snay photos on Flickr

Abandoned one room schoolhouse on Snay Rd, by Tom Clark

37 2

one of many abandoned schoolhouses in the Thumb of Michigan. This one is #7 on my list, and it's in Sanilac County

218d 10 - TAC_0779 - lr-ps

abandoned one room schoolhouse located on Snay Rd in Delaware Twsp, Michigan by Tom Clark

35 7

we call this school 8. Its well maintained by the owners who live across the street. but don't step on the property to photograph it - you will be yelled at and threatened

218d 10 - TAC_0817 - lr-ps-wm

out house behind the one room school on Snay Rd in Deleware Twsp. Michigan by Tom Clark

11

215c 8 - _TAC6733 - lr-ps

Pi nhõ :'> by Pi nhõ • <3" My Life*... xD

11 193

E àk... nếu 1 ngày nào đó mk` có chán nhau...

Thì a xin e hãy nhắm mắt... chứ đừng buông tay :").

(*)Hqa và hnay thật sự a hk vui :"). Vì a đang nhớ e... hay là vì a đang sợ mất e :'D.

HAizzz.... thật là khó chịu l' lun r` đó :). Muốn giết người qá điiiiiiiiii =))

Từ khi a biết nắm bắt ~ thứ a coi là q.trọng.. thì c.s xung qanh a dường như t.đổi :')

Sẽ khóc khi e làm a buồn... và sẽ buồn khi e làm a nhớ :)

Hứa vs e... a sẽ hk nv. n~ .. màk thay vào đó... a sẽ lun là chỗ dựa vững chắc cho e mỗi khi e cần :").

Đừng bh` đẩy a ra... vì mỗi khi nv. là a đau lắm đó e àk...

Và e hãy tin a đi... sẽ kbh` a đẫy e ra xa a thêm 1 lần nào n~ đâu :"). 1 lần có lẽ là qá đủ đễ nc' mắt tràn ngập t.tim r` :).

-Có đôi khi a làm e buồn và khó chịu... Pi xin lỗi vợ :")

-Có đôi khi a làm e ghen và bực mk`... Pi xin lỗi vợ :")

-Có đôi khi a giỡn qá trớn và làm e hk vui... Pi xin lỗi vợ :")

-Có đôi khi a làm e khóc và đau... Pi xin lỗi vợ :")

* Xin lỗi... xin lỗi... xin lỗi... xin lỗi... xin lỗi... xin lỗi... xin lỗi... xin lỗi... xin lỗi :):):):):):):)

Pi yêu Mun nhiều lắm :-* :-* :-*

Sẽ kbh` nv. n~ đâu... vì 1 lần nv. là 1 lần vc mk` nc lạnh nhạt vs nhau... k thì k đc ngũ chung :(. R` làm s a mát xa cho e đc :( =)). Cắn rứt l' b' hôggggggggg =)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))). Điên l' đó b' hôggggggggggggg =))))))))))))))...

A sẽ iu e cho đến khi nào e chán a thì thôi :"). A hk b' ngày đó có thật sự tới hay k... Nhưng a b' bh` a đang r' h.p vs ~ gì a đã và đang có :"). Có r` thì sẽ k mất n~... sẽ kbh` mất n~ đâu :">.

A iu e đến nv. r`... cho dù snày a có đi vs gái hay s s đó :">. E đừng có kiện a nha bx =)). Dù gì nhờ a... màk e có đc nhìu con đó thôiiiiiiiiiiiii =)). K cần c.ơn đâu :">. Pi là ng` r' khiêm tốn màk :"> =)))

# 2 mk` qen nhau tới lớn lun nha eeeeeeee :"> =)). K lâu sau a sẽ dắt ba má a qa hỏi cưới e nàk :">. Đừng có bất ngờ màk bật ngữa nha gái =))) :">. A k đợi đc n~ đâu... fãi cưới nhanh thôiiiiiii.. K thì muộn mất :(.

A th* e lắm e biết kkkkkkkkkkk :">. A th* e đến nỗi mún bõ e màk qen nhõ # gê v. ák :(((((( :"> =)).

Ng` nào c.t trc' là snày ng` đó sẽ kbh` có đc h.p thật sự :"). Hứa r` nheee :-*. Đễ coi lần này ai mạo hiễm har v har :">.

Bà xã :-*. Lại đây a ôm cái coiiiiiiiii :(. Nhớ lắm r` nèk :(. Sáng sớm là mò dậy viết des liền cho bx đó :(. Hứa thì fãi làm đúng hôg.. K đễ v đợi cái des này uf a n~ đâu =)).

Àk... ngày hqa... v cho a xl~ nha :(. A b' là v đang giận màk a vẫn... tại đang điên l' đó :(. A sẽ k nv. n~ đâu :(. Thay vào lỗi lầm đó... a xin tự nguyện tối nào cg~ canh v ngũ nàk :">. V yên tâm màk ngoan giấc nha nha nhaaaaaaa :"> =))))))))))))))).

Mốt có gì thì nói... k đc đễ trong lòng r` kím ch. vs a đâu ák :-w. A đã dặn r` màk... e màk nv là a gék e lắm đó Mun :"). Dù a sai hay e sai... thì đối vs c.s và t.y này... 2 mk` lúc nào cg~ đúng :">. Đã đi đúng đường r` đó... Cứ nv. màk đi típ nha e... Đừng qay đầu lại... Vì khi nv. là a và e sẽ đánh lộn giữa đường đó bx =)).

Đi đâu và về đâu... Điểm dừng uf a là nơi lun có v lúc nào cg~ đứng đó ẵm con đợi a =))))

A tin trong tim v lúc nào cg~ có a :-''. Và a tin trong n.nhớ uf v lúc nào a cg~ là ng` v nhớ đến nhìu nhất :">.

A tin 2 mk` sẽ là m2... Và a tin t.y này sẽ kbh` dừng lại :")

* 09.07... Timetolove - Neverstop :")

- N.L.P.L* <3" Đ.T.N*.... xD
- Chồng <3" Vợ... xD

(#) A nhớ Dk* lắm rồiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii :">:">:">:">
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(#)Tao ghét ai đụng chạm vc` tao lắm nheee :">.
Đừng thấy tao im im r` làm tới... Tao giết ng` lúc nào k hay đó :-q.
Nhìn tao hiền chứ th. ra dk' fãi nv. đâu :)). Tao hug dữ l' đó >:P =))

* Ai note n~... Tao chém bm. ákkkkkkkkkkkk =)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Gốc :):)...Sắp tới BD r :X:X... by # B's_Thiên Tài :">

96

Dnày nhìu chịn bùn liên tục xảy ra..dường như ko còn sứk đễ típ tục chịu đựng nữa....đời mà...ko hài thì củng hại thôi....hết chịn này tới chịn khác kéo đến...đang vấp ngã...1 lần nữa lại ngã rất đau...dường như ko đứng z đễ típ tục bước típ con đường đang đi....e đạp đổ all hy vọng all nìm tin từ a...e làm a thất vọng về e...nhửng lời e đả nói w a e còn nhớ ko.....ừk thì a ngèo :-j...vì cái ngèo đó mà a ko có đc e...vì cái chử ngèo đó mà a pãi đi vô con đường tội lỗi..e làm nv..e thấy a nv chắc e zui r fk.....e đẹp mà....e giàu mà...ng đi bên e cũng pãi nv thôi...ko tìn ko xe thì ngta cho mình té :-j :-j....đời rất đẹp mà....đẹp ỡ cái chữ TIỀN mà thôi...có tìn thì ngta có wuyền..có tìn thì ngta là chũ cuộc chơi mà :-j...cố gắng mà sống nv đi e...sống w cái bãn chất khốn nạn có thừa của e đi e ha...r snày e có vấp ngả...có nhận đc cái sự đối xử của ngta dành cho e nhưng e đã từng đối xữ w a thì e sẽ b' đc cái cãm giác này nha e....e cứ típ tục w nhửng cuộc chơi zô bỗ của e w những ng bạn e đi nha....hp đi nha e....:)...a đang đứng nhìn e hp nè e :)...

------ Đã từ bõ thì ko có gỳ tiếc nuối...:-j..

------ A tàn ác gốc gác là do bãn ml của e mà ra đó :-j...

. want quiet :) - Sleeping memories ^^ by Subi* (*) Biđatài's ‹3

14 38

Gần đi học lại rồi hehe :-x

Dnày thư sinh lắm haha . Ngoan lại thôiiiiiiiiiiiiii ;) , vì tương lai snày ^^ :'d

Hlw vui nha Ômôi :* , nhớ all ;)

Ps : Sắp xa Thành Phố r , có ai nhớ tui k ? ^^ :) !

the little boys room behind School 7 on Snay Rd. by Tom Clark

16 2

abandoned one room schoolhouse on Snay Rd. in Michigan's Thumb. Delaware township, in Sanilac County

218d 10 - _DSC0063 - lr-ps-wm

My Baby by BumBarbie

11 16

Snay Rd. by Martin J. Hogan

11 11

Snay Rd. in Sanilac County.

UN CARACOL EN MI JARDÍN 1 / A SNAIL IN MY GARDEN 1. by Jose Angel Rodriguez

32 196

Con seguridad no es solo uno, sino muchos, los caracoles que habitan en mi jardín. Pero este ejemplar, perteneciente a la especie Cornu aspersum, conocido en Andalucía (España), donde es muy abundante en lugares húmedos, con los nombre de burgajo y boyuno, deparó mi atención fotográfica al prestarse como modelo fotográfico mientras recorría los pétalos de un lirio blanco.

Los meses de abril y mayo, particularmente tras la caída de lluvia, cuando la temperatura no es baja, como me ocurrió en el momento en el que se fotografió este ejemplar, es frecuente encontrar a los caracoles terrestres, desplazándose de un modo parsimonioso por el suelo y las flores.

Hka-Art06 by Pat M

11 4

Nice #streetartrendezvous #Nice #streetart06 #cotedazurstreetart #art by @hkaart06 #hka #hkaart06 #snay #lmeav #paintingart #streetart #wallart #portrait #lemeilleurresteavenir #jj_urbanart #be_one_urbanart #graffiti #streetartphotography #srayart #patm666photos

Đọc des đi =)) by .Shfly3424's property. =^O^=

23 72

bờm Louis: tổ chức phải hoành tráng

bờm Louis: 1 đám cưới XUYÊN LỤC ĐỊA

bờm Louis: TA DA

YEBEE4795: ))))))))

bờm Louis: đám cưới sẽ có 2 cầu truyền hình trực tiếp

YEBEE4795:

bờm Louis: 1 đầu là HQ và đầu kia là VN

bờm Louis: do 2 nhà đài KBS và VTV đồng tổ chức

bờm Louis: giới quan chức 2 bên sẽ có tổng thống HQ và tổng thống VN

YEBEE4795: xuyên lục địa

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: mà chỉ có 2 thôi à

YEBEE4795: đm 200 luôn đê

bờm Louis: cùng cận vệ

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: tiếp tiếp

YEBEE4795: bốc phét tiếp

bờm Louis: hôn lễ đc tổ chức với kính 1 tỉ đô la

bờm Louis: đc váy vốn ODA từ ngân hàng bill gate

YEBEE4795: đéo ai cần vay

bờm Louis: trả góp trong 1000 năm

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: xỏ tao à dog dog

YEBEE4795: bố k cho mượn vở nữa

bờm Louis: bh HÀ nội kỉ niệm 2000 năm

bờm Louis: cũng là lúc bill gates phát hiện mình bị lừa

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: tssssss ))))))))

YEBEE4795: thật là nhục nhã khi nuôi con bươm bướm như m ))))))))

bờm Louis: Trong chương trình tổ chức hôn lễ, sẽ có các nhóm nhạc đại diện khắp 5 châu 4 biển đến biểu diễn

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: đầu tiên phải kể để Super junior

bờm Louis: cơn bão cấp 13

YEBEE4795: =)

YEBEE4795: sau đó sẽ là màn bỉu diễn của c Gna

bờm Louis: tiếp theo là diva Mỹ linh đến từ HÀ Nội ( cấm thím hà và đàm vĩnh hưng đi vào bằng bất cứ hình thức nào )

YEBEE4795: =)

YEBEE4795: trính shác ^^

bờm Louis: nô nô, g.na chỉ đc làm đầu bếp thôi

bờm Louis: snsd lần này sẽ đc giao vai trò, tỉa cây tỉa cành

YEBEE4795: =)

YEBEE4795: lịp mọa =)

YEBEE4795: bố mày mới đầu tư cho mày

YEBEE4795: chai nước mắm 10k hả

bờm Louis: từ phía EU, Trưởng ban LHQ sẽ đến dự cùng các thành viên

bờm Louis: ca sĩ madona nổi tiếng cũng phải vội vội vàng vàng bỏ tắm rửa để nhảy phi cơ đi chúc mừng

bờm Louis: rớt chim bay buồi đc tuyển vào hội lao công quét sân

YEBEE4795: mét xi

YEBEE4795: rớt chim bay buồi là clgt =)

bờm Louis: Justin Bieber

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: ngu thế

YEBEE4795: mk =)

YEBEE4795: k đc chửi cô dâu là ngu

bờm Louis: stop

bờm Louis: em đi wc

bờm Louis: xin mời quý khách xem quảng cáo trg giây lát

YEBEE4795: nhanh lên r t cho 1 chân phù dâu

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: ừa ừa

YEBEE4795: nhớ

YEBEE4795: cầm giấy vsinh vào nha

bờm Louis: hả

bờm Louis: sao chị phải làm phù dâu

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: chị là cô dâu mà

YEBEE4795: tao bảo mày í

bờm Louis: à

bờm Louis: em đéo cần

bờm Louis: em là người ghi nợ hộ bill gates với hoa hồng lên đến 50 %

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: tao tưởng đến năm 2000 ông í sẽ b' mình bị lừa

bờm Louis: e hèm, tiếp tục

bờm Louis: đám cưới sẽ được tổ chức tại nơi mà ko có cái gì to bằng, hơn cả sân vận động tổ chim của TQ, hồ tây

YEBEE4795: đang svđ tổ chim

YEBEE4795: sao lại hồ tây

YEBEE4795:

bờm Louis: nhưng vì hồ tây là nơi toàn chất lỏng, nên sau 1 đêm họp bàn từ khắp các vị giáo sư nổi tiếng trên thề giới, mọi người đã quyết định dùng khí cacbon đông để làm đông cứng hết hồ tây lại

bờm Louis: hồ tây to hơn svđ tổ chim mà

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: vậy là, Hồ tây đã trở thành 1 sân băng tuyệt hảo với độ dày lên đến 50m

bờm Louis: đây là nơi tuyệt vời để tổ chức đám cưới

bờm Louis: việc huy động chuyên gia cho lễ cưới mới thật đau đầu

bờm Louis: Chủ tịch Bờm Louis đã cho tổ chức 1 kì thi nhưng mãi vẫn chưa ai xứng đáng để đc vào chức trang điểm

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: đm ))))))

YEBEE4795: chủ tịch bờm louis là thg nào đấy

YEBEE4795: obama xin làm chủ hôn

YEBEE4795: qùy lạy trc cửa nhà tao

YEBEE4795: mấy ngày nay

YEBEE4795: tuyệt thực

YEBEE4795: mà k chưa cho kìa

bờm Louis: cuối cùng, phải nhờ đến Lady gaga mới xong phần trang điểm

YEBEE4795: &&&&&&&&&

bờm Louis: về vấn đề trang phục

bờm Louis: tất cả thợ may trên TG đều ko thể nghĩ ra kiểu váy nào hợp mốt cho cô dâu mặc

bờm Louis: nhưng họ ko chịu bó tay

bờm Louis: họ đã nói: Ko mốt những phải sang

YEBEE4795: r sao

bờm Louis: thế là họ lấy những thiên nhiên tuyệt vời nhất của Thế giới: Kim cương của PHáp, Vàng của Tây ban nhà, Hồng Ngọc của áo, Saphire đen của Bỉ, San Hô của ÚC ...

bờm Louis: vâng, họ ngày đêm ko ngủ, các nhà tk nổi tiếng trên thế giới cũng vắt kiệt công sức vào làm

bờm Louis: và sau 9 tháng 7 ngày

bờm Louis: 1 chiếc váy đã ra đời

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: chiếc váy quả là hoàn mỹ, nếu cô dâu chỉ có 1 % vẻ đẹp thì chiếc váy sẽ nhân 100 lần vẻ xinh đẹp ấy lên cho cô và dù ở bất kì thời tiết nào, cô dâu cũng ko bị làm sao cả

bờm Louis: khách mời thật là khó xét đoán, vé vào cửa đám cưới còn đắt hơn cả vé lên tàu định mệnh năm 2012

bờm Louis: nếu vé lên con tàu định mệnh là 1 tỷ eauro

bờm Louis: thì vé tham gia đám cưới tận 10 tỷ euro

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: =)

bờm Louis: dù đắt nhưng thiên hạ cũng chẳng hề lo toan, miễn đc tham gia, ai cũng đổ xô đi mua vé mà trong khi đó ban tổ chức còn chưa in

