European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 14, 1968, Darmstadt, Hesse                                ,. -._. By George Mcarthur a staff writer rising from the Lush Jungles of Northwest Cambodia the magnificent thousand year old temples around angkor overwhelm visitors with an unmatched profusion of Serene Beauty an Eastern mythology. Lining literally Miles of Temple Walls Are hundreds of thousands of the Deli cately gesturing Sparas the heavenly dancing girls that ancient Eastern Man found essential to his View of  striking angkor wat wat Means Temple which has Given its name tothe whole Region is actually but one of a wild profusion of palaces shrines an temples comprising what must rank As one of the greatest free tourist attractions on Earth. Engulfed by the Jungle for five centuries with Only Monkey Sand beasts to enjoy its grandeur it is now easily  area is also unfortunately a compelling attraction for Temple thieves who beat a steady Trail to Bangkok with priceless treasures smuggled from the deep Jungle. Page 12 such smuggling has Long been going Onat angkor but the present Boom in works of Art and archaeological treasures has Given it new impetus. The finer works of angkor and other temples if catalogued bring As much As $30,000 / on world markets. To curb the thievery the Cambodia government has removed some of the More valuable statuary and replace them with copies the originals going to the National museum. Such measures Are barely satisfactory. With More than 600 temples to guard Many in deep an isolated Jungle the government faces an impossible  Effort is unrelenting however and Cambodia s memory is  s famous minister of culture and Man of letters Andre Malraux made off with a few Temple Heads More than 40 years ago in a Boyish burst of enthusiasm. He spent a few months in jail for his trouble. He paid again when French president Charles de Gaulle was a state visitor to Cambodia Early in1967 and Malraux s name was pointedly omitted from the invitation list. He pieces that have been removed however hardly will be noticed by any save the most astute Temple watcher there is such an abundance of Beauty at angkor that a Century of careful scholarly study has failed to even list it All. The stars and stripes the Man in charge at angkor i Chubby French expert Bernard Groslier of the Ecol Francaise d extreme Ori ent. He has devoted much of his life to studying the temples As his father did before him. Groslier an abrupt scholarly Man who dislikes interruptions nonetheless took three Days off in Early  the personal request of Cambodia s Prince Norodom Sihanouk to serve Asa guide for Jacqueline Kennedy. She and her party were Given a guided tour including regal picnic lunches in the Jungle such As few tourists May hop for. Al he tourists need not complain. At angkor there is enough for All an plenty of Tours guides and facilities for the  temples Are the sole remains of what must have been one of the world most grandiose civilizations Replete with Oriental spectacles sweeping Battles and Eye popping opulence. It is All there today in Miles of Bas reliefs depicting the history of the time. In its finest moment 1,000 years ago the Temple District was the Center of a civilization that stretched far beyond Cambodia s present boundaries. Called the khmers the cambodians were the undisputed masters of most of Southeast Asia and a rival to the powerful chinese Vili action to the  the temples and statuary at tract the tourists serious students Are equally enthralled by the stunning engineering projects of the time. Install Din what is now the poorest part of the nation the ancient Kings built canals Waterways and other water projects rivalling As do the projects of the Egypt like the ancient Elm any of the Temple the desire of Anejet their immortality a the undertaking wars of the period. Ing chore and in do feat Utby the thai ancient capital off the present site of historians have " that the  to the Jun Tel for the next five with great tree sir Walls and Twining client Spires. Only o above the Jugle abandoned Region to see them. I the Middle of famed Orrin a o set out to Mlls came upon Angl i he desk film Ilas a Ness to  he Public cd lathe modern a so begun then a not a French. The Canil cd 1u about $000,000of -. T. To the ancient a the Nile. Moisiu Fuents inspired by s to ensure with the muscle Wear a practically Ley were do l up  Settle in Penni. A the Date. Were aban he beasts is they slept pitting Stone up y Over an towers Rose it in the c no one left Century he in Isles and � i Erie ire from dark in Isth ail a i kor \v1s financed by now puts a Muhilly t 0. 1968 in Ward the restoration and an equal amount comes from France. A Force of about 1,000 cambodians is employed i preserving the temples and slowly re storing them a work far from  probably never will be restored and will have to be abandoned to the Jungle. Even those that Are being restored Arenow threatened by Stone disease a gradual wearing away because of the water in the soil the Damp climate and Tropic Rains. Although there Are Chemi Cal ways to combat this All have proven too expensive for wide  Are Welcome and about 25,000 annually now visit the temples. Al though Cambodia and the United states have no diplomatic relations individual americans Are Welcome and encounter no visa difficulties. About 5,000 Ameri cans a year now visit the temples. There is no admission charge once you arrive in Sie in Heap the capital of the  do you charge admission to 600 temples a tourist official asked. We decided they were there for the world to  the stars and stripes Page 13