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The Angkor Complex in Cambodia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was the capital of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to 15th centuries. It covers 1,200 square miles and has over 70 structures, including the famous Angkor Wat. After centuries of disrepair and looting, restoration efforts have been made. Passes and tours are available.
The Angkor Complex is a large collection of ruins in northern Cambodia. The Angkor Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and has been since 1992. For a twelve-year period, between 1992 and 2004, the site was considered endangered, but has since been sufficiently restored and protected, and is now considered Health.
The Angkor Complex houses many different structures which served as the capitals of the immense Khmer Empire at various times between the 9th and 15th centuries. Various kings ruled from Angkor, or neighboring regions, over an empire that at times included much of present-day Cambodia and Laos, and parts of present-day Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
The Angkor complex itself covers an area of approximately 1,200 square miles (3100 square km), or nearly 800,000 acres. This is an area roughly the size of present-day Los Angeles, and quite easily makes it the largest such complex in the world. There are more than 70 distinct structures in the Angkor complex, in various stages of decay, some of them almost perfectly preserved. Aside from the Angkor complex itself, a number of other regions are considered part of the same heritage and are administered by the same park service.
The first great king of the Khmer Empire was Jayavarman II, who declared himself the god-king of the Empire and established his capital at Roluos, near the present Angkor complex. Towards the end of the 9th century, another great builder-king took over, King Yasovarman I. Yasovarman was responsible for the first of the major building projects within the Angkor complex itself. Yasovarman built a mighty hilltop temple of Phnom Bakheng, built the capital Yasodharapura, and constructed the immense East Baray, a reservoir measuring nearly 9 miles (5km) by 7.5 miles (1km).
In the early 12th century, King Suryavarman II set about building the most ambitious of the temples built at Angkor, Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is built as a reflection of the mythical Mount Meru, and the entire structure and grounds are infused with religious symbolism and adorned with religious figures.
After Suryavarman’s death, the Khmer Empire faced incursions from hostile neighboring powers. One leader took power, however, in the form of Jayavarman VII, who would later become the greatest of all the Khmer kings, and the one who would give the Angkor complex the most. Jayavarman VII is responsible for building Angkor Thom, the huge Bayon, Preah Khan, Ta Prohm and various other smaller structures throughout the immense Angkor complex.
In the 15th century the Khmer Empire was defeated by the Thais and most of the major cities were sacked. Over the following centuries the buildings slowly collapsed into disrepair, and suffered greatly from looters and the Khmer Rouge in the modern age. More recently, however, a great deal of work has gone into restoring the buildings and clearing the jungle of most of them, with the notable exception of Ta Prohm, which has been allowed to remain roughly as found.
Passes to the Angkor complex are available for one day, three days or one week. Guided tours range from rudimentary motorbike riding around the area with little interaction, to detailed scholarly histories of the various sculptures and frescoes.
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