Angkor Wat.

This huge temple site was once completely surrounded by water filled ditches

that protected the sanctuary from the noise of the once busy city of Angkor.

Today, only the stone temple's one of the largest sites remains.

The wooden houses of the Khmer had been lost forever.

However, for sandstone of buildings has survived

and the noble symbol of metropolis that even heyday covered an area as large as Manhattan.

To date 1700 artistic relics has been counted in Angkor Wat.

Most of them contain religious illustration derived from Indian mythology

Interestingly, the historic figure of god like king - Suryavarman the second

appears to combine with Hindu God Vishnu

Between the 9th and 15th centuries,

various generations of Khmer king regards as in connection of Vishnu.

Khmer culture was strongly influenced by numerous Indian tribes

and peoples who were immigrated to Cambodia in the 1st millennium.

Liberation from the long domination of the Chinese influence Funan Empire

made the Khmer stronger and created their first period of prosperity.

Various artistic relives still managed to reflect the former splendor of the dancing Apsaras.

The strict geometrical layout of Angkor Wat is a vast proportion.

Its external walls surround a totally area of nearly 2 square kilometers.

The smoke mark on some of the buildings indicate that the Khmer kings and their temples met a violent damed.

Only a few but nevertheless impressive remains of Angkor of picturesque be reflected in the water of the surrounding ditches

Between 1113 and 1150, the Empire of Khmer king Suryavarman ii reached its cultural climax.

Construction of the Angkor Wat temple, dates back to his reign.

Indeed, the century became the final resting place of the story of Suryavarman the second.

Several similar sites of dead Khmer king surround the legendary old capitle.

but none of them measure up to the dimensions of this magnificent temple

The sculptures architecture and wonderful relives of the century

have made it one of the most significant cultural monuments in southeast asia.

But in the course of time, the temple was destroyed.

Since its founding, the city of Angkor was destroyed a total of 3 times.

In the maze of corridors, 50 meter long relives depict both religious and non-religious things and historical events

The illustrations of the military conflicts of the Khmer were over glorified

and therefore not a true depiction of actual event

To defect of the Khmer by the Siamese army in the 15th century

lead to the inevitable decline of their once powerful empire

With the congress of the city of Angkor by the Siamese,

Buddhism was also introduced into this Hindu center.

But the buildings and temples of the former capital lay in ruins from 1431 and were almost completely forgotten

Today the mausoleum in temples are the most powerful Khmer king, Suryavarman the second, around the Buddhist controlled

These remarkable monuments along with the amazing cultural heritage of Cambodia

were discovered in 1850 by a French man - Henri Mouhot

Based on his sensational discovery, archaeologists have been able to shed further light on this remarkable location

This is led to even greater knowledge in both the legendary mythological images and inhabitants of the Khmer epok.

Each evening, a dramatic spectacle takes place in Angkor Wat.

When the bygone splendor of this architectural treasures that once seems to be lost forever in the Cambodian jungle

is once again brought back to life