Angkor Wat
The history like no other.
Angkor what??
Angkor Wat meaning Temple City is an architectural miracle like no other. You will never see anything like it in your lifetime, unless of course you visit it! Its beauty and unique architecture will take your breath away. It is like a city built on water with perfect square moats and other natural yet accurate geometrical sites surrounding it. It lies on a thin island around 400km². Believe it or not the huge temple is a Heaven on Earth. It symbolizes the cosmic world in many ways. The center tower represents Mt. Meru and the other 4 represent the peaks of the mountain. Representation of the ocean comes from the moat surrounding the forest and temple. These 5 towers in the form of a lotus has to be the most eye-catching and graceful architecture of the temple. Angkor Wat needs to be recognized as it is a very important site of Cambodia .There is a lot of fascinating history that will put it on the map.
Geography
Angkor Wat is located in Cambodia which was once known as the Khmer Empire, where the Khmer people built it between 1113 -1230 AD as instructed by their ruler (King Suryavarman II) at the time. It was built dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu but for an uncertain purpose. Constructions took more than 30 years. Angkor Wat is 6km North of Siem Reap.
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and decorations all throughout. One of this, the bas-relief tells a story like no other. The bas-relief projects a wonderful story from its stonewalls, which reveal many mysteries of the Khmer Empire. We learn so much about the Khmer people from just this one building from how they lived their lives to what they believed in. The stories are told by drawings and writing in Sanskrit (ancient language). Angkor Wat, for a long time, had been the center of life for the Khmer people as it was located in what was once the capital of the Khmer Empire.
Recent and older discoveries of paintings, inscriptions and bas-reliefs from the temple show the Story of how King Suryavarman II, killed his uncle to gain power by jumping onto and elephant, his uncle was being carried in. They also show the pinpeat (an ensemble of traditional Khmer Music), people riding horse between what is believed to be the temple, the Hindu story of creation called “churning of sea milk”
Did you know bas-reliefs at Angkor Wat read counterclockwise, indicating relation with funeral purposes?
Today the Cambodian flag depicts a picture of Angkor Wat as it is there history. History is important to all and tells as many stories about our ancestors and Angkor Wat has done the same for the Khmer Empire. The Hindu temple, now Buddhist also tells us about the history of the Hindu religion which is important in many lives. Angkor Wat has been put on the world heritage list showing it is an important historical feature that needs to live on. It also shows the importance of the Hindu Gods.
Angkor Wat is the “Pyramids” of the Khmer Empire and a lot more. This site truly is magnificent and a must visit as it will open our eyes and see the world I a better way. It’s not the pyramids, it’s not Taj Mahal, it’s not the Great Wall of China but it is something much bigger, more magnificent and a priceless experience to see.
The main entrance is on the west. This is thought to be for a symbolic reason.
Refrences
Centre, U. 2014. Angkor - UNESCO World Heritage Centre. [online] Available at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668 [Accessed: 9 Oct 2014].
LiveScience.com. 2014. Angkor Wat: History of Ancient Temple. [online] Available at: http://www.livescience.com/23841-angkor-wat.html [Accessed: 9 Oct 2014].
National Geographic. 2014. Angkor -- World Heritage Site -- National Geographic. [online] Available at: http://travel.nationalgeographic.com.au/travel/world-heritage/angkor/ [Accessed: 9 Oct 2014].
Sacred Sites. 2014. Angkor Wat. [online] Available at: http://sacredsites.com/asia/cambodia/angkor_wat.html [Accessed: 8 Oct 2014].
Tourism of Cambodia. 2014. Angkor Wat - 7th Wonder of the World - Angkor Archeological Park - Angkor Wat Guide | Tourism Cambodia. [online] Available at: http://www.tourismcambodia.com/attractions/angkor/angkor-wat.htm [Accessed: 9 Oct 2014].
Wikipedia. 2014. Angkor Wat. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat [Accessed: 9 Oct 2014].