Page 42 - HISTORY ANGKOR

FIRST GLIMPSES
In one of the first images taken of
the Cambodian site, a Buddhist
This city is on the banks of the River monk was photographed in 1866
beneath one of the faces that adorn
Meccon, 170 leagues from the sea; the
the Bayon temple at Angkor Thom.
floodwaters and tides of the river lap the
MNAAG/RMN-GRAND PALAIS
city as those of the Guadalquivir do Se-
ville. It is marvelously constructed . . .

the houses are made of stone and are
very beautiful, arranged in a very orderly
way along streets, and the craftsman-
ship of their facades and patios, halls
and chambers seems Roman.

Lure of Angkor
Over the next few centuries, Angkor exerted
a magnetic pull on travelers from abroad, as

Cambodia received numerous merchants from
Southeast Asia, especially Muslim Malays, and
Japanese Buddhists. Some even left graffiti on
the walls of Angkor Wat (there are 14 examples
dated between 1612 and 1632). The first known
map of Angkor, an annotated colored plan, was

created by one of these Japanese visitors.
The Spanish and Portuguese presence di-
minished, and the Dutch established a post of
the Dutch East India Company in Cambodia.
Whether representatives visited Angkor itself
is unknown, but the discovery of a Dutch ship
painted on the walls of the main entrance to the
Angkor temple attests to the impact on local life.
The European fascination with Angkor

reached a fever pitch in the 19th century. In late
1859 the French explorer and naturalist Henri
Mouhot visited Angkor under the patronage

L
SIX MEMBERS OF THE
MEKONG EXPEDITION
(1866-1868). GUIMET
MUSEUM, PARIS
MNAAG/RMN-GRAND PALAIS

GRAFFITI. A 17TH-CENTURY DRAWING OF A DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY SHIP
WAS FOUND ON THE WALL OF THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO ANGKOR WAT
V. WALKER