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សៀមរាប
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10,299
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696,164
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1998
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681
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KH-17
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, is a province located in northwestern
Cambodia , on the shores of the
Tonle Sap lake. The provincial capital is also called Siem Reap. The name literally means ''place of the defeat of Siam'' referring to the victory of the
Khmer Empire over the army of the Thai kingdom of
Ayutthaya in the
17th Century . Today it is most widely known for being the closest city to the ruins of the temples of
Angkor .
Located in northwest Cambodia, Siem Reap is the major tourist hub in Cambodia, as it is the closest city to the temples of Angkor. The most recognizable of the temples,
Angkor Wat , literally ''Capital Temple'', built by King
Suryavarman II the early
12th Century provides the largest tourist draw. Recently the city has seen a great deal of expansion, hundreds of hotels, restaurants and shops, catering to both international and Cambodian tourists have opened to serve the influx of visitors. Also, King
Norodom Sihamoni and the Cambodian royal family maintain a residence in the town. The Angkor temple complex is north of the city.
Other sites of interest near Siem Reap include
Angkor Thom built by
Jayavarman VII ,
Banteay Srei ,
Ta Prohm , as well as hundreds of other temple ruins. Angkor, and the surrounding area that would later become known as Siem Reap, faced repeated invasions from the Thais, and ceased to be the capital after a seven-month siege in 1431. The capital was moved to
Phnom Penh in 1432, and then to
Lovek and
Oudong , before moving back to Phnom Penh in 1866. The temple ruins were visited by Western explorers and missionaries before the 19th century, but
Henri Mouhot is generally seen as having "discovered"
Angkor Wat in 1860.
Siem Reap has colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old French Quarter, and around the Old Market.
In the town, there are
Apsara dance performances, craft shops, silk farms, rice-paddy countryside, fishing villages and a bird sanctuary near the Tonle Sap Lake.
Siem Reap today, being mostly a tourist destination, has a great deal of hotels and restaurants. Mostly smaller establisments are concentrated around the Old Market area, while more expensive hotels are located between
Angkor International Airport and the town along National Road 6. There are a variety of mid-range hotels and restaurants along Sivatha, and budget to mid-range hotels in the Phsar Leu area.
The province is subdivided into 12 districts.
- 1701 Angkor Chum អង្គរជុំ
- 1702 Angkor Thumអង្គរធំ
- 1703 Banteay sreiបន្ទាយស្រី
- 1704 Chi Kraengជីក្រែង
- 1706 Kralanhក្រលាញ់
- 1707 Puok
- 1709 Prasat Bakong
- 1710 Siem Reabសៀមរាប
- 1711 Soutr Nikomសូត្រនិគម
- 1712 Srei Snam
- 1713 Svay Leuស្វាយលើ
- 1714 Varinវារីន
