The temple complexes of Ankor were originally built to house the capital of the Kmer Empire and honor their Hindu god Vishnu from the 9th to the 15th centuries CE. The temples were converted to honor Buddha along the way, and still serve that purpose, today.
Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.
― Mark Twain
People are central to these temples, now. Tourists provide much needed funding to the government of Cambodia and to the maintenance of the temples. But the temples are still living sites. People travel from all across SE Asia to pray and to ask for their special healing powers.
The future of Ankor is difficult to know. The region all around is constantly at war. Drugs and governmental corruption mean that stabilization is not likely, soon. The temple complexes themselves are relatively safe. Chinese investment into temple tourism poses a hope for a steady economic zone, improving the chances for their survival and the local population’s stabilization. Time will tell.