Chichen Itza
The reason for going to Cancun! Everyone recognizes Chichen Itza just by its sight. But the pyramid everyone knows
is called El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan), while the town is Chichen Itza. Since I was young I always wanted to
see this wonder of the world. The name Chichen Itza means
"At the brim of the well where the Wise Men of the Water Live."
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The Mesoamerican people worshipped a prominent deity who they called Kukulkan, the feathered serpent god. He was believed by the Mayans to be one of three main gods who created the world. Showing the Mesoamerican people how to cultivate, run entire civilizations and how to even make medicines to cure and treat things like injuries and disease. This is why all over Chichen Itza you see serpents welcoming you around every corner. The jaguars started appearing in main art pieces after the Aztecs took over the city. Unlike the Mayans, most of the Aztec carvings depicted the god of night Tezcatlipoca.
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October 2016, March 2023
Observatory
The town of Chichen Itza is much larger than one would think, with many more temples and buildings. Mayans were devoted astronomers, and Venus held a special meaning for them. The Mayans believed that they could read in the stars, moon, and planets the wills of the gods. Buildings were built with astronomy in mind to dedicate time in what the gods had to say. An observatory tower close to El Castillo sits on a rectangular base, giving a 360-degree view of the skies above. Twenty sight lines of events such as eclipses, solstice,360-degree, and others can be found in the observatory. Three remaining windows in the tower were designed just to track Venus in the night sky. Now Venus is not seen as the planet of love but for them, it was the planet of war; they even decided when to wage war depending on when Venus was visible.
Spanish and English
Hi- Hola
Thank you- Gracias
Bathroom- Bano
El Castillo
The temple of Kukulkan was made one of the 7th wonders of the world in 2007. Known as El Castillo to the locals, at 75 feet tall this temple was built with the Mayan astrological endeavors in mind and built to work as a physical calendar one that aligns perfectly with the sun. The Mayans also had 365 days in their calendars; each side of the temple has 91 steps, and with four sides this equals 364 steps and one step at the very top.
During the spring and fall equinox, the temple was built in such perfect alignment with the sun that you can see shadows cast over the temple. These shadows depict a serpent that appears like it is slithering down the steps of the temple. Eventually, the entire body of the creature links with the head on one of the staircases. It is an amazing site! We witnessed the spring equinox in 2023 along with hundreds of other people! Once the shadow starts to descend it does take some time, as it slowly shadows the steps to darken them all and reunite the snake to its head at the bottom. We witnessed this for about 30 min and decided to leave then before everyone else to get out easy!
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During the equinox, they do not allow re-entry into the site. So make sure you prepare they do have snack food but it went quick at the food carts! It also got very sunny be sure to bring a sun hat or sun umbrella to help!
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Ball court
The largest Mayan ball court or as they called them "Juego de pelota" is in Chichen Itza. It is quite a sight to see at a whopping 225 feet in width and 545 feet in length. The highly revered sport among the Maya the popular game of Pok-a-Tok was played here. Playing with a very heavy ball made out of chicle (a raw material extracted mainly from Mesoamerican trees, chicle is also used to make chewing gum). The ball weighed about 3 to 4 kg or 6 to 8 pounds, they could only use their hips, shoulders, knees, and elbows. Feet, hands, and heads were not allowed to be used during the game. The seemingly innocent game of put-the-ball-through-the-hoop had a darker meaning according to the engravings on the wall and pillars surrounding the ball court. A lot of the rules and ways to play have been lost over the years. On the walls, there was still evidence that the caption of the losing team would be beheaded in front of the audience after the games.
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At Xcreate you can witness them playing this game during their end-of-the-night show!
