Azerbaijan’s First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva visits Temple of Literature in Vietnam (PHOTO)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 19

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Azerbaijani First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva has today visited Temple of Literature in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

The first lady was told that the temple was built in 1070 at the time of King Ly Nhan Tong. It is one of several temples in Vietnam which are dedicated to Confucius, sages and scholars.

Afterwards, the first lady was presented with a keepsake. Mehriban Aliyeva also listened to Vietnamese national music performed by students of the Imperial Academy.

The temple itself is located to the south of Thang Long Citadel. Various pavilions, halls, statues and stone plagues of doctors, are places where offering ceremonies, study sessions and the strict exams of the Dai Viet took place.

The temple was reconstructed during the Tran dynasty (1225-1400) and in subsequent dynasties.

For nearly two centuries, despite wars and disasters, the temple has preserved ancient architectural styles of many dynasties as well as precious relics. Major restorations took place in 1920, 1954 and 2000.

In 1076, Vietnam's first university, Imperial Academy, was established within the temple to educate Vietnam's bureaucrats, nobles, royalty and other members of the elite.

The university remained open from 1076 to 1779. In 1802, the Nguyen monarchs founded the Hue capital where they established a new imperial academy. The academy at the Hanoi temple lost its prominence and became a school of the Hoai Duc district.

Under the French protectorate, the Temple of the Literature was registered as Monument historique in 1906. Campaigns of restoration were pursued in 1920 and 1947 under the responsibility of French School of the Far East and again after the World War II.