Friday, January 08, 2010

Cambodia Trip 2009 -Phnom Penh - Royal Palace - Part 4 -

As I walked around the Palace Grounds, I suddenly saw this building that looked very french.

The building is known as Napoleon III Pavilion. At first glance the Napoleon III Pavilion seems almost out-of-place, sitting like a European-style dollhouse amongst the imposing and distinctly Khmer-style buildings that surround it. The Pavilion was in fact the first permanent structure on the site of the Royal Palace. It was originally built for Empress Eugenie of France, wife of Napoleon III, in 1869 for use in the inauguration of the Suez Canal. It is constructed entirely of iron. In 1876 Emperor Napoleon III made a gift of the building to King Norodom of Cambodia. (The above information is taken from Canby Publications. You can read more information from there.

I saw some monkeys in the building.

A short video ...

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