Cambodia

Flag Of Cambodia

          Cambodia is a country that is located in Southeast Asia mainland. It is sometimes called Kampuchea. Officially, Cambodia is known as the Kingdom of Cambodia and was once known as the Khmer Empire.



LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY

Cambodia (green) on Southeast Asia map

          Cambodia covers an area 181,035 square kilometers (69,898 sq mi). 97.5 % is land and 2.5 % is water. It lies between latitudes 10° and 15°N and longitudes 102° and 108°E. Cambodia borders with Laos to the north, Thailand to the north and west, and Vietnam to the east. Cambodia has 443 kilometers (275 mi) of coastline along the Gulf of Thailand to its south. With an elevation of 1,813 meters, Phnom Aural is the highest peak in Cambodia. The Mekong River, the longest river, flows south through the eastern part of the country. 
          
          As a tropical country, Cambodia is warm to hot all year round with high average temperature. There are two different seasons, the monsoon and the dry. The monsoon is normally from May to October and the dry season runs from November to April with average temperatures from 27 to 40 degrees Celsius. The coolest and most comfortable months are from October to January.

Topography of Cambodia

HISTORY


          During most of its history, Cambodia has been a monarchy. Around A.D. 100, people in the southern part of what is now Cambodia established the kingdom of Funan. This kingdom became one of the greatest early powers in Southeast Asia. Funan gradually lost its power, and by the A.D. 600s, a new kingdom, Chenla arose in the north of Funan. The Chenla kingdom lasted until the A.D. 700s.

          From the A.D. 800s until the 1400s, the Khmer was a powerful empire in Southeast Asia. The capital was Angkor. The Khmer built hundreds of beautiful stone temples in Angkor and other areas. They also built irrigation channels, hospitals, and roads. During the 1100's, the Khmer empire reached its peak when it took over much of the land that is now Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. Problems within the royal family, changing trade routes, and wars with the Thai weakened the Khmer empire. 

          In 1431, Thai forces captured Angkor and the Khmer left the city. However, an independent Khmer kingdom, with its capital near what is now Phnom Penh, survived for another 400 years. In the 1800s, France took control of Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos. This region was known as French Indochina. The capital was Saigon from 1887 to 1902, and Hanoi from 1902 until 1954. Japanese and Thai forces occupied Cambodia from 1941 to 1945, during World War II. 

          Cambodia received their independence after the French recognized it in 1953. In 1955, King Norodom Sihanouk gave up the throne in order to take a more active role in politics. He took the title of Prince, and became prime minister in 1955 and head of state in 1960.



RELIGION

Sliver Pagoda, Cambodia

          Theravada Buddhism is the main religion in Cambodia, which is practice by around 95 percent of the population. Buddhism has existed in Cambodia since at least the 5th century. Since the 13th century, Theravada Buddhism has been the Cambodian state religion. There are about 4392 Theravada Buddhist pagodas throughout the country. About 2.2 percent of the Cambodian population is Muslim. Most of these Muslims are the Cham, an ethnic group that typically lives in towns and rural fishing villages on the banks of Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong River. Most of the Malay minorities in Cambodia are also Muslims.

          Two percent of the Cambodian population is Christian. There are about 100 Christian organizations that operate freely throughout the country. There are 1,292 churches, 1,224 of them are Protestant and 68 are Catholic. However, only about 1,000 of these churches are officially registered. Other religions with small followings include 10,000 members of the Baha'i Faith and 3,000 ethnic Vietnamese Cao Dai.




LANGUAGE

Khmer language on the signboard

          Khmer is the language for Khmer people and the official language of Cambodia. It is used in government administration, education at all levels, and the media. Khmer consists 33 consonants, 23 dependent vowels and 12 independent vowels. French was once the language of the government in Indochina. It is still spoken by many older Cambodians. Many people from the Khmer-Chinese population speak Mandarin.  Today, English is commonly used in hotels and businesses.


CUISINE

Cambodian cuisine

          Cambodian cuisine includes noodles, soups, grills, curries, salads, desserts, vegetables, tropical fruits, and rice, which is a staple food for Cambodians. The recipes are normally passed from mother to daughter. Noodle dishes are the most popular and every dish includes a bowl of rice. Normally, the rice is served with at least three other dishes. Each of the individual dishes will be either sweet, sour, salty or bitter. Chilis are usually left up to the individual to add. There are many different rice varieties in Cambodia, such as Jasmine, Neang Khon, and Neang Minh among others. 

          French has also affected the Cambodian cuisine. It includes the Cambodian red curry with toasted baguette bread. The toasted baguette breads are dipped in the curry and eaten. Cambodian red curry is also eaten with rice and rice vermicelli noodles.


MUSIC


          Cambodian music is influenced by both ancient forms and Hindu forms. Religious dances that normally describe stories and ancient myths are common. Some dances are accompanied by a pinpeat orchestra, which includes a roneat (bamboo xylophone), pai au (flute), gong (bronze gong), ching (cymbal), and various kinds of drums. There are two categories in Cambodian pop music: ramkbach and ramvong. Ramkbach is closely related to Thai folk music and ramvong is slow dance music.

          In Siem Reap province, a form of music called Kantrum has become popular. It is a fast traditional dance music. Modern Cambodian pop music is often presented in karaoke vcd. Usually, an actor or an actress or both mimic the lyrics to the song by moving their mouths like they are actually singing the song.



GOVERNMENT

Cambodia National Assembly

          Cambodia is a constitutional monarchy. The king, who is selected by the Royal Council of the Throne from the members of the royal family, is head of state. The king, however, only has ceremonial powers. The government is headed by the prime minister, who is selected by the head of the National Assembly and appointed by the king. Cambodia's legislature consist of a 123-seat National Assembly and a 61-seat senate. The members of the National Assembly are chosen by voters. Local counselors, National Assembly members, and the king choose the members of the senate. All of the members will serve only one five-year term.



ARCHITECTURE

Cambodia traditional house

          The house of the local people in ancient Khmer was more or less similar to those found today in villages of modern Cambodia. It is elevated about two and a half meters above the ground. The house is make by wooden piles which supported the walls, floor, and roof and will have the wooden ladder. Another type of house which is the wall make up of bamboo or the straw with the roof covered with the thatched leaves of dry coconut palms.

          The architecture of the dignitaries' houses and the palaces are different from the other house. They used the good materials to build the house that is consist of stronger wooden planks, generally made up of teak wood. The roof covered with tiles for the inner rooms. These are the differences where normal people cannot even put up a single tile on their roof.


INTERESTING FACTS


          The Cambodian flag is the only flag in the world that has an image building on it. Tonle Sap in Cambodia is the largest inland lake in Southeast Asia. Soccer, introduced by French, is one of the most popular sports in Cambodia but the other sport such as baseball, golf, volleyball, and field hockey are also popular.


SOURCES

*http://www.cambodia-travel.com/information/geography.htm
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Cambodia
*http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2010/148861.htm
*http://www.tourismcambodia.org/contents/about_cambodia/index.php
*http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/cambodia-government.html
*http://ringroundtheworld.org/content/cambodia-music
*Software MacKiev's World Book  2012 Edition