Hue

Tuesday, March 11th- Today we are driving through the Hai Van Pass to our destination of Hue, the Imperial City. As we climb the pass, we find that the clouds are low today. We will not be able to see the fabulous view from the top of the pass.

After our drive, we arrive at the Huong Giang Hotel in Hue. We have the opportunity to check into our rooms before we take our tour of the Citadel.

From the lobby of the hotel, we have a great view of the Purfume River. During the war, the bridge over the river was bombed out. The Seabees came in and rebuilt the bridge, as well as building a second bridge over the river.

Ed and Terry enjoy a view of the river and its bridges.

After a brief rest, we are back on the bus and off to visit the Citadel, the ancient city of the kings of Vietnam. As we pull up to the entry gate in the outer wall, we are confronted with a huge flag of Vietnam, rolling gently in the breeze. The flag of the former Republic of South Vietnam has been replaced everywhere with the red flag with the gold star. This is hard for us to see.

Our guide, Mr. Song, buys our entry tickets. We take a group picture of the Purple Team before we go inside.

As we enter the Citadel, Song points out the bullet holes in the doorway. These holes are from the battle of the Citadel that took place during Tet in January 1968.

We climb the stairs at the entrance and look over the inner courtyard and the canal that surrounds the outer wall of the city.

On the outer wall of the city, we find that the ancient king mounted a drum and a bell. He used these instruments to "notify" the people that he was coming outside the Citadel walls. No one was allowed to look at the king's face, so when the bell or the drum sounded, it was the signal for the people to clear the streets.

Mr. Song takes a few minutes to show us a painting of the way that the Citadel looked during the years that a king ruled the country we now call Vietnam. At the very center of the Citadel was the Forbidden City. Only the king, his wives and children lived within the Forbidden City. No man, other than the king, was allowed within these walls. Most of the Forbidden City was bombed out by the French following World War II. Only a few of the outer buildings remain. The palaces of the king and his family were destroyed.

We saw beautiful works of art as we made our way through the Citadel. In one courtyard, we found a lion standing guard. Farther on, we examined a giant urn. While the artistry of the urn was interesting, it actually served a purpose . The urn collected rain water that was used to extinguish fires within the city.

After crossing the courtyard, we came to a building that was used by the king to meet with his advisors. Beyond this building was the gate that opened into the Forbidden City. Past this wall and gate, the residences of the royal family formerly stood.

One of the few buildings still standing is the royal library. On the path leading to the library, Song pointed out the tiles. Each of the tiles was handmade and contained an individual poem. No two tiles are the same. As with many of the structures within the Citadel, the library was accented with mosaic figures and shapes. These mosaics were created using broken pottery.

Past the library, we came upon a series of walls and gates, all beautifully decorated with enamel mosaics. As I was taking a picture of the gate, Ed stepped back into the opening and had his pictured taken.

Another series of nine urns were decorated with scenes of plant, bird and animal life commonly found in Vietnam.

We found scenes of peaceful tree-lined lanes and war damaged walls.

After our tour of the Citadel, we visited a pagoda located on the Perfume River. The pagoda and surronding buildings were situated high above the river.

After our busy day in Hue, we returned to our hotel. Dinner that night included some western style steak and fries, balanced with eastern rice and veggies. We watched the Perfume River flow gently along as we ate.