National Geographic Magazine July 2009 featured great article about Angkor and don’t forget to check out the 3D animations from Angkor Interactive, it’s great to see how Khmer people lived in 13th Century.
ANSWERS FROM ANGKOR (Cover story), by Richard Stone, photographed by Robert Clark,
During the ninth to 15th centuries, the resplendent city of Angkor, capital of the Khmer kingdom and home to royalty and the largest religious monument on Earth, was the most extensive urban complex in the world.
Yet Angkor today is in ruins and populated mostly by peasant rice farmers. The reason behind the city’s downfall may be rooted in its ancient, vast and complex water system.
It was a marvel of engineering designed to control the flow of water into the sprawling city, but it required constant maintenance. When the water system faltered, so did Angkor’s power.
Writer Richard Stone brings to light the limits of human ingenuity, while veteran National Geographic photographer Robert Clark chronicles the sacred city, past and present. Stone is available for interviews.
