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Angkor what?
Can you name the world’s largest religious monument? The Pyramids of Giza? St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City? Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia? The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca? No, it is none of these.
If you want to “go big” on religious monuments, then plan a trip to Angkor Wat. It is located on the other side of the world, in Siem Reap, Cambodia and is the world’s largest religious monument. Angkor Wat is a Buddhist temple complex, which puts it just a little bit outside our everyday Midwestern bubble and it is well worth getting to know.
Angkor Wat was originally built as a Hindu temple in the 12th century and roughly 100 years later was converted to a Buddhist site. It served as the heart of the vast Khmer Empire before being abandoned in the 16th century. The French “rediscovered” Angkor Wat in the 19th century and since then, considerable effort has been made to clear the encroaching jungle and restore the ancient structures. Angkor Wat was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 and, in modern times, attracts millions of visitors per year.
The temple complex is massive, spanning over 400 acres. It is so large that they actually have tuk-tuks (motorized rickshaws) within the temple complex to help people move from one area to another. The structure consists of three progressively elevated galleries rising to a central tower, all surrounded by an outer wall and a moat. What is really striking are the extensive bas-relief carvings throughout the site. There are thousands of unique, intricate stone carvings adorning the walls and temples, depicting everything from nymphs and deities to heroic battles.
Folklore casts Angkor Wat as a center for meditation and transformation, a gateway between heaven and earth. Modern Cambodians regard it as a symbol of their religious identity and heritage. An image of Angkor Wat is the central visual element in the Cambodian national flag.
Angkor Wat is relatively easy to visit. Most visitors fly into Phnom Penh and then either take another short-hop flight to Siem Reap or a day-long bus trip to the temple complex. Once you arrive, lodging and meals are relatively inexpensive.
The ancient temple of Ta Prohm is also nearby, overgrown with strangler figs and mystery. You may recognize it as the “Temple of Doom” or the “Angelina Jolie Temple” from its depiction in the film “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider”.
Don’t miss touring Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh, while you are there. It is known as the “Pearl of Asia” for its bustling Asian markets, lovely Mekong River walks and charming French colonial architecture. Another poignant and fascinating place to visit near Phnom Penh is the Killing Fields, which tells the chilling and tragic story of the massacre of an entire generation of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and 1980s.
This unique combination of modern and ancient history makes visiting Cambodia a great reason to get out of your bubble and “go big.”
