Uxmal - photos

Uxmal:

From Merida, we took a local bus which left us at the entrance of the Mayan site. Uxmal, like all the others archeological sites in Mexico, was closed for 5 days when the federal government decided to close restaurants, cinemas, schools...to avoid the virus of the influenza AH1N1 spreading all across Mexico. The site was reopening for midday.

Uxmal, whose name means 'That which was built three times' or 'place of abundant harvest' was occupied around 500 BC but the majority of the work was done between 600-1100 AD. The pyramids and other buildings are beautifully decorated and the architecture in this region is distinct from others sites in Yucatan and is known as the 'puuc' style.

So we arrived around 1 pm and it was pretty damn hot...the site was well conserved but a little too much. The restoration gave pyramids too perfect like made for a decor in a movie. Everything was too smooth but still nice ruins and we crossed only 5 tourists.

- View of the 'pyramid of the Magician', 35m height which is still holding a large number of enigma. The last excavation showed that the pyramid was the ritual centre and residence of Chaac, the last governor of Uxmal. The architecture of this pyramid is quite unusual: the layers of the step pyramid are oval, rather than the usual rectangular or square shape.
- panoramic view of the site with on the right, the pyramid of the Magician and in the centre, the Quadrangle of the Nuns and the Quadrangle of the Birds. The picture was taken from the Temple of the Turtles situated close to the Governor's House,
- Close view of a corner of the Quadrangle of the Nuns. We can distinguish three faces with very weird noses...very typical of the architecture of Mayan people,
- The Governor's House is one of the most representative building of Uxmal site; it is considered by experts as a wonder of the ancient world for its precision and architectonic beauty with the longest facades in the Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica,
- We were witnesses to a fight of iguanas just at the bottom of the pyramid of the Magician. Not sure if they were fighting for real or if it was just a game or if they were trying to mate...we will never know...except maybe in nine months time.....