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Matthew Patay's
Note of the Month
June 2005
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Map and flag images provided by Graphic Maps
This month's featured note
is from the country of the Cambodia.
The denomination is 50 Riels and the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money
(SCWPM) Number is P-52.
The note is dated 2002.
(front)
The banknote is dark brown and tan on multi-colored underprint.
Preah Vihear temple is at right.
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The following information
was obtained from:
IndoChinaTour.com
Preah Vihear Temple
(circa - 889)
THE SOUL OF KHMER
The Preah Vihear Temple is located slightly east of the Dangrek Mountains. It is perched on the edge of a giant cliff, about 625 meters above sea level in northern part of Preah Vihear Province, Kingdom of Cambodia, close to the Thailand border.
History
In the IXth century, Khmer King Yasovarman I, (889-900) began work on the
original Preah Vihear Temple. It was then a small sanctuary dedicated to Shiva
as Sikharesv ara,"Lord of Summit." Spiritual development, increased political
power and economic growth, which were factors that inspired the Khmer Kings,
were reflected in the architectural style of the temple.
It took more than 300 years of construction under subsequent Kings Suryavarman I (1002-1050), Jayavarman VI (1080-1107), and Suryavarmanll (1113-1150) to complete the various structures that merged into a homogeneous recreation of the Hindu Universe as a magical home of the gods.
This naturally changed the original small sanctuary into one of the greatest Khmer temples of all times. This ranking was achieved as a result of the finest in situcarvings that depicted the highest standards of unique Khmer architecture. It can be reached by road from Thailand.
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(back)
A dam is located at center left.
The following information was obtained from:
The Kingdom of Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia with a population of over 13 million people. Most Cambodians are Therevada Buddhists of Khmer extraction. A citizen of Cambodia is usually identified as Cambodian, or more often, Khmer.
Cambodia is the successor state of the mighty Khmer Empire, which ruled most of the Indochinese Peninsula between the 11th and 14th centuries.
The country shares a border with Thailand to its west, with Laos to its north, with Vietnam to its east, and with the Gulf of Thailand to its south. The geography of Cambodia is dominated by the Mekong river (colloquial Khmer: Tonle Thom, i.e. "the great river") and the Tonle Sap (i.e. "the fresh water river"), an important source of fish.
The country has three main political parties, of which the Cambodian People's Party is the ruling party. From 2005 on, a coalition that took one year to negotiate between the Cambodian People's Party and the royalists' FUNCINPEC is in charge.
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For more information about Cambodia visit:
The Kingdom of Cambodia Website
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