Angkor Wat
| Angkor Wat | |
|---|---|
| Khmer name | អង្គរវត្ត |
| Also known as | Temple City |
| Site type | Temple |
| Location | Siem Reap, Siem Reap province |
| Country | Cambodia |
| Period | Constructed between 1113 and 1150 CE |
| Subjects | Religion & Spiritual Life; History & Remembrance |
Angkor Wat is a temple in Siem Reap, Siem Reap province, Cambodia. (Wikipedia)
History
Angkor Wat was commissioned by Khmer king Suryavarman II in Yaśodharapura, the capital of the Khmer Empire, as a state temple dedicated to Vishnu and was generally considered intended as his mausoleum. From the late 13th century onward, it was gradually transformed from a Hindu center of worship into a Buddhist site and has continued to serve as a Buddhist center until the present day. Restoration and conservation work was undertaken by international agencies during the 20th and 21st centuries, with restoration coordinated by the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor, established in 1993 under UNESCO. (Wikipedia)
Significance
Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world and is considered the largest religious structure in the world by Guinness World Records. Its layout is commonly interpreted as a symbolic representation of Mount Meru, with the central quincunx of towers representing the mountain's five peaks and the walls and moat representing surrounding mountain ranges and ocean. It is a major religious, cultural, and national symbol of Cambodia, appears on the Cambodian national flag, and has remained an active center of Buddhist worship for centuries. the Angkor archaeological park. (UNESCO World Heritage Centre)
Stewardship
The International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of the Historic Site of Angkor (ICC-Angkor), established under UNESCO in 1993, coordinated restoration. The Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA) was established in 1995 to protect and manage the area. The site was managed by SOKIMEX from 1990 to 2016, which rented it from the Cambodian government. (Wikipedia)
Visiting
Angkor Wat is a major tourist attraction and attracts more than 2.5 million visitors every year. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west, the latter being the main entrance. The site reopened to international visitors in late 2021; 280,000 tourists visited the complex in 2022, and more than 400,000 tourists visited by late July 2023. (Wikipedia)