Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is a temple located in Angkor Cambodia. The temple, which is a popular tourist attraction, was built for King Suryavarman II during the early 12th century. This temple began as the king’s state temple and capital city.  The main temple is only part of an entire complex of temples and ancient ruins. The entire Angkor Wat complex is actually made up of several different temples. The largest, and the most preserved temple, the main Angkor Wat, is the only one that has undergone a degree of changes in its religious significance during its lifetime. It is also the only one of the older temples that is currently in use as well as being open for visitors.

Angkor Wat is one of the temples of Angkor, and is located in the southernmost area of the group. The main construction on the temple took place during the first half of the twelfth century. The temple was dedicated to Vishru, but there is no information that can be found on the temple itself, either on the foundation or anywhere else, to give historians an idea of what the original name of the temple might have been.  The best guess is that it was called Vrah Vishnulok, which would have been the title given to it after the deity that presided there. Today is it referred to as Angkor Wat, which means “temple of the city.”