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: , cuối cùng, đau đầu nhất vẫn là chủ tịch BL

YEBEE4795: &&&&&&&&&&&

bờm Louis: anh đã phải huy động 80 nghìn nhân công làm ngày làm đêm

YEBEE4795: thế còn

YEBEE4795: vấn đề

YEBEE4795: phù dâu phù rể

YEBEE4795: tuần trăng mật nữa chứ

bờm Louis: để cho ra 80k chiếc vé làm bằng kim cương đen đc nhập khẩu từ châu phi, trên mỗi viên kim cương có gắn chíp phòng trường hợp chủ nhân của chiếc vé ko tham dự thì vẫn còn thu hồi đc cho lễ cưới lần sau

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: Các tổng thống trên TG

YEBEE4795: đm mét xi )))))

YEBEE4795: lễ cưới LẦN SAU là í gì

bờm Louis: ai cũng dành dật nhau để mua đc 1 chiếc

bờm Louis: im

bờm Louis: cứ từ từ

bờm Louis: thế nên mới có chuyện TQ đập tan tượng nữ thần tự do chỉ vì obama chen ngang mua vé ))))

bờm Louis: phòng trường hợp chị muốn tổ chức kỉ niệm đám cưới 10 năm

YEBEE4795: )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: về an ninh của đám cưới, 10k nhân viên CIA được trang bị vũ khí hiện đại đã được chỉ đạo để bảo vệ đám cưới, 80k chiếc chuyên cơ đậu sẵn trên trời để đề phòng có khủng bố

YEBEE4795: đm chuyên cơ

YEBEE4795: che hết ánh sáng á

bờm Louis: Phù dâu của đám cưới đc tổ chức tuyển chọn rất gắt gao, hơn cả kiểm tra thuế

YEBEE4795: đen kịt cả 1 vùng trời

bờm Louis: chuyên làm bằng pha le ạ

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: vừa giúp tản ánh nắng để tránh tia cực tím

YEBEE4795: )))))

bờm Louis: vừa làm ánh sáng long lanh

YEBEE4795: giúp cô dâu giữ làn da châu Á

bờm Louis: chuẩn

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: hiểu nhau quá đúng là doggy của t

bờm Louis: Phù dâu của đám cưới đc tổ chức tuyển chọn rất gắt gao, hơn cả kiểm tra thuế

bờm Louis: :-L

bờm Louis: ko chém nữa bh

YEBEE4795: thôi

YEBEE4795: anh chủ tịch bỏ qua

YEBEE4795: em nó đang xúc động =)

bờm Louis: những siêu mẫu hàng đầu TG hay các nữ diễn viên hollywood đều muốn đc đứng vào hàng phù dâu

bờm Louis: nhưng đâu có dễ vậy, tiêu chí làm phù dâu là : Gia sản phải trị giá từ 50 triệu đô trở lên, người đẹp tự nhiên ko có tình trạng ăn uống giảm cân, cao 1m75 ,74,5 vẫn thuộc vào đối tượng bị loại

YEBEE4795: mày định dìm cô dâu à )))))

YEBEE4795: cô dâu có 1m57

YEBEE4795: chó

bờm Louis: cô dâu đc đưa đi mĩ viện kéo chân rồi

bờm Louis: 1m57 -> 1m76

YEBEE4795:

bờm Louis: đi guốc 10 phân là 1m86

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: bh lại đến dìm chú rể =)

bờm Louis: phương pháp kéo chân này là của tương lại

bờm Louis: nhg vì cô dâu là người đặc biệt

bờm Louis: nên được áp dụng trước

bờm Louis: ngay cả vợ obama mơ cũng chẳng đc

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: quay lại chủ đề phù rể

bờm Louis: các siêu mẫu trên TG cũng đều đến đo tài cân sức

bờm Louis: nhưng tiêu chuẩn của ban tổ chức đưa ra là: dzai cao trên 1m80, có làn da ko quá trắng và cũng ko quá đen, ko có tình trạng đi nhuộm da, bụng phải đủ 6 múi, mỗi mũi cách đều nhau: VD như siwon

bờm Louis: và thế là mọi người đành kéo nhau xuống hàng ghế khán giả

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: mỗi múi cách đều nhau )))))))))))))

bờm Louis: về thức ăn của bữa tiệc, buffe lần này được đặt trọn gói tại 3 nước là Pháp, Ý và Tây Ban Nha

bờm Louis: ko chỉ có sơn hào hải vị mà có cả những thứ ít ai được ăn bh

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: với 700 món khác nhau

YEBEE4795:

bờm Louis: bữa tiệc cưới này quả là có 1 ko 2

bờm Louis: về phần chủ xị Việt Nam, vì cũng biết nước mình quá nghèo so với cô dâu

bờm Louis: nên quà cưới của VN là thứ đáng giá nhất

bờm Louis: Vn đã tặng hòn Ngọc Việt Nha Trang cho cặp đôi cô dâu chú rể làm nơi để nghỉ cuối tuần

bờm Louis: vẫn biết cô dâu chú rể chẳng ngó ngàng gì nhưng đây là chút ít tấm lòng của người VN

bờm Louis: các nước khác thì thơm hơn rất nhiều:

bờm Louis: HQ tặng đảo chê chu

bờm Louis: TQ tặng Thượng Hải

bờm Louis: Mỹ tặng Hawai

bờm Louis: Nga tặng quảng trường đỏ

bờm Louis: Pháp tặng dòng sông Sen

bờm Louis: aNh tặng đồng hồ Big Ben

bờm Louis: ... v...v

bờm Louis: thật là nhiều

bờm Louis: tôi cũng đéo hiểu giấy tờ liên quan đến cô dâu chú rể nhiều chừng nào

YEBEE4795: giấy tờ j :

YEBEE4795: |

bờm Louis: 8-Ư]

bờm Louis: chủ quyền của nhà chị trên từng đất nước

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: vl =)

YEBEE4795:

YEBEE4795: haiz

YEBEE4795: m cứ cố gắng

YEBEE4795: làm cho tốt nvụ

YEBEE4795: r t sẽ thưởng cho m

YEBEE4795: cái sm town

bờm Louis: mệt quá

YEBEE4795: okkkkkk

YEBEE4795:

bờm Louis: em xin seoul đi

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: k đc

YEBEE4795: m định lấn đất của ox nhà t à

bờm Louis: ông xã nhà chị sắp tổ chức live show trên mặt trăng rồi còn gì

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: kể cả thế

YEBEE4795: nơi chôn rau cắt rốn

bờm Louis: NASA đang có ý định tặng nhà chị 1 phần đất trên mặt trăng đấy

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: quê hương ruột thịt

YEBEE4795:

YEBEE4795: k đc

YEBEE4795: kể cả

YEBEE4795: mặt trời

YEBEE4795: t k m'

YEBEE4795: con tao sinh ra

YEBEE4795: mang quốc tịch hàn quốc

YEBEE4795: mà thủ đô

YEBEE4795: lại là của mày

bờm Louis: Yecon

YEBEE4795: cộng tên t vs sung vào là

YEBEE4795: YeSube )))))))))))))))

YEBEE4795: mà quên

YEBEE4795: thế

YEBEE4795: phương tiện đi lại của cô dâu chú rể thì dư lào :<

bờm Louis: à, các nước đang thi nhau

bờm Louis: tạo ra những phương tiện mới nhất đẹp nhất

bờm Louis: mới nhất là chiếc xe vộ trọng lực do Honda sản xuất

bờm Louis: với thiết kế 2 chỗ mui trần

bờm Louis: với màu trắng tuyệt hảo bên ngoài và nội thất bên trong màu xanh

bờm Louis: chiếc xe dùng lực đẩy áp suất để bật lên so với mặt đất

bờm Louis: cô dâu chú rể sẽ ko bh bị tắc đường

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: àaaa =)

YEBEE4795: ra vậy =)

YEBEE4795: ok thống nhất vậy đi ^^

YEBEE4795: vđề cuối xD

YEBEE4795: hoa cô dâu hihi xD

bờm Louis: chị muốn lấy chuyên cơ riêng ko

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: tao giàu rồi

YEBEE4795: k ham mấy cái đấy

YEBEE4795: =)

bờm Louis: Hoa cô dâu cầm được những chuyên gia hàng đầu của Hà lan

bờm Louis: trồng tại vùng đất màu mỡ nhất

YEBEE4795: hoa tuy líp hả m )))))))))

bờm Louis: ko dùng phân hóa học mà chỉ dùng phân người

bờm Louis: hoa này đc các nhà khoa học nghiên cứu rất kĩ, để khi hoa nỡ trên hoa sẽ hiện chữ yesung love yebee

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: duyệt =)

YEBEE4795: mà nỳa

YEBEE4795: hôm đám cưới của t

YEBEE4795: tòan dân

YEBEE4795: đc nghỉ

YEBEE4795: và cấm tất cả các lọai xe

YEBEE4795: trên tòan quốc gia lãnh thổ

YEBEE4795:

YEBEE4795: tại sao tao còn phải lo

YEBEE4795: tắc đường =.=

bờm Louis: ơ, tại vì người ta diễu binh

bờm Louis:

bờm Louis: với cả dân đổ xô đi lại

bờm Louis: chả nhẽ chị đi bộ cùng với họ

YEBEE4795: chặn đường

bờm Louis: được vút qua mặt họ

bờm Louis: ko thấy sướng sao

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: thế là

YEBEE4795: bệnh ngôi sao đấy em ạ

YEBEE4795: nhg thôi ks

YEBEE4795: vì mh đúng là sao mà

YEBEE4795: à k mình là vợ sao =)

YEBEE4795: thôi đc r

YEBEE4795: chắc hết vđề r đúng k =)

bờm Louis: ừ

bờm Louis: em mệt vãi lz

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: =)

YEBEE4795: thôi ks

YEBEE4795: hãy nghĩ đến ch

YEBEE4795: snày

YEBEE4795: cây cối nhà m

YEBEE4795: sẽ đc

YEBEE4795: đội quân

YEBEE4795: binh đòan snsd

YEBEE4795: hàng ngày đến tỉa tót +))

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: sm town

YEBEE4795: sẽ phải đổi tên thành

YEBEE4795: bl town

bờm Louis: rủ tuyết đến uống trà

YEBEE4795: uống trà ngắm cây ))))))))

YEBEE4795: k cần

YEBEE4795: lên núi hái chè

YEBEE4795: hái chè tại gia luôn e nhỉ

bờm Louis: đúng

bờm Louis:

YEBEE4795: ok thôi kết thúc buổi họp

_________________________________________________________________________

Vãi chưởng bốc phét =)))))))))))))))))))))

" TQ đập đổ tượng Nữ Thần Tự Do của Mỹ vì tội Obama dám chen ngang mua vé dự đám cưới của YB và YS :D=)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) "

- Khóc cìa : ) Mắt bụp đồ =)) Anh ơi , NhớAnh <'3 by ♥ Syn Minơ :x ♥

7 67

- Valentine đồ har :x Nqta đi chơi đồ har , còq tui nqòi tui ôm máy đồ har : ) Nqĩ sao ãnh bõ tui chèo veo ỡ nhà ãnh đi đánh bài =)) Má thằq này gan . Được lắm :)) )

- Nhửq hỉu lầm làm ta đánh mất nhao : ) Nhửq tha thứ và sự yêu thương đả maq ta trỡ lại : x

- Chồng ơi chồng , em yêu chồng nhất nhất trêq đờii : * Xinloi chồq . Vì em thương anh qá nêq em ms ghen : ) E sợ mất anh , sợ snày anh kcòn là úf em nửa , sợ snày bàn tay úf anh , bờ vai úf anh , em kcòn đc ôm đc nắm : ) Sợ mất đi nhửq tn yêu thương , mất đi sự qtâm lo lắn anh dành cho em : )

Này Anh yêu ơi từ lâu Em đã muốq nói choa Anh nqe . Rằng con tim Em tận sâu đã muốq nói sẽ mãi yêu Anh . Luôq bêq cạnh Anh nhữq lúc khó khăq . Bao duôi buồq ta cùng bêq nhao . Anh và Em sẽ mãi mãi có nhao thôi nguời yêu ơi.....<'3

* Anh có thể tìm đc 1 ng xinh hơn Em , tốt hơn Em : )

- Đúg !

* Nhưg để tìm 1 ng như Em và yêu Anh nhiều như vậy thì ...

- Xin lỗi Anh : )

* Em thách !

- Cho em ôm anh thật lâu thỳ thầm anh mãi bên em nhé . Cho em hôn anh thật sâu quấn quít bên nhau mỗi đêm về .

94nqài mình bêq nhau , knhiều nhưq em rất duôi :)) Vì fia nào củq nq hnão em tới sáq =)) Thương bm luôq á :x

ĐìnhĐình Yêu ĐìnhHuy nhiều lắm á nhoe : * Syn thương Pin lắm á :x

MãiBênEmNhaChồngYêu <3 EmYêuAnhNhiềuƠiLàNhiềuLuônÁBoa =)))

- Buồn : ) by • Gù - Ilov'u <3

9 18

- Mẹ à ! Thậc sự con mệt mõi lắm rồi. Mẹ để con yên thữ 1n được k. Ts ngày nào mẹ cũng nv. Mẹ là người mà con yt nhất mà. Ts mẹ k hiểu con. Con yêu con gái thì sai s. Con đủ lớn để xđịnh hp cũa mình mà. Con muốn đi đúng con đường mà con đã chọn. Mẹ đừng ép con được k? Con sn nl' rồi mẹ à. 19 năm rồi con luôn nge theo lời mẹ. Nhưng mẹ à. Bh con k thể làm theo lời mẹ đc. Con yêu nta nl. Con k thể k ở bc nta đc mẹ à. COn sai rồi. Con xl~ mẹ nl'. Con sẽ ttục đi con đường mà con đã chọn. Con k đi sai hướng. Con chỉ mog 1n nào đó mẹ sẽ hiểu đc con.

- Con xl~ đây la lần đầu tiên trong 19năm qua con k nge lời mẹ. Con đã k đi đúng hướng theo con đường mẹ đã định sẵn. Con sẽ đi ngược lại. Vì đây là bản chất thật của con. Mong mẹ hiểu cho con.

- Con xin mẹ. Đừng ép con vào bức đường cùng. Cái dì cũng có giới hạn thôi mẹ à. Đừng để snày mẹ fãi hối hận

Vyêu :

- Vợ nè. Gđ đủ làm c mệt mõi rồi. Dù có chiện dì xảy ra. Vợ cũng fãi bc c đó. C được để c 1m đâu đó. Cyv

- Sắp fãi xa vợ rồi. C cũng k muốn nv đâu. C buồn lắm. Nhưg c cũng fãi rán chịu đựng. C sẽ cố gắng học để snày còn nui vợ nữa chứ hehe.

* LOVE Hí <3

Tractor belt driven waterpump behind School 7 by Tom Clark

17

abandoned one room schoolhouse on Snay Rd. in Michigan's Thumb. Delaware township, in Sanilac county

218d 10 - _DSC0059 - lr-ps

Mặt đơ ==" . {BONUS page2} by •TH ♥ QT - Only124•

10 160

TRÃ TAG CHO VIC :|

_________

1. Đầy đủ họ tên:

- N.T.T.H :x [ Tên e xấu =)) ]

2. Bdanh:

- Katy or Ty

3. Birthday of me:

- 23.12 :x [ Cận cề Noel =) ]

4. Học lớp mấy ?:

- Đág lẽ năm nay là 11 , nhưg bh` học típ 10 =)

5. Học trườg gì ?:

- Đại học côg ngiệp TP.HCM =))

6. Hay tâm sự vs' ai ?:

- All :x . Ai củg thể tsự đc mà :) . Nhưg bt là Friend

7. Yêu chưa ?:

- Rồi , đã và đang yêu :)

8. Có đi chơi thường xuyên k ?:

- Giãm bớt đi nhiều r` =)

9. Lớn lên làm gì ?:

- Sau này để snày tính hen ;)

10. Có Les hong ?

- Hog hề nhé :-"

11. Có nhiều bạn hong ?

- Bạn thì nhiều , nhưg thân thì chỉ 1 ít thôi =)

12. Nhà bạn làm gì ?

- Mng 1 việc làm , k mún qtâm :)

13. Nhà bạn giàu hog ?

- À hog , đủ xài đủ sih sốg thôi

14. Call cho bạn = số fone nào ?

- 113 đó , nhấn fím 1 =)) . [ 01268704327 - cấm phá đó nhe ]

15. Thíc ai hát nhất ?

- All :x . Ai cũg có thể hát , k thíc riêg 1 ai cã

16. Bạn thíc nhất là gì ?

- Điều mình thíc kbh` có được =)

17. Đi chơi có xin fép hog ?

