CITYTOURISM

Cambodia:A trip to the wonders of the unknown

8Islamic Tourism – Issue 35 – May-June / 2008 For more information, visit our website www.islamictourism.com

Dubai-Pnom Penh Mosque

> Phnom Penh -Mounir El-Fishawy

''¬æH ΩƒæH - »HO'' óé°ùe

When I was preparing my trip to Cambodia, many questions surfaced into my imaginationabout this reclusive country of Indochina. I only heard that it was the scene of extreme andharsh stories of imprisonment, torture, and repression that characterized the Khmer Rougeregime. This nightmare ended in 1979, following the uprising of the Cambodian people,supported by the Vietnamese army.

This trip was an opportunity for me todiscover what a new, beautiful and

pleasurable place Cambodia is. I had awonderful relationship with its friendlypeople, saw the beautiful attractions ofPhnom Penh, palaces, temples, mosques,and the Mekong River, as well as its darkcorners, the detention centre of the KhmerRouge and photographs of the victims. I alsovisited the tourist town of Siem Reap, whereI enjoyed the Hindu Angkor temple - a worldheritage site – and the Hindu and Buddhisttemples of Bayon and Ta Prohm.

The Cambodian capitalAfter a flight of nearly fifteen hours, with twostops in Dubai and Hong Kong, our aircraftlanded at the airport in the Cambodian capitalPhnom Penh. Entering this small airport, I wasgreeted by a smiling Cambodian and got myvisa, which costs $20. This procedure iscarried out at the airport for visitors from theMiddle East and Africa, due to the absence ofan embassy of this country in the region, andvice versa. Within a few minutes, I collectedmy bag and got into the car from theCambodian Ministry of Tourism which

transported me to my hotel. During thejourney, which lasted about fifteen minutes,I learned that Cambodia taxis are meteredand that the cost of travel from the airport toany part of the capital is set at $7. Eager to discover the mysteries of thiscountry, I left my luggage in the hotel andexplored Bd Sisowath Quay, along theMekong River - one of the main attractionsof the city, especially at night. I took a steamboat. The fare ranges from one or twodollars, depending on the distance. As soonas I reached my destination, I walked into a

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CITYTOURISM

Islamic Tourism – Issue 35 – May-June / 2008 For more information, visit our website www.islamictourism.com

boulevard where life carries on well after mid-night and which is full of restaurants, internetcafes, shops, hotels and business, as well as anumber of massage centres. I advise touriststo keep the words “No, thank you”, ready forthe Cambodians, - the proprietors of themassage parlours are very persistent.

The painful pastTuol Sleng was the first tourist attraction Ivisited in the Cambodian capital. This is aschool that the Khmer Rouge turned into aprison. During the time of Pol Potintellectuals languished here. All that remainsare hundreds of photos as well as tombs,traces of blood on the walls of torture rooms,and dozens of skulls and bones displayed inglass cases in this building which has becomeknown as the “Museum of Genocide”. Mostof the survivors carry the scars of the atrocitiesthey were subjected to. You can meet someof them in the streets of major cities, playingmusic to collect coins from the passers by.

Sites of civilization It's painful past aside, the city of Phnom Penhis full of tourist sites. The royal palace is oneof the main attractions of the Cambodiancapital. This palace, where the deposed king,Norodom Sihanouk, once resided, is open tothe public. It has a splendid architecture,imitated by parliament and a few luxurioushotels in the capital. Tourists spend their time visiting theseattractions and then travel by steam boats orother types of river boats, on the MekongRiver ($10 an hour). Some tourists go on footalong the Boulevard or Sisowhat Quayoverlooking the river, or visit the traditionalmarket Kandal, which sells all kinds ofproducts: food, clothes, gifts and so on.Tourists also buy exotic fruits such aspineapples, rampotan, dorian, litchi, mango,dragon, etc. The restaurants are the place totaste the dozens of famous soups ofIndochina, and the meat of the kangaroo andcrocodile. Kangaroo meat is similar to rabbit

meat and crocodile meat is similar to fish. Ihad a great desire to taste crocodile meat in'revenge' for the meals crocodiles had madeof human beings.

