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Originally built as a Hindu temple by the
Khmer king Suryavarman II over a 30-year
period at the beginning of the 12th century,
Angkor Wat is in some ways a temple of
two religions. Hinduism was the religion
of its founding ruler, but by the century's
end, the temple was Buddhist, thanks to
a succession of kings who were tolerant
of Buddhist influence and allowed for its
peaceful co-existence. The site is Buddhist
to this day, as evidenced by the proces-
sion of religious art and motifs throughout
the site, and a legion of saffron-colored
cloaked monks, with long-tailed macaques
at their heels, wandering the grounds. Still,
one sees the roots of Hinduism in the
arrangement of Angkor Wat; the complex
was built as a re-creation of the Hindu
OCATED IN THE lush forests of
Cambodia's sultry northern
province Siem Reap, Angkor
Wat has stood—and with-
stood—the tests of time. A
long time, over 900 years, making this
elaborate stone city part of an exclusive
club of age-old architecture with instant
name recognition: the Pyramids, the
Parthenon, Machu Picchu. Until a French
explorer rediscovered the site in the
1840s, helping bring Angkor Wat to the
attention of the West, the temple complex
was not widely known on our side of the
world. But today, a spike in tourism, the
temple's 1992 designation as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site, and the digital plat-
forming of its elegant spires, exaggerated
galleries, and intricate bas-reliefs have all
conspired to put this majestic Southeast
Asian edifice on the must-see map of
ancient architectural marvels.
