15 Things You Didn't Know About Angkor Wat

Remaining as the biggest religious structure on the planet, Cambodia's Angkor Wat Archeological Park is home to many old sanctuaries that have stood the trial of time. Here are a couple of lesser-known actualities about the world-renowned UNESCO World Heritage site.

It's significantly more than Angkor Wat

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Angkor Wat remains the best sanctuary at the sprawling site, however in actuality Angkor Wat Archeological Park is home to several sanctuaries and religious structures specked around 400kmsq that takes in thick wilderness and woods zones. Bayon and Ta Prohm are two different top picks.

It's a record-holder

Angkor Wat was built in the mid twelfth century and is thought to be the biggest religious landmark on the planet.



City of Temples

Angkor Wat means City of Temples, or City Temple, and was at one time the capital of the decision Khmer Empire. Angkor Wat itself is considerably more than only a sanctuary and takes in a whole city, including channels, libraries, schools and different structures.

Focal point of Khmer pride

Angkor Wat sits at the focal point of national pride and Cambodia is one of just two nations on the planet to hold up under an expanding on its banner as, you got it, Angkor Wat. In the event that you were pondering, the other nation is Afghanistan.

It faces west

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Angkor Wat opposes the normal bearing by confronting pointed structures west rather than east. Some say this is related with death in Hindu culture yet it has caused contradiction among history specialists. In any case, it absolutely prepared for the ideal dawn.

City of Angkor

Back in its prime, the first external mass of Angkor Wat once kept the sanctuary, city and illustrious royal residence, which spread crosswise over 203 sections of land, safe. The whole divider has been obliterated.

It utilized astonishing procedures

The designing and archeological accomplishments of Angkor were route comparatively radical. For instance, blocks were fortified together utilizing vegetable compound rather than mortar.

It was a devour for the eyes

While what remains today is quite amazing, attempt to envision the sanctuaries and encompassing structures sparkling in gold and other bright paints, since that is the means by which they would initially have looked.

It was worked through hard work

It is evaluated in excess of five million tons of sandstone were utilized to develop Angkor, all conveyed from a quarry that sits 25 miles away – in a period of no apparatus.

It exchanged religions

Angkor Wat moved from a Hindu to Buddhist sanctuary in the late thirteenth century, and remains a position of Buddhist love today.

World Heritage status

In 1992, Angkor Wat was given the title of World Heritage site, which helped stamp out the illicit plundering and unregulated tourism that overwhelmed the fascination.

Western visits

One of the primary westerners recorded at the site was Portuguese priest, Antonio da Madalena, in 1586. However, it was when French adventurer Hanri Mouhot found it in the mid-eighteenth century and expounded on it in his book, Travels in Siam, Cambodia, Laos and Annam, that it increased worldwide notoriety.

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There's confirmation dinosaurs existed…

… Or is there? Ta Prohm sanctuary includes a cutting that looks fundamentally the same as a stegosaurus dinosaur – in spite of them getting to be terminated no less than 65 million years prior. Some say it is a rhinoceros or a pig. Notwithstanding, on the off chance that you figure out how to spot it, it looks somewhat like the Jurassic Period brute.

There's more underground

In 2016, Australian prehistorian Dr Damian Evans found a system of antiquated urban areas sitting underneath Angkor that go back in the vicinity of 900 and 1,400 years of age and opponent Phnom Penh in estimate.