We walked by torch light before 5.00 AM from our hotel into the temple complex that surrounds our place on two sides. It was still very dark when we got our first sight of the main temple but they used powerful portable lights to illuminate the buildings.
The Temple of Kukulcan pre dawn.
The camera finds light in the sky that we couldn't see.
The early rays of light well before sunrise.
Whilst the iconic photo is this temple, it actually isn't a pyramid but rather an ancient Maya calendar. It is divided into two by the front staircase creating 18 different terraces that correspond to the 18 months of the Maya calendar. Each month has 20 days.
There are 4 staircases, one on each side, with 91 steps each plus the final platform equalling 365 the number of days in the year, On the spring and autumn equinox, the morning and afternoon sunlight produces a light and shadow illusion of the serpent ascending or descending on the staircase.
For the Maya it was about the numbers!
We had time to visit the ball court before sunrise. This is the largest and is at least as large as a football field. One ring is still in place and the stone carvings are of the highest quality.
Details on the Ball Court walls.
The Tzompantu or Skull Rack. What a welcome to the city!
Enough to frighten any warrior.
We went back to the main temple for the sun rise.
The rising sun illuminated the statues and columns.
The Temple of Kukulcan pre dawn.
The camera finds light in the sky that we couldn't see.
The early rays of light well before sunrise.
Whilst the iconic photo is this temple, it actually isn't a pyramid but rather an ancient Maya calendar. It is divided into two by the front staircase creating 18 different terraces that correspond to the 18 months of the Maya calendar. Each month has 20 days.
There are 4 staircases, one on each side, with 91 steps each plus the final platform equalling 365 the number of days in the year, On the spring and autumn equinox, the morning and afternoon sunlight produces a light and shadow illusion of the serpent ascending or descending on the staircase.
For the Maya it was about the numbers!
We had time to visit the ball court before sunrise. This is the largest and is at least as large as a football field. One ring is still in place and the stone carvings are of the highest quality.
Details on the Ball Court walls.
The Tzompantu or Skull Rack. What a welcome to the city!
Enough to frighten any warrior.
We went back to the main temple for the sun rise.
The rising sun illuminated the statues and columns.
From another angle you can see two sets of steps. These are closed so no pre dawn climbing.
The temple as it is thought to have been at its peak.
The Ossary and stone masks.
The sun was warming up but the crowds were still absent.
The Observatory. The Maya had supreme knowledge of the stars and developed a complex calendar.
The Cenote or holy well. In this limestone country there are no surface rivers but sink holes are common,
The last photo!
We were fortunate to visit before the hundreds of buses arrived for day trips. We could actually see some parts of the complex from our hotel. We had breakfast then a rest before lunch and our drive for our final stop at Cancun. Cancun is a luxury hotel resort city with a totally different atmosphere.
3 comments:
Wow, looks like you had a wonderful visit before the rest of the tourists arrived and watching the sun come up like that, some really stunning photos.
Somewhere we would love to go. Looks a,aging.
* amazing that should read.
God don’t tell me I have to verify another thousand grassy knolls to post this correction.
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