Angkor Wat - The pearl of Cambodia

This temple is one of the most awesome structures anyone can visit. It is very large, the enclosing rectangular wall measures 800 by 1025 metres. Around the wall is a moat some 200 metres wide. The terrain is so vast (some 208 hectares, 500 acres) that all the known wonders of the world including the St Peter cathedral of Rome and the Indonesian Borobudur could find a place on the grounds in front of the main temple, which central tower tops over 200 metres. The complex was built over a 30 to 40-year period at the start of the 12th century and is dedicated to Hindu god Vishnu.

Angkor Wat was built using sandstone which isn't found in the immediate area. Most of it was probably taken from the the small mount of Phnom Kulen, some 30 km. to the north. The wall surrounding the temple is carved from laterite, a reddish type of stone found everywhere in the country. Laterite is soft when left in the wet ground, it hardens when dried in the sun. It is volcanic and contains large amounts of air pockets. For this reason it was rarely used for whole structures because it cannot be finely carved.
The Angkor Wat temple is a classical example of the temple mountain of Mt. Meru, central in Hindu cosmology. The five towers symbolise the five mountain peaks, the grounds the world, the wall stands for the mountains at the edge of the world, the surrounding moat stand for the shore and the oceans.
You can spend days to wander al the halls and rooms of Angkor Wat. Take at least half a day to see the main parts and climb the central sanctuary and admire the view. On ground level of the main complex you will find galleries of bas-reliefs some 800 metres in length, 3 tiers high. The epic battles and events depicted here tell in great detail about the history of the various Khmer empires and their rulers. Large sections show scenes from the complex Hindu religion. Near the temples and in Siem Reap you can buy paper rubbings taken from these bas-reliefs. By the way, view them from right to left.

Around the temple you will find many beautiful carvings of apsaras or celestial dancers. They are depicted a bit more frivolous then the ones found on most of the other temples. They are also sculpted in twos and threes. The apsara above on the left is from the Bayon temple, the pair on the right can be found on the eastern side of the sanctuary at Angkor Wat. The carvings here are of great quality and have withstood the ages very well, some appear to have been finished only yesterday.

As you walk around the complex you are likely to get thirsty. Don't carry refreshments all day, just buy them from the kids who will follow you carrying plastic containers way too big for them. They will ask for one or sometimes two dollars for a can of Coke, but hey, think of it as benefitting whole villages.

The Angkor Wat temple is the symbol of present day Cambodia. It is depicted on the national flag and on the current 500 Riel banknote, whose value is about US$ 0,20.

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