An amazing place.

The temple ruins are what remains of the ancient Khmer Empire. The empire encompassed much of Southeast Asia from the 9th to the 13th century. It dominated the area of present-day Cambodia, as well as a lot of Thailand, southern Vietnam and Laos. At its zenith, more than a million people lived in the capital city at Angkor.

King Suryavarman II built Angkor Wat in the early 12th century, at the height of the Khmer Empire’s power. Scholars disagree on whether it was meant as a state temple or a funerary one. The name translates as "City Temple" and it reportedly took some 50,000 artisans, workers and slaves to complete. It is still the world's largest religious building, covering 162.6 hectares. It was first dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, but became a Buddhist temple in the 14th century.