Sethukarnan's Mexico Tour Chichen Itza 24 Dec 2019

Chichen Itza is a Mayan City on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, between Valladolid and Merida. It was established before the period of Christopher Colombus and probably served as the religious center of Yucatan for a while. The Maya and Toltec vision of the world and the universe is revealed in their artistic works and stone monuments. Chichen Itza is classified as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and in 1988 was enlisted as an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It attracts millions of visitors who come to marvel at the spectacular remains. In the northern region of the peninsula, on a limestone plateau lie the relics of Chichen Itza. The only source of water in the arid region around the site is from wells (cenotes) formed by sinkholes in limestone formations. Two big cenotes on the site made it a suitable place for the city and gave it its name, from chi (“mouths”), chen (“wells”), and Itzá, the name of the Maya tribe that settled there. El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulkan) is the famous pyramid which dominates the site of Chichen Itza and it actually sits on a cenote/another much older temple. The most visited sites of Chichen Itza, include the Kukulkan Pyramid, the Great Ball Court and the Temple of the Jaguars. During the Spring (20th of March) and Autumn Equinox (22nd September), sunrays creates a shadow across the Kukulkan Pyramid that gives the appearance of a serpent slithering down the staircase. Located on the north side of the Kukulkan Pyramid is a platform dedicated to the planet Venus. The Mayans were devoted astronomers and the movements of Venus held special meaning to them, with it influencing the architecture of the ancient Mayan city Uxmal. The pyramid in Chichen Itza was used as a calendar 4 stairways, each with 91 steps and a platform at the top, making a total of 365, exactly equivalent to the number of days in a Haab calendar year. Many of the sites in Chichen Itza are known for their unusual sounds. If you clap once from one end of the Ball Court, it produces nine echoes in the middle of the court. Additionally, a clap in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid creates an echo resembling the serpent’s chirp.