10 Stunning Images And Things About Angkor Wat You Probably Didn't Know

It's a must see site when visiting Cambodia. In fact it is front and center on the national flag of Cambodia. And no, the movie "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" does not do it justice. So here are 10 stunning images and some interesting facts about Angkor Wat and the ancient city of Angkor:

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Via news.airtreks.com

Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious monument.

How big is it? 500 acres or 200 hectares.

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Yong Cho Park / Via Flickr: fundman

It's proper name is "Prasat Angkor Wat." Angkor meaning City/Capital City and Wat meaning Temple grounds.

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Brongaeh / Via Flickr: brongaeh

It was started by Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century and completed by Jayavarman VII who reigned in the late 12th to the early 13th century.

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Trey Ratcliff / Via Flickr: stuckincustoms

And it was built in the High Classical Style of Khmer Architecture.

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Kim Seng / Via Flickr: captainkimo

Angkor Wat was designed to represent Mount Meru, a sacred mountain with 5 peaks and home to the Devas or deities in the HIndu mythology. Mount Meru is the center of all the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual universe in the Hindu-Buddhist cosmology.

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Alison Wright / Via nature.washyourbrain.org

In the 13th century, Angkor Wat transformed from being a Hindu temple to Theravada Buddhist use, which actually continues to this day.

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David Pham / Via Flickr: shapeshift

Angkor Wat may be the largest but it isn't the only one nor the oldest temple-complex the area of the ancient Khmer Capital of Angkor.

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Ta Prohm Temple / Via nature.washyourbrain.org

In fact the region known as Angkor is home to over a thousand temples, flourishing from the 9th to the 15th centuries.

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Joaquin Pons Sampedro / Via Flickr: ximopons

Angkor was a megacity that at one point became home to around one million people. It was the world's largest urbanized area of its time. In other words it was perhaps the biggest city before the industrial revolution.

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Martin Puddy / Getty Images / Via nationalgeographicexpeditions.com

And it is not only about beautiful temples. Angkor was also an ancient engineering marvel with an intricate and complicated water management system. Which is why it is no surprise that Angkor is one of the most important archeological site in Southeast Asia.

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So there you have it, 10 stunning images and things about Angkor Wat, the most popular site in Cambodia. But the story of Cambodia goes beyond Angkor Wat or the greater city of Angkor. The history of Cambodia and the Khmer people spans for thousands of years and continues to this day. So if you wanna learn more about Cambodia check out some useful links below.

Learn more:

A History of Cambodia
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/668
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6945574.stmhttp://www.voiceofangkor.com/http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/ancient-mysteries/angkor-wat-temples
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/90520/Cambodia/129475/Historyhttp://www.canbypublications.com/angkor-cambodia/angkor-history.htm