- Xin cho có thủ tục vs' ngta =))

18. Bạn có cao hog :-?

- Hog , tàn tàn 1m55 - 56 thôi à

19. Bạn có hay tha thứ hog ?

- Ai củg có thể mắc sai lầm , k nên ceo ciệt về sự tha thứ =) . Tha thứ r` thì nên sửa sai :)

20. Năm học vui nhất ?

- Lớp 9 :)

21. Năm học khùm nhất ?

- Cũg là lớp 9 :)

22. Thíc chơi vs' ai nhất trong lớp ?

- K fân biệt bbè , all đều chơi đc . Nhưg chỉ thân vs' LPHT lớp 9 =)

23. Bạn hay làm trò gì trong lớp ?

- 8 là nhiều =)) . Nhưg cũg qtâm đến chiện học

24. Thíc mag dép nào ?

- 15k / 2 đôi =)

25. Thíc chơi vs' bạn nào nhất ?

- Ai cũg có thể chơi vs' mình . Chủ yếu: hòa đồg , vui vẻ , k tính toán .... =) . My Friend and BFF :x

26. Gét ai nhất ?

- K gét ai , nhưg chủ yếu tính tình ra s thôi =)

27. Thíc đi học hong ?

- Học tự lo cho mình , đi học cho biết vs' ngta =))

28. Thíc đi nước ngoài k ?

- Ước mơ thì k có , nhưg nếu đc đi 1 lần thì sẽ đi :)

29. Một ngày bạn ngủ bnhiêu tiếg ?

- Ngủ ít lắm =]

30. Ở nhà bạn làm gì ?

- Qánh răg , rữa mặt r` tính típ =))

31. Bạn học giõi k ?

- Tàn tàn mà lên lớp =)

32. Bh` bạn đag ntn ?

- Phê =) . Nhưg chỉ mới là 1 nữa đườg =))

33. Bạn tin tưởng ai ?

- Bản thân mình :) . Friend , BFF vs' nhữg ai tin tưỡg đc :)

34. Ai đặt tên cho bạn ?

- My dad :")

35. Ai sẽ dính Tag uf bạn ?

- Hog ai cã , vì Ty là ng tốt :"> =))

36. Năm sau bạn thíc học trườg gì ?

- Chả thíc học trườg nào , vì đag dính trườg này r` =))

37. Bạn thíc làm gì ở nhà ?

- Ngủ - ngỉ - fẻ

38. Bạn có thíc ăn Donuts hog ?

- Có , nhưg ăn nhiều tiểu đườg chết =))

39. Ỡ nhà ai cưg bạn nhất ?

- My dad :") . Ngoài ra chẵg còn ai hếc :)

40. Bạn thương ai nhất ?

- Bản thân mình , bbè vs' tất cả :D

41. Bạn có hay cười hong ?

- Có , nhưg hiện tại thì cần xem lại :)

42. Bạn yêu đơn fương chưa ?

- Rồi :)

43. Bạn hay rũ ai đi chơi ?

- Đa số là bạn :) . Ai mến rủ đi thì đi thôi :D

44. Bạn gét loại ng nào nhất ?

- Ngu k tiếp thu lại còn bảo thủ :-j

45. Có lựa bạn mà chơi hog ?

- Bạn chứ đâu fải món hàg mà lựa =) . Tốt thì đều có thể chơi :)

46. Bạn biết nấu món gì ?

- Cũng nhiều :)

47. Bạn có bh` ngỉ mình đẹp ?

- À hog =) . Cái này để mng nhận xét đi ^^

48. Thíc uốg nước gì ?

- Sting dâu tây đỏ :))

49. Bạn thíc ng.khác tặg gì ?

- K thíc fân bì =) . Mọi thứ nhận đc thì đều là qà :x

50. Bạn có làm Girl hong ?

- Giới tính s thì làm v. =) Hỏi ngộ ta =.="

51. Bạn thíc c.trai ntn ?

- Tốt , lo cho mình , biết qtâm vs' lo lắg , k cần đẹp hay nhà fải giàu . Chủ yếu là thậc lòng hay k :)

52. Ước mơ cũa bạn ?

- Có ước mơ , nhưg chỉ là nhất thời > K tíh làm gì =)

53. Tóc bạn có đẹp hong ?

- Xem píc và có lời n.xét =)

54. Bạn chịu đau được hong ?

- Cũng khá là đc =)) . Lỳ mà chai :))

55. Bạn onl thường làm gì ?

- Chat , web , music and 8 vs' friend .....

56. Bạn mong ai nhất ?

- Chẳng mong ai cả , cái mình mong thì kbh` có đc nó :)

57. Bạn có nhiều tiền hog ?

- À hong , đủ xài vs' sih sốg thôi =)

58. Bây h` bạn đag làm gì ?

- Tag vs' nge nhạc

59. Ăn sáng bạn ăn gì ?

- Mỗi ngày 1 món , cể đến 9 ciếp củg chưa hếc =))

60. Tương lai bạn ngỉ s ?

- Cái đó snày tính , tính trc' bước k qa =)

61. Bạn có hay take píc hong ?

- Ngẫu nhiên và tùy hứng =))

62. Bạn thíc chụp hình vs' ai ?

- Bt là 1m k . Nhưg ai thíc thì đều có thể chụp chung ^^

63. Thíc đi tắm hong ?

- Hong thíc thì ở dơ à =))

64. Ng bạn qtâm nhất ?

- Bản thân và tất cả :)

65. Thíc nc vs' ai ?

- Ai nói Ty nge thì Ty nói lại à :"> . K fân biệt gì cả ;;)

66. Thíc nge giọg ai ?

- Tùy vào ai call cho Ty :x

67. Muốn nt vs' ai ?

- All :x . Ai mess thì Ty rep :">

68. Nhà bạn ở đâu ?

- Q12 city \m/

69. Thíc uốg sữa hog ?

- Hõi dư thừa =) . Món ruột , uốg trừ cơm :))

70. Bạn thíc ai sếp sao tặng bạn ?

- Ng nào qtrọng vs' Ty . Đbiệt là ng mình thương { chỉ là mơ thôi } :)

71. Cn bạn làm gì ?

- Ngủ - ngỉ - fẻ =)

72. Bạn thíc ăn mặc ntn ?

- Đơn giản: qần Jean - áo thun vs' sơmi , qần sọt ngắn vs' áo 3 lỗ =)

73. Có muốn nhiều ng biết đến bạn hog ?

- Ai biết thì biết , hog thì thôi :D

74. Bạn có tài hong ?

- Cái này để mng n.xét nhe :x

75. Bạn ham muốn điều gì ?

- Ham muốn lun , OMG =] . Mún 1 sự tự do thôi :)

76. Bạn mấy tuổi ?

- 16 thôi

77. Bạn có muốn đi Shopping hong ?

- Có chứ =)

78. Thất vọng về ai chưa ?

- Rồi , k những 1 lần thất vọg mà rất nhiều lần :)

79. Bây h` bạn ra s ?

- Tê và cơn phê ngày 1 tăng thêm =))

80. Giờ đang làm gì ?

- Trã Tag cho Vic vs' nge nhạc

81. Cảm xúc bh` thế nào ?

- Lúc nào cũg buồn k có vui :)

82. Còn bây h` ?

- Sắp sung sướng =) . Vì hếc cơn phê tê tái r` =))

83. Hết chưa ?

- Hết gì ? Hết thở lấy số qánh đề à =))

84. Viết cái Tag này trã cho ai ?

- Cho Vic :-w

________________________

* . Cảm giác bây h` rất khó diễn tả

. Khó chịu , mệt mỏi , buồn nhiều (:

out house behind the one room school on Snay Rd in Deleware Twsp. Michigan by Tom Clark

6 3

215c 8 - _TAC6739 - lr-ps

Snay Rd School-Abandoned by Gary Tucker

10 3

img 1466 T1F 5D3 2015

Happy Day ♥ by Ni ♥ Kòi

87

Hihi nhớ mọi người qá đi àh :x

Bây giờ là 5h sáng rồi ;))

Hnay gặp honey nên nôn lắm đang ngủ giựt mình dậy thấy mới 4h20 àh mà ngủ lại k được :(

Nhớ honey lắmmmmmmmmmmmm :(

Dnày N đang cực kì hạnh phúc :P

Sau bao nhiêu chuyện thì bây giờ N cũng được bình iên rồi :P

Dnày N xấu lắm rồi N thề luôn áh :(

Mắt thâm hết rồi :(

Tấm này gớm lắm mà fix màu lại mới được vậy áh chứ thiệt sự gớm lắm :(

Up vì muốn ghi des với nhớ mọi người qá thôi hihi :P

Bh N ngoan r` N chỉ ở nhà nc với honey thôi :P

Với lại cũng sắp vô học rồi

Vui qá đi \:D/

Hè ở nhà mà ngta đi học thấy buồn qá :(

Vừa mập lên vừa xấu nữa :-&

Bây giờ mập lắm rồi như cái hũ lô luôn 8-}

Đang nôn không biết lớp mới ntn nữa hehe :))

Nhớ năm ngoái qá :(

Mà tiếc năm nay k được học chung nữa r` :((

Sắp vô năm rồi

Tháng đầu phải hs giỏi cho nhà hết hồn chơi :))

Hehe mục tiêu vậy thôi mà k biết được k nữa =))

Mọi người cùng N cố nha \:D/

YAY CHAIIIIIIIIII YỒ :))

LOVE ALL SO MUCH ♥

____________________________________________

Sắp được gặp honey rồi :x
Nhưng mà trưa nay buồn qá xá là buồn :(
Honey k kịp đọc des mà Em del mất tiu rồi :(
Anh ơi mình sẽ bên cạnh nhau lâu mà đúng không Anh ?
Tất cả niềm tin và tình cảm của Em bây giờ đều đặt vào Anh hết rồi đó,
Trách nhiệm có vẻ nặng nề lắm phải k ?
Nhưng Anh đừng lấy đó làm gánh nặng nhé
Vì Em thích mình yêu nhau từ từ hơn :P
Em và Anh ai cũng có qá khứ cả
Không thể nói được là ai đau hơn ai
Vì mỗi người có 1 nỗi đau riêng mà.
Em không đòi hỏi Anh phải dành tất cả cho Em ngay bh
Em chỉ cần Anh nghĩ cho Em thôi.
Em không biết snày sẽ ntn
Nhưng Em sẽ cố làm dịu vết thương của Anh.
Người ta thường nói hạnh phúc thì qên mau nhưng nỗi đau thì nhớ mãi mà phải không Anh ?
Nhưng Em sẽ cố làm hạnh phúc đó còn nhìu hơn nỗi đau để Anh kbh phải nhớ tới nỗi đau đó
Vì Em chỉ muốn thấy Anh lúc nào cũng vui vẻ thôi.
Có 1 người nói sẽ kbh có 1 ai thật lòng với Em cả
Có phải nv k Anh ?!
~~Em không qan tâm người ta nói gì~~
Chỉ cần Em biết Em yêu Anh là đủ và chỉ cần biết dù ntn Em vẫn còn có Anh ♥

♥ Gia tài của Em, hạnh phúc của Em, niềm vui của Em, nỗi buồn của Em, cuộc sống của Em, lí trí của Em, tình yêu của Em - đừng xa Em Anh nhé ! ♥

Ơiiiiiiiiiiiii ta nói dnày Ni sến dễ sợ sến =)) sến rùng sến rợn =)) sến dã man :)) sến vô bờ bến =))

Snay by Igor KTO

1

Từ bh sẽ cố cười by Zuz :*

5 20

Nhìn lại từ lúc e post tấm hìh đầu tiên tới h,bài nào e viết cũg toàn nhữg bài bùn.1 tg dài r` đó a,e k đc vui k cảm nhận đc sự h/p.

.....

Hôm nay sẽ khác đó a.Từ bh e sẽ tập cho mìh cuời,e sẽ cố gắg k bùn nữa.Sẽ qan tâm tới nhữg chiện xug qah nhìu hơn và cho e 1 cách sốg mới.Cho dù snay a k ở bên e nữa e cũg có thể sốg 1 cách vui vẻ.

......

Bh anh còn bên em thì em sẽ trân trọg nó :)

SNAY by yan azolas

5 3

ay luv de juuud

Snay by Igor KTO

3

Naruto by Pat M

5

Hka-Art06 #streetartrendezvous #le109 #le109nice #streetart #manga #ninja #kirama #naruto #rasengan #art by #hka #hkaart06 & #snay #paintingart #graffiti_n_wallart #be_one_urbanart #streetart06 #patm666photos

Snay by Igor KTO

1

Cambodia - Market - Children - 94 by Manfred Sommer

5

Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ (About this soundlisten); also Kampuchea /ˌkæmpʊˈtʃiːə/; Khmer: កម្ពុជា Khmer: [kam.pu.ciə]; French: Cambodge), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə, IPA: [prĕəh riə.ciə.naː.caʔ kam.pu.ciə]; French: Royaume du Cambodge), is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

The sovereign state of Cambodia has a population of over 16 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with a monarch, currently Norodom Sihamoni, chosen by the Royal Throne Council as head of state. The head of government is the Prime Minister, currently Hun Sen, the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia, ruling Cambodia since 1985.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire, which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianised kingdom facilitated the spread of first Hinduism and then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia and undertook many religious infrastructural projects throughout the region, including the construction of more than 1,000 temples and monuments in Angkor alone. Angkor Wat is the most famous of these structures and is designated as a World Heritage Site.

After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863, Cambodia became a protectorate of France, which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970 which installed the right-wing pro-US Khmer Republic, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea, supported by the Soviet Union in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91).

Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 factional fighting resulted in the ousting of the government by Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2018.

Cambodia is a member of the United Nations since 1955, ASEAN, the East Asia Summit, the WTO, the Non-Aligned Movement and La Francophonie. According to several foreign organisations, the country has widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy".

While per capita income remains low compared to most neighboring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, with growth averaging 7.6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. The US World Justice Project's 2015 Rule of Law Index ranked Cambodia 76 out of 102 countries, similar to other countries in the region.

NAME

The "Kingdom of Cambodia" is the official English name of the country. The English "Cambodia" is an anglicisation of the French "Cambodge", which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា kampuciə. Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश kambojadeśa, composed of देश deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज kamboja, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom. The term Cambodia was already in use in Europe as early as 1524, since Antonio Pigafetta (an Italian explorer who followed Ferdinand Magellan in his circumnavigation of the globe) cites it in his work Relazione del primo viaggio intorno al mondo (1524-1525) as Camogia.

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either ស្រុកខ្មែរ srok khmae (Khmer pronunciation: [srok ˈkʰmae]), meaning "Khmer's Land", or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា prɑteih kampuciə (Khmer pronunciation: [prɑ.ˈteih kam.pu.ciə]), literally "Country of Kampuchea". The name "Cambodia" is used most often in the Western world while "Kampuchea" is more widely used in the East.

HISTORY

PRE-HISTORY

There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present-day Cambodia, which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, although their dating is unreliable. Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene: the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of L'aang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates around 6000 BC. Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia

Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the late 3rd millennium BC. The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various "circular earthworks" discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from 2nd millennium BC.

Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from the ancient capital of Oudong), where the first investigations began in 1875, and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey. An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past, possible with larger cities in Angkor. Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri. Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in modern-day Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks were found beneath Lovea a few kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer than other types of finds, testify to improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation. Also, among the artefacts from the Iron Age, glass beads are important evidence. Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia, such as the Phum Snay site in northwest and the Prohear site in southeast, show that there were two main trading networks at the time. The two networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably with changes in socio-political powers.

PRE-ANGKORIAN AND ANGKORIAN ERA

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos. Little else is known for certain of these polities, however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them. It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as "Kattigara". The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 690, turmoil ensued which resulted in division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java.

The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla, becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c790-850) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan, however the king was able to buy peace. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295; when Indravarman III took power.

The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres. The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.

DARK AGES OF CAMBODIA

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the kingdom's internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours. By this time, the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased. Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god-king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism.

The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese. Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade. The attempt was short-lived however, as continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594. A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short-lived periods of relative independence.

The hill tribe people in Cambodia were "hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese (Thai), the Annamites (Vietnamese), and the Cambodians".

In the nineteenth century a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak.

FRENCH COLONISATION

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of Thailand from French rule. In 1867, the Thai king signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1907.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945.[48] Between 1874 and 1962, the total population increased from about 946,000 to 5.7 million. After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king, and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control. They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953.

INDEPENDENCE AND VIETNAM WAR

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam. Formerly part of the Khmer Empire, the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698, with King Chey Chettha II granting the Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before. This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers (the Khmer Krom) still living in this region. The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which, in part, led to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians. In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries, he would not object, unless Cambodians were killed.

The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson's emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968. However, in public Sihanouk refuted the right of the U.S. to use air strikes in Cambodia, and on 26 March he said "these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop". On 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media: "I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia—that is, I will in any case oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext." Nevertheless, the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued. Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States.

KHMER REPUBLIC (1970–75)

While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. US support for the coup remains unproven. However, once the coup was completed, the new regime, which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia, gained the political support of the United States. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam, immediately launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.

Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. However, from 1970 until early 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia, and the armed forces of North Vietnam. As they gained control of Cambodian territory, the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure, which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge.[56] Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.

Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot's then second in command, Nuon Chea. NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication. In response to the North Vietnamese invasion, US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see Cambodian Incursion). Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam. Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population. The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975, just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.

KHMER ROUGE REGIME 1975–1978

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward, immediately evacuated the cities, and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about a quarter of the population). This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats, and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people.

Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250,000 and 300,000 in 1969 to a reported 56,000 in 1984. However, most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.

Religious institutions were not spared by the Khmer Rouge either. Religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia's historic architecture, 95% of Cambodia's Buddhist temples, was completely destroyed.

VIETNAMESE OCCUPATION AND TRANSITION 1978–1992

In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge. The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), a pro-Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951, and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok, was established. It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh. Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

In opposition to the newly created state, a government-in-exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed in 1981 from three factions. This consisted of the Khmer Rouge, a royalist faction led by Sihanouk, and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations. The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties. The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions by the US and its allies.

Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

RESTAURATION OF THE MONARCHY

In 1993, Norodom Sihanouk was restored as King of Cambodia, but all power was in the hands of the government established after the UNTAC sponsored elections. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d'état led by the co-Prime Minister Hun Sen against the non-communist parties in the government. In recent years, reconstruction efforts have progressed and led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

In July 2010, Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials of former Khmer Rouge mass murderers.

In August 2014, a UN-backed war crimes tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal), sentenced Khieu Samphan, the regime's 83-year-old former head of state, and Nuon Chea, its 88-year-old chief ideologue, to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country's terror period in the 1970s. The trial began in November 2011. Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in 2013, while his wife, Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to dementia in 2012. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

GEOGRAPHY

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 square miles) and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 200 metres above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 320 kilometres from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 600 to 180–550 metres. This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through the country's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand.

In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 1,813 metres. The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap, measuring about 2,590 square kilometres during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

WIKIPEDIA

Snay Adp by Igor KTO

Snay by Igor KTO

Snay 2013 by Igor KTO

the little girls get a 2-holer in the turn of the last century by Tom Clark

6

we identify this as School 7, on Snay /road a half mile east of Hunt rd in Sanilac county, Michigan

18d 10 - _DSC0069 - lr-ps

Cambodia 7 - Allday Life by Manfred Sommer

2

Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ (About this sound listen); Khmer: កម្ពុជា, or Kampuchea IPA: [kam.pu.ciə], French: Cambodge), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə, IPA: [prĕəh riə.ciə.naː.caʔ kam.pu.ciə]; French: Royaume du Cambodge), is a sovereign state located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently Prime minister and the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years since 1985.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea supported by the Soviet Union in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 factional fighting placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2018. Cambodia is a member of the United Nations since 1955, ASEAN, EAS, WTO, NAM and La Francophonie.

The country faces numerous challenges. Important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy".

While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region.

Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, which also involves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Overall, environmental destruction in Cambodia comprise many different activities, including illegal logging, poaching of endangered and endemic species, and destruction of important wildlife habitats from large scale construction projects and agricultural businesses. The degrading activities involve the local population, Cambodian businesses and political authorities, as well as foreign criminal syndicates and many transnational corporations from all over the world.

NAME

The "Kingdom of Cambodia" is the official English name of the country. The English "Cambodia" is an anglicisation of the French "Cambodge", which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា kampuciə. Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश kambojadeśa, composed of देश deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज kamboja, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either ស្រុកខ្មែរ srok khmae (Khmer pronunciation: [srok ˈkʰmae]), meaning "Khmer's Land", or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា prɑteih kampuciə (Khmer pronunciation: [prɑ.ˈteih kam.pu.ciə]), literally "Country of Kampuchea". The name "Cambodia" is used most often in the Western world while "Kampuchea" is more widely used in the East.

HISTORY

PRE-HISTORY

There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present-day Cambodia, which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, although their dating is unreliable. Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene: the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of L'aang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates as of 6000 BC. Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia

Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the late 3rd millennium BC. The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various "circular earthworks" discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from 2nd millennium BC.

Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from the ancient capital of Oudong), where the first investigations began in 1875, and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey. An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past, possible with larger cities in Angkor. Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri.

Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in modern-day Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks were found beneath Lovea a few kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer than other types of finds, testify to improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation. Also, among the artefacts from the Iron Age, glass beads are important evidence. Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia, such as the Phum Snay site in northwest and the Prohear site in southeast, show that there were two main trading networks at the time. The two networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably with changes in socio-political powers.

PRE-ANGKORIAN AND ANGKORIAN ERA

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos. Little else is known for certain of these polities, however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them. It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as "Kattigara". The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 690, turmoil ensued which resulted in division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java.

The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c790-850) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan, however the king was able to buy peace. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295; when Indravarman III took power.

The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres. The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.

DARK AGES OF CAMBODIA

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the kingdom's internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours. By this time, the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased. Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god-king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism.

The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese. Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade. The attempt was short-lived however, as continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594. A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short-lived periods of relative independence.

The hill tribe people in Cambodia were "hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese (Thai), the Annamites (Vietnamese), and the Cambodians".

In the nineteenth century a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak.

FRENCH COLONISATION

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of France from the Thai rule. In 1867, the Thai king signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1907.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945.[47] Between 1874 and 1962, the total population increased from about 946,000 to 5.7 million. After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king, and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control. They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953.

INDEPENDENCE AND VIETNAM WAR

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam. Formerly part of the Khmer Empire, the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698, with King Chey Chettha II granting Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before. This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers (the Khmer Krom) still living in this region. The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which, in part, led to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians. In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries, he would not object, unless Cambodians were killed.

The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson's emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968. However, in public Sihanouk refuted the US' right to use air strikes in Cambodia and on 26 March Prince Sihanouk said "these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop", and on 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media "I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia—that is, I will in any case oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext." Nevertheless, the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued. Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States.

KHMER REPUBLIC 1970-1975

While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. US support for the coup remains unproven. However, once the coup was completed, the new regime, which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia, gained the political support of the United States. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam, immediately launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.

Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. However, from 1970 until early 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia, and the armed forces of North Vietnam. As they gained control of Cambodian territory, the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure, which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge. Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.

Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot's then second in command, Nuon Chea. NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication. In response to the North Vietnamese invasion, US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see Cambodian Incursion). Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam. Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population. The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975, just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.

KHMER ROUGE REGIME 1975-1978

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward, immediately evacuated the cities, and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about a quarter of the population). This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats, and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people.

Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250,000 and 300,000 in 1969 to a reported 56,000 in 1984. However, most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.

Religious institutions were not spared by the Khmer Rouge as well, religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia's historic architecture, 95% of Cambodia's Buddhist temples, was completely destroyed.

VIETNAMESE OCCUPATION AND TRANSITION 1978-1992

In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge. The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), a pro-Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951, and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok, was established. It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh. Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

In opposition to the newly created state, a government-in-exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed in 1981 from three factions. This consisted of the Khmer Rouge, a royalist faction led by Sihanouk, and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations. The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties. The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions by the US and its allies.[specify]

Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY

In 1993, Norodom Sihanouk was restored as King of Cambodia, but all power was in the hands of the government established after the UNTAC sponsored elections. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d'état led by the co-Prime Minister Hun Sen against the non-communist parties in the government. In recent years, reconstruction efforts have progressed and led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

In July 2010, Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials of former Khmer Rouge mass murderers.

In August 2014, a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal), sentenced Khieu Samphan, the regime's 83-year-old former head of state, and Nuon Chea, its 88-year-old chief ideologue to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country's terror period in the 1970s. The trial began in November 2011. Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in 2013, while his wife, Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to dementia in 2012. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

GEOGRAPHY

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 200 metres above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 320 kilometres from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 180–550 metres. This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through the country's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand.

In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 1,813 metres. The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometres during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

CULTURE

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture, and modern globalisation. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture. Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes colloquially known as the Khmer Loeu, a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders.

Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing. The sampeah is a traditional Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect to others. Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history. Angkor Wat (Angkor means "city" and Wat "temple") is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along with hundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region.

CUISINE

Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet. The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade as of 2000 was 20 kilograms per person or 2 ounces per day per person.[190] Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage.

The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are នំបញ្ចុក (Num Banh chok), អាម៉ុក (Amok), អាពីង (Ah Ping). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods, such as fried spiders.

French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. Kampot pepper is reputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on the Ou Trojak Jet river.[191] The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

Traditionally, the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves. Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people, the Ramayana, the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books. They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and the climate.

Bon Om Tuuk (Festival of Boat Racing), the annual boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian national festival. Held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong river begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow, approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this event each year to play games, give thanks to the moon, watch fireworks, dine, and attend the boat race in a carnival-type atmosphere.

Popular games include soccer, kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag, and chess. Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April. Recent artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea (and later Meng Keo Pichenda), who introduced new musical styles to the country.

. . . for further reading go to:

WIKIPEDIA

- CầnGiờ nòeee :'3 Hìhì ^^ by ♥ Syn Minơ :x ♥

3 35

- Valentine đồ har :x Nqta đi chơi đồ har , còq tui nqòi tui ôm máy đồ har : ) Nqĩ sao ãnh bõ tui chèo veo ỡ nhà ãnh đi đánh bài =)) Má thằq này gan . Được lắm :)) Nói dì nói chứ tui củq xữ nó ròi :))

- Nhửq hỉu lầm làm ta đánh mất nhao : ) Nhửq tha thứ và sự yêu thương đả maq ta trỡ lại : x

- Chồng ơi chồng , em yêu chồng nhất nhất trêq đờii : * Xinloi chồq . Vì em thương anh qá nêq em ms ghen : ) E sợ mất anh , sợ snày anh kcòn là úf em nửa , sợ snày bàn tay úf anh , bờ vai úf anh , em kcòn đc ôm đc nắm : ) Sợ mất đi nhửq tn yêu thương , mất đi sự qtâm lo lắn anh dành cho em : )

11nqài mình bêq nhau , knhiều nhưq em rất duôi :)) Vì fia nào củq nq hnão em tới sáq =)) Thương bm luôq á :x

ĐìnhĐình Yêu ĐìnhHuy nhiều lắm á nhoe : * Syn thương Pin lắm á :x

MãiBênEmNhaChồngYêu <3 EmYêuAnhNhiềuƠiLàNhiềuLuônÁBoa =)))

Hka-Art-06 by Pat M

6

Nice #streetartrendezvous #le109 #le109nice #streetart06 #art by @hkaart06 #hka #snay #ZenitsuAgatsuma #DemonSlayer #manga #jj_urbanart #be_one_urbanart #graffiti_n_wallart #streetartphotography #patm666photos.

DSCN1056 by en- ri, mutant and proud

2 1

www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7w42xuGUjs

Snay Amsterdam by Igor KTO

ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា / Cambodia / Camboja by Hugo Carriço

5 2

is a country in South East Asia, famous as the successor state of the once powerful Hindu and Buddhist Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the 11th and 14th centuries. Today, the country borders Thailand to its west and northwest, Laos to its northeast and Vietnam to its east and southeast. In the south it faces the Gulf of Thailand. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong River (colloquial Khmer: Tonle Thom (ទន្លេធំ) or "the great river") and the Tonlé Sap (ទន្លេសាប; "the fresh water lake"), an important source of fish.

Along with Brunei, Thailand and Malaysia, Cambodia still maintains the monarchy. In 2004, bachelor Norodom Sihamoni was crowned king, succeeding his father Norodom Sihanouk. Phnom Penh is the kingdom's capital and largest city and is the center for industry, political headquarters, tourism services, commercial, economic power and culture for the whole country. Siem Reap is a site for tourism and recreation. Battambang is known for rice production and Sihanoukville is the primary port.

Cambodia has an area of approximately 181,035 square kilometres (69,898 sq mi) and a population of over 14 million ethnic Khmer. A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as "Cambodian" or "Khmer", though the latter strictly refers to ethnic Khmers. Most Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the country also has a substantial number of predominantly Muslim Cham, as well as ethnic Chinese, Vietnamese and small animist hill tribes.

Agriculture has long been the most important sector of the Cambodian economy, with around 59% of the population relying on agriculture for their livelihood (with rice being the principal crop). Garments, tourism, and construction are also important, yielded, foreign visitors to Angkor Wat numbered more than 4 million. In 2005, oil and natural gas deposits were found beneath Cambodia's territorial waters, and once commercial extraction begins in 2011, the oil revenues could profoundly affect Cambodia's economy. Observers fear much of the revenue could end up in the hands of the political elites if not monitored correctly.

Etymology

Cambodia is the traditional English name, taken from the French Cambodge, while Kâmpŭchea (កម្ពុជា), formerly the name of the country in English, is the direct transliteration, more faithful to the Khmer pronunciation. The Khmer Kampuchea is derived from the ancient Khmer kingdom of Kambuja (Kambujadeśa (कम्बोजदेश; "Land of Kambuja")). Kambuja or Kamboja (Devangari: कम्बोज) is the ancient Sanskrit name of the Kambojas, an early tribe of north India, named after their founder Kambu Svayambhuva, believed to be a variant of Cambyses. See Etymology of Kamboja.

Preahreachanachâk Kampuchea means "Kingdom of Cambodia". Etymologically, its components are: Preah- ("sacred"); -reach- ("king, royal, realm", from Sanskrit); -ana- (from Pāli āṇā, "authority, command, power", itself from Sanskrit ājñā, same meaning) -châk (from Sanskrit chakra, meaning "wheel", a symbol of power and rule).

The name used on formal occasions, such as political speeches and news programs, is Prâteh Kampuchea (Khmer: ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា), literally "the Country of Cambodia". Prâteh is a formal word meaning "country." The colloquial name most used by Khmer people, is Srok Khmae (Khmer: ស្រុកខ្មែរ), literally "the Khmer Land". Srok is a Mon-Khmer word roughly equal to prâteh, but less formal. Khmer is spelled with a final "r" in the Khmer alphabet, but the word-final "r" phoneme disappeared from most dialects of Khmer in the 19th century and is not pronounced in the contemporary speech of the standard dialect.

Since independence, the official name of Cambodia has changed several times, following the troubled history of the country. The following names have been used in English and French since 1954.

Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge under the rule of the monarchy from 1953 through 1970;

Khmer Republic/République Khmère under the Lon Nol led government from 1970 to 1975;

Democratic Kampuchea/Kampuchea démocratique under the rule of the communist Khmer Rouge from 1975 to 1979;

People's Republic of Kampuchea/République populaire du Kampuchea under the rule of the Vietnamese-sponsored government from 1979 to 1989;

State of Cambodia/État du Cambodge (a neutral name, while deciding whether to return to monarchy) under the rule of the United Nations transitional authority from 1989 to 1993;

Kingdom of Cambodia/Royaume du Cambodge reused after the restoration of the monarchy in 1993.

History

Prehistory

The sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present day Cambodia are quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, but their dating is not reliable.

Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited Cambodia during Holocene: the most ancient Cambodian archeological site is considered to be the cave of Laang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the so-called Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates as of 6000 BC.

Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia.

Archeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from ancient capital of Oudong), where first investigations started just in 1877, and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey.Prehistoric artifacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri.

The most outstanding prehistoric evidence in Cambodia however are probably "circular earthworks", discovered in the red soils near Memot and in adjacent region of Vietnam as of the end of the 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from 2nd millennium BC at least.

A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from North, which begun in the late 3rd millennium BC. They probably spoke ancestral Mon-Khmer.

Iron was worked by about 500 BC. The most part of evidence come from Khorat Plateau, Thai country nowadays. In Cambodia some Iron Age settlement were found beneath Angkorian temples, like Baksei Chamkrong, others were circular earthworks, like Lovea, a few kilometers north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer, testify improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labor organization.

Pre-Angkorian and Angkorian polities

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and Chenla coalesced in what is now present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. These states are assumed by most scholars to have been Khmer. For more than 2,000 years, Cambodia absorbed influences from India and China passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. The Khmer Empire flourished in the area from the 9th to the 13th century. Around the 13th century, Theravada Buddhism was introduced to the area through monks from Sri Lanka. From then on Theravada Buddhism grew and eventually became the most popular religion. The Khmer Empire declined yet remained powerful in the region until the 15th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals was constructed during the empire's zenith. Angkor could have supported a population of up to one million people. Angkor, the world's largest pre-industrial civilization[citation needed], and Angkor Wat, the most famous and best-preserved religious temple at the site, are reminders of Cambodia's past as a major regional power.

Dark ages of Cambodia

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Thai and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. The court moved the Capital to Lovek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The attempt was short-lived, however, as continued wars with the Thai and Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Lovek was conquered in 1594. During the next three centuries, the Khmer kingdom alternated as a vassal state of the Thai and Vietnamese kings, with short-lived periods of relative independence between.

