18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Angkor Wat Reopens

After being temporarily closed on April 7 to prevent the spread of Covid-19 to locals, Apsara National Authority and Angkor Enterprise reopened Angkor Archaeological Park in Siem Reap province to tourists on April 25.

This is in accordance with Royal Government Circular No 53 dated April 25, which ended an inter-provincial travel ban and closures of tourism resorts nationwide, the two authorities said in a joint statement issued on the same day.

“Apsara National Authority and Angkor Enterprise have reopened [the complex] for tourists to visit the temples and restarted sales of tickets to Angkor as usual,” they said.

Cambodia logged just $1.023 billion in international tourism revenue last year, marking a 79.4 percent drop from $4.919 billion in 2019.

The Kingdom welcomed 1,306,143 international tourists in 2020, down by 80.2 percent from 6,610,592 in 2019, according to the Ministry of Tourism’s 2020 Tourism Statistics Report.

Tourists visit Angkor Wat temple in Siem Reap province in 2018. Photo supplied

Angkor Wat History

In northern Cambodia, Angkor Wat is a massive Buddhist temple complex. It was originally constructed as a Hindu temple in the first half of the 12th century. Angkor Wat is said to be the world’s largest religious monument, covering more than 400 acres.

Its name, which means “temple city” in the Khmer language of the region, refers to the fact that it was founded as the state temple and political center of Emperor Suryavarman II’s empire from 1113 to 1150.

Angkor Wat was originally devoted to the Hindu god Vishnu, but by the end of the 12th century, it had been converted to a Buddhist temple.

Despite the fact that it was severely damaged during the Khmer Rouge regime’s autocratic rule in the 1970s and earlier regional conflicts, it is still a popular tourist attraction in Cambodia.

Cover photo: Wikipedia

Source: Phnom Penh Post

Related Articles

China exhibits 2,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Guangzhou

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

On August 10, the National Museum of China launched an exhibition featuring archaeological finds from ancient China’s Qin (221–207 BC)...

A new Archaeological Site has been Discovered in Oman

7 July 2021

7 July 2021

Oman‘s Ministry of Heritage and Tourism recently discovered an ancient site in the town of Al Khobar, Sumail Province, Al...

Archeological park to be built at suburban Shanghai ancient ruins site in China

20 October 2021

20 October 2021

An archeological park will be built at the Qinglong Town ruins site of Baihe in Qingpu District as part of...

The Oldest and Most Unique Example of the ‘Etrarchic Embracement Motif’ is on Display for the First Time

19 September 2024

19 September 2024

A relief depicting two Roman emperors’ embrace of Diocletian and Maximian during a ceremonial event, each other welcomes visitors for...

Maltaş Temple Revealed

10 August 2021

10 August 2021

Phrygian Valley, 10 meters high monument with Phrygian scriptures inscriptions on it discovered. The unearthed Maltaş monument is actually the...

China’s construction of the first archaeological museum which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors has been completed

19 April 2022

19 April 2022

Construction of the first archaeological museum in China’s northwestern province of Shaanxi, which will house the famous Terracotta Warriors, was...

Metal Detectorist Finds on 4,000-year-old Dagger in Poland Forests

24 February 2024

24 February 2024

A copper dagger more than 4,000 years old was found in a forest near the town of Jarosław on the...

Rare Tales of Merlin and King Arthur Found in 13th Century Manuscript

17 April 2025

17 April 2025

In a remarkable discovery, a fragile manuscript fragment dating back to the 13th century has been found hidden within the...

Oldest footprints of pre-humans identified in Crete

11 October 2021

11 October 2021

Six million-year-old fossilized footprints on the island show the human foot had begun to develop. The oldest known footprints of...

Archaeologists may have found the lost 2,000-year-old ancient city of Bassania in Albania

19 June 2022

19 June 2022

Polish archaeologists may have discovered the 2,000-year-old lost city of Bassania in Albania. The remains of two large ancient stone...

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

When Stones Speak of Faith: The Most Significant Religious Archaeological Discoveries of the Last Decade

13 July 2025

13 July 2025

In a world where ancient faith still echoes beneath our feet, the most significant religious archaeological discoveries of the last...

The human remains dating back 10,000 years unearthed in Vietnam

15 November 2023

15 November 2023

In Ha Nam Province, northern Vietnam, skeletal remains dating back 10,000 years have been discovered. This is marking the oldest...

A still life fresco discovered in new excavations of Pompeii Regio IX

28 June 2023

28 June 2023

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Pompeii have uncovered a gorgeous still-life fresco depicting a platter covered in food and...

Astonishing Find in the Czech Republic: Hikers Discover a 3.7 Kilogram Serbian/Bosnian Gold Treasure

29 April 2025

29 April 2025

A leisurely hike on the slopes of Zvičina Hill in the Czech Republic turned into an extraordinary discovery for two...