Paris Peace Accords 23 Oct. 1991

Thursday, July 20, 2017

At one of the world’s newest UNESCO sites, an ancient forest city that once ruled an empire

Tourists visit Sambor Prei Kuk, an archaeological site of ancient Ishanapura, is seen after being listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in Cambodia
Line up, tourists. (Reuters/Samrang Pring)

At one of the world’s newest UNESCO sites, an ancient forest city that once ruled an empire


Quartz | 19 July 2017

Sambor Prei Kuk, or "the temple in the richness of the forest" an archaeological site of ancient Ishanapura, is seen after being listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in Cambodia
Like the Angkor complex, many of the Sambor Prei Kuk temple zone’s buildings are wrapped in roots after being neglected for centuries.(Reuters/Samrang Pring)
Tourist visit Sambor Prei Kuk, or "the temple in the richness of the forest" an archaeological site of ancient Ishanapura, is seen after being listed as a UNESCO world heritage site in Cambodia
Tourists exit a building at Sambor Prei Kuk. (Reuters/Samrang Pring)
 Tourists visit Sambor Prei Kuk, or "the temple in the richness of the forest" an archaeological site of ancient Ishanapura,  after it was listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, in Kampong Thom province
Earlier this month, Cambodia was awarded its third UNESCO designation. The Sambor Prei Kuk temple zone, sitting between Siem Reap and the capitol Phnom Penh, is an archeological site dating back to the 6th century AD. It joins Cambodia’s other two UNESCO sites, the Temple of Preah Vihear and the iconic Angkor Archaeological Park.
The site, which translates to “temple in the richness of the forest,” is a cluster of temples and an ancient city center believed to be the ruins of Ishanapura, the capital of the Chenla empire. The Chenla were a short-lived civilization whose downfall led to the founding of the more dominant Khmer Empire centuries later.
While considerably smaller than the Angkor temple complex, at only 25 square kilometers compared to Angkor’s 400, it is centuries older than one of southeast Asia’s most well-known tourist sites. Its artwork, UNESCO claims, “lay the ground for the unique Khmer style of the Angkor period.”
Tourism is one of Cambodia’s largest industries, with more than five million people visiting the country in 2016, up 5% from the previous year, according to ReutersOver two million of those visitors go to Angkor Wat.
Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen predicted that 7 million foreign tourists will visit Cambodia in 2020, and tourism will account for 800,000 jobs, not an insignificant number for a small country of around 16 million. Now all those tourists will have a new stop to add to their itineraries.

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