Cambodia Protects Tourist Sites
March 10, 2010 by Gennaro
Filed under Travel News
The Cambodian Cabinet voted to preserve 14 tourist sites that are connected to the Khmer Rouge regime. Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, was a totalitarian organization that ruled Cambodia from 1975-1979. The 14 sites that are being protected from illegal encroachment by locals will provide travelers with an opportunity to learn about the 1.5 million Cambodians who were murdered and tortured during that period. The targets of the regime were often city-dwellers who were educated or considered to be part of the intellectual elite.
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Cambodia © Gennaro Salamone
Although beautiful Angkor Wat (see photos) is rightfully the most popular tourist destination for travelers headed to Cambodia, sites connected to the Khmer Rouge genocide are also important to visit. While The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum are already developed for tourism, newly developed stops in towns such as Anlong Veng (final resting place of Pol Pot) are welcomed additions.
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I’ve been to the killing fields and it’s a sobering experience. The museum too. Much of it, like your photo, remains as it was over 30 years ago. The skulls and bones of the victims are particularly difficult to view, but it was definitely worth seeing and learning about. Glad that more of the will be preserved for the future.
I’m planning a trip through Southeast Asia for this summer. Will definitely consider some of these sites. Angkor Wat has always been on my list. As a history lover, the Tuol Sleng museum looks like a must too.
Love the photo, by the way.
too bad they dont do that with angkor wat
That is an amazing amount of people in a short period of time.
I’m so glad they are preserving these sites, even though they are horribly sad and tragic. Hopefully if people remember those horrors, they will do everything they can to keep them from being repeated.