Angkor and beyond Angkor
The historic heartland of South East Asia has seen many civilizations rise and decline, some of minor importance, some with lasting impact. The Khmer left us the fascinating civilization of Angkor with its numerous temples, statues, monuments, carvings and reliefs.
The temples listed here highlight some of the remarkable achievements of the Khmer empire with an emphasis on architecture, historical importance and renewal in building style. |
The Khmer people that inhabit the country of Cambodia now are descendants of the people that built these monuments. When you are in Cambodia, it is a good idea to take your time to observe them. When you walk the streets, eat in a restaurant, get transported by a tuk-tuk: these ordinary people, as common as can be, had ancestors that created an enormous number of buildings for their gods.
These buildings were only part of their work, as all the other buildings such as palaces, houses, shops, marketplaces, city-halls etcetera have vanished over time, simply because of the less-durable building materials than those used for their temples.Temples were houses of the gods and deserved to last - and they did. They withstood wars, occupations by foreign nations, the conquering jungles, the cruel Khmer-rouge, and even the enormous influx of modern visitors.
Nowadays, 2015, most tourists from Europe and America are rich and justifiable envied by the local Cambodians; a thousand years ago the ancestors of these same tourists lived in medieval Europe while the Khmer empire was mighty, rich, advanced and civilized. The tables have turned, that is the fascinating thing about history, and the tables are still turning. Hundred years from now, wealth will have shifted again...
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walking the streets in Phnom Penh, watching ordinary people |