Modernity and French Indochina

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of France from the Thai and Vietnamese, after tensions grew between them. In 1867, the Thai king signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1906.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1863 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945. After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, who was eighteen years old at the time, was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control. They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on November 9, 1953.

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost official control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam. The area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698 with King Chey Chettha II granting Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before.

Independence and Cold War

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father in order to be elected Prime Minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of Prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. However, Cambodians began to take sides, and he was ousted in 1970 by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak with the back-up support of the United States, while on a trip abroad. Settling in the next alternative country, Beijing, China, Sihanouk was forced to realign himself with the Chinese communist. Soon the Khmer Rouge rebels would use him for gaining territory in the regions. The King urged his followers to help in overthrowing the pro-United States government of Lon Nol, hastening the onset of civil war.

Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam forces and U.S. forces bombed and briefly invaded Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge. Some two million Cambodians were made refugees by the war and fled to Phnom Penh. Estimates of the number of Cambodians killed during the bombing campaigns vary widely, as do views of the effects of the bombing. The US Seventh Air Force argued that the bombing prevented the fall of Phnom Penh in 1973 by killing 16,000 of 25,500 Khmer Rouge fighters besieging the city. However, journalist William Shawcross and Cambodia specialists Milton Osborne, David P. Chandler and Ben Kiernan argued that the bombing drove peasants to join the Khmer Rouge. Cambodia specialist Craig Etcheson argued that the Khmer Rouge "would have won anyway", even without US intervention driving recruitment although the US secretly played a major role behind the leading cause of the Khmer Rouge.

As the war ended, a draft US AID report observed that the country faced famine in 1975, with 75% of its draft animals destroyed, and that rice planting for the next harvest would have to be done "by the hard labour of seriously malnourished people". The report predicted that

"Without large-scale external food and equipment assistance there will be widespread starvation between now and next February ... Slave labour and starvation rations for half the nation's people (probably heaviest among those who supported the republic) will be a cruel necessity for this year, and general deprivation and suffering will stretch over the next two or three years before Cambodia can get back to rice self-sufficiency".[

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. The regime, led by Pol Pot, changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea, and was heavily influenced and backed by China. They immediately evacuated the cities and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine, and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western. Over a million Cambodians, out of a total population of 8 million, died from executions, overwork, starvation and disease.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million. This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. In the late 1960s, an estimated 425,000 ethnic Chinese lived in Cambodia, but by 1984, as a result of Khmer Rouge genocide and emigration, only about 61,400 Chinese remained in the country. The professions, such as doctors, lawyers, and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.

In November 1978, Vietnam invaded Cambodia to stop Khmer Rouge incursions across the border and the genocide in Cambodia. Violent occupation and warfare between the Vietnamese and Khmer Rouge holdouts continued throughout the 1980s. Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a comprehensive peace settlement. The United Nations was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire, and deal with refugees and disarmament.

Geography

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometers (69,898 sq mi) and lies entirely within the tropics. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometer (275 mi) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the lacustrine plain, formed by the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometers (1,000 sq mi) during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometers (9,500 sq mi) during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

Most (about 75%) of the country lies at elevations of less than 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, the exceptions being the Cardamom Mountains (highest elevation 1,813 m / 5,948 ft) and their southeast extension the Dâmrei Mountains ("Elephant Mountains") (elevation range 500–1,000 m or 1,640–3,280 ft), as well the steep escarpment of the Dângrêk Mountains (average elevation 500 m / 1,640 ft) along the border with Thailand's Isan region. The highest elevation of Cambodia is Phnom Aoral, near Pursat in the center of the country, at 1,813 meters (5,948 ft).

Other Info

Oficial name:

Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea

Kingdom of Cambodia

Independence:

from France 1953

- from Vietnam 1989

Area:

178.035km2

Inhabitants:

14.488.000

Language:

Brao [brb] 5,286 in Cambodia (1980 Diffloth). Northeastern Cambodia on the Laos border, Ratanakiri Province. Alternate names: Braou, Proue, Brou, Love, Lave, Laveh. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, West Bahnaric, Brao-Kravet

More information.

Cham, Western [cja] 220,000 in Cambodia (1992 govt. figure). Population total all countries: 253,100. Near the major cities and along the Mekong. Also spoken in Australia, France, Indonesia, Libya, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, USA, Viet Nam, Yemen. Alternate names: Cambodian Cham, Tjam, Cham, New Cham. Dialects: The language differs somewhat from Eastern Cham of central Viet Nam. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayic, Achinese-Chamic, Chamic, South, Coastal, Cham-Chru

More information.

Chong [cog] 5,000 in Cambodia. Population total all countries: 5,500. Thai-Cambodia border southeast of Chantaburi, Pursat Province. Also spoken in Thailand. Alternate names: Chawng, Shong, Xong. Dialects: Somray in Cambodia is a separate but related language. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Pearic, Western, Chong

More information.

English [eng] Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, English

More information.

French [fra] Classification: Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Rhaetian, Oïl, French

More information.

Jarai [jra] 15,000 in Cambodia (1998). Ratanakiri Province, principally the districts of Bokeo, Andons, Meas, O Yadou, along northeast border near Viet Nam. Alternate names: Djarai, Gia-Rai, Jorai, Cho-Rai, Chor, Mthur, Chrai, Gio-Rai. Dialects: Puan, Hodrung (Hdrung), Jhue, Aráp, Habau (Ho-Bau), To-Buan, Sesan, Chuty, Pleikly, Golar. Classification: Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Malayic, Achinese-Chamic, Chamic, South, Plateau

More information.

Kaco' [xkk] 2,000 (1992 G. Diffloth). Ratanakiri Province. Alternate names: Kachah'. Dialects: Not intelligible to Tampuan speakers. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, Central Bahnaric

More information.

Khmer, Central [khm] 12,110,065 in Cambodia (2004). Population total all countries: 13,276,639. Throughout the country. Also spoken in Canada, China, France, Laos, USA, Viet Nam. Alternate names: Khmer, Cambodian. Dialects: Distinct from Northern Khmer of Thailand. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Khmer

More information.

Kraol [rka] 2,600 (1992 G. Diffloth). Kratie Province. Dialects: Not intelligible to Mnong speakers. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, South Bahnaric, Sre-Mnong, Mnong, Southern-Central Mnong

More information.

Kravet [krv] 3,012 (1988 govt. figure). Northeastern Cambodia. Alternate names: Kowet, Khvek, Kavet. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, West Bahnaric, Brao-Kravet

More information.

Kru'ng 2 [krr] 9,368 (1982 G. Diffloth). Northeastern, Ratanakiri Province and eastern Stung Treng. Alternate names: Krueng. Dialects: Brao, Kravet, Krung 2 in Cambodia are inherently intelligible with each other. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, West Bahnaric, Brao-Kravet

More information.

Kuy [kdt] 15,495 in Cambodia (1989). Northeastern Cambodia, most districts of Preah Vihear, eastern Siem Reap, northern Kampong Thom, western Stung Traeng, and several areas of Kratie Province. Alternate names: Kuay. Dialects: Kuy Antra, Kuy Anthua, Kuy May (Kuy Ma'ay), Kuy Mlor. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Katuic, West Katuic, Kuay-Nheu

More information.

Lamam [lmm] 1,000 (1981 Wurm and Hattori). Near northeast corner on the Viet Nam border. Alternate names: Lmam. Dialects: Related to Bahnar, Tampuan, Alak 1. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, Central Bahnaric

More information.

Mnong, Central [cmo] 20,000 in Cambodia (2002). Northeastern, 80% of Mondolkiri Province, all districts. Alternate names: Phong, Phnong, Bunong, Budong, Phanong. Dialects: Biat, Preh, Bu Nar, Bu Rung, Dih Bri, Bu Dang. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, South Bahnaric, Sre-Mnong, Mnong, Southern-Central Mnong

More information.

Pear [pcb] 1,300 (1988 govt.). Southwestern, Kompong Thom. Alternate names: Por, Kompong Thom. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Pearic, Eastern

More information.

Samre [sxm] 50 (2000 D. Bradley). Ethnic population: 200 (2000 D. Bradley). Just north of Siemreap. Dialects: Related to Sa'och, Suoy, Pear. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Pearic, Western, Samre

More information.

Sa'och [scq] 500 (1981 Wurm and Hattori). Southwest near Kompong Som on the coast. Alternate names: Sauch, Saotch. Dialects: Related to Samre, Suoy, Pear. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Pearic, Western, Chong

More information.

Somray [smu] 2,000 (1981 Wurm and Hattori). West; north, east, and west of Phum Tasanh, and Tanyong River around Phum Pra Moi; 2 areas. Dialects: Related to Chong. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Pearic, Western, Samre

More information.

Stieng, Bulo [sti] 6,059 in Cambodia (2000 WCD). Eastern, Kratie Province, Snuol District, and southern Mondolkiri. Alternate names: Kajiang. Dialects: Budip, Bulo. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, South Bahnaric, Stieng-Chrau

More information.

Suoy [syo] 200 (1981 Wurm and Hattori). Central, northwest of Phnom Penh. Dialects: Related to Sa'och, Samre, Pear. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Pearic, Western, Suoy

More information.

Tampuan [tpu] 25,000 (1998). Northeast border area, south of Brao, west of Jarai, Central Ratanakiri Province. Alternate names: Tamphuan, Tampuen, Tampuon, Kha Tampuon, Campuon, Proon, Proons. Dialects: Related to Bahnar, Lamam, Alak 1, but geographically separated. Classification: Austro-Asiatic, Mon-Khmer, Eastern Mon-Khmer, Bahnaric, Central Bahnaric

Capital city:

Phnom Penh

Meaning of country name:

The name "Cambodia" derives from that of the ancient Khmer kingdom of Kambuja (Kambujadesa). The ancient Sanskrit name Kambuja or Kamboja referred to an early Indo-Iranian tribe, the Kambojas, named after the founder of that tribe, Kambu Svayambhuva, apparently a variant of Cambyses, Kambujiya or Kamboja. See Etymology of Kamboja.

Kampuchea (local name): derived in the same fashion. It also served as the official English-language name from 1975 to 1989.

Description Flag:

The national flag of Cambodia was readopted in 1993, after elections returned the monarchy to rule.

Since around 1850, the Cambodian flag has featured a depiction of Angkor Wat in the center. The current flag, with a blue border and red central (the stripes are in the ratio 1:2:1) was adopted following Cambodia's independence in 1948. It was used until October 9, 1970, when a new flag was introduced for Lon Nol's Khmer Republic. The subsequent state of Democratic Kampuchea, which existed from 1975 to 1979, used a red flag with the Angkor Wat design retained in yellow. When the People's Republic of Kampuchea was established in 1979 the flag was modified slightly. Other flags were used from 1989-1991 and 1992-1993, in the latter case an UNTAC flag. In 1993 the original flag was readopted.

Coat of arms:

The royal coat of arms of the Kingdom of Cambodia are the symbol of the Cambodian monarchy. They have existed in some form close to the one depicted since the establishment of the independent Kingdom of Cambodia in 1953. It is the symbol on the Royal Standard of the reigning monarch of Cambodia, Norodom Sihamoni (ascended 2004).

Description

Depicted on the coat of arms are two mythical animals which are a gajasimha on the left, a lion with an elephant trunk, and a singha, a lion, on the right. Supported by the animals, are two five-tiered parasols. In between is a royal crown with a ray of light at its top. Beneath the crown are two pedestaled platters layered on top of each other with a sacred sword and a Khmer version of the symbol for Aum sitting on top. The Khmer language phrase on the bottom the royal coat of arms translates to: preah'jao (royal or auspicious ruler) - krung (area, or in this case, kingdom) - Kampuchea (Cambodia), thus, King of the Kingdom of Cambodia.

History

The arms were discontinued with the overthow of the monarchy during the Khmer Republic era (1970-1975) and remained in disguise during Democratic Kampuchea (i.e., Khmer Rouge era: 1975-1979), the People's Republic of Kampuchea (1979-1989), and the State of Cambodia (1989-1993). They have since been resurrected for official use with the restoration of the monarchy under Norodom Sihanouk in Cambodia in 1993.

Motto:

"Nation, Religion, King"

National Anthem: Nokoreach

សូមពួកទេវត្តាថែរក្សាមហាក្សត្រយើង

ឱយបានរុងរឿងដោយជ័យមង្គលសិរីសួស្តី

យើងខ្ញុំព្រះអង្គសូមជ្រកក្រោមម្លប់ព្រះបារមី

នៃព្រះនរបតីវង្សក្សត្រាដែលសាងប្រាសាទថ្ម

គ្រប់គ្រងដែនខ្មែរបូរាណថ្កើងថ្កាន។

ប្រាសាទសីលាកំបាំងកណ្តាលព្រៃ

គួរឱយស្រមៃនឹកដល់យសស័ក្តិមហានគរ

ជាតិខ្មែរដូចថ្មគង់វង្សនៅល្អរឹងប៉ឹងជំហរ

យើងសង្ឃឹមពរភ័ព្វព្រេងសំណាងរបស់កម្ពុជា

មហារដ្ឋកើតមានយូរអង្វែងហើយ។

គ្រប់វត្តអារាមឮតែសូរស័ព្ទធម៌

សូត្រដោយអំណររំឮកគុណពុទ្ធសាសនា

ចូរយើងជាអ្នកជឿជាក់ស្មោះស្ម័គ្រតាមបែបដូនតា

គង់តែទេវត្តានឹងជួយជ្រោមជ្រែងផ្គត់ផ្គង់ប្រយោជន៍ឱយ

ដល់ប្រទេសខ្មែរជាមហានគរ។

Som pouk tepda rak sa moha khsath yeung

Oy ben roung roeung doy chey monkol srey soursdey

Yeung Khnom preah ang som chrok Krom molup preah Baromey

Ney preah Noropdey vong Khsattra del sang preah sat thm¬r

Kroup Kraung dèn Khmer borann thkoeung thkann.

Prasath séla kombang kan dal prey

Kuor oy sr¬may noeuk d¬l yuos sak Moha Nokor

Cheat Khmer dauch Thmar kong vong n¬y l¬ar rung peung chom hor.

Yeung sang Khim por pheap preng samnang robuos Kampuchea.

Moha r¬th koeut mien you ang veanh hey.

Kroup vath aram lu tè so sap thoeur

Sot doy am no rom lik koun poth sasna

Chol yeung chea neak thioeur thiak smos smak tam bep donnta

Kong tè thévoda nùng chuoy chrom chrèng phkot phkang pra yoch oy

Dol prateah Khmer chea Moha Nokor

English Translation

Heaven protects our King

And gives him happiness and glory

To reign over our souls and our destinies,

The one being, heir of the Sovereign builders,

Guiding the proud old Kingdom.

Temples are asleep in the forest,

Remembering the splendour of Moha Nokor.

Like a rock the Khmer race is eternal.

Let us trust in the fate of Cambodia,

The empire which challenges the ages.

Songs rise up from the pagodas

To the glory of holy Buddhist faith.

Let us be faithful to our ancestors' belief.

Thus heaven will lavish its bounty

Towards the ancient Khmer country, the Moha Nokor.

