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Main hall of Sro Loun Temple

Colourfully painted exterior of the main hall of Sro Loun Temple.

Carvings on the pillars at the entrance are very Vietnamese. Yellow flowers are also Vietnamese favourite. The temple complex as a whole looks like a departure from the traditional Khmer architecture.

 

The Fall of Saigon in 1975 resulted in the communist takeover of Cambodia. Khmer Rouge, as named by King Sihanouk, was backed by China and advocated the Maoist ideology and a fanatic Khmer nationalism. Influenced by the Cultural Revolution, they wanted to annihilate the bourgeoisie and killed a quarter of Cambodia’s population, in particular, intellectuals, Buddhist monks, ethnic minorities including Vietnamese, during their rule from 1975 to 1979.

 

They tried to get popular supports by fanning an anti-Vietnamese sentiment among Cambodians quoting Vietnam's occupation of Mekong Delta. They even invaded Mekong Delta and massacred 3,157 Vietnamese civilians in Ba Chuc village in 1978.

 

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Uploaded on April 27, 2023
Taken on February 2, 2023