México - A New Wonder of the World

 July 18-19

Hello everyone!

You’ve probably heard of the Seven Wonders of the World. I’ve seen the one that’s still standing. Have you, however, heard about the ‘New’ list of seven?

The pyramid of Chichén Itzá...is being eaten by a snake! Aargh!

Building of the Nuns

It’s a more varied list than the original, with most regions of the world represented. Certainly more people had an impact on this list than the original, with voting taking place by internet and text message. The list contains structures in Peru, Brazil, Jordan, China, Italy, India…and Mexico.

Rome's Colosseum in 2018

Agra's Taj Mahal in 2011

China's Great Wall in 2010

The latter is called Chichén Itzá, a Mayan site on the Yucatán peninsula. One of many Mayan sites, actually. As I showed in the previous blog, the other sites are pretty special themselves. So what makes Chichén Itzá better? What makes it worthy of being included on that prestigious modern list of wonders?

The flat ground around it means you can
take many creative photos of the main temple

There are many iguanas here. Apparently the collective noun
for iguanas is 'a mess of iguanas', which I feel is harsh.

Well I had to find out, of course. Many people want to find out. Chichén Itzá is the most visited historical site in Mexico. Part of this is owing to its proximity to some very popular tourist spots: specifically, Cancún.

One of many vendors setting up on site. At least he
wasn't making the horrible 'jaguar' noise out of a souvenir...

It's an easy day trip from Merida and the tourist
hotspots of Cancun, Tulum and Playa del Carmen

Chichén Itzá - ‘the Mouth of the Well for the Itzaes’ - was the capital city that concentrated political, economic and ideological power on the peninsula. Its zenith was later than Palenque, between 800 CE and 1200 CE. The site…is massive.

A museum in Mexico City told me that Chichén Itzá was the first
time a single pre-Hispanic city controlled economy and politics.
I don't really know what exactly that means, I feel they go hand in hand.

This is the Red House - they think it used to be red

Strolling up from the entrance under the shade of trees, you suddenly see the land open. A large, flat area dominated by this…

The centrepiece of 10 sq km of total land

Some believe that the slant or balustrade shows the image
of a descending snake when the light hits it correctly
at certain times of the year. Not today, obviously.

El Castillo. The castle. The centrepiece which is what most would conjure in their minds if someone asked them to picture Chichén Itzá. Obviously this is a European name for the 30-metre-tall stone structure. In reality, it was the Kukulkan Temple.

At its height, Chichén Itzá was home to Mayan
people from all areas of the Yucatan Peninsula.

The temple was built between the ninth and twelfth centuries

A couple of cool elements about this. You can create one yourself by clapping firmly at the bottom of one of the four staircases. You suddenly hear a bird sound in response. Some believe that this was purposely created by the initial designers. Absolutely incredible if that’s true. 

See that red dot in front of it? That's me. It's big.

The other interesting aspect is that this temple is built over a water cave, known as a cenote. I’m going to pause writing about Chichén Itzá to segue to these fascinating natural wonders which are unique to this part of the world. As to why they exist, we need to go back in time. A lot further back than the Mayans…

Cenote water is often very clear, as the water comes
from rain water filtering slowly through the ground

Pondering how old these might be...

Go back about 66 million years, actually. The time of the dinosaurs. They were doing quite well for themselves when suddenly…gone. A meteorite smashed into Earth, wiping out most life. It landed…very close to the Yucatán Peninsula. Its impact is connected to a ring of holes and tunnels within the limestone of the Yucatán. Hundreds, if not thousands, of these holes filled with water over time, creating natural pools.

This is where scientists believe the meteorite struck Earth

In sweltering weather, they’re great for swimming and exploring. Some of the rock formations, such as the stalactites at Cenote Kankirixche, are mind boggling. 

The name translates to 'Tree of Yellow Fruit'

The darker section at the back and to the right can be up to 50 metres deep

The word cenote is connected to the Mayan language - ts’ono’ot - meaning ‘a hole filled with water’. They were very important to this civilisation as they were often the most reliable source of water - there are hardly any rivers on the entire peninsula. I found that fact quite astounding. The cenotes had another purpose for the Maya, though…

This one is partially covered but you are not allowed to
use sunscreen in any cenote in order to protect them

Chichén Itzá's southern cenote - this one was used for drinking water, unlike the larger 'sacred' sinkhole

Some of them were pretty sacred spots, particularly the one at Chichén Itzá. The Sacred Cenote was thought to be one of the main entries to the underworld. One idea is that the city itself was built here because of this cenote. It was dredged at the start of the twentieth century, after which archaeologists found many relics…and parts of humans…

It has a diameter of up to 200 feet, or over 60 metres

They believe that children, warriors and maidens were sacrificed.
How they know this from bones, I have no idea...

Chichén Itzá is more than just a pyramid and waterhole, however. It has many structures, larger than at other sites, which help to explain important facets of the Mayan world. One of these was a large, intimidating ball game court. 

This is the largest ball court I've seen by far.
This is Old Trafford compared to someone's back garden.

A variety of temples stand proudly around the ball game area

Further away from the main plaza was a secondary area, known as the Plaza of A Thousand Columns. There were indeed a lot of columns here, as well as the remains of what would have been one of the largest pre-Hispanic markets.

The Temple of the Warriors. Possibly destroyed...by other warriors.

Possibly remnants of the market

The Mayans are known in modern culture for their calendar (remember when the world was going to end in 2012?). The calendar is based on precise use of astrology, for which you would need quite a large observatory. Check.

The cylindrical nature of the tower is quite rare in Mayan architecture

Their priests succeeded in calculating solar and lunar
eclipses, and the solar year, with great accuracy.

The architecture of two buildings near the observatory, which were given Spanish names of The Church and The Building of the Nuns, is a bit different from the rest. There is a lot more intricate detail carved within their stone exteriors, which makes them look very appealing.

The Church

They didn't have nuns in Mayan times -
the Spanish thought the building resembled a convent

The city declined drastically in the thirteenth century, though the Spanish are said to have found a growing settlement when they arrived about 300 years later. I’m not sure how much damage was done, or how much has been recently restored.

The Temple of the Large Tables

Some of the detail has resisted Father Time

Without doubt, Chichén Itzá is a pre-Hispanic site of epic proportions. It oozes grandeur and status. As for its fame ahead of other Mexica and Mayan sites, though, I do think that much of its foot traffic - and therefore popularity - comes from being close to Cancun and Playa del Carmen. In a popular vote, you’re going to pick the one you’ve visited or know of, aren’t you? If Palenque was as easily accessible as Chichén Itzá, would it have been picked instead? Possibly.

Quite a rickety staircase...

A turquoise-browed motmot - in El Salvador it's
known as a torogoz, and is the national bird

As I have said before, each pre-Hispanic site seems to be a little bit different from any other. Your ‘favourite’ is therefore personal preference, and any of the sites could easily be argued for. Does a pre-Hispanic site in Mexico deserve to be on that New Seven Wonders of the World list? Absolutely. Did it have to be Chichén Itzá? Not necessarily. But it is certainly worthy of being seen as a prestigious vestige of our slightly more modern history.

Cooling off in a cool cenote

Chichén Itzá impressive

Love you all,

Matt