Angkor Wat is said to be one of the largest religious monuments ever built. The temple was created to resemble heaven on earth and honored the god Vishnu. Most of the structure represents mythological places of the Hindu religion. Suryavarman II wanted to create something that represented the fact that he was a god who walked among humans. By building this great temple, he would be sent directly to the heavens to be with the gods, especially the god Vishnu. Suryavarman II believed that by building this temple he would show his power as a king and reproduce the world of gods. In the center of the temple there are five towers. These towers were supposed to symbolize the five peaks of Mount Meru, where the gods were said to live. They call this part of the temple "the temple mountain". “The mountain temple of Angkor reminds us that the same concern for architectural beauty and the same concern for producing a building that reflected the cosmology of their religion was shown by the builders of Angkor.” (McGee). The temple mountain was a place of worship and may have been the final resting place of Suryavarman II's ashes. The Angkor Wat temple faces west, which in the Hindu religion is associated with the god Vishnu and death. Researchers believe that this was the symbol of the gateway to the afterlife for Suryavarman II. Suryavarman II wanted the temple to be completed before his death so that he too could join the gods in heaven. The temple is located on a huge land of 500 acres and is surrounded by a huge moat. The moat also symbolizes the vast oceans of the universe. Researchers are still puzzled as to how they built this temple in 32 years. "Angkor Wat, like many Hindus and...... middle of paper ......efs on the walls, I believe Suryavarman II achieved what Furthermore, he created one of the most beautiful and mysterious temples on the planet. His enormous dimensions are larger than most European cathedrals and was built in less time than Suryavarman II actually built something symbolic of heaven on earth. Works Cited McGee, Terry Pacific Affairs 75.1 (2002): page n. Freeman, Margery H. "Moat, guardian lion statue, and causeway in the temple buildings at Angkor Wat." University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, nd Web. 6 April 2014. Stencel, Robert, Fred Gifford and Eleanor Moron. "Astronomy and Cosmology at Angkor Wat." American Association for the Advancement of Science -287. Print Thomas, Edwin. "Famous Sculptures at Angkor Wat". 2014.