Aztec pyramids

There was so much info to take in here and it had been a long day, so apologies if I cut to the chase. The Teotihuacan empire was once mesoamerican greatest empire. Laid out in the first century, it was the basis of the famous pyramids of the sun and the moon; palaces, avenues and temples were added in the following 600 years. It grew to a population of 125,000 people and became the centre of the Mayan empire. Clever folks these Mayans, they used writing and created a calendar system with a 260 day sacred year, composing of 13 periods of 20 weeks. I heard, that in Mexican history books they do not like to shout about this, but every calendar period a human sacrifice was made to the gods which entailed cutting a person, mostly prisoners, under their rib cage and pulling out their beating heart as a gift to the gods… Apparently, it meant the people who were sacrificed went to a higher place in heaven. That’s ok then!

Little is known why the city was abandoned, however when it was discovered by the Aztecs they named it the ‘city of Gods’ as they thought only gods could have created it! It was pretty spectacular and being the third biggest pyramids in the world, very huge! Enjoy the views…

Three is the magic number

I bet you were all wondering when I was going to get the history book out? Although my time in Mexico City was brief, I did manage to squeeze in a day trip to the pyramids, to a mezcal factory and to Plaza de las Trez Culturas.

Plaza de las Trez Culturas symbolises the unique proposition that is modern day Mexico and the three cultures and historical periods that make this place totally unique.

The site is the old Aztec epicentre ‘Columbian Tialtelolco’, in its hey day it rivalled the the great Teotihuacan empire. Old Mexico city was divided into two holy cities and this was one of them. The city was actually an island and this was one of the main trading routes from the island (as I found out, over time the river bed was filled up and created the metropolis we know today. There are only three pieces of lake left, two are landfills, but luckily the third has been preserved. This is why Mexico city has a real problem with subsiding buildings.) I digress, an important place in Aztec civilisation, this was also where the Aztecs made their last stand against the Spanish conquest, however it fell into the hands of the Hernan Cortes in 1952.

So, we have the Aztec pyramids which were partly dismantled so they Spanish could build their church, and surrounding it there are high rises which symbolise Mexico or ‘mestizos’ today; people made up of three defining cultures.

I’m not sure whether ironic is quite the right word, but this site has also been privy to three tragedies. The first, the last stand of the Aztecs. Secondly, in 1968 as Mexico had the whole world looking on as it hosted the Olympics, a large group of students made a protest here about the current dictator. Although, it’s not altogether sure who took the first shot (recent sources point to the Spanish military), many were killed in the massacre – the figure I recall is around 400 innocent students. Finally, in 1985, there was an earthquake which caused the death of 10,000 Mexicans, unfortunately a lot of these were in this area.

Some say this is a haunted place and apparently on an evening there is strange witchcraft and the like taking place; luckily I did see nor partake in any of this 😉

One in 20 million

Hurray, I have arrived in Mexico. After leaving Lima at 2am, I arrived in Mexico City at about 3pm. A little sleep deprived, I had two hours, it took all my wits to find a cash point that worked and sort out a taxi – it’s sometimes the smallest things that cause the most grief! irritation aside, I slumbered into a taxi, took a deep breath and attempted to soak in the enormity of it all.

The first thing I noticed, aside from the sheer size of the city was the purple trees, ok the trees weren’t actually purple but they were swathed in purple blossom, quite heavenly. My hostel located, I needed sleep, some dinner and a beer. Ok, the beers quite quickly turned into tequilas! Generally, I’m not a fan, but combined with grapefruit juice I can quite happily say I’m converted, and at about £1.25 per drink I think I’m on a winning formulae for the next month 🙂

Feeling a wee bit groggy the following morning, I eventually pulled myself around and went exploring. Of course I did not have a plan, but I had a map – two actually – and my lonely planet, what else does Dora need?

There’s about 20 million people that live here, now that’s a lot of folk, and I was one of them! It felt a little bit like Northumberland Street at Christmas, but about 100 times busier. At one point I was waiting to cross a road and I must have been only one of 200. What’s more, I’m glad I got my cash in the airport as there were queues, 20-30 people deep at each and every ATM, it was just crazy. Someone had likened Mexico City to a hive of ants; they weren’t wrong.

My hostel, the lovely hostel amigo suites (check it out below), was only a five minute walk to the Centro Historico, so that’s where I headed, or rather where the swarms of people took me.

The plaza de la constitution, or as locally known the ‘Zocalo’ – the base, measures 240m x 220m and as such is one of the largest city squares. Home to the powers that be, it houses the presidential palace, the city government offices and the Cathedral Metropolitana; it was mucho impressive.

Heading along what seemed like one of the main shopping streets, luckily it was pedestrianised, I found myself at Almeda Central, a beautiful park filled with purple trees!

Heading up the park was the Palacio de Bellas Artes; a white-marbled palace, concert hall and art centre. Initially commissioned in 1905, it was not completed until the ’30s and had a delightful art deco feel to it.

I spied a waterfall up ahead and continued straight ahead; I think this is the new town; swanky hotels and sculptures were a a contrast from the old school architecture I’d previously seen. Obviously with my modernistic love for buildings, I enjoyed the stark contrast.

A city of contrast, it was not long until I was back in old school Mexico City and was faced with the Monumento a la Revolucion which contains the tombs of heroes of days gone by.

Knowing how much of a sucker I am for buildings, here’s some of the other structures that tickled my fancy.