Siem Reap : Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is 65 meters high, with an area of ​​about 200 hectares, in a rectangular shape, defined by a surrounding wall and a moat 200 meters wide. The perimeter of the wall is about 5.5 km long. The entrance made of sandstone is 250 meters long and 12 meters wide. Because of its huge size and magnificent architecture, some people believe that Angkor Wat is not the work of man, but the work of the gods. In front of the entrance are large stone lions standing guard on both sides of the road. At the end of the entrance are three towers of different heights, the upper tower of which has collapsed. In the towers there is a gallery with a dome-shaped top. After the gopuram, there is a 350-meter-long and 9-meter-wide path made of sandstone and with dragon hands on both sides. Angkor Wat, or Angkor Thok, is located north of Siem Reap, 7 kilometers from Siem Reap city on the Komai or Sal de Gaulle road. Angkor Wat was built in 1122 CE, corresponding to the 12th century, during the reign of King Suryavarman II, who built the temple for his many purposes: to dedicate it to the god Vishnu, to commemorate his own achievements, and to provide a place of refuge for his future death.[3] Angkor Wat was abandoned by the Siamese invasion during the 14th century by King Paramraja I of the Angkor dynasty, who declared the abandonment of Angkor in 1388 CE, according to the Genealogy of Cambodian Historical Records in the 1929 book Maha Manor Khmer, translated by Eng Sut. In 1969.[4][5] Angkor Wat continued to be abandoned until King Chantharaja, who led a military expedition to oust the Siamese from Angkor in 1540 CE, repaired Angkor Wat, including the eastern and northern galleries and another gallery to the north. The upper part of the central tower is decorated with four Buddha images, facing each other in the four cardinal directions, east, west, north, and south, which were placed to close the opening of the central tower of the cube, which also shows the carvings in different styles of the sculptor's hand.