Huge Temple toomplex Angkor Vat je the main symbol of Cambodia and even has its place on the Cambodian flag. The locals are proud that their Khmer ancestors have been able to create a wonder of the world that does not compete with other architectural monuments in grandeur. European scholars who study the temple often wonder if the Khmer have taken on other people's credit.

In 1858 he set out for the French naturalist, Henri Mouhot, to Indochina to gather scientific knowledge about Cambodia, Laos and Thailand (Siam). When he arrived in the Cambodian city of Siem Reap, he decided to explore its surroundings. He found himself in the jungle, and after a few hours he realized that he had lost his way.

After wandering in the jungle for several days, Mouhot saw three stone towers resembling lotus flowers in the rays of the setting sun. As he got closer, he saw a moat and behind it a huge stone wall with artistic carvings depicting gods, people and animals. Behind it were buildings of unprecedented size and beauty.

A wandering wanderer

Mouhot writes in his book, The Road to the Kingdom of Siam, Cambodia, Laos and other areas of central Indochina:

"The gems of architectural art I have seen are magnificent in their dimensions and, in my opinion, a model of the highest level of art - compared to any preserved ancient monuments. I've never been more happy than then, in that magnificent tropical setting. Even if I knew I would have to die, I would not trade this experience for the joys and comforts of a civilized world. "

When he realized that there was either an ancient palace or a temple in front of him, the Frenchman began to shout for help. It turned out that the magnificent building was inhabited by Buddhist monks, who eventually saved Mouhota; they fed him and cured him of malaria.

As soon as Henri began to feel better, the monks told him that he was in the largest temple in Cambodia, called Angkor Wat.

But he was not the first to discover the temple

Europeans knew nothing about it, although the temple was visited as early as 1550 by the Portuguese Diego do Coutoem, who published the experiences of his travels.

In 1586, another Portuguese, the Capuchin António da Madalena, visited the temple, who also left a written testimony to his visit: “It is an extraordinary structure that cannot be described with a pen, all the more so as it is unlike any other in the world; there are towers, ornaments and details as delicately executed as one can imagine. "

This was followed, in 1601, by the Spanish missionary Marcello Ribandeiro, who, like Mouhot, got lost in the jungle and "came across" this magnificent temple. Angkor Wat was visited by Europeans in the 19th century, and Henri Mouhot wrote that five years before him, the French missionary Charles Émile Bouillevaux had stayed there, publishing in 1857 a report on his travels. But descriptions of the journeys of Bouillevaux and its predecessors were not recorded by the company. So Angkor Wat eventually became known through Henri Mouhot's book, published in 1868.

The center of the universe

Angkor Vat is a complex of buildings that stretch over a rectangular piece of land with an area of ​​200 hectares. Archaeologists assume that the stone wall was not only a temple but also a royal palace and other buildings. But as these buildings were wooden, they did not survive until today.

The temple itself symbolizes the sacred Mount Meruwhich, according to Hindu mythology, is the center of the universe and a place inhabited by the gods. The most beautiful is the temple with five towers in the rainy season, when a 190-meter moat is filled with water. At that time Angkor Vat looks like the center of the universe, surrounded by the waters of the world's ocean. That was exactly what the builders wanted to achieve.

The three-story temple with pointed tower is itself a celebration of symmetry. When one finds oneself in it, one sees a building that stands out on three, standing, terraces, and gets the impression that the building is growing right in front of one's eyes. Such an effect was achieved by the layout of the terraces, the first terrace is located at a height of 3,5 meters above the ground, the other at 7 meters and the third at a height of 13 meters. Each is lined with galleries and covered with a gabled roof.

No matter which way you come to Angkor Vata, you can only see three towers. The central tower is high 65 meters and decorated with hundreds of sculptures and reliefs that depict scenes from ancient epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata. And you can admire admiring this magnificent creation of human hands.

Largest city

Angkor Wat was once located in the heart of the Khmer Empire, in the city of Angkor. But the name Angkor is not historical, it appeared only after the city was abandoned by its Khmer rulers, and there was a decline. Then they called it simply a city, in Sanskrit Nagara, which later turned into Angkor.

At the very beginning of the 9th century, the Khmer emperor Jayavarman II began. in these places with the construction of the first shrine. Over the next 400 years, Angkor grew, at the time, into a huge city with more than 200 temples, the most important being Angkor Wat. Historians attribute its construction to Emperor Surjavarman, who ruled from 1113 to 1150.

The Emperor was considered to be earthly incarnation of God Vishnu and the Khmer worshiped him as a living god on earth. The temple, which was a symbol of the heavenly palace, was to serve as a spiritual refuge for the ruler during his lifetime, and after his death it was to be placed in a tomb.

Angkor Vat was built over 40 years

A temple that overcomes its area Vatican, built tens of thousands of workers and stonemasons. It was not completed until after the death of Suravarmarman, but the tomb was already ready at the time of his death.

In 2007, an international expedition conducted a survey of Angkor using satellite imagery and other current technologies. As a result, they concluded that Angkor was the largest city of pre-industrial times. From the west to the east the city stretched 24 km and from the north to the south 8 km. At the height of its heyday, a million people lived here. In order to ensure the supply of so many people with both food and water, the Khmer built a complex hydraulic system that irrigated the fields and brought water to the city. At the same time, this system also protected Angkor from floods during the rainy season

In 1431, Siamese troops conquered the city and plundered it. Angkor ceased to be the capital, its development stopped and people began to leave. Already after 100 years, he was abandoned and engulfed by the jungle. But Angkor and Angkor Wat were never completely depopulated.

Legends and myths

On what basis was the assumption that Angor Vat was older than his officially determined age? If we look at the satellite images, we find that the floor plan of the temple complex corresponds to the position of the constellation Dragon at dawn on the day of the vernal equinox in 10 BC.

The Khmer have an interesting legend. Once a royal couple gave birth to a child who was the son of the god Indra. When the boy turned 12, Indra descended from heaven and took him to Mount Meru. But the heavenly devas did not like this, who began to point out that people are tempted and that the boy must therefore be returned to earth.

As part of keeping calm in the heavenly realm, Indra decided to send the little prince back. And so that the boy would not forget Mount Meru, he wanted to give him a copy of his heavenly palace. However, his humble son said that he would live happily in Indra's stable, for example, when God sent a talented builder to the prince, who then built Angkor Wat, which was a copy of Indra's stable.

Another hypothesis was offered by the Spanish missionary Marcello Ribandeiro when he saw Angkor Wat in 1601. Knowing that tradition did not allow the Khmers to build stone buildings, he took the logic: "Everything admirable comes from Greece or Rome."

In his book, he wrote: “In Cambodia are the ruins of an ancient city, which, according to some, was built by the Romans or Alexander the Great. Interestingly, none of the locals live in these ruins and are only a refuge for wildlife. The local pagans believe that the city should, according to oral tradition, be rebuilt by a foreign nation. "