Angkor Wat Photo Gallery- Angkor Thom Part 2

Angkor Thom is one of the two key temples in the whole Angkor Wat complex. Meaning "Great City" in Khmer, this was the largest city in the empire with a peak population of a million people. It had a 13km-long protective wall, moat, and 4 gates with decorative smiling faces in stone. There was also an extra 5th gate. A short walk in the shade from the Bayon is the Baphuon, a 5-tiered pyramid set behind a 172m approach causeway. Built as a Hindu temple in the 11th century, its shape represents Mt. Meru, the home of the gods. Archaeologists had disassembled the temple before the Cambodian civil war, but their records were lost. Nevertheless, the 300,000 stones are now back in place in a difficult restoration.