A Holy Monastery Hidden from the World
ByJanelle Nanos
June 24, 2009
Guarded by giant seven-headed serpent gods high on an obscure mountain, in backcountry disputed by Thailand and Cambodia, is an ancient sacred site that’s not on the regular tourist map.
Surrounded by landmines and bunkers from the Khmer Rouge era, and still caught up in today’s border disputes, Preah Vihear, or “Holy Monastery,” is a mysterious place few westerners have been able to visit.
Jon Ortner, photographer and author of the book “Angkor, Celestial Temples of the Khmer Empire,” shares his first encounters and impressions of the thousand-year-old sanctuary in this essay of words and photos
composed especially for NatGeo News Watch.
Read More: IT’s coverage of Angkor Wat; National Geographic Magazine’s cover feature this month, Divining Angkor.
Photo: Jon Ortner
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