Angkor Wat Temple: 4 Characteristics of Angkor Wat

The temple of Angkor Wat is an ancient temple complex in Northern Cambodia, near the city of Siem Reap. Angkor Wat, which translates to "temple city" in the Khmer language of the region, was built in the first half of the twelfth century as the state temple and capital of the Khmer empire. It covers more than 1200 acres of land, making it the largest religious monument in the world. It was originally built as a Hindu temple, but later became a Buddhist place of worship.

Angkor Wat’s main temple structure is made out of sandstone blocks and consists of a multi-layered pyramid with a large central obelisk and four other pillars at its corners. Each layer of the temple houses a series of galleries containing ornamental depictions of Hindu mythology. The central temple grounds are surrounded by a large outer wall, which is bordered by a large moat.

Here is a brief overview of the history of this famous Buddhist pilgrimage site.

1. 1. Origins as a Hindu temple: Angkor Wat was built during the reign of King Suryavarman II of the Khmer empire, whose reign lasted from 1113 to 1150. The temple was built both as a place of Hindu worship in the empire's capital city, taking several decades to complete. Some historians believe that the king built the site as his mausoleum and funerary temple, and others argue that it was built in honor of the Hindu god Vishnu.
2. 2. Conversion to Buddhist temple: After Angkor Wat was sacked by a rival tribe in the late twelfth century, the new emperor of the Khmer empire, King Jayavarman VII, converted Angkor Wat to a Buddhist temple. He also moved the country’s capital city to Angkor Thom, which is close to other ancient Cambodian temples such as the Bayon Temple.
3. 3. French colonial rule and restoration: Over the centuries, Angkor Wat remained an important Buddhist monument but fell gradually into disrepair. In the 1840s, the French explorer Henri Mouhot brought the temples to Europe's attention, declaring them "grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome.” The French took colonial control of much of Cambodia in the nineteenth century, which some historians believe was partially inspired by their discovery of Angkor Wat. The French began a restoration project of Angkor Wat after it had been damaged from years of forest overgrowth and earthquakes.
4. 4. Cambodian independence and landmark status: Cambodia broke from French rule in 1952 but restoration efforts at Angkor Wat continued. However, these efforts were halted in the 1970s as Cambodia fell into civil war at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. The temples suffered minimal damage during the war however, some bullet holes from a fight between the Khmer Rouge and Vietnamese troops are still present in the temple’s facade.
5. 5. Late twentieth century and beyond: In 1992, Angkor Wat was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the Cambodian government continues restoration efforts with the help of representatives from India, Germany, and France. Today, the national flag of Cambodia displays a silhouette of the temple, and the structure is one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions.

Angkor Wat is one of the most cherished ancient accomplishments in Southeast Asia, in large part because of its Angkorian architectural beauty. Here are four of the most recognizable architectural features of Angkor Wat.

1. 1. Pyramid and concentric galleries: One of the cornerstones of Khmer architecture is the pyramid with its concentric galleries, which is evident in the design of Angkor Wat. The main temple, nicknamed “temple mountain,” is made of a pyramid of three stepped terraces. Each terrace is bordered by a covered gallery, with towers at each corner and a nearly 70-foot tower in the middle of the temple.
2. 2. Towers: It is believed that the five towers that crown the central temple are designed to resemble the peaks and surrounding mountain ranges of Mount Meru, which is the home of the gods in both Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. The five towers—four at the corners of the highest part of the temple and the one taller central tower—are also remarkable for their carved designs resembling lotus buds. Similar designs can be seen in temples such as Banteay Srei, the Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.
3. 3. Bas-reliefs: Angkor Wat contains nearly 20,000 square feet of bas-reliefs carved into its sandstone walls. These intricate bas-reliefs depict Hindu symbolism, with images of apsaras (celestial dancers) as well as reliefs showing scenes from two Hindu epic stories, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. There is also a series on King Suryavarman II who commissioned the building of the temple.
   
4. 4. Moat: The Angkor Wat complex is surrounded by a huge moat that is 620 feet wide and over three miles long. Just as the main temple is thought to resemble Mount Meru, the moat is believed to resemble the oceans surrounding the Earth in Hinduism and Buddhism. The moat also protects Angkor Wat, with a single causeway connecting the site to the surrounding land.

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