The lost beauty of Angkor Wat

Since 1975 the country that we used to know as Cambodia has been called Kampuchea. 

The Khmer people have lived around Tonle Sap- the great lake of Kampuchea- for many centuries. The planted rice fields and lived on fish from the lake. In the ninth century there were probably more Khmers there than there are people in the whole of Kampuchea today. They were hard-working and clever, and their rulers became very powerful. 

Between 860 and 900, the khmer kings built a new capital to the north of Tonle Sap. The new capital, Angkor Thom, was built in the shape of a square. Each of the outside walls was about 3 kilometres long . And about 1 half kilometers to the south of the capital, they built the temple of Angkor Wat. 

In the twelfth century, the Khmers were very powerful, and ruled over an enormous area. But as the years passed, some of their neighbours became even more powerful. In 1431 the armies of the king of Ayuthia (Thailand) took Angkor Thom and carried away most of its treasures. The Khmers were attacked by other enemies, too, and they were forced to leave Angkor Thom. 

Kampuchea is a hot country where it rains often, and so the forest grows very quickly. After the Khmers left their old capital, the temples were left empty and nobody took care of the buildings. The jungle grew up around the temple buildings, and soon the trees completely covered the buildings. The temples were hidden, and the world forget them.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the French came to Kampuchea. Villagers sometimes talked about old buildings that were lost in the jungle. A French archaeologist was interested in these buildings, and he found a man who could lead him to them. So the beautiful temples of Angkor Wat were discovered again. The jungle was cleared, and the great buildings could be seen again.

At one time archaeologists supposed that the Khmer kings built Angkor Wat for the worship of the Hindu god Brahma. But now many archaeologists believe that its purpose was the worship of Buddha. But now many archaeologists believe that its purpose was the worship of Buddha. It is difficult to be sure which is true, because there were both Hindu and Buddhist rulers in south-east Asia at the time when Angkor wat was built. Also , the religion of the ruler was not necessarily the religion of the rest of the people, so there were several different religions in the area at the same time. 

The Khmers were very fine artists. In their carvings they mixed Hindu and other Indian gods with their own Kampuchean gods. At Angkor Wat they added figures of people and of real and impossible animals, and scenes from ancient stories. There are thousands of these carvings in stone of various colours, mostly brown. By day, the brown of the stone, the greens of the jungle, and the blue of the sky make a fine picture. At night, beautiful Kampuchea dancers sometimes used to dance in the temples in the moonlight. 

It used to be possible to take a plane from PP , the capital of Kampuchea, and fly to Siem Reap, a village not far from the temples. From the air the great lake and the enormous jungle around it could be seen. Then the buildings of Angkor Wat suddenly appeared below. Many visitors used to come to see the wonderful buildings with their fine carvings.

But the terrible facts of war have stopped the visitors to this lovely place. Since the early 1970s, the Angkor area has been controlled by the North Vietnamese, and Kampuchea has been almost completely closed to visitors from outside since 1975. Very few people have been to the Angkor Wat temples since that time. Reports say that these fine buildings were damaged in the fierce fighting in the area. The temples stand empty now, and the jungle is growing up around them. 

Will Angkor Wat be forgotten again? 
Source: REading for Adults: Book I, Author: R. D. Lewis. Publish Year: 1971 by Longman Group Limited.