Uxmal

 

Monday was Uxmal day. Gayle, Dale, Stuart and I rented a car for the 1 hour drive south of the city. We could have taken a bus for less money, but with the four of us, it was a reasonable price for the convenience. Uxmal is in the Puuc, or hill, region of the Yucatan, and unlike most of the penninsula, the soil here is good. Conflicting opinions have Uxmal beginning from the third century to the sixth century, and was quite a large city because of the capability of growing enough food to support a large population. There are no rivers on the Yucatan, only the underground rivers, and cenotes. The dry season is 6 months long, which meant that rain or water from any source was precious. We can see how precious it was from the hundreds of stone carvings on the buildings representing the rain god, Chak, and turtles and fish, water creatures. You've probably seen pictures of Chak, he's the dude with the big nose. And, just like anything breakable you've ever mail-ordered, the noses are mostly broken off, laying around the grounds.

The photo above is of the Magician's palace, the tallest structure at Uxmal. The photo was taken from the House of Turtles, which may have been used as a place of study or worship. Underneath it, and the other buildings at Uxmal, there are at least 4 other cities! Only the priests and highest ranking people were allowed up the steps of the Magician's Palace...a source of power and control over the workers of the city. In fact, the common people weren't even allowed in the quadrangle in front of the palace, they lived outside the low wall of the whole complex.

The Mayans were great mathemeticians, and were able to predict all solar events, including the winter and summer solstice and eclipses. One of the other buildings at Uxmal was created as an observatory. Just yesterday morning, there was a celebration of the winter solstice, when the sun shown through both the doorways of the Great Pyramid there.

We hired a guide, a local Mayan man, and learned much from him. I was surprised to learn that the buildings, in their day, were all covered with plaster, and painted. Our image of the pyramids is of stone, with no color...we are so wrong. The Governor's Palace is considered by some to be the finest example of pre-Hispanic architecture in Mesoamerica. The symmetry, the carvings, and the decorative symbols are all delicate, and extraordinary. George told us about the meaning of many of the symbols, and showed us the remarkable construction techniques.

By the time the Spaniards 'discovered' the ruins, the city had been abandoned for 600 hundred years. Fred Catherwood make precise drawings of many Mayan structures in the mid-1800's, and I'm on the lookout for his book, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan.

 

Just a little detail on the Great Pyramid at Uxmal. There was much photo fodder here! I'll put more in another post...

 

Every Sunday in the Plaza Grande in Merida there is an arts festival. Local artists only, local food vendors and local entertainers. This woman, with a partner dressed in gold, performed for tips. They both spoke beautifully without ever making a sound!