Capital City of Phonm Penh


CAPITAL CITY OF PHNOM PENH
* Royal Palace

Royal Palace was built in 1866 by His Majesty Preah Bat Norodom, the Royal Palace is now home to his Majesty Preah Bat Norodom Shihanouk and Her majesty Preah Reach Akka-Mohesey Norodom. Most of the buildings inside the palace are closed to the public, except for special occasions. Also within the palace walls is the Silver Pagoda, which draws its name from the 5,000 silver tiles that pave its floor. Inside the pagoda there are hundreds of gifts to Cambodian king, including a solid-gold Buddha encrusted with 9,584 diamonds weighing 90 kilograms. For those who love shopping, there are several markets that offer handicraft, silk, silver ware, wood carving, precious stones from the country's famous mines, as well as antique furniture and paintings by local artists. Cambodia’s Royal Palace located along Sothearos Boulevard. These are the points of interest inside the palace include:
- Prasat Tevea Vinichhay, the Throne Hall. It is the hall where kings and Queens are crowded.
- Prsat Khemarin: The hall where the monarch live.
- Prasat Samran Phirum: The hall where the monarchs ride the Royal Elephant.
- Hor Baku or Hor Preah Khan: The hall where the throne objects and accessories are kept.
- Chan Chhaya: The hall where Royal Dance performers train. In front of the Chan Chhaya,
there is a platform where the King can hold audiences with his subjects and all levels of
officials.
* Wat Preah Keo Morakot ( The Silver Pagoda )

Wat Preah Keo Morakot is located in the southern portion of the Royal Palace complex. The pagoda was formerly known as Wat Uborsoth Rotannaram because it is where the king worshiped, prayed and practiced every Buddhist Silas Day. In addition, the royal family and official help Buddhist ceremonies there.
The pagoda has no monks; however, his Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk lived there for one year when he entered the monkhood on july 31, 1947, because the pagoda has no monks, visitors usually refer to it as Preah Vihear Keo Morakot. When the king celebrates Buddhist ceremonies, monks from other pagodas such as Wat Unaloam and Wat Botuvattey are invited to attend the ceremonies.
Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot was built between 1892 and 1902, during the reign of king Norodom, but at the time it was constructed of wood and brick. Its design is based on Cambodian’s architectural style. The Banhchos Khan Seima ceremony1 was help on Feb 5, 1903.
The temple was later damaged, and queen Kosamak Nearyrath asked that it be repaired. Under the direction of her son Samdach Preah Norodom Sihanouk who at the time was the head of state, the old temple was dismantled and reconstructed in 1962 on the same site with reinforced concrete. The floor was laid with silver tiles, and the columns were covered with glass stone imported from Italy. The architecture, however, remained the same.
This temple is called Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot because the main Buddha statue is made of priceless emerald, which Cambodians call Keo Morakot. Westerners, however, prefer to call the temple Silver Pagoda because of the 5,329 genuine silver tiles that cover the floor.
There are 1,650 art objects housed in the temple. Most of them are Buddha figures. They are made of gold, silver, bronze and other valuable materials. Some are decorated with diamonds. They are gifts from the king, the royal family, dignitaries and other people who worship at Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot, where they pray for peace and prosperity, for happiness and for the preservation of Cambodian cultural heritage for the next generation.
In front of the throne, sites of Buddha statue made of gold, weighing 90 kilograms ( about 200 pounds ) and decorated with 2,086 diamonds. The biggest diamond is on the crown. It is 25 millimeters. The statue was commissioned in 1904 by King Sisowath, following the suggestion of king Norodom said, his body was cremated the gold casket should be melted to make a Buddha statue representing Preah Srei Araymetrey. This Buddha statue is named Preah Chin Raingsei Rachik Norodom.
Objects of particular interest in Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot include:
- The Preah Keo Morakot, the Emerald Buddha, which sites atop a throne in the center of the temple.
- There is a small glass cabinet that contains what Buddhist believe are ashes of Buddha. The ashes were brought from Sri Lanka in 1956 by Samdech Head Monk Lvea Em, who stayed in Wat Langka in Phnom Penh.
- In a nearby cabinet sites a gold Buddha figure of fered by Queen Kosamak Nearyrath, mother of King Norodom Sihanouk, in 1969. The figure of Buddha is protected by naga. It presents when the Buddha protected by at the Muchalonti Pond.
- Objects in other for royal and Buddhist ceremonies.
The temple is surrounded by a lofty gallery. On the wall of the gallery, there are traditional paintings of the entire Ream Ke epic. These paintings were done by 40 Cambodian artists between 1903 and 1904 under the direction of Oknha Tep Nimit. The Ream ke painting is 642 meters long and 3 meters high. It starts from the south of the eastern gallery and winds its way around the gallery. This means that visitors must walk in a circle to see the entire story.
The ancient epic Ream Ke along the gallery shows a unique scene not copied completely from Indian Ramayana because some plots of Cambodian Ream Ke are so mysterious, visitors must look at the painting carefully. Visitors who are familiar with Indian Ramayana will understand the Cambodia Ream Ke easily, even though the two versions are different. Some themes are also depicted by La Khon Khaol or depicted in Sbek Thom and other sculpted figures. Astrologers also use the story to tell the fortunes.
Weather, structural damage and destruction by visitors over the years have cause the paintings to deteriorate. In 1985, the Cambodian government was cooperating with the government of Poland to restore, protect and maintain the paintings. The venture lasted only five years, however, because the budget was terminated. Today the Cambodian government is searching for ways to conserve, restore and maintain this cultural heritage.
In front of Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot, are two stupas and a statue under the roof. The south stupa holds the cremains of King Ang Duong, the great-great grandfather of King Sihanouk. The north stupas holds the cremains of King Norodom, the great grandfather, the great grandfather of King Sihanouk. Both stupas were dedicated on March 13, 1908.
The statue of King Norodom riding a horse was erected in 1875. It was the keepsake of the French King Napoleon III. It was kept in front of Preah Vihear Preah Keo Morakot in 1892, but at the time there was no roof. During King Sihanouk’s crusade to win independence from France, he prayed in front of the statue. After Cambodia won its dependence on Nov, 11, 1953, King Sihanouk had the roof built in honor of King Norodom.
* National Museum

