Located about 6 km north of Siem Reap, Angkor Temple Complex was built by King Suryavarman II in the first half of the 12th century. It was built with the purpose of worshiping Vishnu, but later, due to the introduction and development of Buddhism,it was converted to a Buddhist temple towards the end of the 12th century.
Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple-mountain and the later galleried temple It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu and Buddhist cosmology: between a moat and 3.6 km (2.2 mi) long wall is a three-story main hall with rectangular architecture, connected by rows of deep corridors. The center of the temple is a complex of 5 towers with a central tower and four towers at four square corners.
The modern name of the temple, Angkor Wat, means “Temple City” or “City of Temples” in Khmer. The original name of the place is unknown, but it may have been called “Varah Vishnu-lok”, meaning “the sacred dwelling of Vishnu.”
In 1992, UNESCO recognized Angkor Wat as a World Heritage Site. It is also the pride of the Cambodian people and has been included in the country’s national flag since 1950.
According to the rankings compiled from the Tripadvisor site until the end of 2021, Angkor Wat is ranked first in terms of the most beautiful sunrise viewing places in the world with 10,404 reviews, more than 2 times higher than the number two Haleakala Crater of Haleakala Crater in United States of America with 3,933 reviews.
According to Wikipedia AND mornings.co.uk
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat AND https://mornings.co.uk/best-sunrise-and-sunset/)
