SIEM REAP, Cambodia An enormous complex located on a vast wooded plain, Cambodia's spectacular Angkor was built between the ninth and the 14th centuries by the Khmers as an administrative and religious center. From here, the early Khmer kings ruled over a vast territory that extended from what is now Vietnam across to the Bay of Bengal, and up into China as far as Yunnan. Remaining after the collapse of the Khmers are nearly 300 temples and palaces, some 30 of which have been cleared of forest and can be visited.
The most famous, and splendid, of these is the largest remaining structure, Angkor Wat. Nearest of all the sites to the town of Siem Reap, where the traveler will stay, this enormous compound is indeed one of the wonders of the ancient world. But around it, though often at some distance, are many other sites that are often just as interesting, and occasionally even more beautiful.
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