Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares.Angkor Wat, the largest and oldest religious monument in the world, is increasingly becoming a must-see monument in Asia.
2. Angkor wat
Name: Angkor wat
Country : Cambodia
City: Angkor
Area of about 500 acres (200
hectares)
Architectural style: Khmer
Dated: 1186 AD
Creator: Jayavarman IV
Edit to world heritage site by
UNECSO in 1992
Materials: polished marble, laid
without mortar
3. Angkor wat
Built between roughly A.D. 1113 and 1150. Angkor Wat is one of the
largest religious monuments ever constructed. Its name means
temple city.Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god
Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century,
and statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork.
Its 213-foot-tall (65 meters) central tower is surrounded by four
smaller towers and a series of enclosure walls, a layout that
recreates the image of Mount Meru, a legendary place in Hindu
mythology that is said to lie beyond the Himalayas and be the home
of the gods.
4. It was easily the largest city in the world until the industrial revolution.
The temple is surrounded by a 650-foot-wide (200 meters) moat that
encompasses a perimeter of more than 3 miles (5 km). This moat is 13
feet deep (4 meters) and would have helped stabilize the temples
foundation, preventing groundwater from rising too high or falling too low.
Angkor Wats main entrance was to the west (a direction associated with
Vishnu) across a stone
causeway, with guardian
lions marking the way.
To the east of the temple
was a second, more modest,
entrance. The heart of the
temple was the central tower,
entered by way of a steep
staircase, a statue of Vishnu
at top.
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Temples this one does look different. The shape is like a
glimpse of a huge pyramid. What this temple is very broad.
Along the path that leads to the entrance there is a giant snake-
shaped fence. This is believed to be a symbol of fertility. This
temple consists of a tall building and a smaller building in the
vicinity.
6. The temples were first discovered by
French missionaries in 1860. Henri Mahout,
a French botanist started intensive
research and restoration programs. These
research efforts continued until 1968, when
the Vietnam war disrupted the studies.
Angkor Wat is the highest
achievement of Khmer temple
architecture, and is today the
"flagship" of the temples at Angkor.
8. The stones, as smooth as polished
marble, were laid without mortar
with very tight joints that were
sometimes hard to find. The blocks
were held together by mortise and
tenon joints in some cases, while
in others they used dovetails and
gravity. The blocks were
presumably put in place by a
combination of
elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and
bamboo scaffolding.
9. The trees growing out of the
ruins are perhaps the most
distinctive feature of Ta
Prohm, and "have prompted
more writers to descriptive
excess than any other
feature of Angkor." Two
species predominate, but
sources disagree on their
identification: the larger is
either the silk (Ceiba
pentandra) or
thitpok Tetrameles
nudiflora, and the smaller is
either the strangler fig (Ficus
gibbosa) or Gold Apple
(Diospyros decandra).
10. Heritage Angkor wat
Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was found: the
photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and
the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples
with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992.
Today, it is one of the most
visited complexes in Cambodias
Angkor region. The conservation
and restoration of Ta Prohm is
a partnership project of the
Archaeological Survey of India
and the APSARA (Authority for
the Protection and Management
of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).
13. The Government of Italy has granted
565,000 USD to the UNESCO/Italy
Funds-in-Trust, for Safeguarding of the
Angkor Wat Temple-Phase I (June 2008-
September 2011), while the APSARA
National Authority provided materials
such as sandstones, laterite and other
necessary chemical products which is
equivalent to 50,000 USD.
14. Dr. M. S. Nagaraja Rao, India's former
director general of archeology, who
has been in charge of the project.
Armed with chemical cleaners,
preservatives and experience, a
team of Indian archeologists has
begun restoring Angkor Wat, the vast
and ancient capital of Cambodia.
The Indians plan to begin with the
restoration of the main entrance to
the enormous complex of temples,
chapels and corridors Angkor, in Cambodias Northern
Province of Siem Reap, is one of the
most important archaeological sites
of Southeast Asia.