Siem Reap and the wonders of theworld I left the capital to Siem Reap, located 314 kmaway. Its a four to five hour car journeycosting $10.At the main stopover in the province ofKampong Thom, I saw vendors carrying traysfull of grilled spiders, grasshoppers andbutterflies that the Cambodian bought andate with great zest. You can also go to the city by plane from thecapital (40 minutes), or other capitals ofneighbouring countries, Thailand, Singapore,Malaysia, Myanmar and Vietnam (Saigon),with an average of 10 flights a day, whichcould be increased soon. It is also possible totravel on the river via Lake Tonle Sap, fromPhnom Penh and Battambang Province.

The writer at Bayon ¿ƒjÉH »a á∏éªdG Ühóæe

Graveyeard of some of the victims in the gardens of Tuol Sleng Museum

≠æ∏°S ∫ƒ«J ∞ëàe á≤jóëH ÉjÉë°†dG ¢†©Ñd IÈ≤e

Photos of some of the victims ÉjÉë°†dG Qƒ°U

12Islamic Tourism – Issue 35 – May-June / 2008 For more information, visit our website www.islamictourism.com

Siem Reap is seen by tourists who areinterested in culture and history as the mainreason for their trip to Cambodia. This cityhas many splendid Buddhist and Hindutemples, such as the temples of AngkorWat and Baphuon. The first temple isconsidered by the Cambodians – or so theirtourist brochures tell us – as one of the“Seven Wonders of the World.” The temple of Angkor Wat is regarded as thelargest in the world, with an area of 200 ha.The building looks like a gigantic rockemerging from the middle of vegetation.Founded by King Suryavaman at thebeginning of the 12th century, itsconstruction lasted for about thirty years. The temple is made up of many courtsconnected by long patios of green spacesseparated by two short surrounding wallsdecorated by various statues and frescoesrelating different stories of how the Angkorempire was formed and how the king and his

military leaders led and directed the fighting.The second refers to the Hindu religion. Thethird expresses how Fichino protected thekingdom and its people. The fourth wall,describes how the people worshipped andglorified their king.

Bayon Temple The Buddhist temple of Bayon is located in thecity of Angkor Thom. Founded by KingJayvarman VII in the 12th century, the templeis made up of 54 towers and each of its foursides is decorated with a sculpture projectinghuman faces. The city of Angkor Thom is regarded as thecity of temples. It houses, among others,the temple of Ta Prohm, Baphuon,Phimeanakas. The Bayon Temple, andothers are characterized by wonderfulcarvings on their walls, which take yourbreath away and give the impression oflistening to a story or a historical myth,

Elephant rides ∫É«aC’G Qƒ¡X ≈∏Y ágõf

Angkor Thom ΩƒJ QƒµfCG »a ágõf

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CITYTOURISM

Islamic Tourism – Issue 35 – May-June / 2008 For more information, visit our website www.islamictourism.com

narrated loudly by the walls, despite thesilence of the place. Parks surrounding Angkor Thom are verydiverse. Some are spread out on flat areas,where tourists can enjoy an elephant ridenear the giant trees, whose roots aresplendidly intertwined. There are also folkgroups with their finest traditional dressperforming for visitors in and around thetemples. Tourists have their pictures takenwith them. In the evening, the centre of Siem Reap fillswith life until well after midnight, in cafes,restaurants and hotels, offering a variety offolk performances.

