The City of Angkor - Cambodia

LOST CITY

Introduction

The city of Angkor is the best example of argue the statement. This historical city is located in the Cambodia. The city of Angkor is the legacy of Khmer Empire which was the most powerful empire in Southeast Asia. Angkor was the capital city of the empire. This ancient city was built between 879 AD and 1191 AD. The city of Angkor give the testimony that how powerful and wealthy the Khmer Empire was. The people of the city, at the time, were the followers of different believes which is shown from the temples and other religious places. The unique about the city of Angkor are the temple in numbers of thousands.

The origin of the word Angkor is Sanskrit which means a city. This historical city is on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Angkor Wat which is a complex of temples is considered to be the largest single religious monument in the world. The city has a developed infrastructure because it was the largest city of the world before industrial revolution. The urban sprawl of the city is spread over 1000 sq.km.

History

Shortly after the 800 AD the Angkorian period was started. It was the time when Jayavarman who was the king of Khmer declared independence and formed Kambujadesa, currently king and accomplished builder. The time went pass and between and the 300 years time, from 900 to 1200 AD this powerful empire constructed the world's most significance architectural masterpieces in the area which are standing with great glory till today in th form of Angkor. It would be surprising for the readers that Angkor has no formal boundary so you can not tell the extent of the city. Form the main temples in the area, 1000 sq.km area is considered as the main area of the city which has the great connectivity infrastructure. This historic city was lost in jungle and remained lost for 1000 years. City was rediscovered in 1860 by a French explorer. After the establishment of peace within Cambodia, now the city is easily accessible.

Attractions

The main attraction of Angkor region are temples of Angkor Wat. This is basically a complex of temples and was built between 1113 and 1150 AD by the king Suryavernam. These temples are great masterpieces of stone carving. These carving wonders are centuries old which show the hard efforts of the people of Khemar civilization. This great city has four gateways in the city which is called Bayon. Each gateway tower has giant faces which keep an eye on all four cardinal points. The gateways are decorated with three carved stone elephants.