Continuing into the heartland of Vietnam, we reached the ancient capital of the country, Hoa Lư. And we headed straight to the centre of the city - the temple of Đinh Tiên Hoàng...
A cute little girl poses for her dad...
The surroundings are indeed idyllic...
Everything quintessentially Vietnamese, all in one pic!
Riding the buffalo...
Selfie-time...
Water lilies...
Entering the temple...
Entering Đinh Tiên Hoàng...
Our group today has Brazilians, Spanish, Singaporeans and other nationals...
Hoa Lư is located in a flat valley in the midst of small and steep limestone karsts creating a virtually impenetrable city. In the 10th century, the rulers of Đại Cồ Việt took advantage of this topography in order to design enclosures that would be especially difficult to attack. In order to block the gaps between the limestone mountains, they constructed earthen walls, which have been unearthed by archeologists.
A pond in the midst of Đinh Tiên Hoàng...
The Đinh Tiên Hoàng temple is dedicated to Bộ Lĩn, the first emperor of Vietnam. The temple was constructed by local residents near the center of the old capital. Bộ Lĩnh grew up in this area in the mid-10th century during the reign of Ngô Quyền, a warlord who evicted Chinese occupiers from the country and declared himself king in 938.
Born into the family of a high-level official, Bộ Lĩnh had a talent for governance and warfare. He grew into a powerful warlord. He defeated twelve rival warlords, reunified the country, and in 968 founded the first imperial dynasty of Vietnam. However, he didn't lay down a succession plan and the country was again plunged into turmoil after his death, until order was reestablished by Lê Hoàn, Bộ Lĩnh's top general, who defeated his rivals and established the Lê Dynasty, Vietnam's second imperial dynasty.
The temple to Bộ Lĩn, also known as Đinh Tiên Hoàng is located on the grounds of the former main palace of the royal citadel. The temple is in the Vietnamese style of feng shui - "phong thủy", with a river to the front and a mountain at the back.
A statue of Bộ Lĩn...
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