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T H E S O U L O F C A M B O D I A
WHEN SEEING
the sunrise over the
magnificent Angkor Wat is on top of
your to-do list and your
tuk-tuk
driver
is late, you can’t help but make a run
for it the minute you get to the gate of
the temple. At least that’s what I found
myself doing: when my husband and
I got to the entrance of the monument
and the sky was getting its first blush of
light, I felt I had to pick up the pace and
chase after that famed sunrise.
By the time we got in front of
Angkor Wat’s distinct five towers, the
sky was in beautiful shades of red,
orange and pink. And the place was
already crawling with tourists and their
cameras, ready to capture the perfect
photo. For a few moments, I was
scampering off in all directions with
the same goal. But being in front of
one of the largest religious complexes
in the world — a temple built back in
the 12th century that withstood the
fall of an empire and even the horrors
of a genocide — is enough to make
you stop and catch your breath. It’s
like magic: you can’t help but take a
moment to appreciate what’s right in
front of you.
Angkor Wat is the most famous
landmark associated with the kingdom
of Cambodia, a country that sits
between Thailand to the west and
Vietnam to the east. While its two
neighbors reigned in the region in
terms of wealth and power in more
recent centuries, from as early as the
9th until the 15th century Cambodia’s
Khmer Empire encompassed much of
mainland South-East Asia. Angkorian
art and architecture flourished and
influenced the region; temples were
built to worship Hindu (and later
Buddhist) deities; and the great
scholars, artisans and dancers of the
time were found in the city of Angkor.
Angkor became the seat of
the empire and also the center of
spirituality and the arts. But was it
drought or the succession of weak
kings that led to the demise of Angkor
and the empire? By then, the French
had arrived. It was during the colonial
period that French archaeologists
began the restoration of the temples
Amid the throngs of tourists that descend upon the
Cambodian temple region of Angkor, you can still
find quiet corners in which to behold the storied
engineering marvels of the Khmer culture.
Story by Mabel David-Pilar