Monastery of the King (Ta Prohm in Khmer) was dedicated to the Queen Mother of King Jayavarman VII. The temple is considered one of the most revered structures of Angkor Wat.
The temple, a setting of Hollywood’s box office movie Tomb Raider, is still clutched by the living jungle making it one of the most spectacular sites in Cambodia for photography aficionados and archeology enthusiasts.
During its heyday Ta Phrom was surrounded compounds, housing some 12,500 high priests and artists, also 80,000 commoners serving the needs of the temple dwellers. However after the fall of the great Khmer Kingdom in the 15th century, the site is completely abandoned and left at the mercy of the surrounding jungle.
