UNESCO Seeks To Boost Tourism 
at Banteay Chhmar Temple

Hoping to lure tourists to the Banteay Chhmar temple, Unesco and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts are launching the second phase of a project aimed at preserving the endangered site.

Last year the temple, located in the  northwest about 20 km from the Thai border, was listed by the World Monument Watch as one of the planet's 100 most endangered sites, The  WorldMonument Watch, a branch of the World Monument Fund, is contributing $10,000 for the temple's preservation.

Over the years, Banteay Chhmar has suffered damage from looters, including the the last year of 117 pieces of a basrelief that was eventually smuggled to Thailand. Earlier this year, Thailand returned the stolen pieces to Cambodia, They went on temporary display at the National Museum in April.

A stele also was taken to the Angkor Conservation  Office at Siem Reap to prevent further canalization of valuable inscriptions.

Since then, Unesco has been working with the Cambodian government to help preserve the site and rejuvenate tourism in that area.

The road leading to this remote temple is in bad shape, making for a punishing journey of approximately three hours from Sisophon, the capital of Banteay Meanchey province,
Hor Rachna of the local Unesco office said the agency can't do much about the road.
But in July, he said, Unesco will install guard stations at the temple's for entrances to protect against looters.

The stations will be staffed by 100 soldiers, he said.
Hor Racha said Unesco hopes the conservation of Banteay Chhmar is just the beginning.
"There  are about four to five temples surrounding Banteay Chhmar that could provide a circuit of tourism," Hor Rachna said.

He said although preservation of surrounding temples would be nice, no funding has been approved and they want to compete the restoration of Banteay Chhmar first.
Surrounding temples include Prasat Mebon, Prasat Taphrom, Prasat Samnang Tasok, Prasat Banteay Toap and Prasat Ta Preav. Hor Rachna said there is a sixth temple, But very little is known about it, including its name.

Once Banteay Chhmar is protected, Hor Rachan said Unesco will begin to promote the site in September.

Plans include Building a tourist  reception center, providing onsite information about the temple's history, and training tour guides.

In early May, the preservation project began with the removal of vegetation, installation of garbage cans to keep the site clean and installation of a generator to illuminate the temple at night.
Banteay Chhmar, which means "narrow forest," was one of the capitals of King Jayavarman II during the Angkorian era.