Where is Angkor Wat depicted and what does it look like?

Angkor Wat is a huge complex of Hindu temples, which is located in the ancient capital of the Khmer state. Once its area occupied about three thousand square kilometers. And in the capital lived more than half a million people - an unprecedented number for the Middle Ages. Now this complex of buildings is included in the UNESCO list as a monument of the world heritage of mankind and is the pride of Cambodia, in whose territory it is located. In this article, we will tell you where Angkor Wat is depicted and what it looks like. You will also learn how deeply the image of this temple complex has penetrated into the mass consciousness and how it is used in culture.

What is Angkor Wat?

This temple complex is the largest of ever built religious buildings. But that's not all. Angkor is the capital of the ancient Khmer. The city is spread out over a vast space, and only a part of it was occupied by the sacred buildings integrated into the complex. We know that Angkor Wat is dedicated to the god Vishnu, but we do not know the real name of the city. The first temples were built in the 6th century, but the giant complex itself, which we partially see today, originated under the ruler of the ancient Khmers of Suryavarmane II (1113-1150). Capsules, hidden during the laying of the first brick, were not found, as were any records in the documents of that era. Therefore, we can only assume that the temple complex was called Vara Vishnu-lok (Location of St. Vishnu). And since people lived there from time immemorial, in the local language it became known as Angkor Wat. Where is this complex, every resident of Cambodia knows, because this is the national property of the country. It is located six kilometers north of the city of Siem Reap, which is the capital of the province of the same name.

Angkor Wat and its history

The ruler of the ancient Khmers Suryavarman II ordered to build here the capital of his kingdom. But he died when the main complex dedicated to Vishnu had not yet been completed. The following rulers transferred their throne to other cities. Therefore, some bas-reliefs remained unfinished. The city gradually lost its importance and the metropolitan gloss, "shrinking" in size. The number of people also decreased. And although this place was never abandoned by people, the church remained abandoned since the XV century. However, the huge defensive ditch surrounding the ancient complex of Angkor Wat was an effective defense against the advance of the jungle. Most of the temples survived. Therefore, in 1992 the complex of the ancient capital was taken by UNESCO under its patronage. Now it is the main tourist attraction of Cambodia.

Ankhor Vata's "Discovery"

It is difficult to determine which of the Europeans first discovered the ruins of a huge city lost in the outback. Maybe it was the Portuguese Diogo do Coutou. His travel notes, which depicts Angkor Wat as a complex of "marvelous structures that are difficult to describe with a pen," were published in the middle of the 16th century. Or maybe it was another Portuguese, the monk Antonio da Madalena, who wrote that "here there are all the clever subtleties that the human genius could only create." Whatever it was, but the general public Ankhor-Wat was made famous by two Frenchmen: the missionary Charles-Emile Bujevo and the traveler Henri Muo. This happened in the sixties of the XIX century. We can say that they discovered Angkor and for the Cambodians themselves. Only the soldiers of Pol Pot in the 70s of the last century dared to commit acts of vandalism in relation to ancient buildings.

What does Angkor Wat look like?

The whole temple complex is united by the idea of the mythical mountain Meru. According to the beliefs of Hinduism, there dwell the gods. The main sacred building is built in a unique style, indicating the peak of the maturity of the Khmer architecture. It consists of three different in height rectangular buildings, converging in the center. There are five turrets in the shape of a blossoming lotus. Central (with a total height of 65 meters) rises above the other buildings by 42 meters. The whole complex is surrounded by a wall and a 190-meter-wide moat. It encircles not only the platform where the historic Angkor Wat temple is located, but also the outer courtyard. The main road leads to the road, along the roadside of which there are sculptural images of seven-headed snakes. Three buildings are connected bypass galleries.

Interior decoration

The state emblem of Cambodia, where Angkor Wat is depicted, gives only a general idea of that incomparable beauty that a person who has visited the complex sees. However, it should be borne in mind that the Khmer temples were not intended for the meetings of believers, like the Christian churches. They were allowed to enter only the highest religious ranks. And in the walls of the temple the Khmer kings found the last calm. The interior design and the overall architecture of the complex are an organic whole. On the first tier of the bypass galleries there are eight large panels with a total area of 1200 m². They depict scenes from the "Ramayana" and "Mahabharata", as well as fragments of Khmer history. On the second floor of the galleries, the walls are decorated with figures of two thousand apsaras, heavenly maidens.

The scheme of the temple complex

If we consider the image of Angkor Wat according to the directions of the world, it is clear that each of them has its own gate tower - gorupa. The largest of them is the western one. It was the main entrance to the "sacred mountain". Gorupa consisted of three towers, now destroyed. The galleries connecting them were so great that they could miss the elephants. The western facade of the circumferential wall is decorated with figures of dancing people, and the eastern one is cut by the windows of the balustrade. The technology on which the temple complex was built was very interesting. The stones of the masonry were so smoothly polished that it seemed to be marble. Seams between blocks are almost impossible to notice. No bonding mortar was used during the laying.

National treasure

Where is Angkor Wat still represented, except for the state Cambodian coat of arms? On the flag of this country. And he appeared there in 1863, a couple of years since the legendary complex was glorified in the world by two Frenchmen, Emil Bujevo and Henri Muo. Its image is made from the point from which all five towers are visible. If you are in the complex, walk along the western path, go down the steps of the terrace. So you can see a wonderful sight. "Mountain" looks like the abode of the gods. Knowingly it is included in the list of new wonders of the world. Angkor Wat makes an indelible impression. The artistic expressiveness of this complex is comparable only with the Indian Taj Mahal. In addition, this ancient shrine miraculously survived in the midst of the merciless jungle.

Where Angkor Wat is depicted: "Vybirayka", Civilization and other games

The Cambodian temple complex has firmly entered the mass consciousness. And then he began to be used in culture. So, in the cult film about the plunderer of tombs, the heroine of Lara Croft (played by Angelina Jolie) goes in search of treasure to the Cambodian temple. A Russian-language online game, which depicts Angkor Wat, - "Vybiraika." Users are invited to choose one of the two photos and guess which one is the temple of Vishnu. Internet games "Civilization IV" and "Rise of the Nation" offer to build Angkor Wat as one of the wonders of the world. In Nokia mobile phones, the temple complex is embodied in the standard game "Diamond Rush". Angkor Wat is one of the locations of the game "Atlantic on-line."