History’s Deserted Cities and Places

History’s Deserted Cities and Places — page 1 — 1 A Medieval City in the Cambodian Jungle Wat King Suryavarman II ordered it built in the early 1100s Ankgor Wat is four times larger than Vatican City in Rome By the 1400s the Khmer empire had been weakened by wars Changing religious beliefs caused instability After enemies from the west invaded Angkor the city was abandoned For centuries it was forgotten Today Angkor is a UNESCO World Heritage site It is one of the most important archaeological sites in Southeast Asia Two million tourists a year visit Angkor Wat The medieval city of Angkor was once hidden deep in the jungle of Cambodia So was its great temple Angkor Wat Few people outside of Cambodia knew they existed Long ago Angkor was the capital of the Khmer empire From 800 to 1400 CE the empire stretched across much of Southeast Asia Angkor covered about 248 square miles 400 sq km As many as a million people lived there Angkor contained many elaborate temples They were built to honor kings and gods The most famous temple is Ankgor An aerial view of the Angkor Wat temple 4

History’s Deserted Cities and Places — page 2

History’s Deserted Cities and Places — page 3 — A Gold Rush Ghost Town in California 2 Bodie in 1890 In 1848 gold was discovered in California Hundreds of thousands of people hurried there hoping to strike it rich The California Gold Rush was on Towns full of prospectors quickly sprang up Located east of the Sierra Nevada mountains Bodie was one By 1880 Bodie had nearly 10,000 residents Most were prospectors When they weren’t searching for gold they drank gambled and fought in saloons The town became known for violence 6 At its height Bodie had a bank church school jail and hotel Homes and shops lined busy streets In 1880 there were 2,000 buildings in Bodie But the Bodie boom would bust Over time less gold was found Prospectors moved on to new places Some families stayed A few decades after its peak Bodie had fewer than 700 people By 1950 no one lived there Bodie had become a ghost town

History’s Deserted Cities and Places — page 4 — THINK ABOUT IT Imagine that you’re about to leave your town or city You’ll never return What will you leave behind Today Bodie is a National Historic Landmark and a state historic park Many of the original buildings still stand Inside are items families left behind Bodie is preserved in time just the way it was when everyone left The only people found there today are park workers and tourists It’s said there are ghosts too Number of saloons in Bodie in 1879 Bodie boomed after the discovery of gold in California 65 Its population reaching nearly 10,000 by 1880 Over time less gold was found and prospectors moved away Today Bodie is a ghost town and a National Historic Landmark Bodie as it is today 7

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