EVERYTHING WHAT YOU NEEDTO DREAM...
Cambodia >
Phnom Penh
KNOWLEDGE OF Phnom Penh
Bustling modern-day Phnom Penh is a city rich with the legacies of kings and conquerors, both foreign and Khmer. Legend has it that Phnom Penh was founded when a woman called Penh discovered five images of Buddha inside a log washed up on the bank of the Mekong River. In 1373, Wat Phnom was built to house them. The town that grew around it became known as Phnom Penh. With phnom in Khmer meaning hill, the name literally means Hill of Penh.
Famous for Angkor Wat, its ancient capital, Cambodia has a long history. Around the first century BC a dynasty known to Chinese traders as Funan ruled. Impressive ruins from this great trading empire still stand at Angkor Borei & Phnom Da.From the sixth century, Funan’s influence waned, and a new short-lived group of civilizations with a strong Indian influence called Chenla emerged along the Mekong and lower Tonle Sap Rivers.
In A.D. 802, Jayavarman II proclaimed himself a god-king and the Angkorian Empire was born. Construction of the first of the magnificent temples of Angkor began that same year and continued for almost six centuries. At its peak, the Angkorian Empire expanded to conquer most of the region, including large tracts of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. For reasons that remain unclear, Angkor eventually weakened--perhaps because of neighboring Thailand’s rising might, frequent incursions from Thailand and Vietnam and distance from major trading ports. The elegant National Museum has a fine exhibition of artifacts from this period and preceding dynasties.
Oudong, 40 kilometers north, usurped Phnom Penh as the capital between 1618 and the mid-19th century, but it was Phnom Penh that was the seat of government when the French arrived in 1863. Their influence is obvious in many of the grand colonial buildings that dot the city, especially in the French Quarter around the Old Market. Colonial rule brought stability. During this prosperous time, in 1892, King Norodom constructed the stunning Wat Preah Keo (Silver Pagoda), paved with 5,000 blocks of silver.
In 1941 the current king, Norodom Sihanouk, was crowned at the age of 19. Believing that he would be easily manipulated, he was the choice of the French, but by 1952, King Sihanouk was spearheading a royal crusade for independence, which was granted in November 1953 and commemorated by Independence Monument. The years that followed were some of modern Cambodia’s most prosperous. Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father to lead his ruling Sankum Reastr Niyum party as a politician.
Famous for Angkor Wat, its ancient capital, Cambodia has a long history. Around the first century BC a dynasty known to Chinese traders as Funan ruled. Impressive ruins from this great trading empire still stand at Angkor Borei & Phnom Da.From the sixth century, Funan’s influence waned, and a new short-lived group of civilizations with a strong Indian influence called Chenla emerged along the Mekong and lower Tonle Sap Rivers.
In A.D. 802, Jayavarman II proclaimed himself a god-king and the Angkorian Empire was born. Construction of the first of the magnificent temples of Angkor began that same year and continued for almost six centuries. At its peak, the Angkorian Empire expanded to conquer most of the region, including large tracts of Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. For reasons that remain unclear, Angkor eventually weakened--perhaps because of neighboring Thailand’s rising might, frequent incursions from Thailand and Vietnam and distance from major trading ports. The elegant National Museum has a fine exhibition of artifacts from this period and preceding dynasties.
Oudong, 40 kilometers north, usurped Phnom Penh as the capital between 1618 and the mid-19th century, but it was Phnom Penh that was the seat of government when the French arrived in 1863. Their influence is obvious in many of the grand colonial buildings that dot the city, especially in the French Quarter around the Old Market. Colonial rule brought stability. During this prosperous time, in 1892, King Norodom constructed the stunning Wat Preah Keo (Silver Pagoda), paved with 5,000 blocks of silver.
In 1941 the current king, Norodom Sihanouk, was crowned at the age of 19. Believing that he would be easily manipulated, he was the choice of the French, but by 1952, King Sihanouk was spearheading a royal crusade for independence, which was granted in November 1953 and commemorated by Independence Monument. The years that followed were some of modern Cambodia’s most prosperous. Sihanouk abdicated in favor of his father to lead his ruling Sankum Reastr Niyum party as a politician.
Chapi