My Son

My Son, another UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located approximately 30 km from present day Hoi An. The ruins were constructed by the Cham people beginning around 400 AD. At their peak they ruled about as much land as is in the Central Valley of California south of Sacramento. They were wedged between the powerful Chinese to the north and the equally imposing Khmer Empire to the south and west. Over several centuries the kingdom was eventually annexed by the larger states through both violent and peaceful methods until Vietnam became a French colony.

The Cham people were indianized people and worshipped slightly different variants on the typical Hindu gods. My Son was the Cham peoples' holiest site and is principally comprised of temples known as kalan. Each kalan is dedicated to a different god and as would be expected the most important gods get the largest kalan. The temples were constructed from fired bricks as well as large worked blocks of sandstone for the more important weight bearing elements and the detailed carvings. The Cham builders developed a special type of mortar (resin and mollusks shells) for the bricks. This left online a hairline crack between them.

Unfortunately, much of the splendor that must have been the site was destroyed during the American War (Vietnam War). The Viet Cong were using the location as a hide out and ammunition storage depot. This of course resulted in carpet bombing by B52s and the near complete destruction of the largest temple still standing before the war. There are still bomb craters visible in the area and there are signs warning visitors not to stray from the marked paths as there are still land mines occasionally encountered.

The first photo is the first thing you see as you approach the main temple complex. The large kalan in the foreground was dedicated to Shiva. The second photo is of the outside wall of one of the kalan depicting several minor dieties. The third photo is of a temple for Skanda, and the forth is an example of the ancient script used by the Cham. This is a sandstone block in this case. I have no idea what it says...

(As an aside, the internet connections have been really bad in the smaller towns that I have been in recently. I will write a bunch of posts when I get to Saigon in a few days!)