Preah Vihear

The province is named after the temple of Prasat Preah Vihear. The Dângrêk Mountains and the Cambodia/Thailand border are located in the north of Preah Vihear Province.Preah Vihear is one of the nine provinces that is part of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve.
Several Western governments have issued travel warnings to their citizens advising not to travel to this province due to an ongoing border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand.
The Government of Canada has advised "Armed forces
from both countries are engaged in this ongoing dispute. There have been reports of exchanges of gunfire in the area. Tensions are extremely high and military hostilities could escalate without warning."The Preah Vihear Temple or Prasat Preah Vihear (Khmer: ប្រាសាទព្រះវិហារ, Prasat Preah Vihear) is a Khmer temple situated atop a 525-metre (1,722 ft) cliff in the Dângrêk Mountains, in the Preah Vihear province of northern Cambodia
and near the border of the Kantharalak district (amphoe) in the Sisaket province of eastern Thailand. In 1962, following a significant dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over ownership of the temple, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague awarded the ownership 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-centuries-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 now located, as well as the Khao Phra Wihan National Park which borders it in Thailand's Sisaket province, through which the temple is most easily accessible. On July 7, 2008, Preah Vihear was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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 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, gifting it with a golden statue of a dancing Shiva.

Banteay Chhmar 180 k m Out side siem reap temple

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