Preah Vihear Temple:
Fighter jets, landmines, and diplomatic expulsions marked the sharpest escalation in tensions between Thailand and Cambodia in years over a dispute that stretches back over a century, and at the centre of it lies the 11th-century Preah Vihear Hindu temple.
- It is a Hindu temple located in the Preah Vihear Province, in the northern part of Cambodia.
- It is located atop a cliff on the Cambodia–Thailand border in the Dangrek Mountain range .
- It is dedicated to Lord Shiva.
- It was built primarily during the period of the Khmer Empire, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
- It was built firstly by King Suryavarman I (1002-50) and then expanded upon by Suryavarman II (1113-50).
- It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- It is an outstanding masterpiece of Khmer architecture.
- The temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an 800-metre-long axis.
- It features more than five successive gopuras.
- Unlike other structures of this kind, the gopuras here are connected by a long path and topped with multi-tiered platforms.
- Each gopura has a small staircase. Some of these gopuras have stone roofs, while others have wooden roofs, many of which are in ruins.
- Preah Vihear Temple is the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
- In 1962, the International Court of Justice ruled that it belonged to Cambodia.
- However, Thailand has maintained that the land surrounding the temple — especially a 4.6 sq.km. patch —remains unresolved.
- Tensions escalated again in 2008 after Cambodia succeeded in registering Preah Vihear as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Thai nationalists objected, and skirmishes broke out, culminating in a deadly exchange in 2011 that killed at least 15 people.
- The ICJ reaffirmed its ruling in 2013, this time declaring that the surrounding land was also Cambodian — a decision that still stings in Bangkok.
