To get to the great, ancient city of Teotihuacan, we hired a driver and upon arriving hired a tour guide for an hour. There was a light drizzle and overall gray sky. Not great weather, but the crowds were small! Our guide explained that the city began in the early part of the first century AD. The Piramide del Sol was completed first, in 150 consecutive years. (The guide explained that researchers believe the Pyramid to the Sun was originally red and gold, colors created from native plants.) The rest of the city developed between AD 250 and 600 with a citadel, temples, and pyramid. However, by the 8th century, what was once Mesoamerica's greatest city, collapsed, and the civilization vanished.
The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world. (The largest is in Egypt and the second largest is also in Mexico.) It is possible to climb to the top of the pyramid- 248 steps to get an aerial view of Teotihuacan. Of course, I had to make the climb along with all the other visitors! It was a bit unnerving- wet stones, narrow steps, hand railings only part of the way. Plus, I have a bad case of vertigo. According to custom, once you climb to the top, you look up to the heavens,
extend your arms upward, close your eyes, and absorb the mystical energy from the sun. Even though it was rainy, we put down our umbrellas to follow this custom. Once we took a couple of pictures, we were faced with getting back down to level ground. The really eerie thing about the construction of the pyramid is that you cannot see the steps from the uppermost landing. When you look toward the edge, it looks as if the platform just ends and you'll take a step into air. My strategy was to keep looking down, and repeat "one step at a time" until I reached the bottom. It worked!
The two large pyramids (Piramide del Sol y Piramide de la Luna) are connected by a long avenue, Calzada de los Muertos. The Avenue of the Dead got its name from the Aztecs, who believed that the great buildings alongside the avenue were tombs. After the adventure and sore legs from climbing the sun pyramid, I was happy to just look at the Pyramid to the Moon. Throughout the grounds are vendors selling all sorts of memorabilia- woven cloths, obsidian figurines, beaded jewelry, toys. Even the rain did not deter their efforts to get me to buy something. This time, I resisted.
The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world. (The largest is in Egypt and the second largest is also in Mexico.) It is possible to climb to the top of the pyramid- 248 steps to get an aerial view of Teotihuacan. Of course, I had to make the climb along with all the other visitors! It was a bit unnerving- wet stones, narrow steps, hand railings only part of the way. Plus, I have a bad case of vertigo. According to custom, once you climb to the top, you look up to the heavens,
extend your arms upward, close your eyes, and absorb the mystical energy from the sun. Even though it was rainy, we put down our umbrellas to follow this custom. Once we took a couple of pictures, we were faced with getting back down to level ground. The really eerie thing about the construction of the pyramid is that you cannot see the steps from the uppermost landing. When you look toward the edge, it looks as if the platform just ends and you'll take a step into air. My strategy was to keep looking down, and repeat "one step at a time" until I reached the bottom. It worked!The two large pyramids (Piramide del Sol y Piramide de la Luna) are connected by a long avenue, Calzada de los Muertos. The Avenue of the Dead got its name from the Aztecs, who believed that the great buildings alongside the avenue were tombs. After the adventure and sore legs from climbing the sun pyramid, I was happy to just look at the Pyramid to the Moon. Throughout the grounds are vendors selling all sorts of memorabilia- woven cloths, obsidian figurines, beaded jewelry, toys. Even the rain did not deter their efforts to get me to buy something. This time, I resisted.
Wow! How beautiful!
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