Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world by land area, originally constructed as a Hindu temple dedicated to the god Vishnu for the Khmer Empire. Built by King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, it gradually transformed into a Buddhist temple towards the end of the century. The temple is designed to represent Mount Meru, the home of the devas in Hindu mythology. It is surrounded by a massive moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometers long. One of its most striking features is the extensive bas-relief carving that wraps around the temple walls, depicting scenes from the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Unlike most Khmer temples which face east, Angkor Wat faces west, a direction associated with death in Hindu culture, leading some scholars to believe it was originally intended as a funerary temple for the King.