Internet Page: www.cambodia-tourism.org

www.cambodia.gov.kh

Cambodia in diferent languages

eng | cym: Cambodia

ces | dsb | est | hrv | hsb | lav | lit | slk | slv | szl | vor: Kambodža

bre | fao | fry | mlt | swe: Kambodja

cor | kin | run: Kamboji

dan | lim | nld: Cambodja

deu | ltz | nds: Kambodscha / Kambodſcha

ibo | mlg | wol: Kambodia

ita | lld | rup: Cambogia

ast | spa: Camboya

ina | ron: Cambodgia

jav | tet: Kamboja

kaa | uzb: Kambodja / Камбоджа

afr: Kambodja; Kampuchea

arg: Campuchia; Kampuchia; Cambocha

aze: Kamboca / Камбоҹа; Kamboçiya / Камбочија

bam: Kambɔji

bos: Kambodža / Камбоџа

cat: Cambodja; Cambotja

cos: Campuccià

crh: Kamboçiya / Камбочия

csb: Kambòdżô

epo: Kamboĝo

eus: Kanbodia; Kanputxea

fin: Kambodža / Kambodzha

fra: Cambodge

frp: Cambodg•e

fur: Cambogje

gla: Cambuidea; Campuitìa; Cambodia

gle: An Chambóid / An Ċambóid

glg: Camboxa

glv: Yn Chamboyd

hat: Kanbòdj

hun: Kambodzsa

ind: Kamboja / كمبوجا

isl: Kambódía

jnf: Cambodge; Cambodia

kmr: Kamboca / Камбоща / کامبۆجا

kur: Kamboçya / کامبۆچیا

lat: Cambodia; Cambosia

lin Kamboji; Kambodji; Kambozi

mol: Cambodgia / Камбоӂия

mri: Kamapōtia

msa: Kemboja / كمبوجا

nor: Kambodsja

nrm: Caumboudge

oci: Cambòtja

pol: Kambodża

por: Camboja

que: Kambuya

rmy: Kambojiya / काम्बोजिया

roh: Cambodscha

scn: Camboggia

slo: Kambogxia / Камбоджиа

sme: Kampučea

smg: Kambuodža

smo: Kamepotia

som: Kamboodiya

sqi: Kamboxhia

srd: Cambòdia

swa: Kampuchea

tgl: Kambodya

ton: Kamapusia

tuk: Kamboja / Камбоҗа; Kamboçiýa / Камбочия

tur: Kamboçya; Kamboç; Kambodya

vie: Căm Bốt; Cam Bốt; Cam-pu-chia

vol: Kambocän

wln: Cambodje

zza: Kamboçya

abq | alt | bul | che | chm | kjh | kom | krc | kum | rus | tyv | udm | ukr: Камбоджа (Kambodža)

bak: Камбоджа / Kambodja

bel: Камбоджа / Kambodža

chv: Камбоджӑ (Kambodžă)

kaz: Камбоджа / Kambodja / كامبودجا

kbd: Камбоджэ (Kambodžă)

kir: Камбоджа (Kambodǧa)

mkd: Камбоџа (Kamboǆa)

mon: Камбож (Kamboǧ); Кампучи (Kampuči)

oss: Камбоджӕ (Kambodžä)

srp: Камбоџа / Kambodža

tat: Камбоджа / Kamboca

tgk: Камбоҷа / کمباجه / Kamboça

ara: كمبوديا (Kambūdiyā); كامبوديا (Kāmbūdiyā); كمبوتشيا (Kambūtšiyā); الكامبوج (al-Kambūǧ); الكامبودج (al-Kambūdǧ)

fas: کامبوج (Kāmboj); کامبوژ (Kāmbož)

prs: کمبوجیا (Kambōjiyā); کمبودیا (Kambōdiyā)

pus: کمبوډيا (Kamboḋiyā); کمبوديا (Kambodiyā)

uig: كامبوجا / Kamboja / Камбоджа

urd: کمبوڈیا (Kamboḋiyā)

div: ކެމްބޯޑިއާ (Kembōḋi'ā)

heb: קמבודיה (Qambôdyah); קאמבודיה (Qâmbôdyah); קמבוג׳יה (Qambôjyah)

lad: קאמבוג'ה / Kambodja

yid: קאַמבאָדזשע (Kambodže)

amh: ካምቦዲያ (Kambodiya); ካምቦድያ (Kambodya)

ell: Καμπότζη (Kampótzī); Καμπόδζη (Kampódzī)

hye: Կամբոջա (Kamboǧa); Քամբոջա (Ḳamboǧa)

kat: კამბოჯა (Kamboǧa)

hin: कंबोडिया (Kaṁboḍiya); कम्बोडिया (Kamboḍiyā); कम्पूचिया (Kampūčiyā)

mar: कम्बोडिया (Kamboḍiyā)

ben: কম্বোডিয়া (Kômboḍiyā); কাম্বোজ (Kāmbojô); কাম্বোজিয়া (Kāmbojiyā)

guj: કમ્બોડિયા (Kamboḍiyā)

pan: ਕੰਬੋਡੀਆ (Kaṁboḍīā)

kan: ಕಾಂಬೋಡಿಯ (Kāṁbōḍiya)

mal: കംബോഡിയ (Kaṁbōḍiya); കമ്പോഡിയ (Kampōḍiya); കന്പോഡിയ (Kanpōḍiya)

tam: கம்போடியா (Kampōṭiyā)

tel: కంబోడియా (Kaṁbōḍiyā)

zho: 柬埔寨 (Jiǎnbùzhài)

yue: 柬埔寨 (Gáanpóuchoi)

jpn: カンボディア (Kanbodia); カンボジア (Kanbojia)

kor: 캄보디아 (Kambodia)

bod: ཁམ་བ་ཛ་ (Kʰam.ba.ǳa.); ཁམ་པོ་ཛ་ (Kʰam.po.ǳa.); ཅིའན་ཕུ་ཀྲེ་ (Č'in.pʰu.kre.); ཇན་ཕུ་ཀྲེ་ (Jan.pʰu.kre.)

dzo: ཀམ་བོ་ཌི་ཡ་ (Kam.bo.ḍi.ya.)

mya: ကမ္ဗောဒီးယား (Kãbɔ̀dìyà)

tha: กัมพูชา (Kâmpūčʰā)

lao: ກຳພູຊາ (Kāṁpʰūsā); ກຳປູເຈັຽ (Kāṁpūčiẏa)

khm: កម្ពុជា (Kampučā)

Snay suma by Igor KTO

1

Snay by Igor KTO

4

Abandoned School - Snay Rd by Gary Tucker

7 1

img 1469 TF 5d3 2015

Cambodia - Siem Reap - Monkey Taking A Bath - Can Someone Give Me My Towel - 1bb by Manfred Sommer

1

Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ (About this sound listen); Khmer: កម្ពុជា, or Kampuchea IPA: [kam.pu.ciə], French: Cambodge), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə, IPA: [prĕəh riə.ciə.naː.caʔ kam.pu.ciə]; French: Royaume du Cambodge), is a sovereign state located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently Prime minister and the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years since 1985.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea supported by the Soviet Union in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 factional fighting placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2018. Cambodia is a member of the United Nations since 1955, ASEAN, EAS, WTO, NAM and La Francophonie.

The country faces numerous challenges. Important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy".

While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region.

Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, which also involves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Overall, environmental destruction in Cambodia comprise many different activities, including illegal logging, poaching of endangered and endemic species, and destruction of important wildlife habitats from large scale construction projects and agricultural businesses. The degrading activities involve the local population, Cambodian businesses and political authorities, as well as foreign criminal syndicates and many transnational corporations from all over the world.

NAME

The "Kingdom of Cambodia" is the official English name of the country. The English "Cambodia" is an anglicisation of the French "Cambodge", which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា kampuciə. Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश kambojadeśa, composed of देश deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज kamboja, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either ស្រុកខ្មែរ srok khmae (Khmer pronunciation: [srok ˈkʰmae]), meaning "Khmer's Land", or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា prɑteih kampuciə (Khmer pronunciation: [prɑ.ˈteih kam.pu.ciə]), literally "Country of Kampuchea". The name "Cambodia" is used most often in the Western world while "Kampuchea" is more widely used in the East.

HISTORY

PRE-HISTORY

There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present-day Cambodia, which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, although their dating is unreliable. Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene: the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of L'aang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates as of 6000 BC. Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia

Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the late 3rd millennium BC. The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various "circular earthworks" discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from 2nd millennium BC.

Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from the ancient capital of Oudong), where the first investigations began in 1875, and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey. An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past, possible with larger cities in Angkor. Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri.

Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in modern-day Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks were found beneath Lovea a few kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer than other types of finds, testify to improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation. Also, among the artefacts from the Iron Age, glass beads are important evidence. Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia, such as the Phum Snay site in northwest and the Prohear site in southeast, show that there were two main trading networks at the time. The two networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably with changes in socio-political powers.

PRE-ANGKORIAN AND ANGKORIAN ERA

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos. Little else is known for certain of these polities, however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them. It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as "Kattigara". The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 690, turmoil ensued which resulted in division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java.

The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c790-850) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan, however the king was able to buy peace. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295; when Indravarman III took power.

The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres. The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.

DARK AGES OF CAMBODIA

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the kingdom's internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours. By this time, the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased. Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god-king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism.

The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese. Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade. The attempt was short-lived however, as continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594. A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short-lived periods of relative independence.

The hill tribe people in Cambodia were "hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese (Thai), the Annamites (Vietnamese), and the Cambodians".

In the nineteenth century a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak.

FRENCH COLONISATION

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of France from the Thai rule. In 1867, the Thai king signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1907.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945.[47] Between 1874 and 1962, the total population increased from about 946,000 to 5.7 million. After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king, and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control. They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953.

INDEPENDENCE AND VIETNAM WAR

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam. Formerly part of the Khmer Empire, the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698, with King Chey Chettha II granting Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before. This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers (the Khmer Krom) still living in this region. The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which, in part, led to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians. In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries, he would not object, unless Cambodians were killed.

The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson's emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968. However, in public Sihanouk refuted the US' right to use air strikes in Cambodia and on 26 March Prince Sihanouk said "these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop", and on 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media "I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia—that is, I will in any case oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext." Nevertheless, the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued. Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States.

KHMER REPUBLIC 1970-1975

While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. US support for the coup remains unproven. However, once the coup was completed, the new regime, which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia, gained the political support of the United States. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam, immediately launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.

Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. However, from 1970 until early 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia, and the armed forces of North Vietnam. As they gained control of Cambodian territory, the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure, which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge. Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.

Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot's then second in command, Nuon Chea. NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication. In response to the North Vietnamese invasion, US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see Cambodian Incursion). Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam. Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population. The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975, just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.

KHMER ROUGE REGIME 1975-1978

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward, immediately evacuated the cities, and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about a quarter of the population). This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats, and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people.

Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250,000 and 300,000 in 1969 to a reported 56,000 in 1984. However, most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.

Religious institutions were not spared by the Khmer Rouge as well, religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia's historic architecture, 95% of Cambodia's Buddhist temples, was completely destroyed.

VIETNAMESE OCCUPATION AND TRANSITION 1978-1992

In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge. The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), a pro-Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951, and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok, was established. It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh. Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

In opposition to the newly created state, a government-in-exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed in 1981 from three factions. This consisted of the Khmer Rouge, a royalist faction led by Sihanouk, and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations. The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties. The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions by the US and its allies.[specify]

Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY

In 1993, Norodom Sihanouk was restored as King of Cambodia, but all power was in the hands of the government established after the UNTAC sponsored elections. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d'état led by the co-Prime Minister Hun Sen against the non-communist parties in the government. In recent years, reconstruction efforts have progressed and led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

In July 2010, Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials of former Khmer Rouge mass murderers.

In August 2014, a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal), sentenced Khieu Samphan, the regime's 83-year-old former head of state, and Nuon Chea, its 88-year-old chief ideologue to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country's terror period in the 1970s. The trial began in November 2011. Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in 2013, while his wife, Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to dementia in 2012. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

GEOGRAPHY

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 200 metres above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 320 kilometres from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 180–550 metres. This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through the country's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand.

In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 1,813 metres. The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometres during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

CULTURE

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture, and modern globalisation. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture. Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes colloquially known as the Khmer Loeu, a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders.

Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing. The sampeah is a traditional Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect to others. Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history. Angkor Wat (Angkor means "city" and Wat "temple") is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along with hundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region.

CUISINE

Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet. The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade as of 2000 was 20 kilograms per person or 2 ounces per day per person.[190] Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage.

The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are នំបញ្ចុក (Num Banh chok), អាម៉ុក (Amok), អាពីង (Ah Ping). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods, such as fried spiders.

French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. Kampot pepper is reputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on the Ou Trojak Jet river.[191] The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

Traditionally, the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves. Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people, the Ramayana, the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books. They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and the climate.

Bon Om Tuuk (Festival of Boat Racing), the annual boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian national festival. Held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong river begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow, approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this event each year to play games, give thanks to the moon, watch fireworks, dine, and attend the boat race in a carnival-type atmosphere.

Popular games include soccer, kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag, and chess. Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April. Recent artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea (and later Meng Keo Pichenda), who introduced new musical styles to the country.

. . . for further reading go to:

WIKIPEDIA

Snay by Igor KTO

Cambodia - Siem Reap - Monkey - 14 by Manfred Sommer

2

Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ (About this sound listen); Khmer: កម្ពុជា, or Kampuchea IPA: [kam.pu.ciə], French: Cambodge), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə, IPA: [prĕəh riə.ciə.naː.caʔ kam.pu.ciə]; French: Royaume du Cambodge), is a sovereign state located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently Prime minister and the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years since 1985.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea supported by the Soviet Union in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 factional fighting placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2018. Cambodia is a member of the United Nations since 1955, ASEAN, EAS, WTO, NAM and La Francophonie.

The country faces numerous challenges. Important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy".

While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region.

Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, which also involves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Overall, environmental destruction in Cambodia comprise many different activities, including illegal logging, poaching of endangered and endemic species, and destruction of important wildlife habitats from large scale construction projects and agricultural businesses. The degrading activities involve the local population, Cambodian businesses and political authorities, as well as foreign criminal syndicates and many transnational corporations from all over the world.

NAME

The "Kingdom of Cambodia" is the official English name of the country. The English "Cambodia" is an anglicisation of the French "Cambodge", which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា kampuciə. Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश kambojadeśa, composed of देश deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज kamboja, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either ស្រុកខ្មែរ srok khmae (Khmer pronunciation: [srok ˈkʰmae]), meaning "Khmer's Land", or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា prɑteih kampuciə (Khmer pronunciation: [prɑ.ˈteih kam.pu.ciə]), literally "Country of Kampuchea". The name "Cambodia" is used most often in the Western world while "Kampuchea" is more widely used in the East.

HISTORY

PRE-HISTORY

There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present-day Cambodia, which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, although their dating is unreliable. Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene: the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of L'aang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates as of 6000 BC. Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia

Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the late 3rd millennium BC. The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various "circular earthworks" discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from 2nd millennium BC.

Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from the ancient capital of Oudong), where the first investigations began in 1875, and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey. An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past, possible with larger cities in Angkor. Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri.

Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in modern-day Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks were found beneath Lovea a few kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer than other types of finds, testify to improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation. Also, among the artefacts from the Iron Age, glass beads are important evidence. Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia, such as the Phum Snay site in northwest and the Prohear site in southeast, show that there were two main trading networks at the time. The two networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably with changes in socio-political powers.

PRE-ANGKORIAN AND ANGKORIAN ERA

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos. Little else is known for certain of these polities, however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them. It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as "Kattigara". The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 690, turmoil ensued which resulted in division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java.

The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c790-850) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan, however the king was able to buy peace. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295; when Indravarman III took power.

The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres. The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.

DARK AGES OF CAMBODIA

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the kingdom's internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours. By this time, the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased. Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god-king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism.

The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese. Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade. The attempt was short-lived however, as continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594. A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short-lived periods of relative independence.

The hill tribe people in Cambodia were "hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese (Thai), the Annamites (Vietnamese), and the Cambodians".

In the nineteenth century a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak.

FRENCH COLONISATION

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of France from the Thai rule. In 1867, the Thai king signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1907.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945.[47] Between 1874 and 1962, the total population increased from about 946,000 to 5.7 million. After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king, and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control. They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953.

INDEPENDENCE AND VIETNAM WAR

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam. Formerly part of the Khmer Empire, the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698, with King Chey Chettha II granting Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before. This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers (the Khmer Krom) still living in this region. The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which, in part, led to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians. In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries, he would not object, unless Cambodians were killed.

The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson's emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968. However, in public Sihanouk refuted the US' right to use air strikes in Cambodia and on 26 March Prince Sihanouk said "these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop", and on 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media "I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia—that is, I will in any case oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext." Nevertheless, the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued. Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States.

KHMER REPUBLIC 1970-1975

While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. US support for the coup remains unproven. However, once the coup was completed, the new regime, which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia, gained the political support of the United States. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam, immediately launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.

Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. However, from 1970 until early 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia, and the armed forces of North Vietnam. As they gained control of Cambodian territory, the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure, which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge. Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.

Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot's then second in command, Nuon Chea. NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication. In response to the North Vietnamese invasion, US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see Cambodian Incursion). Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam. Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population. The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975, just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.

KHMER ROUGE REGIME 1975-1978

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward, immediately evacuated the cities, and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about a quarter of the population). This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats, and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people.

Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250,000 and 300,000 in 1969 to a reported 56,000 in 1984. However, most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.

Religious institutions were not spared by the Khmer Rouge as well, religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia's historic architecture, 95% of Cambodia's Buddhist temples, was completely destroyed.

VIETNAMESE OCCUPATION AND TRANSITION 1978-1992

In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge. The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), a pro-Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951, and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok, was established. It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh. Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

In opposition to the newly created state, a government-in-exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed in 1981 from three factions. This consisted of the Khmer Rouge, a royalist faction led by Sihanouk, and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations. The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties. The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions by the US and its allies.[specify]

Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY

In 1993, Norodom Sihanouk was restored as King of Cambodia, but all power was in the hands of the government established after the UNTAC sponsored elections. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d'état led by the co-Prime Minister Hun Sen against the non-communist parties in the government. In recent years, reconstruction efforts have progressed and led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

In July 2010, Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials of former Khmer Rouge mass murderers.

In August 2014, a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal), sentenced Khieu Samphan, the regime's 83-year-old former head of state, and Nuon Chea, its 88-year-old chief ideologue to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country's terror period in the 1970s. The trial began in November 2011. Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in 2013, while his wife, Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to dementia in 2012. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

GEOGRAPHY

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 200 metres above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 320 kilometres from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 180–550 metres. This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through the country's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand.

