The day I went it was cool and with light rain at times; we needed a day like that and it was great for walking about this marvellous city. I went on a guided tour and it took us 2 hours to get there from merida. we went the slow route passing thru some lovely villages. One of them was Tixkokob, where most of the inhabitants make hammocks. each little town has a square with church and town hall/offices and maybe a sportsfield(baseball court). One of the towns we stopped at was Izamal, a colonial town visited by the pope in 93. It is pretty with all its buildings yellow. the church, st padua, is built on a mayan temple and from within the church grounds/ courtyard you can see a large pyramid. apparently the pope asked the indigenous people forgiveness for what the church had done.probably referring to the conquest and
spanish inquisition. The church also destroyed a lot of the written works of the maya. Some codices did survive and found in museums here and abroad.Entering chichen Itza, the 1st building you see is the Castle/El Castillo, a massive temple/pyramid with plumed serpents at the bases. We walked down the "sacbe" or white road to the cenote or well that the city used. a cenote is formed when the limestone collapses into a subterranean river. this one was sacred and the maya threw offerings into it. A lot of these were retrieved and are in the museum in Merida; some of them are delicately carved jade ornaments and objects. We visited the "new " chichen itza: this part of the city is influenced by the Toltecs. The architectural style is differnt to the earlier mayan buildings. significantly a new god was introduced: Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. Even the rules of the ball game changed: racquets were introduced and the ring was placed higher.
In old Chichen Itza is the snail/El Caracol - because of its shape, this was the Observatory.
We spent 3 hours visiting here but it was a whistle stop tour.
Following lunch we visited a nearby beautiful cenote. we descended via a staircase to the ater level and looking above you could see tree roots dangling down in fronds. the water was alovely blue-green and people were diving in and swimming.
spanish inquisition. The church also destroyed a lot of the written works of the maya. Some codices did survive and found in museums here and abroad.Entering chichen Itza, the 1st building you see is the Castle/El Castillo, a massive temple/pyramid with plumed serpents at the bases. We walked down the "sacbe" or white road to the cenote or well that the city used. a cenote is formed when the limestone collapses into a subterranean river. this one was sacred and the maya threw offerings into it. A lot of these were retrieved and are in the museum in Merida; some of them are delicately carved jade ornaments and objects. We visited the "new " chichen itza: this part of the city is influenced by the Toltecs. The architectural style is differnt to the earlier mayan buildings. significantly a new god was introduced: Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan. Even the rules of the ball game changed: racquets were introduced and the ring was placed higher.
In old Chichen Itza is the snail/El Caracol - because of its shape, this was the Observatory.
We spent 3 hours visiting here but it was a whistle stop tour.
Following lunch we visited a nearby beautiful cenote. we descended via a staircase to the ater level and looking above you could see tree roots dangling down in fronds. the water was alovely blue-green and people were diving in and swimming.
2 comments:
Great pics, you are looking relexed too! How did this compare with your previous trip to Machu Picu? Which of the ruins were more 'mysterious' / exciting do you think? luv Jenny
Designs of women's hair ornament in old China always depicts auspicious objects, among them there are musical instruments, chess pieces, calligraphic characters, and the "four treasures in a scholar's studio" ,which comprises the calligraphy brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper.But to the women in ancient China the chignon was far more than just a hair ornament. The chignon ceremony, which bestowed a hairpin upon a young woman when she reached the age of 15, was a rite of passage signifying that she had reached marriageable age.
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