The Stories of Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat's claim to fame is its status as world's largest single religious monument. Coupled with the more than 200 intact wats that surround it, this is what attracts tourists (more than 2 million every year) to Siem Reap. But if you take your time, strolling through the wats, observing the people, and spending quiet time within its walls you'll find more than exquisitely detailed Khmer architecture here. The Temples of Angkor tell a story...a story of war and strife, a story of praise and destruction, a story of life as it was and life as it is. You see, even today, the Temples of Angkor are alive and ready to reveal their truths.

It is a story history, both in its construction and destruction. The extravagance and sheer scale of its construction reflect an unprecedented prosperity in Khmer history from the 9th to 14th centuries. But many years of neglect as the Khmer empire fell left the temples vulnerable to overgrowth and erosion. And later the destructive tendencies of wars and Pol Pot's regime left many temples a mere shadow of their once held beauty.

It is a story of religion, as it unfolded and changed. In its most obvious aspect, Angkor Wat served a religious purpose dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu. But even its architectural layout is symbolic of the religious beliefs of the time. Built with three main levels (bottom for laymen, middle for religious officials, and top for royalty), it is indicative of deification of kings and high regard of religion. As you look closer, however, Hindu symbolism mixes with Buddhist representations in art and sculpting telling of the Khmer religious conversion in the late 13th century.

It is a story of innovation, in both character and technique. Though using familiar architectural schemas such as roman-like cylindrical columns and towered, castle-like structures, Khmer architecture is very much its own. Intricate carvings in every wall and crevice and tiered towers in cascading cone-like shapes make Angkor Wat's facade unmistakeably unique. Even the materials used, ranging from mountain-stock sandstone to bricks processed from termite hills, reflect innovative retrieval and creation methods.

It is a story of life, both past and present. The grounds once used as the commercial, political, religious, and monarchical center is the heartbeat of present-day Siem Reap. Children come out to play within its walls when the rain lures them out. They sing, tell stories, and build sandcastles resembling the cascading towers that surround them. Tuk tuk drivers, souvenir vendors, hotel owners, and restaurateurs depend on this massive tourist attraction for their living...and quite a living it is. (The people in Siem Reap seem comparatively more prosperous than in other parts of Cambodia.) Even today, rice paddies maintain their important agricultural status as they are interspersed between wats within the complex.

For us, the wats were "discovered" by the French 200 years ago. But for Cambodians, Angkor Wat has always been there telling its stories of the past and reflecting the stories of today.