In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 1,813 metres. The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometres during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

CULTURE

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture, and modern globalisation. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture. Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes colloquially known as the Khmer Loeu, a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders.

Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing. The sampeah is a traditional Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect to others. Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history. Angkor Wat (Angkor means "city" and Wat "temple") is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along with hundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region.

CUISINE

Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet. The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade as of 2000 was 20 kilograms per person or 2 ounces per day per person.[190] Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage.

The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are នំបញ្ចុក (Num Banh chok), អាម៉ុក (Amok), អាពីង (Ah Ping). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods, such as fried spiders.

French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. Kampot pepper is reputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on the Ou Trojak Jet river.[191] The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

Traditionally, the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves. Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people, the Ramayana, the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books. They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and the climate.

Bon Om Tuuk (Festival of Boat Racing), the annual boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian national festival. Held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong river begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow, approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this event each year to play games, give thanks to the moon, watch fireworks, dine, and attend the boat race in a carnival-type atmosphere.

Popular games include soccer, kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag, and chess. Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April. Recent artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea (and later Meng Keo Pichenda), who introduced new musical styles to the country.

. . . for further reading go to:

WIKIPEDIA

Snay by Igor KTO

Cambodia - Siem Reap - Monkey - 11 by Manfred Sommer

2

Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ (About this sound listen); Khmer: កម្ពុជា, or Kampuchea IPA: [kam.pu.ciə], French: Cambodge), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə, IPA: [prĕəh riə.ciə.naː.caʔ kam.pu.ciə]; French: Royaume du Cambodge), is a sovereign state located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently Prime minister and the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years since 1985.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea supported by the Soviet Union in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 factional fighting placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2018. Cambodia is a member of the United Nations since 1955, ASEAN, EAS, WTO, NAM and La Francophonie.

The country faces numerous challenges. Important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy".

While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region.

Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, which also involves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Overall, environmental destruction in Cambodia comprise many different activities, including illegal logging, poaching of endangered and endemic species, and destruction of important wildlife habitats from large scale construction projects and agricultural businesses. The degrading activities involve the local population, Cambodian businesses and political authorities, as well as foreign criminal syndicates and many transnational corporations from all over the world.

NAME

The "Kingdom of Cambodia" is the official English name of the country. The English "Cambodia" is an anglicisation of the French "Cambodge", which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា kampuciə. Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश kambojadeśa, composed of देश deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज kamboja, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either ស្រុកខ្មែរ srok khmae (Khmer pronunciation: [srok ˈkʰmae]), meaning "Khmer's Land", or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា prɑteih kampuciə (Khmer pronunciation: [prɑ.ˈteih kam.pu.ciə]), literally "Country of Kampuchea". The name "Cambodia" is used most often in the Western world while "Kampuchea" is more widely used in the East.

HISTORY

PRE-HISTORY

There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present-day Cambodia, which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, although their dating is unreliable. Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene: the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of L'aang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates as of 6000 BC. Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia

Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the late 3rd millennium BC. The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various "circular earthworks" discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from 2nd millennium BC.

Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from the ancient capital of Oudong), where the first investigations began in 1875, and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey. An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past, possible with larger cities in Angkor. Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri.

Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in modern-day Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks were found beneath Lovea a few kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer than other types of finds, testify to improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation. Also, among the artefacts from the Iron Age, glass beads are important evidence. Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia, such as the Phum Snay site in northwest and the Prohear site in southeast, show that there were two main trading networks at the time. The two networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably with changes in socio-political powers.

PRE-ANGKORIAN AND ANGKORIAN ERA

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos. Little else is known for certain of these polities, however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them. It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as "Kattigara". The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 690, turmoil ensued which resulted in division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java.

The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c790-850) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan, however the king was able to buy peace. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295; when Indravarman III took power.

The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres. The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.

DARK AGES OF CAMBODIA

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the kingdom's internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours. By this time, the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased. Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god-king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism.

The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese. Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade. The attempt was short-lived however, as continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594. A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short-lived periods of relative independence.

The hill tribe people in Cambodia were "hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese (Thai), the Annamites (Vietnamese), and the Cambodians".

In the nineteenth century a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak.

FRENCH COLONISATION

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of France from the Thai rule. In 1867, the Thai king signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1907.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945.[47] Between 1874 and 1962, the total population increased from about 946,000 to 5.7 million. After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king, and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control. They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953.

INDEPENDENCE AND VIETNAM WAR

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam. Formerly part of the Khmer Empire, the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698, with King Chey Chettha II granting Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before. This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers (the Khmer Krom) still living in this region. The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which, in part, led to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians. In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries, he would not object, unless Cambodians were killed.

The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson's emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968. However, in public Sihanouk refuted the US' right to use air strikes in Cambodia and on 26 March Prince Sihanouk said "these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop", and on 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media "I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia—that is, I will in any case oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext." Nevertheless, the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued. Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States.

KHMER REPUBLIC 1970-1975

While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. US support for the coup remains unproven. However, once the coup was completed, the new regime, which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia, gained the political support of the United States. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam, immediately launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.

Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. However, from 1970 until early 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia, and the armed forces of North Vietnam. As they gained control of Cambodian territory, the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure, which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge. Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.

Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot's then second in command, Nuon Chea. NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication. In response to the North Vietnamese invasion, US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see Cambodian Incursion). Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam. Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population. The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975, just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.

KHMER ROUGE REGIME 1975-1978

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward, immediately evacuated the cities, and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about a quarter of the population). This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats, and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people.

Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250,000 and 300,000 in 1969 to a reported 56,000 in 1984. However, most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.

Religious institutions were not spared by the Khmer Rouge as well, religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia's historic architecture, 95% of Cambodia's Buddhist temples, was completely destroyed.

VIETNAMESE OCCUPATION AND TRANSITION 1978-1992

In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge. The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), a pro-Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951, and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok, was established. It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh. Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

In opposition to the newly created state, a government-in-exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed in 1981 from three factions. This consisted of the Khmer Rouge, a royalist faction led by Sihanouk, and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations. The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties. The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions by the US and its allies.[specify]

Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY

In 1993, Norodom Sihanouk was restored as King of Cambodia, but all power was in the hands of the government established after the UNTAC sponsored elections. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d'état led by the co-Prime Minister Hun Sen against the non-communist parties in the government. In recent years, reconstruction efforts have progressed and led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

In July 2010, Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials of former Khmer Rouge mass murderers.

In August 2014, a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal), sentenced Khieu Samphan, the regime's 83-year-old former head of state, and Nuon Chea, its 88-year-old chief ideologue to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country's terror period in the 1970s. The trial began in November 2011. Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in 2013, while his wife, Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to dementia in 2012. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

GEOGRAPHY

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 200 metres above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 320 kilometres from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 180–550 metres. This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through the country's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand.

In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 1,813 metres. The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometres during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

CULTURE

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture, and modern globalisation. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture. Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes colloquially known as the Khmer Loeu, a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders.

Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing. The sampeah is a traditional Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect to others. Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history. Angkor Wat (Angkor means "city" and Wat "temple") is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along with hundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region.

CUISINE

Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet. The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade as of 2000 was 20 kilograms per person or 2 ounces per day per person.[190] Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage.

The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are នំបញ្ចុក (Num Banh chok), អាម៉ុក (Amok), អាពីង (Ah Ping). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods, such as fried spiders.

French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. Kampot pepper is reputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on the Ou Trojak Jet river.[191] The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

Traditionally, the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves. Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people, the Ramayana, the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books. They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and the climate.

Bon Om Tuuk (Festival of Boat Racing), the annual boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian national festival. Held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong river begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow, approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this event each year to play games, give thanks to the moon, watch fireworks, dine, and attend the boat race in a carnival-type atmosphere.

Popular games include soccer, kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag, and chess. Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April. Recent artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea (and later Meng Keo Pichenda), who introduced new musical styles to the country.

. . . for further reading go to:

WIKIPEDIA

Cambodia - Siem Reap - Food Stall - 2 by Manfred Sommer

2

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Cambodia (/kæmˈboʊdiə/ (About this sound listen); Khmer: កម្ពុជា, or Kampuchea IPA: [kam.pu.ciə], French: Cambodge), officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia (Khmer: ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា, prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə, IPA: [prĕəh riə.ciə.naː.caʔ kam.pu.ciə]; French: Royaume du Cambodge), is a sovereign state located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is 181,035 square kilometres in area, bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the northeast, Vietnam to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest.

Cambodia has a population of over 15 million. The official religion is Theravada Buddhism, practised by approximately 95 percent of the population. The country's minority groups include Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams, and 30 hill tribes. The capital and largest city is Phnom Penh, the political, economic, and cultural centre of Cambodia. The kingdom is an elective constitutional monarchy with Norodom Sihamoni, a monarch chosen by the Royal Throne Council, as head of state. The head of government is Hun Sen, who is currently Prime minister and the longest serving non-royal leader in Southeast Asia and has ruled Cambodia for over 30 years since 1985.

In 802 AD, Jayavarman II declared himself king, uniting the warring Khmer princes of Chenla under the name "Kambuja". This marked the beginning of the Khmer Empire which flourished for over 600 years, allowing successive kings to control and exert influence over much of Southeast Asia and accumulate immense power and wealth. The Indianized kingdom built monumental temples including Angkor Wat, now a World Heritage Site, and facilitated the spread of first Hinduism, then Buddhism to much of Southeast Asia. After the fall of Angkor to Ayutthaya in the 15th century, a reduced and weakened Cambodia was then ruled as a vassal state by its neighbours. In 1863 Cambodia became a protectorate of France which doubled the size of the country by reclaiming the north and west from Thailand.

Cambodia gained independence in 1953. The Vietnam War extended into the country with the US bombing of Cambodia from 1969 until 1973. Following the Cambodian coup of 1970, the deposed king gave his support to his former enemies, the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge emerged as a major power, taking Phnom Penh in 1975 and later carrying out the Cambodian Genocide from 1975 until 1979, when they were ousted by Vietnam and the Vietnamese-backed People's Republic of Kampuchea supported by the Soviet Union in the Cambodian–Vietnamese War (1979–91). Following the 1991 Paris Peace Accords, Cambodia was governed briefly by a United Nations mission (1992–93). The UN withdrew after holding elections in which around 90 percent of the registered voters cast ballots. The 1997 factional fighting placed power solely in the hands of Prime Minister Hun Sen and the Cambodian People's Party, who remain in power as of 2018. Cambodia is a member of the United Nations since 1955, ASEAN, EAS, WTO, NAM and La Francophonie.

The country faces numerous challenges. Important sociopolitical issues includes widespread poverty, pervasive corruption, lack of political freedoms, low human development, and a high rate of hunger. Cambodia has been described by Human Rights Watch's Southeast Asian Director, David Roberts, as a "vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian coalition ruling over a superficial democracy".

While per capita income remains low compared to most neighbouring countries, Cambodia has one of the fastest growing economies in Asia with growth averaging 6 percent over the last decade. Agriculture remains the dominant economic sector, with strong growth in textiles, construction, garments, and tourism leading to increased foreign investment and international trade. Cambodia scored dismally in an annual index (2015) ranking the rule of law in 102 countries, placing 99th overall and the worst in the region.

Cambodia also faces environmental destruction as an imminent problem. The most severe activity in this regard is considered to be the countrywide deforestation, which also involves national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Overall, environmental destruction in Cambodia comprise many different activities, including illegal logging, poaching of endangered and endemic species, and destruction of important wildlife habitats from large scale construction projects and agricultural businesses. The degrading activities involve the local population, Cambodian businesses and political authorities, as well as foreign criminal syndicates and many transnational corporations from all over the world.

NAME

The "Kingdom of Cambodia" is the official English name of the country. The English "Cambodia" is an anglicisation of the French "Cambodge", which in turn is the French transliteration of the Khmer កម្ពុជា kampuciə. Kampuchea is the shortened alternative to the country's official name in Khmer ព្រះរាជាណាចក្រកម្ពុជា prĕəh riəciənaacak kampuciə. The Khmer endonym Kampuchea derives from the Sanskrit name कम्बोजदेश kambojadeśa, composed of देश deśa ("land of" or "country of") and कम्बोज kamboja, which alludes to the foundation myths of the first ancient Khmer kingdom.

Colloquially, Cambodians refer to their country as either ស្រុកខ្មែរ srok khmae (Khmer pronunciation: [srok ˈkʰmae]), meaning "Khmer's Land", or the slightly more formal ប្រទេសកម្ពុជា prɑteih kampuciə (Khmer pronunciation: [prɑ.ˈteih kam.pu.ciə]), literally "Country of Kampuchea". The name "Cambodia" is used most often in the Western world while "Kampuchea" is more widely used in the East.

HISTORY

PRE-HISTORY

There exists sparse evidence for a Pleistocene human occupation of present-day Cambodia, which includes quartz and quartzite pebble tools found in terraces along the Mekong River, in Stung Treng and Kratié provinces, and in Kampot Province, although their dating is unreliable. Some slight archaeological evidence shows communities of hunter-gatherers inhabited the region during Holocene: the most ancient archaeological discovery site in Cambodia is considered to be the cave of L'aang Spean, in Battambang Province, which belongs to the Hoabinhian period. Excavations in its lower layers produced a series of radiocarbon dates as of 6000 BC. Upper layers in the same site gave evidence of transition to Neolithic, containing the earliest dated earthenware ceramics in Cambodia

Archaeological records for the period between Holocene and Iron Age remain equally limited. A pivotal event in Cambodian prehistory was the slow penetration of the first rice farmers from the north, which began in the late 3rd millennium BC. The most curious prehistoric evidence in Cambodia are the various "circular earthworks" discovered in the red soils near Memot and in the adjacent region of Vietnam in the latter 1950s. Their function and age are still debated, but some of them possibly date from 2nd millennium BC.

Other prehistoric sites of somewhat uncertain date are Samrong Sen (not far from the ancient capital of Oudong), where the first investigations began in 1875, and Phum Snay, in the northern province of Banteay Meanchey. An excavation at Phum Snay revealed 21 graves with iron weapons and cranial trauma which could point to conflicts in the past, possible with larger cities in Angkor. Prehistoric artefacts are often found during mining activities in Ratanakiri.

Iron was worked by about 500 BC, with supporting evidence coming from the Khorat Plateau, in modern-day Thailand. In Cambodia, some Iron Age settlements were found beneath Baksei Chamkrong and other Angkorian temples while circular earthworks were found beneath Lovea a few kilometres north-west of Angkor. Burials, much richer than other types of finds, testify to improvement of food availability and trade (even on long distances: in the 4th century BC trade relations with India were already opened) and the existence of a social structure and labour organisation. Also, among the artefacts from the Iron Age, glass beads are important evidence. Different kinds of glass beads recovered from several sites across Cambodia, such as the Phum Snay site in northwest and the Prohear site in southeast, show that there were two main trading networks at the time. The two networks were separated by time and space, which indicate that there was a shift from one network to the other at about 2nd–4th century AD, probably with changes in socio-political powers.

PRE-ANGKORIAN AND ANGKORIAN ERA

During the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries, the Indianised states of Funan and its successor, Chenla, coalesced in present-day Cambodia and southwestern Vietnam. For more than 2,000 years, what was to become Cambodia absorbed influences from India, passing them on to other Southeast Asian civilisations that are now Thailand and Laos. Little else is known for certain of these polities, however Chinese chronicles and tribute records do make mention of them. It is believed that the territory of Funan may have held the port known to Alexandrian geographer Claudius Ptolemy as "Kattigara". The Chinese chronicles suggest that after Jayavarman I of Chenla died around 690, turmoil ensued which resulted in division of the kingdom into Land Chenla and Water Chenla which was loosely ruled by weak princes under the dominion of Java.

The Khmer Empire grew out of these remnants of Chenla becoming firmly established in 802 when Jayavarman II (reigned c790-850) declared independence from Java and proclaimed himself a Devaraja. He and his followers instituted the cult of the God-king and began a series of conquests that formed an empire which flourished in the area from the 9th to the 15th centuries. During the rule of Jayavarman VIII the Angkor empire was attacked by the Mongol army of Kublai Khan, however the king was able to buy peace. Around the 13th century, monks from Sri Lanka introduced Theravada Buddhism to Southeast Asia. The religion spread and eventually displaced Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism as the popular religion of Angkor; however it was not the official state religion until 1295; when Indravarman III took power.

The Khmer Empire was Southeast Asia's largest empire during the 12th century. The empire's centre of power was Angkor, where a series of capitals were constructed during the empire's zenith. In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest pre-industrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 2,980 square kilometres. The city, which could have supported a population of up to one million people and Angkor Wat, the best known and best-preserved religious temple at the site, still serves as a reminder of Cambodia's past as a major regional power. The empire, though in decline, remained a significant force in the region until its fall in the 15th century.

