Angkor, a vast city made up of dozens of structures built between the 9th and 14th centuries, is one of the architectural wonders of the world. Following its peak in the 12th century, Angkor began a long decline. By the end of the 16th century, only the temple of Angkor Wat was still in use. The jungle swallowed much of the ancient city until it was "rediscovered" by the French in the mid-19th century. The first Western conservators at Angkor, they were forced to flee during the civil war in 1972. Many of Angkor's caretakers died under the Khmer Rouge.

In 1989, WMF arrived at Angkor and conducted one of the first international surveys of the damage wrought by decades of civil war and neglect. We have been working there ever since, training the next generation of Cambodians to conserve Angkor's extraordinary architecture.