ANGKOR WAT: This remarkable ancient temple in the jungle is the most resplendent & best-preserved temple of the Angkor sites & is not to be missed. It was built for King Suryavarman II in the 12th century as his royal temple, & was dedicated to the Hindu deity Vishnu. It is the only Angkor temple that has remained a significant religious center since its foundation—first Hindu, then Buddhist.

In my background research, I ran across several superlatives that describe Ankor Wat, ancient Angkor’s city temple & now the symbol of Cambodia. Angkor Wat - is the jewel in the vast Angkor archaeological site; is the most photographed & most famous of the Angkor monuments; is so grand in design that some rank it among the seven wonders of the world; has symmetry, detail & scale that have been compared to the Egyptian pyramids & India's Taj Mahal; has been compared to the architecture of ancient Greece or Rome; is believed to be the largest religious structure in the world; is surely the greatest of South East Asia's man-made wonders, to list a few.

Architecture: This walled temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture, which was based on early South Indian (Hindu) architecture. Angkor Wat is a unique combination of the temple mountain, which is the standard design for the Khmer empire's state temples, & the later plan of a concentric galleried temple. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru, the home of the gods, the 5 gopuras symbolize the five peaks of the mountain, & the walls & moat represent the surrounding mountain ranges & ocean. Unlike most Khmer temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west rather than the east, which has led many to conclude that Suryavarman intended it to serve as his funerary temple?

Construction: Sandstone of various colors was the chief material used by the Khmers. The enormous amounts of sandstone used for this Angkor Wat is comparable to the amount used for the pyramid in Egypt (over 5 million tons). This sandstone was transported from Mount Kulen, a quarry approximately 25 miles (40 km) to the northeast. The stone was presumably transported by raft along the Siem Reap river. The blocks were presumably put in place by using a combination of elephants, coir ropes, pulleys & bamboo scaffolding. The stone was cut into huge blocks, which were fitted together with great accuracy without the use of cement, were held together by mortise & tenon joints in some cases, or dovetails & gravity.

The labor force to quarry, transport, carve & install this much sandstone must have run into the thousands, including many highly skilled artisans. (In recent times, it took a stone mason & sculptor about 60 days to recreate/carve a smaller stone sculpture (under 4 feet). One modern engineer estimated it would take 300 years to complete Angkor Wat today! Yet this monument took no more than 40 years - it was begun soon after Suryavarman came to the throne & was finished shortly after his death.

Restoration: The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 & 1992. Since then, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts & a massive increase in tourism. After Angkor became a World Heritage Site in 1992, some funding was provided & the Cambodian government was urged to protect the site. (It was on the endangered list for a while.) The Angkor restoration works have mainly been carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities, ie France, Japan, China, Germany, & Indonesia.

Will Angkor survive mass tourism? The ancient ruins of Angkor survived centuries lost in the jungle & decades of civil war, but can they survive all the tourists? Tourism is Cambodia’s main industry, & the temples of Angkor are the prime attractions. Over 2 million tourists visited Cambodia in 2007, & that number is expected to climb to 3.2 million by 2010 & to 4.3 million by 2020. Tourism brings in billions in revenue, underlining the industry's importance to an impoverished nation. Yet the increasing influx of tourists is placing great strains on Angkor’s infrastructure, mainly because it is has not been protected, improved or maintained properly.

And Siem Reap, the nearby town (5.5 kms) where visitors to Angkor stay, is starting to buckle under the pressure. The population of Siem Reap has increased by 50 % over the past three years. The result - chaotic, ramshackle encampments lining the road leading out of town, housing thousands of arrivals looking for work in the hotels, hospitality, & construction trades. "There are too many people, and it's difficult to supply & feed them" said a local official. Because of the tourist boom, hotels have sprouted up like mushrooms. The town's infrastructure is beginning to buckle. The drainage & sewage systems are frequently overwhelmed, power blackouts are common, & the streets turn into rivers during the rainy season (hence all the dust). There is even concern that the earth beneath the mighty temples of Angkor could collapse into depleted underground water pockets. The town is already becoming less attractive to the moneyed, discriminating tourists who could provide Siem Reap with a stable future. Despite this, the government seems reluctant to interfere in the growth, after all, Siem Reap is one of its few cash cows.

Management: The source of the problem seems to be the management of the archaeological site, which is in the hands of a private company, with a government authority (APSARA) as overseer. Apparently, the ticket sales concession was granted, without using the bidding process, to the Sokha Hotel Company, owned by a close friend & crony of Prime Minister Hun Sen. This government concession contract was concluded in 2005 & also involved APSARA. The company gets all the ticket money (about US$30 million in 2008), but there are conflicting reports on the internet about the contract details, ie what happens after that? One source says that the company gives the state a ‘maximum’ of $10 million/year, regardless of the ever-increasing revenues every year, & pockets the rest, apparently without funneling any of it back into site improvements or maintenance? There are also charges of corruption alleging that the company quietly shares their profits with government leaders. Another source provides a more reasonable sharing policy between the company & APASARA: the first $3 million in revenue is shared 50%-50%; from the remainder, 15% goes to a development chest for the Angkor area, 68% goes to APSARA, & 17% is kept by the company. The APSARA authority portion goes directly to state coffers. I’d like to think the latter is the case, but I have niggling doubts.

