Po Rome

A tower from the late 16th and early 17th century, the last Cham tower built in Vietnam. The deified king Po Rome is venerated here. It stands on a hill in Phước Hữu commune, Ninh Thuận province, among dry pastures and cactus scrub. Po Rome ruled in the first half of the seventeenth century, was taken prisoner by the Vietnamese and died in captivity; after his death the Cham put up the tower as a memorial temple. The brickwork here is coarser than in the early sanctuaries, and fine stone carving has given way to stucco, but inside the main object survives: a stone relief of the king in the form of a mukhalinga, a cylindrical column more than a metre high from which a face with eight arms projects, with figures of his wives carved on either side. At the end of 2020 this relief was recognised as a national treasure of Vietnam. As at Po Klong Garai, the Katê festival is still celebrated here. The tower stands on a bare hill among pastures and cactus scrub away from Phan Rang, so people usually get here in their own vehicle, and there are hardly any tourists. As at Po Klong Garai, the Cham community gathers here for the Katê festival.

On the map