Monday, September 15, 2014

Teotihuacan


View from the Pyramid of the Moon down the Avenue of the Dead
Took the day off and went to the Mayan ruins of Teotihuacan ('the place where men become gods'), 50kms north-east of DF. 
Between around 150-650 AD it was the largest city in the Americas, before being destroyed, possibly by its own people. 
Pyramid of the Sun
Later, the Aztecs revered, but didn't occupy, it, and over time it became covered in vegetation. So much so that when the Spaniards came in the 1500s, they didn't even notice it - which seems incredible given the scale of the place. It wasn't until the mid-1800s that archaeologists began uncovering it. Again, incredible. How do you 'uncover' two massive pyramids?
Anyway, we had a good time walking around the massive site, dominated by two huge pyramids: the Pyramid of the Sun (which you can climb to the top) and the Pyramid of the Moon (which you can climb halfway up), plus the more intimate surroundings of the Temple of Quetzacoatl and the Palace of Quetzalpapolotl.
Plenty more temples to see in Mexico, but this was a good start.
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1 comment:

  1. Lawrence BurtonDecember 5, 2014 at 12:05 PM

    Not Mayan, Teotihuacano (who probably spoke Mixe-Zoque) - the Maya were/are at least 500 miles east of you. The pyramids were overgrown at least up until the 1800s, as can be seen in a 19th century painting of them by Jose Maria Velasco which is probably still in the National Gallery (near Bellas Artes) - overgrown to the extent of resembling slightly angular hills. See also the Cholula pyramid which I think may be bigger than the one in Teotihuacan and is still mostly covered over with a church built on top.

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