The Bayon temple at Angkor

Angkor is the ancient capital of the Khmer empire (history) which thrived from the 9th century to 15th century CE. Its ruins are located in forests to the north of the Great Lake (Tonle Sap), near present day Siem Reap, Cambodia, and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visitor numbers approach one million annually.

The area is made up of several significant archaeological sites, including:

• Angkor Thom
  • Bayon
  • Terrace of the Elephants
• Angkor Wat
• Baksei Chamkrong
• Banteay Kdei
• Banteay Samre
• Banteay Srei
• Baphuon
• Chau Say Tevoda
• Krol Ko
• Neak Pean
• Phimeanakas
• Phnom Bakheng
• Phnom Krom
• Preah Khan
• Preah Ko
• Preah Rup
• Spean Thma
• Ta Prohm
• Ta Som
• Ta Keo
• Thommanon

Although most of the area was only recently reclaimed from the jungle, the temple of Angkor Wat has been maintained continuously by Buddhist monks for hundreds of years. Since the site became known to the west, there have been many renovation projects. Teams from many countries are involved in renovating and preserving the ruins.

2001 saw the release of the movie Tomb Raider, filmed on location at various Angkor sites.

References

• National Review: In Pol Pot Land: Ruins of varying types Sept 29, 2003

External links

• Yellow Pages Cambodia 3D Map Virtual 3D Tour of the Angkor temples
• The New Tomb Raiders Article discussing the rising pressure from tourism by Roderick Eime

See also: Architecture of Cambodia, Cambodia, Khmer Empire.