The temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia are the national pride of this country. Until the mid-nineteenth century this lost city was considered only a myth, and an unattainable relic of the past, lying deep in the jungle. Even more so, when the temples of Angkor were finally discovered, the surprise was endless. The temples of Angkor Wat were built by the Khmer Empire as Hindu temples, dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, but from the twelfth century they were converted into Buddhist temples.