Angkor Wat (or Angkor Vat) a World Heritage Site, is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation— first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist.

Cambodia (1973) 100 Riel (back) - Angkor Wat - World Heritage Site

The temple is the epitome of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the gods in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 km (2.2 miles) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs and for the numerous devatas
(guardian spirits) adorning its walls.
The modern name, Angkor Wat, in use by the 16th century,means "City Temple". Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (capital), while 'wat' is the Khmer word for temple. Read the whole article in Wikipedia's link below.

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