Recently voted as one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. The famous Mayan pyramids of Chichen-Itza are over 1500 years old. The name Chichen-Itza is a Mayan word: CHI (mouth) CHEN (well) and ITZA (of the Itza tribe). Chichen Itza has been studied extensively and is the most popular Mayan ruin in Mexico. It's also not entirely Mayan. Chichen got off the ground around 550 AD. Like most Mayan cities, Chichen was abandoned in the 10th century, then resettled around 1000 AD. Abandoned again in the 14th century, but it remained the site for pilgrimages for many years. Chichen had two principal wells, or cenote: one sacred and the other for everyday needs. The sacred well, a largish 195 feet across by 120 feet deep, was used in worship, and offerings were continually made to it.
Chichen Itza, though crowded, is a Jewel!This area is known for the vast history of the Maya, their advanced mathematical knowledge, their incredible understanding of the solar system. These amazing people had mapped the heavens, evolved the only true writing system native to the Americas and were masters of mathematics. They invented the calendars we use today. Without metal tools, beasts of burden or even the wheel they were able to construct vast cities across a huge jungle landscape with an amazing degree of architectural perfection and variety.
Possibly the best known construction on the site is Kukulcan's Pyramid. El Castillo (Kukulkan-Quetzalcoatl), a square-based, stepped pyramid that is approximately 75 feet tall. This pyramid was built for astronomical purposes and during the vernal equinox (March 20) and the autumnal equinox (September 21) at about 3 P.M.. the sunlight bathes the western balustrade of the pyramid's main stairway. This causes seven isosceles triangles to form imitating the body of a serpent 37 yards long that creeps downwards until it joins the huge serpent's head carved in stone at the bottom of the stairway. Mexican researcher Luis El Arochi calls it "the symbolic descent of Kukulcan" (the feathered serpent), and believes it could have been connected with agricultural rituals.
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The Yucatan offers the spring and autumn solstice at Chichen Itza. Twice each year, during the vernal (March 20 or 21) and autumnal (September 21 or 22) equinox as the sun rises the shadows that it casts actually make the form of a serpent on the steps leading to the top of the Castillo.
The Superdome:
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Chichen Itza, not only has one of the best preserved and rebuilt pyramids of the Mayan world, El Castillo, but it is home to many other impressive groups. The Temple of the Warriors that houses the famous Chaac-Mool, where heads used to roll, is located amidst the group of 1,000 columns,
BALL COURT
The awe inspiring ball court can only be truly appreciated by those who have visited other ruins. Coba, for example, one of our recommendations, has well reconstructed ball courts that are quite impressive. But these seemingly impressive fields look like the grapefruit leagues compared to the Superdome right there at Chichen This was obviously where the big boys came to play. Though the losers shared the sad fate of a horrible death, they had a chance to play in the Big Show!
Don't forget to walk down the path to the Sacred Cenote in the Jungle. A huge gaping hole contains water about 70 feet below the ground level. Peer in, but please leave the diving to the professionals in Acapulco! This was the resting place for not only lovely young virgins, but apparently bad children, some sick, and other seemingly healthy men and women of all ages. Artifacts of gold and jade found here can be traced from as far away as Colombia demonstrating the vast international dealings of the ancient Maya.
Chichen Itza has been widely studied, and excavated and restored more than any of the other Mayan cities. Yet its history is still clouded in mystery and there are many contradicting theories and legends. It is clear that a large Mayan community thrived here between around 700AD and 900AD, and built most of the structures in the southern area. However, the main buildings in the central area, including the Pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of the Warriors and the Ball Court, are Toltec in design and influence.
The Ball Court (Juego de Pelota) From the Pyramid of Kukulkan, head north-east to the Great Ball Court, the largest of its kind in the Maya world. There are eight other much smaller ball courts at Chichen Itza and more in other Maya cities, but this one was deliberately built on a much grander scale than any others. The length of the playing field here is 40 feet (135 m) and two 25 feet (8 m) high walls run alongside the field.
The temple itself displays another aspect of Toltec architecture the use of ‘Atlantean figures’, or statues supporting the altar. Here the statues are of warriors, each with the appearance of a different racial type. It is unclear as to whether these designs were accidental or whether the Maya were really aware of the diversity of the human race.
