Hey there, Little Fox readers! It's me, Jake, again. Last week I watched a cool movie that takes place at a temple deep in the jungle. The next day Mr. Fay said we'd be learning about a new landmark called Angkor Wat. And when he showed us a picture of it, I recognized it right away. It was the temple from the movie!
Angkor Wat is an ancient Buddhist temple located in Angkor, Cambodia. It's famous for its carved sandstone towers and for being one of the largest religious structures in the whole world.
Angkor Wat is also considered a really important work of architecture from the Khmer Empire. Mr. Fay said that this powerful empire covered most of Southeast Asia and it flourished from the ninth to thirteenth centuries. That was when Khmer rulers built many cities and villages, along with canals, roads, palaces, and temples. In the twelfth century, a king named Suryavarman II ordered the construction of Angkor Wat. It was built to serve as both a temple for the Hindu god Vishnu and a massive tomb for the king himself.
Over time Buddhism spread, and by the thirteenth century, it was the official religion of the Khmers. Many of the Khmer temples, including Angkor Wat, were converted to Buddhist temples.
Nobody is quite sure why, but sometime in the fifteenth century, the Khmers abandoned Angkor and moved their capital to Phnom Penh. Except for a small number of Buddhist monks who stayed behind, Angkor was forgotten until a French explorer, Henri Mouhot, traveled to the site. Mouhot wrote about Angkor and created some ink drawings of the temples that got other people interested in them too.
Today hundreds of the Khmer temples can still be seen in the area known as Angkor Archaeological Park. Angkor Wat is definitely the most famous temple there. And as Mr. Fay told us, it's also the biggest temple, covering about 2.6 square kilometers. In fact, its name, Angkor Wat, means "city temple." So it is one huge place!
Angkor Wat is Cambodia's busiest tourist attraction, with close to a million visitors each year. It's also an important visiting place for Buddhist monks. If you're ever lucky enough to go, try to get there early. I heard that it's pretty awesome to see the sun rise from behind the temple's tall towers!
To enter the temple, visitors first have to cross an enormous moat that surrounds the entire complex. Today this moat is filled with lily pads and lotus blossoms, but Mr. Fay said it probably once had crocodiles too. I bet nobody ever went swimming in there!
The temple itself has nine towers; each one is shaped like a giant lotus blossom. Four outer towers surround the five main inner ones. The center inner tower is the tallest of all and sits on top of the temple's main shrine.
For most people, climbing the steep steps to the top of the temple is quite a workout. And it can be dangerous and slippery too. The temple's builders had a good reason for making this such a treacherous climb. The five inner towers symbolize the five peaks of Mount Meru, the home of the Hindu gods. Walking up those steps is supposed to be like ascending to where the gods and goddesses live!
At the top of the steps, visitors can tour the temple's corridors and shrines. Many people enjoy seeing the famous bas-reliefs, or shallow carvings, in the temple walls. Some depict historic battles, like the Battle of Kurukshetra, which had soldiers fighting alongside elephants and horse-drawn chariots. Other bas-reliefs show scenes of everyday life or King Suryavarman II's court.
The most famous bas-relief in Angkor Wat has a scene from Hindu mythology. It's called Churning of the Sea of Milk, and it shows gods and demons in what looks like an epic game of tug-of-war. But really they are trying to create a special potion for eternal life. And it isn't a rope they are tugging on—it's a giant snake! Pretty awesome, huh?
Angkor Wat is still an amazing place, but it has faced some threats over the years. During the centuries that Angkor was abandoned, the surrounding jungle grew all around the temples, hiding them from sight. Today the roots of huge banyan trees are still wrapped around some of the structures at Angkor Archaeological Park. I like the way the giant roots look, but Mr. Fay said they can do serious damage over time, cracking the stone and even causing sections of the temples to topple over.
The outer walls of Angkor Wat have also been damaged by bullet holes from all the fighting that took place during Cambodia's civil war in the late twentieth century. The fighting made the area around Angkor very dangerous, giving thieves the chance to steal valuables from the temples. Believe it or not, entire statues were carried away, and large sections of bas-reliefs were chiseled right off the walls!
I was glad to hear that many people are working hard today to protect and restore Angkor Wat, along with the other temples at Angkor Archaeological Park. Security officers patrol the site to keep out thieves while scholars from around the world carefully repair and maintain the ancient ruins. And the people of Cambodia are still very proud of their beautiful temple. Angkor Wat appears on some of the country's money—and on its national flag!
When I watched that movie the other day, I thought it was pretty cool to see spies tracking each other down inside an ancient temple. But you know what's even cooler? The real Angkor Wat!