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Preah
Vihear
Temple
(Khmer
regular
script:
,
Prasat
Preah
Vihear)
is a
Khmer
(Cambodian)
temple
situated
atop
a
525-meter
cliff
in
the
Dângrêk
Mountains
in
the
Preah
Vihear
Province
of
Cambodia
and
on
the
border
of
Sisaket
Province
in
northeastern
Thailand.
In
1962,
following
a
serious
dispute
between
Thailand
and
Cambodia
over
ownership
of
the
temple,
the
International
Court
of
Justice
in
the
Hague
ruled
that
it
belonged
to
Cambodia.
The
adjacent
land
to
the
north
is
under
Thailand's
control,
in
contravention
of
the
ICJ's
ruling.
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Affording
a
view
for
many
kilometers
across
a
plain,
Prasat
Preah
Vihear
has
the
most
spectacular
setting
of
all
the
temples
built
during
the
six-century-long
Khmer
Empire.
As a
key
edifice
of
the
empire's
spiritual
life,
it
was
supported
and
modified
by
successive
kings
and
so
bears
elements
of
several
architectural
styles.
Preah
Vihear
is
unusual
among
Khmer
temples
in
being
constructed
along
a
long
north-south
axis,
rather
than
having
the
conventional
rectangular
plan
with
orientation
toward
the
east.
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The
temple
gives
its
name
to
Cambodia's
Preah
Vihear
province,
in
which
it
is
located,
as
well
as
the
Khao
Phra
Wihan
National
Park
in
Sisaket
Province,
Thailand,
through
which
the
temple
is
most
easily
accessible.
On
July
7,
2008,
Preah
Vihear
was
listed
as a
UNESCO
World
Heritage
Site. |
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