Chichen Itza is the capital of ancient Maya empire, its majestic building dates back to 435 and 455, and it is geographically located in the middle of spectacular natural environs in the Yucatan Peninsula. At this site declared as one of the 7 World Wonders, you can visit magnificent temples such as the Kukulcan Pyramid and the Ball Game as well as there are others that cannot be visited to avoid damages.
The Castle or Pyramid of Kukulcan is the most impressive temple in Chichen Itza renowned for the number of tombs found there and its endless 91 steps, as well as the impeccable architecture that stands out by a stone feathered serpent.
If you visit Chichen Itza on March 21st or September 21st you can admire a unique spectacle: the Equinox. Just at 3:00 p.m. the sun lights creates at the pyramid north side 7 light and shadows isosceles triangles, giving shape to the body of a slithering serpent. This effect is a symbol of the Kukulcan God descent (bird-serpent) to the earth, and also the beginning and ending agricultural cycle, according the Equinox (spring or autumn).
Maya civilization, at least in places and at certain times, had a market economy similar in some respects to societies today. The conventional view has been that food and other goods in Maya cities were distributed through taxation and tributes controlled by the ruling class.
Follow the steps into the past and discover the most important Mayan cultural center considered one of the most advanced in America
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Chichen Itza is abundant with charm. Please take your time and realize all Chichen Itza has to offer!
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The Mayan World the evolution of the Maya from the perspective of time
The Yucatán Peninsula is a piece of land that separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea.
Yucatán, a peninsula on the eastern coast of Mexico and Central America, between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Yucatán includes the Mexican states of Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo, part of northern Guatemala, and Belize. It has an area of about 70,000 square miles (180,000 km2).
The Pre-Columbian era Before the arrival of the Spanish in the area, the Yucatán was the home of the Maya civilisation. Archaelogical remains show ceremonial architecture dating back some 3000 years; some heiroglyphic texts date back to the Maya Pre-Classic era. Maya cities of the Yucatan continued to flourish after the Central Lowland Classic Maya cities collapsed; some continued to be occupied through the arrival of the Spanish. Many ruins of their cities can still be found on the peninsula.
Deep in the Yucatan, temples, palaces, and pyramids long hidden by the jungle tell of the glory days of the ancient Maya:
Mayan Cities / Sites
Calakmul, Edzna, Izamal, Becan, Chacmultun, Chicanna, Dzibilnocac, Kohunlich, Labna, Lamamai, Sayil, Xpujil, Xunantunich Cancun, Isla Mujeres, Puerto Morelos, Playa del Secreto, Punta Bete, Playa del Carmen, Playacar, Cozumel, Xcaret, Paamul, Puerto Aventuras, Xpu Ha, Akumal, Xel Ha, Tankah, Coba, Sian Ka'an, Punta Allen and of course the ones we mentioned earlier of: Tikal, Uxmal, Palenque, Tulum Chichen Itza.
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Nopal Cactus
Nopal is native to the southwestern desert regions of the United States and Mexico, and has a whole range of health benefits (all proven in numerous studies, both animal and human). These include the ability to:
Nopales – the flesh pads of the prickly pear cactus
Nopal is a prehistoric cactus that grows in both the old and new world. It is native to Mexico and grows abundantly there due to the semiarid weather. The cactus is known as Nopales, or Nopalitos, in Mexico and is a dietary staple of the native people.
Banana Bread
This came out really good. The addition of the Nopal Powder really improved the recipe. It gave it a finer crump and really good flavor. Bananas and Nopal seem to compliment each other.
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup of softened butter or Margarine
2 eggs
1 cup (2 medium) bananas Mashed
1/3 cup of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups of flour ( I use bread flour but AP is ok)
1/2 cup Nopal Powder
2 tablespoons Flax seed (optional) *
1/2 cup of chopped nuts if desired
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 325. Grease bottom only of loaf pan. In large bowl cream sugar and margarine until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, bananas, milk and vanilla. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just blended. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completly before removing from pan.
SALAD NOPAL
1 pound cactus paddles or fresh green beans - 1 cup thinly sliced onion - 2 cloves minced garlic - 2 medium tomatoes, diced small - 3 radishes, julienned - 1/4 cup chopped cilantro - 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - 1 tablespoon white vinegar -1 tablespoon lime juice - 2 teaspoons leaf oregano - 1 teaspoon salt Freshly ground black pepper to taste - 1/4 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta cheese - 2 pounds small cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp
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