Chichén Itzá
Arguably the most famous ancient site in Mexico, Chichén Itzá covers four square miles. We certainly did not have enough time to see it all, but we did make the most of our visit climbing and exploring what we could. Chichén Itzá was founded circa 500 A.D. and was abandoned around 1200. Since the Mayans were not occupying this site when the Spaniards arrived in the early 1500s, many of the temples and structures were not replaced by catholic churches as in other parts of Mexico. The site was not “discovered” until about 1839.
One of the few round structures in all of the Mayan sites, El Caracol served as an incredibly accurate observatory for calculating the motion of the sun, moon, stars and even predicting eclipses many years in the future. Explorers named it "The Snail" for its interior spiral staircase.
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El Castillo (the Castle) was built as a temple to Kukulcán, also known as Quetzalcóatl, the feathered serpent god worshiped throughout Mesoamerica. This pyramidal structure has mathematical significance closely tied to the Mayan calendar: 91 steps x 4 sides + 1 platform = 365 total stairs, 9 terraces on each sided divided by staircase = 18 terraces for the 18 months of 20 days (there were 5 “unlucky” days at the end of the year), and 52 panels on each face to represent the 52 years of the scared cycle when the solar and agricultural calendars aligned. When the sun hits El Castillo during the fall and spring equinox, the light creates a snake crawling down the primary staircase.
View from the top of El Castillo.
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The hardest part was climbing down. A 45-degree angle is tougher than I thought. However, I'm proud to say I made it without holding on. I didn't have to do the butt-scoot like so many others :-). |
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John and I took some time to walk through the columns. We also found an area in the jungle without any tourists. Sitting for a short rest, we found ourselves in what was thought to be an ancient steam bath -- certainly something we did not need in such a sweltering climate. |
The pictures below are of the largest ball court in Mesoamerica. The walls are 272 feet long and it has temples at both ends. Some sources state the court is over 500 feet in length. The ball court is also known for its high, steep walls and acoustics. Sources disagree as to whether it was the losers or the winners who were sacrificed to the gods. The carvings along the base of the walls depict the ceremonies following a game.
