Category:Thap Doi

Thap Doi, Quy Nhon 

12th century Cham Hindu temples complex
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Instance of	Hindu temple
Location	Bình Định, Vietnam
13° 47′ 09.25″ N, 109° 12′ 39.66″ E
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The Thap Doi twin towers are 12th century Cham Hindu temples site located near the coast within the city limits of Quy Nhon, Binh Dinh province of Viet Nam. The site is located near the Ha Thanh river and it originally had three temples. However, the northern tower that was closest to the river collapsed in the 19th-century. The other two stand, were restored and strengthened in the 1990s.

The Thap Doi temples reflect the Vietnamese innovations and architecture that developed during the Vijaya period. They incorporate Khmer (Cambodian) interpretations of Hindu architecture. The temples include Garuda figures on corners, suggestive of a thriving Vishnu tradition. Art panels here are eroded being close to sea shore. One of these friezes include an army of monkeys that remind of the Ramayana epic. Another frame shows a praying man in yoga posture. These too are from the 12th century. The main tower now houses a linga and yoni, but this was brought in during the colonial era. There are inscriptions on the door jamb, but the surviving text does not help identify the builder or the deities that were originally worshipped here. The artwork that survives, and the panels from here that are now preserved in the Binh Dinh museum, indirectly suggest that this three tower complex was either dedicated to the Hindu trinity or to the Vishnu tradition.