Teotihuacan

After a long plane trip, I stopped in Mexico. The first attraction that I visited was the Teotihuacan Archaeological Site.

Located at 48 km from Mexico City in in the municipality of San Juan, The Teotihuacan Archaeological Site, is the most visited archaeological complex from Mexico.

This complex is famous for his pyramids which are the highest pre-Columbian structures from America. The original name of the complex, and the name of civilization that built it no longer known. The current name "Teotihuacan" was given by the the Aztec civilization, and can be translated in many ways, such as "place of the gods" or "place where someone becomes a god".

To visit the entire complex, it tooked me a large part of the day. Honestly, I really can't say that you will stay only 1 or 2 or 3 hours. It's an objectiv... so big and the beautiful that it would be a pity not stay untill you will admire every corner of the site.

The oldest building from Teotihuacan, dates from 200 BC, while the construction of the Great Pyramid of the Sun was finished in 100 AD.

Teotihuacan reached its apogee between 150 and 450 AD. In the 5th century it was the largest city from America and the sixth largest city in the world. In this splendid city were living around 150 000 people. Teotihuacan architectural style, known as talud-tablero, is one of the proofs of intercultural exchange between Teotihuacan and the Mayan cities.

The city is composed of numerous structures, but there are five main elements, namely: Pyramid of the Sun, Avenue of the Dead, the Pyramid of the Moon, the Pyramid of the feathered Serpent (Quetzalcoatl) and the Citadel.

Avenue of the Dead is the main alley of the city, and stretches over 2.5 kilometers from the Pyramid of the Moon to the Citadel Square, dividing the city into two areas. The alley is flanked by ceremonial buildings as and the the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon. The Citadel, named like this because the Spanish thought it was a fortress, is a grandiose marketplace, measuring about 160 000 m³. This is surrounded by several temples. The locals say that the Citadel was the political and religious center of the city of Teotihuacan.

In the Citadel is located the Pyramid of the feathered Serpent, which is one of the most impressive structures from the entire complex. This pyramid is dedicated to the feathered Serpent, also known as Quetzalcoatl, who was one of the most important gods from Mesoamerican culture.

The largest and the most impressive structure is the Pyramid of the Sun, which lies to the east of Avenue of the Dead, in the north of the city. This structure has a height of 63 meters and the base dimensions are 215 per 215 meters. The pyramid was composed of 4 platforms in steps, a terrace and a temple platform overlapped, but unfortunately the upper part of the structure was completely destroyed.

The Pyramid of the Moon is a beautiful building, something smaller than the Pyramid of the Sun, which lies north of Avenue of the Dead. This pyramid was built in 200 BC. The Pyramid of the Moon has on the top a platform, which was used when ceremonies were held in honor of the goddess of water and, Chalchiutlicue.

What impressed me most was the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent. So beautiful and so well preserved. Still preserves a large part of the original elements.

The only way to explore this place is by feet.

My advice if you want to visit this archaeological site: because in Mexico the sun is much stronger, I recommend you take with you a beret or a scarf to put it on the head and shoulders ..... I forgot to do this and I woke up with a very pretty sunburn :D... and of course do not forget the camera !!!
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