Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is in a temple complex in Cambodia, located in the Siem Reap district, about 308km to the north of the capital city of Phnom Penh. It was built in the early 12th century as king Suryavaraman II's state temple and capital city. It is the epitome of the high classical syle of Khmer architecture. Tourists visit to see for themselves the magnificence of Angkor Wat and admire the carvings. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561,000 and 677,000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia for both years. The influx of tourist has caused little damage apart from graffiti.

Source of image: http://home.wxs.nl/~bellaart/images/cambodia/siemreap/sr00.jpg
Source of information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat, http://www.khmerfuture.com/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2218&theme=Printer

Done by: Ka Yi

Aerial view of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat, located in Cambodia and built during the early years of the 12th century by Suryavaram II, honors the Hindu god Vishnu and is a symbolic representation of Hindu cosmology. Consisting of an enormous temple symbolizing the mythic Mt. Meru, its five inter-nested rectangular walls and moats represent chains of mountains and the cosmic ocean. The short dimensions of the vast compound are precisely aligned along a north-south axis, while the east-west axis has been deliberately diverted 0.75 degrees south of east and north of west, seemingly in order to give observers a three day anticipation of the spring equinox. Since it's rediscovery in the 1800s, (with the exception of the civil war period) this historic temple has received a steady stream of visitors, curious about the ancient temple.

http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/cambodia/angkor_wat.html
www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/90520/...

by : Marriz