“I first came to Angkor to witness the total eclipse of the sun in October of 1995. The path of totality passed directly over the ruins and lasted several minutes. A truly awe-inspiring phenomenon, it caused me to look at these monuments in an entirely different manner, due to both the emotional power of the moment and the strange, eerie effect produced by the light during the eclipse. Seeing Angkor Wat bathed in this eerie unnatural light was a compelling experience that sparked a passionate interest in photographing the temples. The mystery and profound beauty found within Angkor create an engrossing visual feast of imagery. “ - JM
ABOUT ANGKOR
Angkor, the vast complex of great stone temple ruins and monuments embedded in the jungles of Cambodia, is one of the preeminent achievements of humankind. Once the capital and center of the great Khmer empire, it flourished from the 9th through the 15th centuries with a population at its height reaching over one million people. The sheer size, complexity, and wealth of this empire made Angkor one of the most magnificent cities in the history of the planet.
The Khmer civilization thrived at Angkor for more than five centuries with the empire reaching far into what is now Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. During this time, it was a center of artistic achievement and creativity. A succession of rulers, the self-proclaimed god-kings, or devarajas, undertook massive construction and infrastructure projects, each building temples and monuments of great beauty and architectural precision, and a complex and sophisticated system of hydraulics and irrigation that continues to baffle engineers even today.
During the late 14th and early 15th centuries many changes took place that led to the decline and eventual abandonment of Angkor. Most historians agree that some combination of changes in trade and commerce networks, wars, a lack of decent fortification, and a shift in religious and social philosophies led the population to move away from Angkor and create a new capital further south at Phnom Penh.
For the next four centuries Angkor lay quietly buried deep in the jungle. Rediscovered by European explorers in the mid-1800s, it was brought to the attention of a western culture that was fascinated by the exotic, yet only able to experience it mainly through literary and artistic impressions. Then a little more than one hundred years later it was once more plunged into obscurity during the horrific reign of the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. This period of cruelty and devastation resulted in the deaths of an estimated two to three million people due to disease, starvation and execution. Cambodia, and Angkor in particular, did not re-emerge as a destination for western visitors until the early 2000s.
Today the site encompasses scores of temples and monuments spread across more than 400 square kilometers of tropical jungle. Most famous are the temple of Angkor Wat, a pinnacle of architecture and beauty sacred to both the Hindu and Buddhist religions, and the Bayon, whose great stone faces gaze enigmatically over the ‘Great City’ of Angkor Thom. Visitors who were able to visit during its heyday describe Angkor Thom as more splendid and opulent than any other urban center of its time.
While these ruins may be shrouded in ancient history, they form the foundation and livelihood for the local population in the area today, along with a growing number of artists, intellectuals, and entrepreneurs recently arrived from around the globe, many who have come to work for the preservation and conservation of the site.
Angkor is in a state of rapid transition. The unprecedented influx of tourists and the explosive growth in the tourism industry deserves to be closely monitored and managed lest it become problematic. Great efforts are being made at the local level by the APSARA National Authority of Cambodia, and by other international organizations such as UNESCO and the World Monuments Fund to preserve the dignity and integrity of these historical monuments. We wish them all a great success.