Vice President Hamid Ansari visits famous Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia
Siem Reap: Vice President Hamid Ansari today visited Angkor Wat, the world’s largest Hindu temple complex, days after India allayed Cambodian concerns over reports of building of a replica of the world heritage site in Bihar.
Ansari, who is in Cambodia for a three-day trip, travelled to Siem Reap province from the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh to visit Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm temples and the Mekong-Ganga Textile museum.
Soon after his arrival here, Ansari visited the museum which was set up under the Mekong Ganga Cooperation initiative after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced a grant of USD 1 million for it.
After spending time at the museum, Ansari then visited the Angkor Wat temple which is visually, architecturally and artistically breathtaking. It is a massive three-tiered pyramid crowned by the five lotus-like flowers rising 65 metres from the ground level.
Cambodia had this year lodged a protest with India in June over a private trust’s plans to build an Angkor Wat replica in Bihar, saying it ‘seriously violates’ the 12th century Hindu temple and a world heritage property which holds exceptional and universal value.
