Mysterious 14 ancient towers of Vietnam

Cham Tower - Duong Long

On the 16th century (from 192 to 1822), the Champa kingdom created a unique culture, its own unique color, without any nation, but now only remains of dotted ruins. break into an ancient mural of a glorious civilization that has fallen and died.

According to Vietnam Institute of Archeology, Cham cultural relics are evenly distributed across the strip of central coastal land from Quang Binh province to Binh Thuan and Dong Nai. In the Central Highlands, Cham monuments appear scattered in Gia Lai, Kontum, Dak Lak, Lam Dong . Formerly belonged to the Vijava region from the 11th to 15th centuries, once the capital of Champa (1000 - 1471). ), the relics in Binh Dinh are scatteredly built.14 Cham towers were built on high hills concentrated in 8 places: Little Cake, Duong Long, Hung Thanh, Canh Tien, Phu Loc, Phu Thien, Binh Lam and Hon Chuong. In addition, there are four ancient citadel buildings including Thi Nai, Do Ban, An Thanh, and U Tri Tri and a series of sculptures, ruins of the Cham tower such as the old square, Naga snake; office of epitaphs; The statue of the garrison garland . Remarkably, monk statue relics at Linh Son pagoda (Hai Giang village, Nhon Hai commune, Qui Nhon city). While cultivating, the residents here discovered this statue was buried deep underground. Since then, Linh Son Pagoda has been called the "convex Buddha" temple .

Thap Doi - Qui Nhon

Located at the gateway of Qui Nhon city are two towering towers standing side by side, folk called Twin towers . According to the old documents, it is recorded that Twin tower is Hung Thanh tower. On July 10, 1980, Doi tower was ranked as a national cultural and historical relic. The Twin Towers were first restored in Binh Dinh and the researchers classified them into the unique heritage of Champa architecture art by Twin Towers unlike any existing ancient tower. Scientists so far have not found this unusual reason.

The Twin Towers were built around the end of the 12th century. At the large tower, there were many carved reliefs of Hanuman monkeys in dancing position. And the small tower has many animal reliefs such as deer and deer; In the arches, there is an examination of the figure of the meditator, flanking the two heads of elephants on both sides. The corner of the tower is decorated with stone Garuidae.

In contrast, the "Tay Son lower half" area has Duong Long tower cluster . The French call this "Ivory tower", and the people still live

Ivory tower

This is called An Chanh tower. Duong Long Tower has three ancient towers with a height of 29-36 m. Fake door systems have largely collapsed. Subjects carved on Duong Long tower also have animal figures such as elephants, joking around, and inside the tower are also monks who are meditating. Most towers have a small structure towards the top and end with a blooming lotus. The sculptures of Duong Long tower are very sophisticated in art and technique. The door arch has a Kala monster-like figure that spits out the seven-headed snake, the frill is carved with many patterns with a rich and diverse landscape. It can be said that Duong Long tower has the most artistic value among Cham architecture in this period. Many researchers now determine the tower's date to be in the second half of the 12th century. This is the second relic cluster ranked by the Ministry of Culture at the same time as the Twin Towers.

After two clusters of Doi and Duong Long towers are Canh Tien tower and Little Cake tower . Canh Tien Tower was built right in the center of Do Ban citadel (now belongs to Nhon Hau commune, An Son district, Binh Dinh province). It can be said that this is one of the intact architectures. According to French documents, Canh Tien tower is also called "Dong Thap", but why this name is known, no one has identified its origin. The tower is about 20m high, looks like a fairy's wings flying up to the blue sky. Unlike other Cham towers, Canh Tien tower was built in part by sandstone material, surrounded by carved reliefs. Bánh Tháp Little has four different large and small towers located on a hilltop in Phước Hiệp commune, Tuy Phước district, about 20 km from Qui Nhơn city. Standing far away from this cluster looks like little leafy biscuits often seen in worshiping and worshiping ceremonies in Central Vietnam. The French call this Silver Tower. The four ancient towers all have statues of worship, dancing female figures, elephant figures and divine images.

Also in Binh Dinh, there is Binh Lam tower located in Phuoc Hoa commune (Tuy Phuoc). People here say that Binh Lam village is a fertile land where Vietnamese people first came to explore and expand. In the Binh Dinh Cham tower system, Binh Lam tower is an ancient tower group with the earliest date.

Another cluster of monuments called Thu Thien Tower in Binh Nghi Commune (Tay Son) - home to the famous handmade brick kilns located on National Highway 19. In 1995, this tower was also classified as a national monument. Gia, but is currently in serious ruin. Many relics, the structure of the tower has been destroyed by time and people.

Being ranked together with Thu Thien tower is the Phu Loc tower that the French named the Golden tower, bordering An Nhon and Tuy Phuoc districts. At 29m high, Phu Loc is at the top of a 76m high hill above sea level. Although it was ruined quite a lot, but in general, the tower still has the appearance and majesty of an ancient architecture.

In addition to the seven tower blocks in Binh Dinh, which were ranked by the State, there are still some other ancient tower relics, including the Hon Chuong tower in Phu Cat district that is only barefooted, or has collapsed due to the people dig for gold.

It can be said that 8 towers with a total of 14 remaining ancient towers are considered as invaluable assets that history has bestowed on the Central Region.The mysteries of the Cham Tower, though they have been studied and studied for ten years, are also external studies. Many strange mysteries, many interesting legends are still waiting to be revealed.

Ancient towers stand there as an exclamation point for a faded civilization and as a question mark for people today.