The city of Angkor, in northwestern Cambodia, was the capital of a kingdom known as the Khmer Empire, for over five- hundred years. In fact, the word "angkor" means capital. It became one of the most architecturally complex places in the world between the 9^th and the 13^th centuries, but when armies from Thailand captured the city 1431, it was abandoned by most of its citizens.

The largest component of this complex is known as Angkor Wat. The word "Wat" means monastery, and it was used as just that. This huge temple was built by King Suryavarman II, who decorated and built it in his Hindu beliefs. Dedicated to the Hindu Gods Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu. It was a holy place for many. But soon in the ruling of King Jayavaraman VII decided that the Gods of Hinduism had failed him. Buddhism was prevalent in the construction of Angkor Thom, a new nearby capital. The Hindu decorations and deities were replaced by Buddhist carvings, statues, and other art, when it became a Buddhist shrine.

The entire city where Angkor Wat is located extends fifteen miles (24 kilometers) from east to west and eight miles (13 kilometers) north to south. Around the temples the terrain is landscaped by and intricate system of reservoirs, canals, and moats that were used for water control and irrigation. The whole system symbolized the Hindu thought of a central mountain, Mt. Meru, a dwelling place for the Gods. Angkor Wat's five central towers represent the peaks of the holy mountain. The enormous moat surrounding the shrine suggests the oceans at the edge of the world. Crossing this moat includes crossing a 617-foot (188-meter) bridge.

From the early fifteenth century, when Angkor was completely abandoned, until the late nineteenth century, Angkor was kept intact by the Theravada Buddhist monks. It became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Southeast Asia.