| The Kingdom of Cambodia is a constitutional | | | | it was gradually cloaked by jungle. Efforts |
| monarchy situated in Southeast Asia and | | | | were undertaken to clear away the exuberant |
| counting a population of more than 13 million | | | | vegetation which threatened to completely |
| people. Most Cambodians are Theravada | | | | destroy the monuments, and restoration of the |
| Buddhists of Khmer extraction, but the | | | | temples still undergoes. |
| country is home also to a substantial number | | | | |
| of Cham and small hill tribes. | | | | The Angkor Wat complex is the most exquisite |
| | | | example of Khmer architecture. Built in the |
| The country borders Thailand to its west, | | | | early 12th century for king Suryavarman II as |
| Laos to its north, Vietnam to its east, and | | | | his state temple, it remained an important |
| the Gulf of Thailand to its south.From the | | | | spiritual centre for centuries- first Hindu, |
| 9th century to the 15th century, Cambodia | | | | and afterwards Buddhist. Out of the reach of |
| represented the center of the Khmer Empire, | | | | tourists during the civil war, it has |
| with Angkor as a capital. | | | | regained worldwide attention after being |
| | | | displayed in the 2001 movie Lara Croft: Tomb |
| The Angkor Wat, the empire's main spiritual | | | | Raider. |
| site, is a symbolic reminder of the time when | | | | |
| Cambodia was a major powerrulung most of the | | | | The Bayon is the other highlight of Angkor. |
| Indochinese peninsule, and remains the | | | | Built in the 13th century as the state temple |
| country's top tourist attraction.From 1863 | | | | of the king Jayavarman VII, it was the centre |
| the country was a protectorate of France, | | | | of the then capital and bears 54 towers, each |
| which lasted until 1953, when the country | | | | decorated with four smiling faces. |
| received independence. | | | | |
| | | | The largest and most populous city of |
| Cambodia covers an area of about 181,040 | | | | Cambodia (about 1 million citizens), Phnom |
| square kilometers. It has 443 kilometers of | | | | Penh was known in the 1920s as the Pearl of |
| coastline along the Gulf of Thailand. | | | | Asia. Renowned for its traditional Khmer and |
| | | | French influenced architecture, it is a major |
| The most distinctive geographical feature are | | | | tourist destination in Cambodia, as well as |
| the lacustrine plains formed by the | | | | in Indochina as a whole. |
| inundations of the Great Lake. It measures | | | | |
| about 2 500 square kilometers during the dry | | | | The main tourist attractions in Phnom Penh |
| season and expands to about 24 000 during the | | | | are the Silver Pagoda and the Royal Palace. |
| rainy season. This densely populated plain, | | | | They sit side by side on the Sothearos Blvd |
| devoted to wet rice cultivation, is the heart | | | | and, being two separate complexes, are though |
| of Cambodia. | | | | visited as one. Built in 1866 by the French, |
| | | | the Royal Palace comprises numerous |
| Most of the country's territory lies at | | | | buildings, the Throne hall ranking as the |
| elevations of less than 100 meters above the | | | | most important. Adjacent to the Throne Hall |
| sea level, the exceptions being the Cardamom | | | | is a 59 metre high tower. South of it is the |
| Mountains (1,813 meters of elevation) and the | | | | Royal Treasury and the Vlla of Napoleon III, |
| steep escarpment of the Dângrêk | | | | built in 1866 and given afterwards as a |
| Mountains situated along the border with | | | | present to Cambodia. |
| Thailand's Isan region. | | | | |
| | | | At the northern part of the palace grounds is |
| The tourism industry is the country's | | | | situated the Silver Pagoda. The original |
| second-greatest source of hard currency in | | | | pagoda, constructed in 1866 by King Norodom, |
| Cambodia after the textile industry. More | | | | was mostly made of wood and, in 1962 was |
| than 60% of visitors go to Angkor, and most | | | | expanded by Sihanouk. It owes its name to the |
| of the remainder to Phnom Penh. Other tourist | | | | fact that its floor is made of more than 5 |
| highlights include Sihanoukville (Cambodia's | | | | 000 silver blocks with a total weight of more |
| only port), whits its popular beach, and the | | | | than 6 tons. The most important Buddha statue |
| region around Kampot, including the Bokor | | | | of the temple is, similarly to Bangkok's |
| Hill Station. | | | | royal temple, an Emerald Buddha, which is in |
| | | | this case not made of emerald, but of |
| The celebrated temples of Angkor constitute | | | | Baccarat crystal and dates back to the 17th |
| the Cambodia's greatest tourist attraction. | | | | century. |
| The nearly 100 temples represent now the | | | | |
| sacred remains of what was once a much larger | | | | On the Museum scene, well worth visiting are |
| administrative and religious centre, and were | | | | the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center- one of the |
| constructed between the 9th and 13th | | | | main killing fields of Pol Pot and the Toul |
| centuries to glorify a number of Khmer kings. | | | | Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crime (the infamous |
| The three most splendid temples are Bayon, Ta | | | | prison of the Khmer Rouge), both displaying |
| Prohm and the enormous Angkor Wat. Most of | | | | horrific artifacts from the dark era of Pol |
| Angkor was abandoned in the 15th century and | | | | Pot, as well as the National Historic Museum. |