Angkor Wat
Angkor Wat is a temple complex at Angkor, Cambodia , built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, dedicated to the god Vishnu, then Buddhist. It is the world's largest religious building. It has become a symbol of Cambodia , appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors. Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple "; Angkor is a vernacular form of the word Angkor which comes from the Sanskrit wordnagar , meaning capital or city. Wat is the Khmer word for temple
Sun set at Angkor Wat
God Vishnu
Trees at temple
courtesy wikipedia
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