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Destinations >> Coastal Lowlands :> Coastal Lowlands - My Son Sanctuary My Son Sanctuary is located in Quang Nam province, about 69 kilometers southwest of Danang City. The sanctuary covers an area of about 10 hectares lying some 40 metres above sea level and is sourrounded by hills rising to a height of 100-300 meters, dominated by the 67 meters high massif of Hon Quap (Cat's Tooth Mountain). Between the 4th and 13th centuries, a unique culture which owned its spiritual origins to India Hinduism developed on the coast of contemporary Vietnam. This is graphically illustrated by the remains of a series of impressive tower-temples located in a dramatic site that was the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom for most of its existence. This place is My Son Sanctuary. The sanctuary consists of more than 70 structures of which 25 still remain today. It is an exemplication of the height of Cham architectural achievement. The builders of My Son were the nobility of the Champa Kingdom who derived their cultural and spiritual influences almost exclusively from India. The Cham people worshiped the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, although Shiva was the central figure of worship for most people. Shiva was usually portrayed in one of two forms: as the figure of a man, and very often in his symbolic manifestation, the lingam, which was usually a stone embellished with incisions placed on a stone slab. The lingam represented both the cult of Shivaism and the divine authority Shiva bestowed upon the king. The Cham people erected monumental towers - the main component of Cham architectural design - to house the lingam. My Son was once a veritable forest of towers, many of which were destroyed by the ravages of time and war. All of the Cham towers at My Son were built on square or rectangular foundations and were comprised of three parts; the tower base representing the world of humans, the tower body representing the world of spirits, and the tower head - usually built in the shape of a lotus - representing the realm between the two worlds. The structures were usually built of baked bricks and sandstone. Most experts consider the main tower at My Son, dubbed A1 by archaeologists and researchers, a masterpiece of Cham architecture. Originally it spanned three storeys and reached a height of 24 metres. Inside, the walls were covered with reliefs; across from the entrance were reliefs depicting a dancing Shiva, on the first storey images of dancing females, and on the upper storeys elephants and lions were depicted. The tower is surrounded by six smaller towers. Unfortunately, tower A1 was severely damaged by US bombs in 1969. Apart from the main tower devoted to Shiva, there are numerous smaller towers and temples dedicated to the worship of lesser gods. Today the sanctuary is in ruins, damaged further by heavy bombing during the Vietnam War, but it was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and what is left is now preserved.
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