(TITC) - Located at the intersection of the northern part of Da Nang, Nam O ancient village not only embraces many historical relics but also ‘the foot of the waves’ for travel and enjoy food.
Ancient village and sediments of history
It is away from the centre of Da Nang city just over 10 km, along the entire coastal road Nguyen Tat Thanh, lying there the wild white sand stretches. This is the fishing village of Nam O. A wide coastal road simply leads to Nam O Village. Visitors can approach the location easily by cars, motorbikes and bikes for those with well physical being and love sports, associating with sightseeing and taking photos along the charming coast.
It is rare to have such an ancient fishing village as Nam O, with the ‘village age’ nearly 700 years old. Therefore, when coming to this ancient village, nothing is more exciting than being able to witness by your own eyes the relics and listening to the old tales from the elderly.
Nam O Ancient Village from above
Right in front of Nam O beach is Ngu Ong (Whale) temple. Mr. Tra Ngoc Vinh leads visitors into the temple, gently removes the cover cloth and reveals the remains of whale skeleton kept by the villagers, he stated, this temple is worshipping 47 sets of whale skeleton. The skeletons were buried by anglers before moving to the temple from 1948 and the villagers here have worshipped solemnly.
According to the elders of Nam O village, at the beginning, the architecture of the temple was made of wood, with a stall-plastered mortar, roofed with leaves. Until 1851, the temple was enlarged .. 300m from Ngu Ong Temple to the south is the whale's tomb. Legend has it that whales after being drifted to the shore will be buried by the villagers, after 3 years, the whale skeleton will be brought to the temple to worship. Nearby is the temple of homeless souls. According to the elders of the village, in the battle against the French attacked the estuary of Da Nang, many soldiers of the Nam O and Tan Bien Cu De military posts as well as local people were killed, so the emperor appointed the villagers to build the memorial temple to commemorate their deaths. Under the reign of Thanh Thai emperor, the memorial mausoleums were established to express the respects to the death of soldiers in the fallen upheaval of the capital city (Hue) in 1885.
Nam O Village keeping several historical relics
On the way to the village is the Holy Mother Lieu Hanh Temple built in 1602 associated with the custom of worshipping the mother of Viet people in new land, and has been inherited by many generations of Nam O Village.
A stopover that many young people choose and become a favourite destination while visiting is the Nam O stone reef. In the summer, fish and prawns can be seen swimming under the moss rock through crystal clear seawater. Also on the Nam O stone reef is the holy forest - where the legendary Princess Huyen Tran (in Tran Dynasty) stop is well preserved by generations.
Into the village, visitors will be exploring cultural space with Cham wells located in the middle of the village.
Signature dishes of the fishing village
For those who love to discover cuisine, Nam O will offer a ‘buffet’ of the sea. From the entrance of the village, a mouth watering aroma of fermented shrimp paste and Nam O fish sauce.
Nam O is well known for its fish sauce, there is a famous idiom: “Nam O fish sauce - Xuan Thieu anabas” or “today miss Cho Chua rice noodle - miss Nam O fish sauce, miss crabs of Ganh Village”. Having a walk in the village, it seems like the aroma of fish sauce has matted into each and every house and alleyway. Mr. Dang Phuong Tru, a local culture researcher illustrated, fresh Xuan Thieu anabas are grilled on flaming fire and dip deep into Nam O fish sauce, which will be a masterpiece dish to enjoy.
The traditional fish sauce of Nam O - a specialties of the fishing village
For those who love enjoying fresh seafood, in the morning, on the coast of Nam O, small fish boats ashore and carry the ‘fruits’ of the sea. The sale is normally fast and straightforward.
Visitors can buy some specialties of the sea such as dried fish, dried squids, anchovies or fish sauce as souvenir of the ancient fishing village.
For lunch, visitors can try the fish salad, one of Nam O specialties.
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