Muslims in CambodiaAt the end of my trip I visited the largestmosque in Cambodia, which is called DubaiMosque Pnom Penh, thanks to the donationof some Dubai citizens made in 1969. I askedfor the imam of the mosque, and hisyoungest son, Mohamed Younis, told methat his father went to an engagementceremony. I was invited to the festivities. Wetook our shoes off and were welcomed bythe people, men and women of all ages. Theywere sitting in circles around tables filled withrice dishes, meat and chicken as well as fruitand cakes. They invited me to share theirmeal. This was the first time I ate a halal mealin Cambodia.I spent about an hour and a half in thiswonderful Muslim gathering, chatting withpeople, as well as the would be bride andgroom who were very shy. Afterwards, Ireturned to the mosque accompanied by theimam, Sheikh Mohamed Hassan and his son. Angkor Wat Temple äGh QƒµfCG óÑ©e

Bayon Temple ¿ƒjÉH óÑ©e

Bayon ¿ƒjÉH óÑ©e

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CITYTOURISM

Islamic Tourism – Issue 35 – May-June / 2008 For more information, visit our website www.islamictourism.com

Sisowhat Quay Boulevard ¢û«fQƒc ≈∏Y π£ªdG iGƒc äGƒ°ù«°S ´QÉ°T

In flawless Arabic, the Imam shared hismemories of Egypt, where he studied at AlAzhar University until 1969. He alsoinformed me that there are about onehundred Muslim families in the capital PhnomPenh, and half a million Muslims in Cambodia.The country is home to an estimated 330main mosques, and a few smaller ones. TheImam stressed, moreover, that the Muslims donot encounter problems, as freedom ofreligion is respected. However, the grantsallocated to the mosques and the donationsare insignificantly small, and do not evenprovide for their repairs. After visiting the mosque, the son of theSheikh accompanied me to a small villagecalled Mekong or “floating village”,composed of several dozen wooden housesand covered boats, including the mosque onthe Mekong River. Its residents the fishermen,are Muslims from the Cham tribe or ethnicgroup. They are simple people. My attentionwas particularly drawn to the large number ofchildren, practically naked, playing in thewater, where they spend most of their time.

Farewell Cambodia As we approached the end of my visit tothe wonders of Cambodia, I was assuredthat it has diversified assets which put it ina position to be one of the most importanttourist destinations in the world. It has anarea of 181,035 sq km which is rich incultural, historical and entertainmentattractions, as well as geographic, climateand religious diversity.

The tourist finds in the country more than 12million people - the country's total population– at his service. He will also note that theordinary people, despite their simple way oflife, have a high consciousness of the vitality oftourism. They radiate warmth, sincerity,serenity and peace. Ninety percent of thepopulation are Buddhist, 4% Muslims, and2% Christian extremism is unknown. Thetourist will not recognise the ethnicdifferences: 90% are Khmer and the restinclude various ethnic groups. All of theseelements have merged in Cambodia, all areaware of the importance of tourism to thecountry's economic development, improvingthe living standard of its citizens and the fightagainst unemployment and poverty. The national language is Khmer but mostpeople speak English, with varyingdegrees of proficiency. The old alsospeak French. Please do not include the

cinema in your program: there is only onecinema in the country, the Lux Cinema.You have to keep $25 or 100 thousandCambodian Riels as a departure tax. Therainy season lasts from May to October.The rest of the year is dry. It is cold inDecember and January: the averagetemperature throughout the year is 27 °C,with high humidity. Cambodia has an opening into the Bay ofThailand and the tourist has the opportunityto enjoy the seaside resorts of the south,including Sihanouk city. Similarly, thecountry's land borders with Laos to the north,Thailand to the west and Vietnam to the east,offer the chance to visit these countries ataffordable prices. A trip by air-conditioned carfrom Phnom Penh to Saigon (Hochi Minh City)in Vietnam costs only $11, lunch included! Iseized the opportunity, made it and wroteabout it for future issues of Islamic Tourism.

Islamic wedding party- Pnom Penh ¬æH ΩƒæH 䃫H óMCÉH »eÓ°SEG áHƒ£N πØMDubai-Pnom Penh Mosque ''¬æH ΩƒæH -»HO'' óé°ùe