Tula is another pyramid ruin, much smaller in scale than Teotihuacan, but famous for its 9 foot tall Toltec warrior statues that grace the top level of the pyramid and were originally supporting a roof over the temple area. Mineral del Chico was a totally different experience! Quaint hill town nearly in the clouds …
This was the greatest city in Mesoamerica, reaching a population of 200,000 at its peak around 650 AD. It dates from about 100 BC and encompassed up to 8 square miles. In all of the ancient ruins that I have seen world wide, the scale of this one dwarfs the others. Only Angkor Wat …
This is the Mexican seat of government similar to our Capitol building. As a tourist you go here to see the famous murals on the second floor exterior walls. Again, they feature revolutionary themes but this seems more appropriate here versus the ones at the Bellas Artes.
Buildings in Mexico City face a number of problems. Besides the active earthquakes, close by volcanoes and all, the city was built on a dried up lake bed. Which has never been stable and is constantly sinking but at different rates and different amounts depending upon the specific location. This was a construction issue …
I decided to group these two vastly different places together in one story as they essentially occupy the same space, one built sort of on top of the other. The cathedral is the largest in the Americas, begin in 1525 very shortly after the Spanish conquest of Mexico. It is huge of course, and …
Continue reading “Templo Mayor and the Cathedral Metropolitana”
Begun in 1904 but not completed until 1934 due to political issues and of course that ongoing issue of the sinking soil of Mexico City. It is just a spectacular building featuring art Nouveau exterior styling with a true art deco interior. And, featuring many world class murals including the redo of Diego Rivera’s …
What an amazing world class city. As Americans, we currently are subjected to all of the right wing fear mongering about Mexican people. If you go to Mexico City, you will clearly see Mexico and Mexicans in a totally different light. This is a vibrant, European-like city with astounding museums, architecture, history, restaurants, grand …
Mitla is much later and smaller than Monte Alban, flourishing around 1350. It is unusual in that the current town of Mitla basically was built over the ruins and they all sort of co-mingle today. The stone carving is astounding and the ability to just crawl into a tomb is really something. Well, as …
The Oaxaca valley has two very important Mesoamerica sites, Monte Alban and Mitla. For lovers of historical ruins like me, these were both really great. Monte Alban is one of Mesoamerica’s most spectacular ruined cities and lies just outside of Oaxaca. It reigned for over 1200 years from 500 BC through about 750 AD, …
My guide took me to many towns around Oaxaca. Here are some shots showing what we saw.