The Place where the Gods Began - Mexico, Day 2 Part 2

We visited two pre-Hispanic sites during our one-day tour.

Our first stop, Tlatelolco ruins or what they now call the Plaza of the Three Cultures. There are the ruins of Tlatelolco, the Spanish church of Santiago Tlatelolco which stands next to it and finally the buildings of modern Mexico around the place. As mentioned before, Tlatelolco was a twin city to Tenochtitlan and was the commercial centre of the Aztec empire. Traders from all over would come to Tlatelolco bearing products from the Oaxaca area, the Mayan area and so on. However, much of it is probably covered up by modern Mexico today. The ruins we saw were again temple ruins, very similar to those of Templo Mayor in Mexico City. I guess the biggest buildings around were the temples themselves, and it was hard to get rid of them completely whilst the stone from smaller buildings could be easily carted away. We again saw how the pyramid builders operated - building a larger pyramid over a smaller one in order to enlarge the size of their temple. Our guide showed us one altar and told us that when it was excavated, there were about 170 skulls found with a hole punched through the cranium. They were probably strung together at that point for display. The last battles between the Aztec and the Spanish were fought at Tlatelolco, and it was here the Spanish empire came to an end. The plaza was also the place where a massacre of students took place in 1968. They were protesting (Mexicans love protests, I find) against the conditions of the day (whatever they were). The government did not want disturbances just before the Olympic Games took place and so they shot the students! Bizarre logic.

After Tlatelolco we went to the Guadalupe shrine (see last post) and then to a handicraft factory outlet. This was quite fun because we got to try the local tequila and try out corn bread with cactus (sans the spikes) and cheese topping. Aztec food?

We then went on for our pyramid climbing expedition. Now, the Aztecs did not actually build the Teotihuacan complex. It had been built many many years earlier by a people now unknown. The Aztecs found the complex and found it so impressive, that they thought it must have been made by the Gods. So they called it “Teotihuacan”, or “the Place of the Gods”. It is a huge complex, with three pyramid structures and several temples all linked by this long “Avenue of the Dead” (apparently the Aztecs thought the buildings alongside were tombs). Just as was the case for Templo Mayor and Tlatelco, the pyramids were built in layers one on top of the other. And this meant that they covered up a lot of other things as well. So the starting point for the tour is a small museum displaying what archaeologists dug up out of interior of the Pyramid of the Moon. Other artefacts are displayed at the National Museum of Anthropology (where we went on Day 3). We visited the museum and after that started pyramid climbing.

The first pyramid was the pyramid of Quetzalcoatl and Tlaloc. Quetzalcoatl is the feathered serpent, thus symbolising the union between earth and sky. In the Aztec mythology, he taught the Aztecs about growing corn, about pottery and astronomy (their calendar). Tlaloc is the rain God, i.e. symbolising water. Apparently they are paired together in many representations. Aztecs believe in the duality of all things - fire and water, rain and earth, sun and moon. See video here for approach to the pyramid.

We then walked down the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. Now, in case anyone is labouring under any illusion that this is a nice, pleasant stroll, the Avenue of the Dead is not a straight road per se. There are a series of raised quadrangles which we have to climb up and down. I tried walking around one side only to see our guide lead us to the other side where she showed us some Jaguar heads.

The Sun pyramid is the highest of the 3 and it had rather steep stairs to clamber up. Anyway, I am pleased to say I did it! Panted a lot but that was probably the altitude, yah? The Pyramid of the Sun is shorter than the pyramid of Cheops in Egypt but has the same base and is apparently the third highest in the world. The view from the top is great except that it takes a lot to get there. I didn't climb up the Pyramid of the Moon. Felt that I had proved myself :-) And you don't get the best view of the pyramid on the pyramid itself, right? Not all in our group climbed up either - there were these Brit girls who happily sat at the bottom of the pyramid admiring the view too.

Also, spent some time wandering around the Temple of Quetzalpapalotl, or the temple of the plumed butterfly. It is a well preserved (at least I hope it is well preserved) little temple with beautifully carved columns. It was quiet and peaceful especially with the sun slanting in. Also visited this Palace of the Jaguars, where there are some beautifully preserved murals.

There are also many, many souvenir sellers around the Teotihuacan complex hawking little obsidian statues, silver jewellery, handwoven cloth etc etc - essentially the same stuff as at the handicraft museum but at a fraction of the price. Hmmmm...... I did buy something so as to average down my costs but when I compared it to the stuff in the little shops near the exit to the site, it seemed fairly comparable. Guess I didn't get a great bargain but at least I didn't get ripped off.

All in all, I find the story of Teotihuacan fascinating - how this people came so long ago to build these pyramids that lasted so long that those who came after them marvelled at their splendour. Sometimes the works of men do persist, after all.

See my Multiply page (link on left) for more panoramic views of Teotihuacan. The link to Flickr photos is here.