Leather Back Turtle - Koh Phra Thong

Taken on: 6th April, 2010. Copyright: All Rights Reserved - See goldenbuddharesort's page of Flickr

Read more about Surin

When famous French archeologist/explorer Etienne Aymonier visited Surin Town at the end of the 19th century he found a collection of bamboo huts on a sandy knoll surrounded by orchards and gardens. He also found the layout of what had clearly been an important city in the Angkor Empire, with 2 large enclosure palisades and a wide moat, surrounding a square citadel with 4 entrance gates.

Indeed the local name for Surin at that time was 'Banteay Srok' -- 'Citadel of the Region' or 'Regional Fortress' in Khmer and a, rather melodramatic, local saying was, 'if Surin shall fall then so shall Khorat', so it was, if not a major urban site, as the lack of temple ruins would seem to indicate, then at least an important Angkor military settlement.

With the decline of the Khmer empire some cities such as Angkor Thom, Banteay Chmar, Beng Melea etc were completely abandoned, whilst the more robust regional centres ... Read our complete Surin travel guide

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