Visiting Angkor Wat: Other than the hoards of tourists (and dust), the steep steps & temple heights are a challenge to those with vertigo or mobility issues, however, they say the climb is awe-inspiring & the views from the top are breathtaking, especially at sunrise or sunset. (I didn’t attempt the climb.) Nearby Bakeng Hill is another popular sunrise/sunset option, although it’s also a tough climb & it’s also crowded.

Some great photo galleries of Angkor Wat http://www.molon.de/galleries/Cambodia/Angkor/AngkorWat

http://www.pbase.com/srijith/angkorwat

http://www.pbase.com/mr2c280/cambodia_angkorwat

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/cambodia/angkor-wat.htm

http://www.asiaexplorers.com/cambodia/angkor_wat.htm

ANGKOR: Angkor, one of the most iconic & awe-inspiring sacred sites in the world, is by far the most popular destination in Cambodia, & it fuels the booming tourist trade in the modern town of Siem Reap which is only 5.5 kms away. The ruins of the ancient city of Angkor, which was capital of the Khmer kingdom from 802 until 1295 AD, is now Angkor Archaeological Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, & Cambodia's "Disneyland of Temples". The Park, stretching over some 400 km2 including forested area, encompasses the ruins of some 40 scattered temples, with majestic Angkor Wat, the ‘city temple’, as its centerpiece. These massive block structures, with giant carved faces & ornate bas relief carvings, have spires that tower over the jungle. Angkor boasts some of the largest religious monuments ever constructed & offers insights into the once mighty Khmer civilization. Once virtually cut off due to Khmer Rouge genocide & civil war, Angkor is now accessible & safe. In fact, the most common complaint is the large crowds that now visit.

Ancient history: The Khmer empire was one of the most prosperous & sophisticated kingdoms in the history of Southeast Asia, and its prosperity was expressed through a wide range of architecture. The city of Angkor, capital of the Khmer empire, was founded by King Jayvarman II around the 9th century on political & religious ideas adapted from India. The temples of Angkor, which were built between A.D. 1113 & 1150, were intended as a place of worship for the king, & a way for him to ensure his immortality through identification with the Hindu gods. Although these magnificent structures were initially based on the Hindu model of the time, Khmer architecture developed its own unique style. In fact, moving tons of stone to the sites & assembling them without mortar are the achievements of the Khmers, along with their highly developed artistry as seen in the decoration & carvings.

During its six centuries as the imperial capital, Angkor went through many changes in architectural styles & in religion. By the late 13th century, the once frenzied pace of Angkor's architectural pursuits had begun to die down, & Theravada Buddhism took over when King Jayavarman VIII, who was Hindu, was deposed by his son in law, Srindravarman, who had spent the previous 10 years in Sri Lanka becoming ordained as a Buddhist monk. The new King decided to convert the Khmer Empire's state religion from Hindu to Buddhist. The conversion was relatively easy since civilians were tired of the constant political corruption & failing empire of the time & were eager to follow a faith that offered tranquility without a need for material gain and power. Hence, Angkor Wat was converted from Hindu to Theravada Buddhist which continues to the present day. (It is the faith of 95% of the population.)

Finally, after Angkor & the Khmer Empire were increasingly threatened & attacked by invading armies, 1432 marked the end of the Khmer empire & Angkor was abandoned to the jungle. Buddhist monks cared for Angkor Wat over the following centuries, & it is thanks to them that the temple remains mostly intact. Angkor Wat then became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Southeast Asia. European visitors to Cambodia towards the end of this period were intrigued by the "lost city" of Angkor, although it was really never lost. After the Cambodia became a French protectorate in 1864, the entire site became a focus of scholarly interest. In fact, the complex was unknown to the world until French naturalist Henri Mouhot literally stumbled onto it in 1861. Archaeologists then flocked to the site

Recent history: In 1901, The École Française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO) began its long association with Angkor by funding an expedition to the Bayon Temple. In 1907, Angkor, which was until then under Thai control, was returned to Cambodia. The EFEO cleared & restored the site, & in the same year the 1st tourists arrived - 200 in three months. The first major restoration was carried out on Banteay Srei in 1930. Siem Reap & other provinces that had been seized by the Thais in 1942 during the Japanese occupation, were returned to Cambodia. The massive restoration project of Angkor Wat began in the 1960sm however, restoration work stopped between 1970-85 due to the Khmer Rouge genocide period & the Cambodian civil war. Angkor was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992, & was removed from their list of endangered sites in 2003. (I think it needs to go back on.)

Other sightseeing options: The Angkor temples were each self-contained cities or large monasteries, with populations in the hundreds of thousands. Now choked with jungle, these wider areas are best appreciated from above, where the scope of the building at Angkor is best understood. Therefore, if you can afford it, you might want to see the site from the air via a helicopter or balloon tour.

Note - I will provide a little Cambodian background information & history in my next journal ;o)

Good photo gallery: http://www.asiaexplorers.com/cambodia/angkor-unesco-world-heritage-site.htm