The National Museum of Phnom Penh is instantly recognizable, with its warn red terracotta and its gracefully curved roof topped by dozens of guardian nagas. Located just north of Royal Palace, off the street of Artists ( 178 street ), it was designed in 1917 by famed French architect George Groslier and the Ecole des Arts Cambodgiens, who made the most of traditional Khmer style. It was inaugurated by King Sisowath in 1920.
Worth visiting for its beauty alone, the National Museum also houses the world’s foremost collection of ancient Khmer archaeological, religious ad artistic artifacts. The Angkor era is the museum’s specialty, but it also features other important periods such as the Funan and Zhenla, the two empires most closely seen as precursors to Angkor. More than 5,000 objects dating from the 4th to the 13th centuries are on display, and these are only the tip of the iceberg. Lack of funding and special restraints have meant the museum’s vaults remain full of thousands more objects, many of them priceless.
The museum is open daily from 8 am to 11:30 am and from 2:30 pm to 5 pm. French and English spoken guides are available, or visitors can purchase one the of books or pamphlets available and wander the four courtyard, each facing out into a garden, and try to piece together the complex history through these magnificent works ancient art them selves.
Among the most memorable of these is an eight-armed-statue of Vishnu dating from the 6th century, but even the smaller, less imposing pieces gives a unique insight in to the skill of the craftspeople that had inhabitant this area through the centuries.
* Wat Phnom

