ruins – Ruth Rosenfeld

Chichén Itzá

The most majestic and the most visited of Mexico’s Maya ruins is Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán peninsula. Its proximity to the Atlantic coast makes it a popular day trip for beach and resort tourists. So we went early in the morning to beat most of the crowds. The name means “at the mouth (or rim)Continue reading “Chichén Itzá”

Uxmal

The Maya ruins of Uxmal are a one hour drive from Mérida. It’s thought that the city was constructed around 700CE, was home to around 25,000 people and once dominated the region along with Chichen Itza. The name is believed to mean “three times built,” since the site was reconstructed many times and inhabited byContinue reading “Uxmal”

Palenque

Traveling across Mexico to explore the ruins, I left the western areas inhabited primarily by the Aztec (Mexica), Zapotec, Olmec, and Mixtec peoples, and came to the land of the Mayan civilization in Chiapas in central Mexico. These structures were somewhat more familiar to me, having lived in Guatemala and visited major sites in TikalContinue reading “Palenque”

Monte Alban

West of Oaxaca, an easy day visit, is the ancient ceremonial center of Monte Alban. Built by the Zapotecs on a leveled mountaintop, it served as their capital from 500 BCE to 800 CE. Its terraces, dams, canals, and pyramids spread over four miles. Monte Alban was home to approximately 35,000 people, most of whomContinue reading “Monte Alban”

Cholula

On the outskirts of the town of Puebla, Mexico, is an unusual historic site. Not the uncovered ruins of a former city, although parts of the Cholula site have been excavated, but the Great Pyramid of Cholula lies beneath a hill covered with earth and vegetation, the way the Spaniards found it. They built aContinue reading “Cholula”

Teotehuacán

The archaeological ruins of Teotihuacán lie just thirty miles (50km) northeast of Mexico City. Although people lived in the area before then, the civilization developed in the first century CE, along the San Juan River, and grew to become the largest city in the Americas, home to over 100,000 people and covering 7.7 square milesContinue reading “Teotehuacán”

Mexico City

Riding from the airport, so many colorful murals along the highway caught my eye. My hotel was near the city center. As I walked the city streets, I felt like I was back in Guatemala, where I had lived for three years a couple of decades ago. The street scenes were so similar, framed byContinue reading “Mexico City”

Antigua saints and ruins

Christianity came to Latin America with the Spaniards, with missionaries following conquerors and colonizers. In Guatemala, there is an interesting mix between traditional Catholicism and Mayan religions. The stories and beliefs of the indigenous peoples have somehow infused even today’s culture. Every town and village in Guatemala has a Catholic church, and it also hasContinue reading “Antigua saints and ruins”