200 years before Jesus Christ strode this world, something drove a great tribe into this Mexican valley probably a volcano explosion!
Slowly the ancient city grew and today its one of the best tourist attractions.
The burgeoning population grew in richness and architectural structures like one storeyed house.
By 400 CE the city grew big.
By then two important pyramids were in function.
The Pyramid of the Sun and about 800 ft apart the Pyramid of the Moon.
The huge broad pathway between them was called The Avenue of Death.
The Avenue was lined with houses of rich.
By 500 to 600 BC the Teotihuacan pyramids stood tall,
Climbing the 248 steps looked so risky but people did so too till recently now its banned due to Covid restrictions.
There were more than 2500 pyramids in Teotihuacan the City of Gods they said.
Why did the inmates disappear from their elegant city?
Where did all those edifices they built go?
Finding burn marks in houses along Avenue of death so obviously while sparing common houses it may have been an agrarian revolt against the rich!
By 500 CE the civilization had died and only pyramids and ruins existed.
By 1000 CE the Aztecs discovered the site and called it Teotihuacan the city of Gods considering them as their ancestors.
Later by 1500 CE the Spaniards would destroy and convert the Aztecs too and Mexico would be born as an 80 % Catholic country.
We booked in our favorite online site Viator for this tour.
Though our hotel was not in pick up list considering my senior citizen status they made an exception and came to our hotel to pick us both around 8 am.
We then went more downtown to pick up three Mexican couples and one French gentleman.
Our English guide was Francis and he sat in front of the comfortable big van, talking first in Spanish later in English, actually English was only for us!!
but I realized he made no short cuts and was sincere in what he said.
Knowledgeable guides in languages we understand give us a better understanding which no amount of googling would.
At least today knowledge is on our fingertips, unlike in past when great explorers and travel writers like
S K Pottekat who my friend Dr Natarajan describes has been an inspiration for his travels .
In that count Viator is one app which has not failed us still.
We first went to the Temple of Amlor in heart of Mexico city an archaeological site of Aztec ruins when Spaniards destroyed an Aztec temple and built a cathedral over it.
The making of this site wasn’t easy as they had to evacuate many residents and shops in this busy part of the city and many opposed it fiercely.
After this the van sped to Teotihuacan around 40 km away.
There was a big traffic block on super way leading out of city.
The guide pointed out to us hills surrounding city filled with houses.
The intensely populated areas aren’t safe too.
It seems the real poor of Mexico lead such a life.
The poshness of Mexico city has a background of squalor and poverty in these slums .
Then we reached our place.
We were led into a huge rest area shopping complex, where food was taken
A Mexican gentleman showed us how cactuses were used for so many things to make needles with thread
to make papyrus to write
Use coloured flowers to make dyes on squeezing
We were given Mezcal to taste.
We saw the Obsidian rocks used to create weapons.
We looked around at souvenirs.
We then reached the main Pyramid area driving over ancient cobbled roads
Our guide told us to be back by 1pm around 1.5 hrs.
It was warm very sunny
We bought two nice hats foldable as most were stiff.
We walked from temple of moon to temple of sun around a KM
Along avenue of death
There were so many locals selling souvenir’s
It was tiring, but just to think how many over 2000 years had used this path,
how many slaves had dragged stones to build those pyramids?
how many virgins walked these to be sacrificed in the hallows of those pyramids?
how many men and women loved hated, fought, killed, maimed, hugged, kissed, laughed, ate, cried, played in these cobbled walkways, where horses galloped, donkeys bayed dogs barked, over the annals of time till the day all disappeared into the sands of time.
We returned back to the restaurant for a Mexican lunch of Tacos and Enchiladas actually a bit repetitious.
Ignorance of Spanish was a hindrance as we couldn’t select better options from menu.
We returned via Guadalupe cathedral which was part of the tour on which I shall write shortly.
Teotihuacan also known as the city of the Gods was the metropolis of a mysterious Mesoamerican civilization that reached its zenith around 100 AD! Once the largest city in the region but was found abandoned centuries before the arrival of the Aztecs! Teotihuacan boasts towering pyramids and stone temples with detailed statues and intricate murals.
It is located in the valley of Mexico around 40 km from Mexico City and was one of the largest cities in the world during its epoch! In fact, human establishment in the area dates back to 600 BCE
The Pyramid of the Sun is 3rd largest pyramid in the world rises 216 ft above ground level and at top of pyramid was a huge pedestal where it is assumed human sacrifice were made!
Also seen are Pyramid of Moon surrounded by lower pyramids one dedicated to God which gives life and fertility!
The broad central avenue also known as Avenue of the Dead is flanked by ceremonial architecture.
We had booked a day tour to this historic place today and it was worth every penny
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