The capital of Cambodia is the city of Phnom Penh

The capital of Cambodia is a city with a population exceeding two million inhabitants, and is called Phnom Penh. This picturesque place is located at the confluence of three large rivers: Tonle Sapa, Mekong and Bassac.

Phnom Penh was founded in 1372. According to an ancient legend, one day, looking at the Mekong River, a widow named Pen saw a floating tree in the water, something glistening in the branches. On a detailed examination, it turned out that there were five Buddha statues on it: four bronze and one stone. The woman saw in this a certain sign from above and decided to erect a sanctuary, which, according to the Buddhist canons, must necessarily be located on a hill. Therefore, the widow made a small hill, on top of which she installed figurines. Soon this place became sacred to all the locals, who after a while erected here the temple of Wat Phnom. Around the temple gradually grew a city, which was called Phnom Penh, which means "hill widow Pen."

The modern capital of Cambodia gained its official status in 1422. Over the long centuries of the city's existence, he had to endure many trials. The latest severe events are connected with the Khmer Rouge regime. During this period Cambodia, the capital of which lost a huge number of urban residents, expelled into the countryside, was in a deplorable state. After the fall of this regime, the rapid growth of the urban population naturally began. And today hotels in Cambodia, which are mostly located in Phnom Penh, attract more and more tourists from different countries.

The capital of Cambodia is known for its amazing mixture of the traditions of ancient Asia and the architecture of the colonial era. Nearby you can see the majestic and picturesque Buddhist pagodas and medieval buildings, erected in a purely French style.

The city consists of three districts. In the southern part of it, state institutions and banks are concentrated. Here all the buildings are mostly built in a colonial style. The northern part is residential, it is home to almost the entire population of the city. In the central areas of Phnom Penh are a variety of shops, markets and pagodas. This part of the city is traditionally the most attractive for tourists.

The capital of Cambodia has a lot of interesting sights. Each of these ancient monuments is ready to tell the interested tourist very much from the history of the country. The most famous landmarks of the city are the Royal Palace, National Museum, Independence Monument, Wat Phnom Temple, Silver Pagoda and many others.

In addition to exploring the monuments of culture and history, be sure to take a walk on a small ship on the Tonle Sap River. From here you can see many memorable places of the city.

Of course, hardly anyone can return from Cambodia without a variety of souvenirs and memorabilia. To the services of tourists, the three most famous markets of the capital: Central (a huge trading area where you can buy almost everything you want), Night (designed mainly for tourists and has the appropriate range), Russian (one of the first markets opened in the city for Foreigners).