Prasat Preah Vihear Khmer

Preah Vihear Temple or Prasat Preah Vihear (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ, 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. In 1962, following a significant dispute between Cambodia and Thailand 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. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Nomenclature

Preah Vihear has very a simple meaning, "God's Temple". Preah mean God, and Vihear mean temple. Some people try to make life harder than it is, by write a whole paragraph just about the name of the temple, (such as the one below) and still never get to the point. Maybe they needed to write a book.
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" (เขา) 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 (Thai: หมู่บ้านภูมิซร็อล ตำบลบึงมะลู อำเภอกันทรลักษ์ จังหวัดศรีสะเกษ) 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: ភូមស្វាយជ្រុំ ឃុំកន្ទួត ស្រុកជាំក្សាន្ត ខេត្តព្រះវិហារ) in Cambodia. The temple is 280 km from Angkor Wat and 296 km from Phnom Penh.

Ancient history

Construction of the first temple on the site began in the early 9th century; both then and in the following centuries it was dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva in his manifestations as the mountain gods Sikharesvara and Bhadresvara. The earliest surviving parts of the temple, however, date from the Koh Ker period in the early 10th century, when the empire's capital was at the city of that name. Today, elements of the Banteay Srei style of the late 10th century can be seen, but most of the temple was constructed during the reigns of the Khmer kings Suryavarman I (1002 -1050) and Suryavarman II (1113 -1150). An inscription found at the temple provides a detailed account of Suryavarman II studying sacred rituals, celebrating religious festivals and making gifts, including white parasols, golden bowls and elephants, to his spiritual advisor, the aged Brahman Divakarapandita. The Brahman himself took an interest in the temple, according to the inscription, donating to it a golden statue of a dancing Shiva...

Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site

On July 8, 2008, the World Heritage Committee decided to add Prasat Preah Vihear, along with 26 other sites, to the World Heritage Site list, despite several protests from Thailand.
As the process of Heritage-listing began, Cambodia announced its intention to apply for World Heritage inscription by UNESCO. Thailand protested that it should be a joint-effort and UNESCO deferred debate at its 2007 meeting.
Following this both Cambodia and Thailand were in full agreement that Preah Vihear Temple had "Outstanding Universal Value" and should be inscribed on the World Heritage List as soon as possible. The two nations agreed that Cambodia propose the site for formal inscription on the World Heritage List at the 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee in 2008 with the active support of Thailand. This led to a redrawing of the map of the area for proposed inscription, removing the 4.2sq kilometres of border territory awarded to Cambodia but still occupied by Thailand and leaving only the temple and its immediate environs.
Thailand's political opposition launched an attack on this revised plan (see New dispute over ownership) , claiming the inclusion of Preah Vihear could "consume" the overlapping area of the dispute lands. In response to the political pressure at home Thailand withdrew its formal support for the listing of Preah Vihear Temple as a World Heritage site.
Cambodia continued with the application for World Heritage status and, despite official Thai protests, on July 7, 2008 (July 8th in Cambodia) , Preah Vihear Temple was inscribed on the list of World Heritage sites.