Located a short distance from the Royal Palace, the heart of the capital Wat Phnom is popular with Cambodians and tourist alike. It is the center of Phnom Penh that gives the city its name. At 27 meters above sea level, it is the highest point in the area, and, as a town gradually grew up around it, the settlement became known as Phnom Penh, the hill of Penh. It is zero point of the city.
Legend has it that a wealthy named Yeay, grandmother, Penh was walking by the Mekong River one day when she spied a koki tree log floating near the bank. She found some locals to help her pull it to shore, and inside she found four statues of the Buddha. In AD 1372, she built a hill, or Phnom, and placed a shrine on top to house the precious artifacts. In AD 1434, King Ponhea Yat came and constructed a city and gave the name Phnom Penh.
Today, the original shrine has been rebuilt many times in AD 1434, 1806, 1894 and 1926 and each incarnation has seemed more beautiful than the one before.
On the hill there is a large stupa that holds the ceremains of King Ponhea Yat and his Royal family. Inside the stupa, there is a Buddha statue from the Angkorean era, from the 9th to 13th centuries. At the base of the hill, on the southern side, a huge clock, illuminated at night, has become one of Phnom Penh’s nighttime landmarks. To the north, at the traffice roundabout, a cluster of European restaurants line the beginning of French Street, purveying fine with French and Italian cuisines. The clime up the hill via the grand eastern staircase takes visitors on a path guarded by stone nagas and lions and through tree-lined lushness to the temple, which glitters with golden decorations and is always piled high with offerings. On weekends especially, locals flock here to pray for good luck and prosperity, returning when their wish is granted to bring offering of thanks such as or fragrant to bring offering of thanks such as bananas or fragrant rings of orange blossoms.
Lots of hawkers sell offerings for the gods of the hill. People with wire cages filled with small birds offer tourists and locals alike the cages to pay a small sum to set a pair of their chargers free, and thus earn merit from the gods. Children selling lotus flowers and incense may follow visitors up the hill asking their name and where their come from.
During the Khmer New Year, Wat Phnom becomes the center of festivities. No one visiting at that vibrant time of year can escape the good-natured throwing of powder and water, all of it accompanied by shrikes of laughter, that mark new year’s celebration.
* Central Market ( Psar Thom Thmei )

The distinctive art-deco styling of the Central Market makes it stand out among the architecture of Phnom Penh. The Central Market was built in 1973. Nowadays, most visitors to Phnom Penh tour this market, where they can shop for souvenirs. Clothes, jewelry, silver product. house wares, postcards, flowers, and electronic.
* Russian Market ( Psar Tuol Tom Poung )

So- named because of the prevalence of items from the Eastern loc in past times, the Russian Market today is a treasure trove for tourists. Particular item worth seeking out include CDs, fabrics, jewelry, carved handicrafts and ceramics. There are also a large number of clothing outlets and on site tailors and seamstresses and make alternation quickly. The food and drinks stalls are a good place to take a refreshment break between the bargaining.
* Tuol Sleng Genocidal Museum

Tuol Sleng Genocidal Museum is the former Tuol Sleng High School. In 1975, during the Khmer Rouge regime, the school was used as a prison and torture center, known at the time as S-21. Thousands of Cambodians and a number of foreigners were housed and tortured there until they were executed. Today the site is a museum, where visitors can walk among some of the cells and look at the photo hundreds of people who died there. There are also paintings, painted by artist Vann Vath, a former prisoner that depict the torture of prisoner.
* Cheung Ek Genocidal site

In addition to Tuol Sleng, there is another place where Khmer Rouge killed people. That place is in Wat Cheung Ek, in Cheung Ek commune, Khan Donkaor, about 15 kilometers from the center of Phnom Penh. Visitors to the killing fields of Cheung Ek can walk among 86 mass graves where hundreds of men, women and children were buried. Nearby is a massive stupa that holds and bones unearthed at the site, as well as pieces of clothing. According to statistics, 8985 corpses were unearth from the mass graves in Cheung Ek area.
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