Preah Vihear Temple
Preah Vihear Temple or Prasat Preah Vihear , Prasat Preah Vihear) is a Khmer temple situated atop Pey Tadi, a 525-metre (1,720 ft) cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains in the Preah Vihear Province of Cambodia and near the border of Amphoe Kantharalak, Sisaket Province in northeastern Thailand. In 1962, following a significant dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership of the temple, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia.
Affording a view for many kilometers across a plain, Prasat Preah Vihear has the most spectacular setting of all the temples built during the six-century-long Khmer Empire. As a key edifice of the empire’s spiritual life, it was supported and modified by successive kings and so bears elements of several architectural styles. Preah Vihear is unusual among Khmer temples in being constructed along a long north-south axis, rather than having the conventional rectangular plan with orientation toward the east. The temple gives its name to Cambodia’s Preah Vihear province, in which it is located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihan National Park in Sisaket Province, Thailand, through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Nomenclature
Preah Vihear is translated into Thai as Prasat Phra Viharn or Prasat Khao Phra Viharn [In Thai the"Ph" is pronounced simply "p" ]. Prasat has the same meaning in Khmer and Thai (”castle”, sometimes “temple”) , and Khao is the Thai word for “hill” or “mountain” (in Khmer: “phnom”, Cambodians occasionally refer to “Phnom Preah Vihear” as Thais sometimes refer to “Khao Phra Viharn”). The words “Preah” and “Phra” mean “sacred,” and the words “Vihear” and “Viharn” mean “shrine” (the central structure of the temple). In Thai, the word “khao” has recently been omitted from the name in order to differentiate between the temple and the cliff it is built on. Thai mass media appear to have begun this convention.
Location
The temple sits atop Pey Tadi, a cliff in the Dangrek Mountains which straddle the border between Thailand and Cambodia. During different periods it has been located in Cambodia and Thailand in turn. Following Cambodian independence and the Thai occupation of the temple it was listed by Thailand as being in Bhumsrol village, (which means Village of pine trees) Tambon Bueng Malu, (now merged with Tambon Sao Thong Chai) Amphoe Kantharalak, Sisaket Province in Thailand. It is 110 km from Amphoe Mueang Si Sa Ket, the center of Si Sa Ket province. After the 1962 ICJ ruling that it belonged to Cambodia permanently settled ownership of the temple, it was listed as being in Svay Chrum Village, Kan Tout Commune, Choam Khsant District, Preah Vihear Province (Khmer: in Cambodia. The temple is 280 km from Angkor Wat and 296 km from Phnom Penh
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