Cambodia

Cambodia is home to one of the world’s greatest man-made structures. The temple complex of Angkor Wat is the largest in the world and its ornate spires and intricate reliefs tell stories of ancient kings and mythical deities. The temple complex was started by King Suryavarman II, ruler of the Khmer empire, which was the dominant civilisation in Southeast Asia from the 9^th to the 15^th century. From the 15^th century onwards, the Khmer empire went into its own dark ages, and the Angkor temples were abandoned. For the next 400 years, Cambodia experienced a steady decline in power which historians still struggle to explain. In the 19^th century, Cambodia was colonised by France and became part of French Indochina. After gaining independence from France in 1953, it was less than two decades before the country was plunged into the horrors of civil war. The 21^st century has been somewhat kinder to Cambodia. The temple complex of Angkor evokes a strong sense national pride for many Cambodians, harking back to a golden age of Khmer dominance.