Wednesday, April 10, 2013

The Ruins of My Son

Located about 40km southwest of Hoi An, lie the Champa era temple ruins of My Son (pronounced Me Son). A sacred place for the Champa, who ruled what is now central Vietnam from around the 7th century AD until 1832, My Son contains a number of 7th to 11th century temple-complexes dedicated to the past and present ruling god-kings. It was rediscovered by the French during the French Colonial period and was actually fairly well preserved until the 1960s when it was bombed extensively by American B52s  attempting to flush out the Viet Cong who were using it as a base.

A Stela laying on an angle in front of the ruins of  Group B
Buried in the dense jungle and littered with bomb craters, My Son was definitely interesting to see - though difficult to get to without having your own transport or joining a tour. It's also advisable not to wander too far off the track as there remains a great deal of unexploded ordinance in the area.


A broken frieze from behind Group D.

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