Q 01/05

Angkor Wat is in which country?

A) Cambodia

B) Thailand

C) Laos

D) Vietnam

Answer · why

A) Cambodia

It sits near the modern city of Siem Reap and is generally reckoned the largest religious complex in the world.

Q 02/05

Which Khmer king commissioned Angkor Wat?

A) Jayavarman VII

B) Yasovarman I

C) Suryavarman II

D) Indravarman III

Answer · why

C) Suryavarman II

Work stopped when he died around 1150, leaving some of the bas-relief decoration unfinished.

Q 03/05

Angkor Wat was originally dedicated to which Hindu god?

A) Indra

B) Vishnu

C) Brahma

D) Shiva

Answer · why

B) Vishnu

Its original name may have been Vrah Vishnuloka, 'the sacred dwelling of Vishnu'; the central statue was replaced by standing Buddhas centuries later.

Q 04/05

What does the name Angkor Wat mean in Khmer?

A) Great Lake Shrine

B) Mountain of the Gods

C) Palace of the Sun King

D) City of Temples

Answer · why

D) City of Temples

'Angkor' comes ultimately from Sanskrit nagara, 'city', and 'wat' from vata, 'enclosure'.

Q 05/05

Which direction does Angkor Wat face, unusually for a Khmer temple?

A) North

B) South

C) West

D) East

Answer · why

C) West

Scholars such as Coedès took the orientation as evidence that it was meant as Suryavarman II's funerary temple, since west is associated with death an...