Phnom Penh - The Jewel of the Orient

Phnom Penh once considered the 'Jewel of the Orient' is the capital of Cambodia. With a population of approximately 1.3million spread over 280sqkm it is by far the biggest city in Cambodia. The origin of Phnom Penh dates back to 1372 when, as legend has it, a rich widow by the name of Duan Penh found five Buddha inside a Koki tree floating on the Mekong river, four stone and one wooden. She had a 27m high hill built and built a shrine to house them in.

The hill is now known as Wat Phnom and has several stupas, containing the remains of Ponhea Yat and the royal family dating back to 1431 when Phnom Penh first became the capital.

Phnom Penh is located at the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap river with access to the ocean and the vast fisheries of the Tonle Sap lake Phnom Penh flourished. It became a major trading city and flourished over the next couple of hundred years. Due to the loss sea access to Vietnamese Phnom Penh's fortunes quickly declined until in 1772 it was burnt to the ground by the Thais and almost became a ghost town, with population remaining below 25,000.