More about Cuzco and vicinity
Yesterday I say four places connected with the Inca culture. First I went to the church of Santo Domingo which was built on the greatest Inca temple Qoricancha, the Temple of the Sun. Nowadays the two cultures, the Hispanic and the Inca's, are cohabitaing the space - the baroque catholic church in some places, the Inca chambers devoted to different dieties in others. The guide said that the walls of the Inca chambers were covered with gold plate half an inch thick. Later they were taken down and melted, they were covered with plaster and painted. Later still, they was cleaned of the plaster and revealed for all to see.
Later I went to Sacsayhuaman (which is pronounced almost like Sexywoman and so that's how the guides call it for easy remembering). Most sacred and admired animals to Incas were puma, snake, and condor. Cuzco was build in the shape of a puma and the puma's head was Sacsayhuaman. It was a huge object believed by the conquistadores to be a fortress but now it's believed it was a sanctuary and the temple of the Sun. In 1982 graves of priests were found and that enforced this belief. There are only remains of that huge complex because after the conquest all the catholic churches were built with the use of the stones from the site. What remains, however, is still very impressive. There can still be seen huge blocks of stone (some weighing 130 tons) fitted perfectly without the use of mortar.
Down the road I came across Qenqo which means a maze in Quechua. It is basically a stone carved out inside in which there are narrow corridors and an offering altar. It was very interesting to walk through this cave-like structure. A kilometer away there's a checkpoint called Puka Pukara and Tambo Machay which is another Inca's bath - it's a spring shrine and the water is supposed to be potable and give health and longevity to those who drink it. It's amazing how many interesting buildings, or remains of them, are around Cuzco.
Today I visited Museo de Historia Regional and saw many paintings from XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries of the school called the Cuzco school. They definately present a very specific style although they were influenced by the European art of that time. I really enjoyed the sacral art - it is very different from the usual "Madonnas", more down to earth, more real. Some Madonnas are breastfeeding the baby Jesuses and I haven't seen it in European paintings.
I also visited the Cathedral, Palacio Arzobispal, the Museum of the Inca, church San Blas and Museo de Arte Precolumbiano - Museum of the Precolombian art. The last one was the most interesting one. It's absolutely stunning. If you ever go to Cuzco, I highly recommend visiting it. The objects are not crammed together in glass cases. They were carefuly chosen to represent the cultures of the various peoples who lived in the area of Peru: Nazca, Mochina, Huari, Chimu, Chancey, Viru, Paracas, Salinar and Cupisnique. Katarina probably knows about these cultures. I learned a little about them today. The artifacts are wonderfully presented. You walk into a dark room and as you walk in the niches in the walls are illuminated and you see the objects. There's the museum of gold, silver, sculpture, textile and ceramics. The interior is usually white, the floor is made of brick. I enjoyed the objects, the way they were displayed and the architecture of the building.
I learned that it is too dangerous to go the mountains at the moment because of risk of avalanches so I will have to find out if there's still a different route to Machu Pichu. If there isn't I will probably go to see it in one or two days and I will go trekking somewhere else. I heard that the Colca canyon is nice.
And, I also saw today The One Million Dollar Baby (it seems like days here are really streeeeeeeeeched and so many things can be done in one day, maybe because the city is small and everything is so close). I really enjoyed the movie. I was always trying to find the right wording for why boxing is so great and I think the man in the movie explained it right. He said that in boxing everything is reversed so instead of running away from pain a boxer gets right into it. And he also said that boxing is about respect, respect for yourself. Perhaps other sports can teach this too, but I learned that from boxing, even though I only did it as an exercise and never was thinking of actually getting into fights. So, Curtis and Chafia, I so miss the classes! Once I settle somewhere I will look for a boxing gym, for sure!!!
Later I went to Sacsayhuaman (which is pronounced almost like Sexywoman and so that's how the guides call it for easy remembering). Most sacred and admired animals to Incas were puma, snake, and condor. Cuzco was build in the shape of a puma and the puma's head was Sacsayhuaman. It was a huge object believed by the conquistadores to be a fortress but now it's believed it was a sanctuary and the temple of the Sun. In 1982 graves of priests were found and that enforced this belief. There are only remains of that huge complex because after the conquest all the catholic churches were built with the use of the stones from the site. What remains, however, is still very impressive. There can still be seen huge blocks of stone (some weighing 130 tons) fitted perfectly without the use of mortar.
Down the road I came across Qenqo which means a maze in Quechua. It is basically a stone carved out inside in which there are narrow corridors and an offering altar. It was very interesting to walk through this cave-like structure. A kilometer away there's a checkpoint called Puka Pukara and Tambo Machay which is another Inca's bath - it's a spring shrine and the water is supposed to be potable and give health and longevity to those who drink it. It's amazing how many interesting buildings, or remains of them, are around Cuzco.
Today I visited Museo de Historia Regional and saw many paintings from XVI, XVII and XVIII centuries of the school called the Cuzco school. They definately present a very specific style although they were influenced by the European art of that time. I really enjoyed the sacral art - it is very different from the usual "Madonnas", more down to earth, more real. Some Madonnas are breastfeeding the baby Jesuses and I haven't seen it in European paintings.
I also visited the Cathedral, Palacio Arzobispal, the Museum of the Inca, church San Blas and Museo de Arte Precolumbiano - Museum of the Precolombian art. The last one was the most interesting one. It's absolutely stunning. If you ever go to Cuzco, I highly recommend visiting it. The objects are not crammed together in glass cases. They were carefuly chosen to represent the cultures of the various peoples who lived in the area of Peru: Nazca, Mochina, Huari, Chimu, Chancey, Viru, Paracas, Salinar and Cupisnique. Katarina probably knows about these cultures. I learned a little about them today. The artifacts are wonderfully presented. You walk into a dark room and as you walk in the niches in the walls are illuminated and you see the objects. There's the museum of gold, silver, sculpture, textile and ceramics. The interior is usually white, the floor is made of brick. I enjoyed the objects, the way they were displayed and the architecture of the building.
I learned that it is too dangerous to go the mountains at the moment because of risk of avalanches so I will have to find out if there's still a different route to Machu Pichu. If there isn't I will probably go to see it in one or two days and I will go trekking somewhere else. I heard that the Colca canyon is nice.
And, I also saw today The One Million Dollar Baby (it seems like days here are really streeeeeeeeeched and so many things can be done in one day, maybe because the city is small and everything is so close). I really enjoyed the movie. I was always trying to find the right wording for why boxing is so great and I think the man in the movie explained it right. He said that in boxing everything is reversed so instead of running away from pain a boxer gets right into it. And he also said that boxing is about respect, respect for yourself. Perhaps other sports can teach this too, but I learned that from boxing, even though I only did it as an exercise and never was thinking of actually getting into fights. So, Curtis and Chafia, I so miss the classes! Once I settle somewhere I will look for a boxing gym, for sure!!!
posted by Asia Kabat at 7:10 PM
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