Cambodia: ancient temples and traditions

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Cambodia (Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea, Kingdom of Cambodia), is located in South-East Asia, washed to the south-west by the Gulf of Siam (South Chinese Sea), which is bordered to the east and south-east with Viet Nam, to the west with Thailand, to the north still with Thailand and Laos. Cradle of some of the most ancient and sophisticated civilizations of Southeast Asia, Cambodia is now a constitutional monarchy with the capital Phnom Penh.

THE GEOGRAPHY OF CAMBODIA

Formed almost entirely by a wide flat area, crossed from north to south from the Mekong river, which has almost at the centre of the country a great lake, the Tonle Sap, which in the dry season has an area of 2,600 sq km, while in the monsoon season can reach 10,400 sq. km.

To the north and east of the great plains, there are some plateaus, to the southwest are the Cardamom mountains, where is the highest mountain of Cambodia, Phnom Aural mountain, which reaches 1,813 meters. The coasts, flat and sandy, have an extension of nearly 450 km. The Mekong River, 4,500 km long is a very important waterway and one of the most important rivers of Asia.

THE ECONOMY OF CAMBODIA

The cultivated areas representing 21% of the country, they are along the Mekong and around the Tonle Sap, among the main products are rice, corn, cotton, sesame, bananas, oranges.

Forests cover 67% of Cambodian territory and are a rich source of timber and rubber. For the internal market of some importance is also covered by fishing in the basin of the Tonlé Sap lake.

Finally tourism is increasingly important resource the main attractions are the ruins of the capital of the Khmer Empire, Angkor Thom, and the temple of Angkor Vat, one of the most impressive and fascinating archaeological sites of the world.

Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs page.

• Area: 178,035 sqkm (181 035 sqkm considering inland water). (Arable 21%, Pastures 8%, Forests and Woodlands 67%, Uncultivated and Unproductive 4%)
• Population: 14,000,000 (2006 data) (Khmer 90%, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cham, Khmer Loeu, and Indians).
• State Capital: Phnom Penh.
• Languages: Khmer.
• Religion: Buddhism 95%, Muslim 3%, Christian 2%.
• Currency: Riel (KHR)
• Time: UTC +7 hours.

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