Where is Cambodia?

This blog has a number of different audiences in mind.  My family, friends, colleagues, and World History students may be looking at this blog with different interests and background knowledge. Other people who I don't know so well may find this blog through web searches or other means.

To help with those who have a limited background, I am putting up some information on Cambodian geography.

Cambodia is a small country that sits between Thailand and Vietnam in Southeast Asia.

 

The peak of ancient Cambodian culture occurred during the Khmer Empire from the 800s to the 1300s.  During this time the area around Angkor Wat may have been the largest urban center in the world.  The Hindu and Buddhist temple complexes built by the Khmer kings are the legacies left behind and are a major draw for tourists around the world. 

 

This map is  from the Lonely Planet guidebook.

I am staying in the city of Siem Reap, which is a tourist boom town complete with its own international airport.  Siem Reap is the gateway to the temples of the ancient Khmer Empire.  Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia and its major city.  Most of Cambodia is tropical forest.  The majority of the population is centered around the rivers and lakes--not on the coast.  Consequently the historic flooding of this August has really been a set back for the country.

Cambodia has an awkward relationship with its neighbors.  Both Thailand and Vietnam are much larger.  Communist Vietnam invaded Cambodia during the 1970s, which was one of the worst decades that I can think of for any country at any time.  Thailand considers some of the great archeological sites of Cambodia to be their own.  This year a border conflict involved the armies of both sides.  Read a CNN report on the tensions between Cambodia and Thailand. 

Even the name of the city where I am stay carries the legacy of conflict.  Roughly translated from Khmer (the Cambodian language), Siem Reap means, "the place where people from Thailand were killed."