More than a peruvian ancient city, its our reason to feel peruvian.
MachupicchuMachu Picchu is an ancient Inca site high atop the cloud-shrouded Andean mountains of my dear country Peru. It has been built for Pachacutec Inca between 1460-70, and its sometimes called City of the Gods. Machu Picchu, which means "Old Peak" in the Quechua language, was lost for nearly 400 years, but rediscovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham, but in fact many peruvians of this region knew about its existence.
At an elevation of 9060 feet (2,761m) the 5-mile-square (13 square km) site of Machu Picchu holds the ruins of palaces, temples, baths, and about 150 dwellings. The site includes terraces for agricultural purposes, watered by natural springs. Mortarless stone buildings are an architectural wonder even today, with some blocks weighing up to 50 tons (45 metric tons), yet so precisely fitted that a even the thinnest knife blade cannot be inserted between them.
The Incas of Machu Picchu worshipped the sun. One of the most enigmatic features of Machu Picchu is the sundial or Intihuatana stone. Sitting on a large slab of gray rock, this modest monolith functioned as an astrological calendar. Twice each year the stone revealed the equinoxes of March 21st and September 21st at midday, when the sun would shine directly overhead, casting no shadow. At these moments, Incas believed the sun sat with all its might upon the pillar and became tied to the rock. The stone is called the hitching post of the sun. Many ceremonies took place around this sacred stone, which also aligns with the December solstice. It's said to bestow celestial vision upon any spiritual person who touches their forehead to the stone.
At an elevation of 9060 feet (2,761m) the 5-mile-square (13 square km) site of Machu Picchu holds the ruins of palaces, temples, baths, and about 150 dwellings. The site includes terraces for agricultural purposes, watered by natural springs. Mortarless stone buildings are an architectural wonder even today, with some blocks weighing up to 50 tons (45 metric tons), yet so precisely fitted that a even the thinnest knife blade cannot be inserted between them.
The Incas of Machu Picchu worshipped the sun. One of the most enigmatic features of Machu Picchu is the sundial or Intihuatana stone. Sitting on a large slab of gray rock, this modest monolith functioned as an astrological calendar. Twice each year the stone revealed the equinoxes of March 21st and September 21st at midday, when the sun would shine directly overhead, casting no shadow. At these moments, Incas believed the sun sat with all its might upon the pillar and became tied to the rock. The stone is called the hitching post of the sun. Many ceremonies took place around this sacred stone, which also aligns with the December solstice. It's said to bestow celestial vision upon any spiritual person who touches their forehead to the stone.
Intiwatana StoneIn 1533 Spanish conquistadors destroyed the Inca cities that lay far below Machu Picchu, but they never found the mountaintop city. The Intihuatana stone at Machu Picchu is highly valued because the Spaniards systematically searched out and destroyed all Intihuatana stones they found. When a sacred stone was broken it was said to release the gods and power that inhabited it. The stone at Machu Picchu is whole, and therefore still in possession of all of its original power.
Machu Picchu, believed to have been a spiritual retreat or sanctuary, was abandoned sometime around 1570-1580; about 40 years after the conquistadors ravaged the empire. "Inca" is the surname of the royal family that ruled the Inca Empire, which at one time was the largest in the New World.
If you come to Peru you can visit Cuzco, a nearby city,it provides guided tours up the trail to Machu Picchu and I assure you that its an experience you will never forget and of course wont regret to do.
Machu Picchu, believed to have been a spiritual retreat or sanctuary, was abandoned sometime around 1570-1580; about 40 years after the conquistadors ravaged the empire. "Inca" is the surname of the royal family that ruled the Inca Empire, which at one time was the largest in the New World.
If you come to Peru you can visit Cuzco, a nearby city,it provides guided tours up the trail to Machu Picchu and I assure you that its an experience you will never forget and of course wont regret to do.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario