Preah Vihear Temple - Preah Vihear Province
Constructed: Late 9th - mid- 12th centuries C.E.
Religion: Hindu (Shiva)
King/Patron: Yosovarman I and Suryavarman I & II
Religion: Hindu (Shiva)
King/Patron: Yosovarman I and Suryavarman I & II
The Preah Vihear Temple is a Khmer
temple situated at the top of Poy Tadi, a 525-metre (1720 ft) cliff in
the Dangrek Mountains located in the Preah Vihear Province of northern
Cambodia. The temple gives its name to Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province
and is 140 km from Angkor Wat, approximately 320 km from Phnom Penh.
Preah Vihear Temple has the most
spectacular setting of all the temples built during the
six-centuries-long Khmer Empire. The Temple is composed of a series of
sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800
metre long axis and is built with a clear view of the plains from where
it stands. Dedicated to Shiva, this temple is unusual among Khmer
temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis rather than
having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the
east. However, although the structure of this temple is very different
from the temple ‘mountains’ found at Angkor, it is believed to have been
built to serve the same purpose as a stylised representation of Mount
Meru, the home of the gods.
Through the energetic efforts of the
Royal Government of Cambodia under the wise, brilliant leadership of
Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo HUN SEN, Prime Minister of the
Kingdom of Cambodia, Preah Vihear Temple has been listed and declared a
World Heritage site by UNESCO on July 8, 2008.
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