PREAH VIHEAR: Koh Ker was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 17 and has been widely celebrated throughout the nation over the last week.

On September 26, The National Authority of Preah Vihear announced that Koh Ker Temple, will be temporarily closed from 7:00am to 12:00pm on September 29 while religious leaders hold a national prayer ceremony for the site. The National Authority asked all ministries, institutions, tour operators, and tourists to plan accordingly.

The Koh Ker Temple was inscribed as a World Heritage Site due to its valuable artistic merits and its role as a prototype for city design based on ancient Hindu texts. The complex covers an area of more than 8,700 hectares in Preah Vihear’s Kulen district. The structure is about 35 meters high, divided into seven tiered levels. The temple was built during the Angkorian period under the reign of Jayavarman IV in the 10th century and dedicated to a Hindu deity named Tribhuvanesvara, an iteration of Shiva. Within the entire temple complex are 127 temples and religious buildings, of which 56 temples have maintained their structure.