle Ages.
Symbolising the mythical mountain of Mount Meru, the monumental complex and temple-mountain of Angkor Wat includes a set of five towers carved in the shape of lotus buds. This architectural jewel of Angkor Wat is considered a top tourism destination for visitors where the bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat read counterclockwise. Embodying the quintessence of Khmer art, was built at the request of King Suryavarman II in 1140 to honour the Hindu god Vishnu and make it his mausoleum after he died. Therefore the temple is associated with funeral rites for King Suryavarman and is in this way associated with death. The original name of the temple was vrah viṣṇuloka meaning the “the shrine of Vishnu”. Built in a space of 40 years, the Cambodian Angkor Wat prospered thanks to the implementation of an innovative irrigation and water management system. This system optimises rice cultivation while controlling the seasonal phenomenon of the monsoon. Cambodia’s visitors to Angkor Wat may look at a plan of Angkor Wat to see how Angkor Wat is oriented with an extensive network of roads, canals, water basins, dams and dykes which have been built around large areas of settlements, monasteries and royal palaces. There is a moat and an outer wall more than a kilometer long which is another indication that the temple Angkor Wat is unusually oriented towards larger-than-life architecture where the sacred dwelling is ideal for photographs and images from Angkor Wat. Chinese diplomat zhou daguan lived in angkor for one year from 1296 to 1297 where he would have discussed important deities and figures.
Initially devoted to Hinduism and Hindu culture and originally built as a Hindu temple, Angkor Wat in Cambodia was transformed into a place of Buddhist worship by decision of King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century. He built new temples, more sophisticated than Angkor Wat’s previous ones, in the nearby royal city of Angkor Thom. On the death of the sovereign, a long phase of decline begins. It was caused by the ageing of the hydraulic network, combined with deforestation, soil erosion, great periods of drought and a series of floods. The city of Angkor Wat temple was plundered by the troops of the Kingdom of Champa in 1177 before being occupied in 1352 by the Sukhothai Kingdom then vandalised by the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1431. These successive attacks marked the fall and end of the Khmer Empire and the Khmer king in the 15th century. Bringing together beliefs linked to Hinduism and Buddhism, this high place of pilgrimage and ancient monument and state temple of Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world and is made of sandstone blocks and laterite forming the wall at Angkor Wat and cut from a quarry in the area. This historic site of this state temple and capital city, treasured by the Cambodian government and discovered by French explorer Henri Mouhot, is a national symbol of Cambodia throughout the world for those who visit Angkor Wat.