The jungles of Cambodia have resonated
to the fury of war for centuries
but no conflict was more ravaging than
the dreaded killing fields of recent
times which took the lives of millions
one in seven of the population perished
mingling the spirits of cambodia's
present with spirits from its past yet
the people endure their faith reinforced
by the reminder of a once proud history
these are the remains of Angkor
Cambodia's ancient capital
for the past 20 years they were isolated
from the outside world and circled my
land mines and booby traps as ensuing
regimes claim the site as their own now
as a frail peace returns .
they are
accessible once more angle one of the
great archaeological treasures of the
world 75 square miles and shrines stone
palaces towers and temples covering an
area twice the size of Manhattan
upon the discovery nearly 150 years ago
archaeologists gaze upon them an amazing
calling them grander than anything left
my resource Rome
who created these abandoned temples and
how did the inhabitants once lived in
this place of splendid isolation now as
Buddhist monks come to commune with the
law spirits of cambodia's past journey
back in time to mingle with ghosts
warriors and kings as we unlocked the
ancient mysteries of anger walk
yeah
today in northwestern Cambodia at the
restored temple call anger watch
contemporary dancers evoke the spirits
of the past
the ritual dance recalls the legends of
a time when this was the capital of the
powerful Khmer Empire thousand years ago.
It is a celebration of early Khmer kings
who built spired temples here to please
the gods and to glorify themselves the
most renowned of the many religious
buildings and angle was built by a king
known as CEO varmint the second he came
to power in the year $YEAR 11 13
expanding the realm of the Khmer Empire
throughout Southeast Asia
anger what was his crowning
accomplishment his funerary temple
serving a similar purpose to the pyramid
tombs of the Pharaohs of ancient agent
workers are believed to have labored on
the building for almost 40 years
anger watch is the most famous of
anglers more than 200 existing separate
structures were built in the 12th
century it was mysteriously abandoned in
the 15th
it is considered an architectural wonder
one of the world's largest stone
monuments the highest of its five towers
looms almost 700 feet into the sky it is
also the largest religious building in
the world
dwarfing most of the great cathedrals of
Europe but why was this incredible
cities creation and it's later
abandonment unknown for so long to the
outside world the West didn't hear
anything about this magnificent kingdom
that was built in the heartland of
jungle on a floodplain with fabulous
monuments.
The West knew nothing about
this until the middle of the 19th
century so we have nearly 400 years
where nothing was known about this
superb civilization
I think this is where the mystery of
anchor comes in the minds of the
Westerners
the mystery of anger was introduced to
the west my french naturalist named on
the low in 1860 while exploring
northwestern cambodia he was led here by
an old rice farmer who told him of a
fabulous City set deep in the jungle
with the angry gods had hidden it from
man after a long difficult journey
cutting through miles of untamed jungle
there they were you always spell bound
by his discovery for 400 years concealed
by the unrelenting forest here Lee the
deserted ruins of great stone temples
to obtain any idea of the splendor of
these roads one must imagine the most
beautiful creations of architecture
transported into the depths of the
forest in one of the most remote parts
of the world when must ask what has
become of this battle for race so
civilized invited to create these
gigantic works or sad fragility of human
things I mean the world 1868
yeah
for three weeks day and night yoooo
explore the ruins
he kept a diary which was published
accompanied by engravings of his
drawings
the temple is arrival to that of
Solomon's
it was created by some pension
Michelangelo.
I have really these notes
by the lack of Dodge
my desire is not to impose my opinions
on anyway but simply to disclose the
existence of these monuments which are
certainly more gigantic into my mind
display more perfect taste than any left
to us by Egypt Greece or Rome anymore
getting 68
before he was able to return to Europe
hello died of a fever he was 35 years
old
no many others would explore anger
scholars credit you owe more than any
other for lifting the veil on this once
secluded and forgotten world in the
Southeast Asian jungle
there were several missionaries and
traders who visited anchor and recorded
in the 15th and 16th century the French
the Dutch the spanish portuguese we have
records of all of them but moho his what
he was able to do that none of the
others were is that he was able to bring
anchor to the attention of the West
Europe and specifically England and to
generate an interest in this fabulous
site this magnificent kingdom that was
created in the middle of the jungle
.
It was left to archaeologists like
American Russell shihan to solve the
mystery of who built anglers magnificent
temples
we know very little about the way the
ancient Khmer lived you know very little
about the material culture that they had
we know nothing about their scientific
instruments we know nothing about their
their tools are basic implements we know
very little about their the way they
educated the people or the way they they
dealt with their society and and of
course many of these answers the
material culture answers can be solved
through excavations and almost no
below-ground excavation has been done at
this site eventually anger would yield
some of its secrets about those who once
lived here two miles to the northwest of
anger want is the ancient capital of the
Khmer Empire .
It is known as anger Tom
second largest of the many religious
sites here
and
yeah
add an elaborate temple called the by
own silent stones speak loudly of the
life that once course through this vast
complex of shrines palaces and places of
worship a million people made their
homes here by the 13th century there
live reflect a surprising array of very
familiar and very human activities
triumph in battle and war often against
invaders from neighboring thailand and
vietnam the grand procession of the King
on his return to the capital on the
outer galleries of the x on a visual
litany of daily life 700 years ago.
