New temple in Thailand sparks controversy for resembling Angkor Wat.

The Sihanakhon temple complex under construction in Thailand's Buri Ram province has sparked controversy, with many suggesting it appears to be designed to emulate the famous Angkor Wat complex – the world's largest religious monument.

Khattiya Chaimanee, a cultural official in Buriram province, said the temple was built in the style of ancient Khmer architecture, most notably the design of the Naga Bridge – a bridge shaped like the Naga serpent, a symbol of the connection between the earthly realm and nirvana. Such architectural styles can be found throughout the South Isan region of northeastern Thailand.

He noted that the two temples are not exactly the same. “At Sihanakhon Temple, the towers are arranged in a horizontal line from largest to smallest. This is completely different from the architecture of Angkor Wat,” he said.

However, Mr. Chaimanee also said that the abbot who conceived the idea for building the temple had dreamed in a previous life that he was one of the people involved in building Angkor Wat in the 12th century. "Therefore, when he became a monk, he wanted to continue building religious symbols like that," Mr. Chaimanee said.

Last month, a group of officials from the Cambodian Embassy in Thailand visited the temple complex after the hashtags #SaveAngkorWat and #Angkorwatbelongtokhmer flooded social media in both countries. The Cambodian Ministry of Culture subsequently announced that the Sihanakhon Temple did not copy the design of Angkor Wat or any other temple in Cambodia.

However, Cambodian officials also said they would conduct further investigations. On August 15, Hab Touch, Director of the Ministry of Culture, told the Khmer Times that experts would travel to Thailand to inspect the construction again. The exact timing has not been set due to Covid-19-related travel restrictions.

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