Before Tim and I went to Mexico City last December, we made a list of things we hoped to see. The pyramids of Teotihuacán, located only an hour bus ride away from the city, were at the top of the list. Of course when we hit the ground, our itinerary had a way of changing and we never did get to see the pyramids on that trip. Clearly another visit was needed!
A few weeks ago, on our second trip to Mexico City, Tim and I had the pleasure of exploring Teotihuacán with my sister and her husband. As home to the third largest pyramid in the world (the Pyramid of the Sun – featured in the first photo below), the archaeological site didn't disappoint. We spent several happy hours at the ruins climbing up this set of stairs and down another. And, it goes without saying, we took several photos too.
Also: Woo! I am thirty-five days away from my own Mexi-explorations!
Was this built on a mound or was the mound created? Seems like a lot of fill was needed. Are there chambers? This facinated me as the stones used must have taken years to set.
Janet – Good questions; and I'm honestly not 100% sure of the answers. I believe the pyramids were just built on flat ground (but they definitely look like mounds in the photos) with stone that was quarried on site. (At first we had thought they brought the stones from the surrounding mountains, but we did a bit more digging – sorry, bad pun – and it looks like they didn't have to schlep the stone after all. Lucky guys!)
As for chambers, in 1971 they found one tunnel under the Pyramid of the Sun that led to a chamber with some religious artifacts in it. And from other excavation work they've been able to detect additional chambers, but they haven't been able to access them and/or determine what they were used for. Cool, eh?
My goodness you two must be in great shape to climb up all those stairs and then back down again!
Trust me, we avoided as many of the stairs that we could!
One is the ocean (and rocky coastlines in particular).
You're in luck, good sir. We happen to live on one of those. *hint* *hint*
The view from the top was really spectacular. Windy, but spectacular!
Gorgeous pictures, as always -– you were there on a beautiful day!
The weather worked out perfectly: the first few hours were super sunny, but then the clouds came out just a touch. So we were able to take photos in two different lights. Good stuff.