Visit Angkor Wat

WHAT and WHERE

According to “Angkor Wat,” the name itself, “Angkor,” derives from a Sanskrit word meaning “holy city.” “Wat,” of course, in Khmer means “temple.” There is a single temple complex called “Angkor Wat,” located near Siem Reap in northeast Cambodia, but it has come to represent a whole complex of wonderful temples and stonemasonry and artwork throughout the area. It is the single largest religious structure in the world, and surely one of the world’s wonders of art and architecture. In fact, within an area of 120 sq. miles, the ruins contain some of the most imposing monuments in the world, including about a thousand temples, mainly Hindu and some Buddhist; the ancient city, however, had an extent some three times that size, and was home to perhaps 750,000 people.


HISTORY

Angkor Wat was conceived and constructed under Suryavarman II (r. 1113—50). Angkor Wat and the complex of temples surrounding it, planned as a sepulcher and a monument to the divinity of the monarch and measuring about 1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), it is probably the largest religious structure in the world. It was built at the height of the Khmer Empire, which at the time controlled Cambodia, Laos, much of Vietnam, and a portion of Thailand.

The temple was dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu (the Supreme Being, master of the past, present, and the future), and became the king’s temple and capital. In the 14th or 15th centuries, the temple was transformed into a Buddhist temple, the royalty and residents converted to Theravada Buddhism—but Hindu influence can still be seen throughout the temple complex. What we know of the history of Angkor Wat is derived mostly from a written account given by a Chinese ambassador to the Khmer Empire. The Khmer wrote on rendered palm leaves which do not last as does paper, so we can only examine the structure itself for the Khmer perspective.