Siguiendo con las ciudadelas pasamos revista a una que se encuentra en las proximidades de Ha Noi, y cerca también del aeropuerto.
La primera visita la hice el 5-6-2011, con Cristian, ya que éste es uno
de los destinos que aparecen en los mapas y guías de turismo. Se llega desde el
primer semáforo una vez pasado el gran centro comercial (Mai Linh), cuando vamos por la
autopista desde Vin Yen a Ha Noi. En dicho semáforo se gira a la izquierda y se
sigue de frente.
Al llegar al primer semáforo, cruce con la carretera 3, seguimos de frente hasta llegar a un
ligero giro a la derecha, el cual identificamos porque se trata de una estación
de autobuses. Esta calle se llama ya Co Loa. Seguimos por este giro y al poco
nos encontramos con un cartel de bienvenida. Cuando se estrecha la calle,
encontramos un cartel para girar a la derecha y allí se encuentra el complejo.
Dicho
complejo consta de dos partes, una primera con varias pagodas y más adelante lo
que puede ser un palacio, con un lago redondo delante.
Fui con
Cristian, como dije, un día extraordinariamente caluroso, dejamos las motos al llegar en un
chiringuito e hicimos las visitas.
Por su interés añado la
historia de la princesa a la que cortaron la cabeza, My Chau. Lo siento por los que no os manejaís bien en inglés.
"On the way to Co Loa, Nga gave us a rundown of Vietnamese Political history. Vinh Phu was the first capital that is known. 18 generations of Hung Kings spanning the centuries from 2879 BC to 217 BC. Then King AnDong Vuong moved his center to a more defensible place when the Chinese invaded, building a citadel at Co Loa, about 20 km north of the present HaNoi. There behind moats and earth walls, Duong held out for 9 years. The Chinese Emperor, Trieu Da, decided that he could not take the Citadel because of a secret weapon, the cross bow, given to the King, An Duong, by the turtle, which is kind of a divine messenger in their mythology. Trieu Da proposed peace, to be sealed by the marriage of his son, the prince, Trong Thuy, to the princess of Co Loa, the daughter of An Duong, My Chau.
"These two were married and lived in the household of the VietNamese King at Co Lai. They came to care for each other deeply, but the prince was really there to steal the magical crossbow. He did so and left for his father's camp to deliver it. The King, An Daong, took My Chau and ran on hoarse back for the HaNoi area. By arrangement with the price, she left a trail of peacock feathers for her husband to follow. Her father discovered what she was doing and cut off her head, afterward throwing himself in the Red River. meanwhile, Trong Thuy, following the feathers, came upon his wife's headless body and carried it back to the Citadel, after which he drowned himself in the Diang River, at the fortress. On this site today, temples commemorate these tragic figures and children are brought here to visit a headless statue of the princess to be taught that loyalty to country comes before family or friend. Our politicians should have read that story before deciding to wage limited warfare. The turtle has never re-appeared.
(Note: the Taoist symbol in the photograph above (1) is a bronze figure about 5 inches tall, purchased on one of our nighttime excursions into the old part of HaNoi. There stands a large one at the altar of the Headless Princess. The symbol is a stork standing on a turtle. The turtle provides the foundation, wisdom, and dependibility. The stork reaches out into the world and feeds them both. The Turtle and Stork are a symbol of complimentarity. )"
El domingo 11 de Diciembre de 2011 fui nuevamente a Co Loa, en esta ocasión con Lorena, vi un templo más que con Cristian, en esta caso una pagoda con muchas estatuas y figuras representando monjes.
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| CIUDADELA CO LOA CON LORENA |
