Covering an area of 82 hectares, Angkor Wat was not built as a palace but only used as state temple. Even though it is in a state of disrepair, it provides a glimpse of the high level of architecture and sculpture skills that the Khmers had mastered centuries ago. Interesting enough, the central sanctuary inside this colossal monument is really small, probably because Theravada Buddhism is the mainstream religion. The central sanctuary is located in a tower that can only be accessed by tall and narrow stone staircase that are about 3-storey high.