DARK AGES OF CAMBODIA

After a long series of wars with neighbouring kingdoms, Angkor was sacked by the Ayutthaya Kingdom and abandoned in 1432 because of ecological failure and infrastructure breakdown. This led to a period of economic, social, and cultural stagnation when the kingdom's internal affairs came increasingly under the control of its neighbours. By this time, the Khmer penchant for monument building had ceased. Older faiths such as Mahayana Buddhism and the Hindu cult of the god-king had been supplanted by Theravada Buddhism.

The court moved the capital to Longvek where the kingdom sought to regain its glory through maritime trade. The first mention of Cambodia in European documents was in 1511 by the Portuguese. Portuguese travellers described the city as a place of flourishing wealth and foreign trade. The attempt was short-lived however, as continued wars with Ayutthaya and the Vietnamese resulted in the loss of more territory and Longvek being conquered and destroyed by King Naresuan the Great of Ayutthaya in 1594. A new Khmer capital was established at Oudong south of Longvek in 1618, but its monarchs could survive only by entering into what amounted to alternating vassal relationships with the Siamese and Vietnamese for the next three centuries with only a few short-lived periods of relative independence.

The hill tribe people in Cambodia were "hunted incessantly and carried off as slaves by the Siamese (Thai), the Annamites (Vietnamese), and the Cambodians".

In the nineteenth century a renewed struggle between Siam and Vietnam for control of Cambodia resulted in a period when Vietnamese officials attempted to force the Khmers to adopt Vietnamese customs. This led to several rebellions against the Vietnamese and appeals to Thailand for assistance. The Siamese–Vietnamese War (1841–1845) ended with an agreement to place the country under joint suzerainty. This later led to the signing of a treaty for French Protection of Cambodia by King Norodom Prohmborirak.

FRENCH COLONISATION

In 1863, King Norodom, who had been installed by Thailand, sought the protection of France from the Thai rule. In 1867, the Thai king signed a treaty with France, renouncing suzerainty over Cambodia in exchange for the control of Battambang and Siem Reap provinces which officially became part of Thailand. The provinces were ceded back to Cambodia by a border treaty between France and Thailand in 1907.

Cambodia continued as a protectorate of France from 1867 to 1953, administered as part of the colony of French Indochina, though occupied by the Japanese empire from 1941 to 1945.[47] Between 1874 and 1962, the total population increased from about 946,000 to 5.7 million. After King Norodom's death in 1904, France manipulated the choice of king, and Sisowath, Norodom's brother, was placed on the throne. The throne became vacant in 1941 with the death of Monivong, Sisowath's son, and France passed over Monivong's son, Monireth, feeling he was too independently minded. Instead, Norodom Sihanouk, a maternal grandson of King Sisowath was enthroned. The French thought young Sihanouk would be easy to control. They were wrong, however, and under the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia gained independence from France on 9 November 1953.

INDEPENDENCE AND VIETNAM WAR

Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. When French Indochina was given independence, Cambodia lost hope of regaining control over the Mekong Delta as it was awarded to Vietnam. Formerly part of the Khmer Empire, the area had been controlled by the Vietnamese since 1698, with King Chey Chettha II granting Vietnamese permission to settle in the area decades before. This remains a diplomatic sticking point with over one million ethnic Khmers (the Khmer Krom) still living in this region. The Khmer Rouge attempted invasions to recover the territory which, in part, led to Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia and deposition of the Khmer Rouge.

In 1955, Sihanouk abdicated in favour of his father to participate in politics and was elected prime minister. Upon his father's death in 1960, Sihanouk again became head of state, taking the title of prince. As the Vietnam War progressed, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality in the Cold War. Sihanouk allowed the Vietnamese communists to use Cambodia as a sanctuary and a supply route for their arms and other aid to their armed forces fighting in South Vietnam. This policy was perceived as humiliating by many Cambodians. In December 1967 Washington Post journalist Stanley Karnow was told by Sihanouk that if the US wanted to bomb the Vietnamese communist sanctuaries, he would not object, unless Cambodians were killed.

The same message was conveyed to US President Johnson's emissary Chester Bowles in January 1968. However, in public Sihanouk refuted the US' right to use air strikes in Cambodia and on 26 March Prince Sihanouk said "these criminal attacks must immediately and definitively stop", and on 28 March a press conference was held and Sihanouk appealed to the international media "I appeal to you to publicise abroad this very clear stand of Cambodia—that is, I will in any case oppose all bombings on Cambodian territory under whatever pretext." Nevertheless, the public pleas of Sihanouk were ignored and the bombing continued. Members of the government and army became resentful of Sihanouk's ruling style as well as his tilt away from the United States.

KHMER REPUBLIC 1970-1975

While visiting Beijing in 1970 Sihanouk was ousted by a military coup led by Prime Minister General Lon Nol and Prince Sisowath Sirik Matak. US support for the coup remains unproven. However, once the coup was completed, the new regime, which immediately demanded that the Vietnamese communists leave Cambodia, gained the political support of the United States. The North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces, desperate to retain their sanctuaries and supply lines from North Vietnam, immediately launched armed attacks on the new government. The king urged his followers to help in overthrowing this government, hastening the onset of civil war.

Soon Khmer Rouge rebels began using him to gain support. However, from 1970 until early 1972, the Cambodian conflict was largely one between the government and army of Cambodia, and the armed forces of North Vietnam. As they gained control of Cambodian territory, the Vietnamese communists imposed a new political infrastructure, which was eventually dominated by the Cambodian communists now referred to as the Khmer Rouge. Between 1969 and 1973, Republic of Vietnam and US forces bombed Cambodia in an effort to disrupt the Viet Cong and Khmer Rouge.

Documents uncovered from the Soviet archives after 1991 reveal that the North Vietnamese attempt to overrun Cambodia in 1970 was launched at the explicit request of the Khmer Rouge and negotiated by Pol Pot's then second in command, Nuon Chea. NVA units overran many Cambodian army positions while the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK) expanded their small-scale attacks on lines of communication. In response to the North Vietnamese invasion, US President Richard Nixon announced that US and South Vietnamese ground forces had entered Cambodia in a campaign aimed at destroying NVA base areas in Cambodia (see Cambodian Incursion). Although a considerable quantity of equipment was seized or destroyed by US and South Vietnamese forces, containment of North Vietnamese forces proved elusive.

The Khmer Republic's leadership was plagued by disunity among its three principal figures: Lon Nol, Sihanouk's cousin Sirik Matak, and National Assembly leader In Tam. Lon Nol remained in power in part because neither of the others was prepared to take his place. In 1972, a constitution was adopted, a parliament elected, and Lon Nol became president. But disunity, the problems of transforming a 30,000-man army into a national combat force of more than 200,000 men, and spreading corruption weakened the civilian administration and army.

The Communist insurgency inside Cambodia continued to grow, aided by supplies and military support from North Vietnam. Pol Pot and Ieng Sary asserted their dominance over the Vietnamese-trained communists, many of whom were purged. At the same time, the CPK forces became stronger and more independent of their Vietnamese patrons. By 1973, the CPK were fighting battles against government forces with little or no North Vietnamese troop support, and they controlled nearly 60% of Cambodia's territory and 25% of its population. The government made three unsuccessful attempts to enter into negotiations with the insurgents, but by 1974, the CPK were operating openly as divisions, and some of the NVA combat forces had moved into South Vietnam. Lon Nol's control was reduced to small enclaves around the cities and main transportation routes. More than 2 million refugees from the war lived in Phnom Penh and other cities.

On New Year's Day 1975, Communist troops launched an offensive which, in 117 days of the hardest fighting of the war, collapsed the Khmer Republic. Simultaneous attacks around the perimeter of Phnom Penh pinned down Republican forces, while other CPK units overran fire bases controlling the vital lower Mekong resupply route. A US-funded airlift of ammunition and rice ended when Congress refused additional aid for Cambodia. The Lon Nol government in Phnom Penh surrendered on 17 April 1975, just five days after the US mission evacuated Cambodia.

KHMER ROUGE REGIME 1975-1978

The Khmer Rouge reached Phnom Penh and took power in 1975. Led by Pol Pot, they changed the official name of the country to Democratic Kampuchea. The new regime modelled itself on Maoist China during the Great Leap Forward, immediately evacuated the cities, and sent the entire population on forced marches to rural work projects. They attempted to rebuild the country's agriculture on the model of the 11th century, discarded Western medicine and destroyed temples, libraries, and anything considered Western.

Estimates as to how many people were killed by the Khmer Rouge regime range from approximately one to three million; the most commonly cited figure is two million (about a quarter of the population). This era gave rise to the term Killing Fields, and the prison Tuol Sleng became notorious for its history of mass killing. Hundreds of thousands fled across the border into neighbouring Thailand. The regime disproportionately targeted ethnic minority groups. The Cham Muslims suffered serious purges with as much as half of their population exterminated. Pol Pot was determined to keep his power and disenfranchise any enemies or potential threats, and thus increased his violent and aggressive actions against his people.

Forced repatriation in 1970 and deaths during the Khmer Rouge era reduced the Vietnamese population in Cambodia from between 250,000 and 300,000 in 1969 to a reported 56,000 in 1984. However, most of the victims of the Khmer Rouge regime were not ethnic minorities but ethnic Khmer. Professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers, were also targeted. According to Robert D. Kaplan, "eyeglasses were as deadly as the yellow star" as they were seen as a sign of intellectualism.

Religious institutions were not spared by the Khmer Rouge as well, religion was so viciously persecuted to such a terrifying extent that the vast majority of Cambodia's historic architecture, 95% of Cambodia's Buddhist temples, was completely destroyed.

VIETNAMESE OCCUPATION AND TRANSITION 1978-1992

In November 1978, Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia in response to border raids by the Khmer Rouge. The People's Republic of Kampuchea (PRK), a pro-Soviet state led by the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Party, a party created by the Vietnamese in 1951, and led by a group of Khmer Rouge who had fled Cambodia to avoid being purged by Pol Pot and Ta Mok, was established. It was fully beholden to the occupying Vietnamese army and under direction of the Vietnamese ambassador to Phnom Penh. Its arms came from Vietnam and the Soviet Union.

In opposition to the newly created state, a government-in-exile referred to as the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea (CGDK) was formed in 1981 from three factions. This consisted of the Khmer Rouge, a royalist faction led by Sihanouk, and the Khmer People's National Liberation Front. Its credentials were recognised by the United Nations. The Khmer Rouge representative to the UN, Thiounn Prasith, was retained, but he had to work in consultation with representatives of the noncommunist Cambodian parties. The refusal of Vietnam to withdraw from Cambodia led to economic sanctions by the US and its allies.[specify]

Peace efforts began in Paris in 1989 under the State of Cambodia, culminating two years later in October 1991 in a Paris Comprehensive Peace Settlement. The UN was given a mandate to enforce a ceasefire and deal with refugees and disarmament known as the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC).

RESTORATION OF THE MONARCHY

In 1993, Norodom Sihanouk was restored as King of Cambodia, but all power was in the hands of the government established after the UNTAC sponsored elections. The stability established following the conflict was shaken in 1997 by a coup d'état led by the co-Prime Minister Hun Sen against the non-communist parties in the government. In recent years, reconstruction efforts have progressed and led to some political stability through a multiparty democracy under a constitutional monarchy.

In July 2010, Kang Kek Iew was the first Khmer Rouge member found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity in his role as the former commandant of the S21 extermination camp and he was sentenced to life in prison. However, Hun Sen has opposed extensive trials of former Khmer Rouge mass murderers.

In August 2014, a U.N.-backed war crimes tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (also known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal), sentenced Khieu Samphan, the regime's 83-year-old former head of state, and Nuon Chea, its 88-year-old chief ideologue to life in prison on war crimes charges for their role in the country's terror period in the 1970s. The trial began in November 2011. Former Foreign Minister Ieng Sary died in 2013, while his wife, Social Affairs Minister Ieng Thirith, was deemed unfit to stand trial due to dementia in 2012. The group's top leader, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

GEOGRAPHY

Cambodia has an area of 181,035 square kilometres and lies entirely within the tropics, between latitudes 10° and 15°N, and longitudes 102° and 108°E. It borders Thailand to the north and west, Laos to the northeast, and Vietnam to the east and southeast. It has a 443-kilometre (275-mile) coastline along the Gulf of Thailand.

Cambodia's landscape is characterised by a low-lying central plain that is surrounded by uplands and low mountains and includes the Tonle Sap (Great Lake) and the upper reaches of the Mekong River delta. Extending outward from this central region are transitional plains, thinly forested and rising to elevations of about 200 metres above sea level.

To the north the Cambodian plain abuts a sandstone escarpment, which forms a southward-facing cliff stretching more than 320 kilometres from west to east and rising abruptly above the plain to heights of 180–550 metres. This cliff marks the southern limit of the Dângrêk Mountains.

Flowing south through the country's eastern regions is the Mekong River. East of the Mekong the transitional plains gradually merge with the eastern highlands, a region of forested mountains and high plateaus that extend into Laos and Vietnam. In southwestern Cambodia two distinct upland blocks, the Krâvanh Mountains and the Dâmrei Mountains, form another highland region that covers much of the land area between the Tonle Sap and the Gulf of Thailand.

In this remote and largely uninhabited area, Phnom Aural, Cambodia's highest peak rises to an elevation of 1,813 metres. The southern coastal region adjoining the Gulf of Thailand is a narrow lowland strip, heavily wooded and sparsely populated, which is isolated from the central plain by the southwestern highlands.

The most distinctive geographical feature is the inundations of the Tonle Sap (Great Lake), measuring about 2,590 square kilometres during the dry season and expanding to about 24,605 square kilometres during the rainy season. This densely populated plain, which is devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heartland of Cambodia. Much of this area has been designated as a biosphere reserve.

CULTURE

Various factors contribute to the Cambodian culture including Theravada Buddhism, Hinduism, French colonialism, Angkorian culture, and modern globalisation. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is responsible for promoting and developing Cambodian culture. Cambodian culture not only includes the culture of the lowland ethnic majority, but also some 20 culturally distinct hill tribes colloquially known as the Khmer Loeu, a term coined by Norodom Sihanouk to encourage unity between the highlanders and lowlanders.

Rural Cambodians wear a krama scarf which is a unique aspect of Cambodian clothing. The sampeah is a traditional Cambodian greeting or a way of showing respect to others. Khmer culture, as developed and spread by the Khmer empire, has distinctive styles of dance, architecture and sculpture, which have been exchanged with neighbouring Laos and Thailand throughout history. Angkor Wat (Angkor means "city" and Wat "temple") is the best preserved example of Khmer architecture from the Angkorian era along with hundreds of other temples that have been discovered in and around the region.

CUISINE

Rice is the staple grain, as in other Southeast Asian countries. Fish from the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers is also an important part of the diet. The supply of fish and fish products for food and trade as of 2000 was 20 kilograms per person or 2 ounces per day per person.[190] Some of the fish can be made into prahok for longer storage.

The cuisine of Cambodia contains tropical fruits, soups and noodles. Key ingredients are kaffir lime, lemon grass, garlic, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry, tamarind, ginger, oyster sauce, coconut milk and black pepper. Some delicacies are នំបញ្ចុក (Num Banh chok), អាម៉ុក (Amok), អាពីង (Ah Ping). The country also boasts various distinct local street foods, such as fried spiders.

French influence on Cambodian cuisine includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette pieces are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles. Probably the most popular dine out dish, kuy teav, is a pork broth rice noodle soup with fried garlic, scallions, green onions that may also contain various toppings such as beef balls, shrimp, pork liver or lettuce. Kampot pepper is reputed to be the best in the world and accompanies crab at the Kep crab shacks and squid in the restaurants on the Ou Trojak Jet river.[191] The cuisine is relatively unknown to the world compared to that of its neighbours Thailand and Vietnam.

Traditionally, the Khmer people have a recorded information on Tra leaves. Tra leaf books record legends of the Khmer people, the Ramayana, the origin of Buddhism and other prayer books. They are taken care of by wrapping in cloth to protect from moisture and the climate.

Bon Om Tuuk (Festival of Boat Racing), the annual boat rowing contest, is the most attended Cambodian national festival. Held at the end of the rainy season when the Mekong river begins to sink back to its normal levels allowing the Tonle Sap River to reverse flow, approximately 10% of Cambodia's population attends this event each year to play games, give thanks to the moon, watch fireworks, dine, and attend the boat race in a carnival-type atmosphere.

Popular games include soccer, kicking a sey, which is similar to a footbag, and chess. Based on the classical Indian solar calendar and Theravada Buddhism, the Cambodian New Year is a major holiday that takes place in April. Recent artistic figures include singers Sinn Sisamouth and Ros Serey Sothea (and later Meng Keo Pichenda), who introduced new musical styles to the country.

. . . for further reading go to:

WIKIPEDIA

Cambodia - Market - Young Children - 97 by Manfred Sommer