Paris1972-Versailles2003

My many trips there over the years , saw plenty, had a great time but most importantly the friendships gathered now for over 25 years and still strong are tops. It is fun and lots of architecture and history, and especially fun when you go see with local family, I have found a couple of old paper pictures in my vault and decided it should be in my blog. Let me tell you about Teotihuacàn and its pyramids of Mexico !!!  Hope you enjoy this post as I.

The site or Holy city is located about 50 km from Mexico City, built between the 1C and 7C, Teotihuacan, the place where the gods are created, is characterized by the very large dimensions of its monuments, the most famous of which are the temple of Quetzalcoatl and the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, and by their geometric and symbolic arrangement. I will try to condense as much as possible as the info is huge here.

 Teotihuacán is an important archaeological site in the Mexico Valley, featuring some of the largest Mesoamerican pyramids ever built ,and, also known for its large residential complexes, its central avenue called by the Aztecs “Alley of the Dead” and its many well-preserved color murals. The city developed from 100 BC and was inhabited until its abandonment between the 6C and 7C. It was the largest city in all of pre-Columbian America and may have had a population of over 200,000, being one of the largest in the world at the time.

The ethnic origin of the inhabitants of Teotihuacan is debated: possible candidates include the Nahua, Otomi or Totonac peoples. As is often the case with metropolises, it is possible that Teotihuacan was a multi-ethnic state: indeed archaeological excavations have shown that Teotihuacan had distinct neighborhoods for the Zapotecs, the people of the Gulf Coast or the Mayans. Teotihuacan‘s name is Nahuatl because it was given by the Aztecs centuries after the city was abandoned, In pre-Hispanic times, the valley was on the marshy shores of Lake Texcoco. Covering an area of some 500 km2 and 35 km long, it ranges between 2,240 and 2,400 meters above sea level. It is crossed by two rivers: San Juan and San Lorenzo, which meet shortly beyond the site, before flowing into Lake Texcoco. The most important summit for the history of the city is an extinct volcano, Cerro Gordo, to the north of the site, in line with the Alley of the Dead.  It was initially believed that around the 7C and 8C the city was sacked and burned by invaders, possibly Chichimecs. The decline of Teotihuacan could be correlated with long periods of drought related to the abrupt cooling caused by the climate change of 535-536. This theory of ecological decline is based on the fact that the layers of life show on the one hand the traces of a massive eruption of the Ilopango volcano in 535 or 536 and on the other hand an increase in the percentage of adolescent skeletons carriers of signs of malnutrition, which seems to indicate a famine following the destruction of resources by volcanic ash. Violence and internal unrest can arise from these conditions.

The city is structured from a central axis, the Alley of the Dead, which starts from the Pyramid of the Moon and crosses the site from north to south for a distance of about 4 km with the quadrilateral of the Citadel, and halfway there, the tallest structure in the city, the Pyramid of the Sun, The Alley of the Dead leads to the 46 meter high Pyramid of the Moon, behind which looms a ancient volcano, Cerro Gordo. In front of the building is the Plaza de la Luna, bordered by platforms that respond to a rigorous symmetry. The Pyramid of the Sun, built above the cave, has five degrees in slope. 65 meters high, it forms approximately a square of 225 meters on each side, the volume of which totals more than one million cubic meters. The Pyramid of the Sun is the second largest in the New World, after the Great Pyramid of Cholula. The temple which occupied its summit has disappeared.  Taking the Alley of the Dead to the south, at the intersection with the great east-west artery, stands a huge complex that archaeologists call the Citadel. The whole occupies an area of 160,000 m2 and forms an enclosure of 400 meters per side, which gives it the appearance of a citadel, although it has no defensive function. The enclosure delimits a lowered esplanade of 250 meters north-south by 200 meters east-west, which allowed tens of thousands of people to gather. At the end of this square stands the Templo de la Serpiente Emplumada o Quetzalcóatl or Temple of the Feathered Serpent or of Quetzalcoatl. Opposite the Citadel, on the other side of the Alley of the Dead, is the Grand Ensemble, with an area of 20 ha. To the north and south, two large, very low platforms 1 meter, surround a central space of 254 x 214 meters that may have served as a central market , Around the civic-ceremonial center, excavations from the 1930s revealed existence of “residential complexes”, integrated into the orthogonal frame of the city. The Teotihuacan Mapping Project (TMP) has identified some 2,300.

Very large statues are extremely rare in Teotihuacan but spectacular, The volcanic stone monolith of 3.19 meters high, weighing nearly 24 tons, once known as the Chalchiuhtlicue Monolith and later as the Great Goddess , is a highly stylized anthropomorphic representation. She is dressed in a skirt and is believed to be a water deity. A colossal unfinished statue, the Monolith of Coatlinchán, sometimes referred to as the Monolith of Tlaloc, more than 7 meters high and weighing some 180 tons, it is the largest statue in Teotihuacan, if not in all of Mesoamerica. Its sex remains uncertain , The Temple of Quetzalcoatl is an example of a building whose architectural austerity is mitigated by monumental sculptures. A tablero decorated with figures weighing several tons fixed by tenons, which alternately represent the frontal masks of a reptile with menacing fangs and a geometric figure with circled eyes, while the taluds are adorned with feathered serpents which undulate against a background of shells.

I have always was taken by family by car here so the best ways recommended by all are, From Mexico City, it can be reached via the Mexico-Pachuca highway, exiting at Av. Insurgentes Norte, until it joins the Ecatepec-Pirámides highway. There is also access from the Mexico-Tuxpan and Arco Norte highways, as well as the Mexico-Teotihuacan free highway.

 The official UNESCO sites on Teotihuacàn : https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/414/

The Mexico City tourist office on Teotihuacàn: https://mexicocity.cdmx.gob.mx/venues/teotihuacan/

The Instituto Nacional de Antropologia y Historia on Teotihuacàn: https://www.teotihuacan.inah.gob.mx/index.php

There you go folks, a wonderful monument of Mexico, and the world, a must to see at least once in your lifetime. Great memories of my family visit there in Teotihuacàn , memories forever, Again, hope you enjoy the post as I,

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!