Forgotten men, they were buried for centuries under a lush vegetation. Until a French explorer Henri Mouhot, rediscovered in 1860 and made known to the world. 150 years later,
the amazing temples of Angkor, have international stature.
The archaeological park of 400 square kilometers, partly covered by forest, contains hundreds of buildings,
remains of a mighty Khmer civilization and extreme refinement which subjugate visitors who spend 60,000 in 1999 to 1.6 million in 2011 representing an attendance of 4,000 people per day.
The Khmer empire spread its hegemony over six centuries in the territories of the Indochinese peninsula.
The ninth to the fifteenth century, the successive kings established their capital at Angkor, where they built a wonderful religious monuments and a sophisticated irrigation system.
Among the most famous temples, the huge Angkor Wat, built in the early twelfth century by King Suryavarman II, is one of the largest religious buildings ever constructed in the world.
It is a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1992 and 2004, over that of World Heritage in Danger has been a huge backup program. Researchers from different countries work for its preservation.
In (re)discovery of Angkor "Birth of a Myth"
LOUIS DELAPORTE and CAMBODIA
in Guimet Museum, Paris until January 23, 2014,
Video interview of Peter BAPTIST (Chief Curator, Curator of the exhibition).
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At the heart of history
Koh-Lanta au Cambodge
