Heritage

Angkor wat

Angkor wat

Name: Angkor watCountry : CambodiaCity: Angkor Area of about 500 acres (200

hectares)Architectural style: KhmerDated: 1186 ADCreator: Jayavarman IVEdit to world heritage site by

UNECSO in 1992Materials: polished marble,

laid without mortar

Angkor wat

Built between roughly A.D. 1113 and 1150. Angkor Wat is one of the largest religious monuments ever constructed. Its name means “temple city.”Originally built as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu, it was converted into a Buddhist temple in the 14th century, and statues of Buddha were added to its already rich artwork.

Its 213-foot-tall (65 meters) central tower is surrounded by four smaller towers and a series of enclosure walls, a layout that recreates the image of Mount Meru, a legendary place in Hindu mythology that is said to lie beyond the Himalayas and be the home of the gods.

It was easily the largest city in the world until the industrial revolution. The temple is surrounded by a 650-foot-wide (200 meters) moat that encompasses a perimeter of more than 3 miles (5 km). This moat is 13 feet deep (4 meters) and would have helped stabilize the temple’s foundation, preventing groundwater from rising too high or falling too low. Angkor Wat’s main entrance was to the west (a direction associated with Vishnu) across a stone causeway, with guardian lions marking the way. To the east of the temple was a second, more modest, entrance. The heart of the temple was the central tower, entered by way of a steep staircase, a statue of Vishnuat top.

Angkor wat

Temples this one does look different. The shape is like a glimpse of a huge pyramid. What this temple is very broad. Along the path that leads to the entrance there is a giant snake-shaped fence. This is believed to be a symbol of fertility. This temple consists of a tall building and a smaller building in the vicinity.

The temples were first discovered by French missionaries in 1860. Henri Mahout, a French botanist started intensive research and restoration programs. These research efforts continued until 1968, when the

Vietnam war disrupted the studies.

Angkor Wat is the highest achievement of Khmer temple architecture, and is today the "flagship" of the temples at Angkor.

Plans of Angkor wat

Detailed plan Site plan

The stones, as smooth as polished marble, were laid

without mortar with very tight joints that were sometimes

hard to find. The blocks were held together by mortise and

tenon joints in some cases, while in others they used dovetails and gravity. The

blocks were presumably put in place by a combination of

elephants, coir ropes, pulleys and bamboo scaffolding.

The trees growing out of the ruins are perhaps the most distinctive

feature of Ta Prohm, and "have prompted more writers to descriptive excess than any other feature of Angkor." Two species predominate,

but sources disagree on their identification: the larger is either the silk (

Ceiba pentandra) or thitpok Tetrameles nudiflora, and the

smaller is either the strangler fig (Ficus

gibbosa) or Gold Apple (Diospyros decandra).

Heritage Angkor wat Ta Prohm has been left in much the same condition in which it was

found: the photogenic and atmospheric combination of trees growing out of the ruins and the jungle surroundings have made it one of Angkor's most popular temples with visitors. UNESCO inscribed Ta Prohm on the World Heritage List in 1992.

Today, it is one of the most visited complexes in Cambodia’s Angkor region. The conservation and restoration of Ta Prohm is a partnership project of the   Archaeological Survey of India and the APSARA (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).

Arial view of Angkor wat

The Government of Italy has granted 565,000 USD to the UNESCO/Italy Funds-in-Trust, for Safeguarding of

the Angkor Wat Temple-Phase I (June 2008- Septem ber 2011), while

the APSARA National Authority provided materials such as

sandstones, laterite and other necessary chemical products which

is equivalent to 50,000 USD.

Dr. M. S. Nagaraja Rao, India's former director general of

archeology, who has been in charge of the project. Armed

with chemical cleaners, preservatives and experience, a team of Indian archeologists has begun restoring Angkor Wat, the

vast and ancient capital of Cambodia. The Indians plan to

begin with the restoration of the main entrance to the enormous

complex of temples, chapels and corridors

Angkor, in Cambodia’s Northern Province of Siem Reap, is one of the most important archaeological sites of Southeast Asia.

Some glorious views of great Angkor wat

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668/gallery/

http://justthetravel.com/mystery-history-of-angkor-wat-cambodias-wonders-of-the-world/angkor-wat-temple2/

http://justthetravel.com/mystery-history-of-angkor-wat-cambodias-wonders-of-the-world/angkor-wat-sunrise/

Tehreem saherCms id: 18395Semester : v