Rekha Prasad
Ruins of a 'lost city'
Angkor was once the capital of the Khmer Empire from 9th to 15th centuries. The Khmer empire was one of the most prosperous and sophisticated kingdoms in the history of Southeast Asia, and its prosperity were expressed through a wide range of architecture. This city contains hundreds of temples. The population may have been over 1 million people. It was easily the largest city in the world until the Industrial Revolution. The city of Angkor was founded on political and religious ideas adapted from India, and the temples of Angkor were intended as a place of worship for the king and a way for him to ensure his immortality through identification with the Hindu gods.
In 15th Century, Khmer kingdom started falling. In 1431, Thais sacked the city. The king moved his capital to some other place. Everyone moved out and the city got abandoned. Slowly forest devoured it and got hidden from outside world for centuries. Why the people moved out from there, like that - no one knows exact reason but archaeologists make some assumptions. It was in 1863, French explorer, Henri Mouhot, publishes a journal about these temples in the forests which are only known to some locals and monks. Today's latest laser technology helped the archaeologists to find the 'lost city' and they are still working on it.
When someone walking here, he is not only seeing a temple but feeling the past and how it looks like when a city gets lost.
Ruins of a 'lost city'
Angkor was once the capital of the Khmer Empire from 9th to 15th centuries. The Khmer empire was one of the most prosperous and sophisticated kingdoms in the history of Southeast Asia, and its prosperity were expressed through a wide range of architecture. This city contains hundreds of temples. The population may have been over 1 million people. It was easily the largest city in the world until the Industrial Revolution. The city of Angkor was founded on political and religious ideas adapted from India, and the temples of Angkor were intended as a place of worship for the king and a way for him to ensure his immortality through identification with the Hindu gods.
In 15th Century, Khmer kingdom started falling. In 1431, Thais sacked the city. The king moved his capital to some other place. Everyone moved out and the city got abandoned. Slowly forest devoured it and got hidden from outside world for centuries. Why the people moved out from there, like that - no one knows exact reason but archaeologists make some assumptions. It was in 1863, French explorer, Henri Mouhot, publishes a journal about these temples in the forests which are only known to some locals and monks. Today's latest laser technology helped the archaeologists to find the 'lost city' and they are still working on it.
When someone walking here, he is not only seeing a temple but feeling the past and how it looks like when a city gets lost.