The Sublime Empowers Nations

Angkor

Success Story of International Safeguard Campaign of This World Heritage

Evelina Rioukhina, UNECE

Ultimately, nations are empowered only if they protect and cherish their cultural or natural wealth. Different countries care in different ways about their cultural and environmental heritage. The history of the last century showed tragic examples when the nations destroyed their historical relics. We know also that even in the armed conflicts or during destructive wars the nations tried to preserve their sublime heritage despite the risk.

United Nations and other international organizations and agencies contribute a lot to the preserving threatened sites and endangered species. Unfortunately, not always international community manages to succeed (recent bombing of monuments in Afghanistan). There are, fortunately, some success stories in the international safeguarding campaigns: Royal Chitwan National Park in Nepal, Cartagena in Colombia, the archaeological site of Delphi in Greece.

The site of Angkor in Cambodia (The Kingdom of Cambodia – official name of the country since 1993) is the outstanding example of the successful actions initiated by the international community empowered by the efforts of the country itself. The safeguarding activities were initiated in 1951, however the long years of political instability and impetuosity have been freezing this process. In fact, the broad international campaign started in 1991, when UNESCO embarked an ambitious plan to safeguard and develop the historical site of Angkor. The embargo on international assistance having been lifted, the United Nations within its specialized agencies was able to help the Supreme National Council of Cambodia draft legislation for cultural and natural property and national statutes for their protection, including measures against illicit traffic in antiquities. Internationally, these measures led to the cooperation of organizations such as the International Council of Museums (ICOM), which published a booklet containing the descriptions and photographs of 100 stolen objects, and INTERPOL, whose assistance resulted in locating some of the objects. In Cambodia itself, applying these measures involved training police and customs officials, tourists agencies, the local population and others. Some 25 experts from 11 countries, working alongside local counterparts, have prepared a Zoning and Environmental Management Plan (ZEMP) for the site of Angkor, aimed at defining the boundaries of Angkor Park and buffer zone, as well as their management guidelines.

This ambitious international campaign has brought the most important result – this architectural, historical and cultural marvel has been saved. Although even now, a decade later, the works are far from being over and it might take years to restore some parts of the site.

Historical excursion to the Khmer Empire
The ancient nation of Cambodia has been embroiled in political controversy and bordering on civil war. Yet this country is also home to some of the oldest and best preserved spiritual art and artifacts. The civilization of the ancient Khmer in Cambodia is renowned for its extraordinary art and architecture of the sixth to the sixteenth centuries. Initially, a collection of small kingdoms or city-states, Khmer society was increasingly consolidated over the course of the sixth century, when the earliest surviving works of sculpture were created. In the ninth century, Angkor emerged in the north as the capital of the unified kingdom of all “Kambuja”, which gradually expanded into an empire encompassing much of present-day Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. The three chief periods of Khmer civilization are defined in relation to this capital: pre-Angkor (before the 9^th century), Angkor (9^th-15^th century), and post-Angkor (war with Thailand in 1431). The Khmer abandoned Angkor to the Thai in the fifteenth century and moved their capital south, near Phnom Penh, where they nonetheless preserved their cultural heritage.

The Khmer Empire created one of the world’s most glorious traditions of sculpture and architecture. The hundreds of Hindu and Buddhist temples that were constructed at Angkor and throughout Cambodia reflect the strong influence of the culture and religions of India. In sculpture, Khmer artists demonstrated their technical mastery of stone carving and bronze casting, creating profoundly spiritual images of Hindu and Buddhist divinities.

The Angkor Site
The Angkor complex is not only one of the greatest archaeological and architectural sites in the world. It is the heart of Cambodia and it is also in fact, an identity of the Khmer people.

It spreads over an area of more than 400 km². Angkor stands as an unrivalled legacy of a powerful Khmer civilization. The beauty, symmetry and mystery of the temples defy description.

Angkor Wat with its five towers, perfect symmetry and exquisite bas-reliefs is one of the most inspired religious monuments ever built. It is also the most important building among all Angkor Temples. Another special thing is that Angkor Wat faces west while other temples face east. This great symbol of Cambodia can also be seen in the three towers of the national flag.

Angkor War covers an area of two square kilometers, which is the largest religious temple in the world. And the volume of stone equals that of the Great Pyramid in Egypt. Conceived by Suryavarman II (1113-1150), Angkor’s builders made a “temple-mountain” like a pyramid with the shrine at the top.

Angkor Wat is a representation of Hindu cosmology. Its universe has a central continent surrounded by 6 concentric rings of land and 7 concentric oceans. At the center is Mount Meru and its five-peaked summit is the city of Brahma, the home of the gods. Eight guardian divinities protect the cardinal points, and the causeway and terraces are lined with stone nagus – a bridge between the worlds of man and of gods.

Until recently, Cambodia’s artistic legacy has been largely inaccessible to the West owing to decades of political turbulence and isolation. Now these monuments are under international and national protection. Let us discover the Angkor Marvels visiting them, or simply reading about them (to be continued in the next issue).

Some of the documentation/information was collected in cooperation with other international organizations or institutions for this series of articles for UN Special.