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Published: March 31st 2007
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City Tour Cuzco
After a days recovery I embarked on a tour of Cuzco. As I said before Cuzco has the tourist market stitched as tight as a drum. The tour cost $10 US but before you start you have to purchase in addition a Tourist Ticket, this you have to get from the Government Information Centre several blocks away from the agency. This costs 70 soles about 12 Euro. and to rub it in further your first stop is the Cathedral where you have to pay an additional 15 soles !!The Cathedral is not covered by the tourist ticket, trust the Roman Catholic Church to screw you for more money. The Cathedral is very dark and dinghy inside but with enormous amounts of gold and silver on display. The main alter is solid silver towering at least 4 metres, it contains about 1137 kilos of silver .
The gold and silver was stolen from the Incas in the form of there precious beautiful artifacts, melted down into bars, sent to Spain reworked, returned to Cuzco to glorify the Churches and Cathedrals they built. No photos are allowed to be taken, the theory is that the camera flash effects
another view of building
The Spanards used the inca foundation stones then built on top the pigment of the many oil paintings, in reality the don’t want you to photo the artwork in case you make prints to sell.
From there we piled in the bus and made our way to Saqsaywaman
Saqsaywaman is a walled complex near the city of Cuzco, Peru. Saqsaywaman translated as dotted falcon or dotted head. According to legend, it believes that some of the Inca walls were a fort and some believe it was a head of Puma from the aerial view. It was a mystery how the Inca walls were being built. The Inca architecture was combination of rounded corners limestone blocks and the variety of the interlocking shapes. So, the structure of the wall not a single slip of paper will fit between the blocks. It also increased the durability of the Inca wall. However, some of the rock from the Inca wall was taken to build churches in Cuzco. That´s why some of the wall is missing and not in perfect condition
Located 2km from the city. Together with the city of Cuzco, this monumental complex is considered the first of the new Seven Wonders of the World. This huge construction was planned and built
by Andean Man. The Incas called it the House of the Sun and the Spaniards called it a fortress because of its zigzag shape and the 1536 revolution. The construction, which is made up of three platforms one on top of the other, was one of the most important religious complexes of its time. The mixed-blood historian Garcilaso Vega described in his book "The Royal Commentaries" every detail of this sacred spot, its walls, rooms, towers, doors and canals, have sparked great interest and admiration from visitors and residents alike. The enormous boulders that form part of the construction were put together perfectly without using mortar. The heaviest weighs up to 125 tons. Archaeologists are currently excavating and have discovered water fountains, canals and rooms. In a nearby flat area, every June 24 local inhabitants hold the Festival of the Sun, or Ind Raymi. Saqsaywaman witnessed important historic events.
When we arrive it starts to rain, undeterred the guide continues on, some of the stones are really massive one in particular is 8metres high with a further 2 metres underground.
Just like the Pyramids of Egypt and Stonehenge you wonder how did they get the stones here and
The sacraficial stone (Inca)
The Incas did not adopted human sacrifice but it was the Lammas that was used how did they work them to such precision? As I said before the theory is they used Hammerite as the main hammer tool and fine white sand to grind the finish to a fine surface.
Then back to the bus and on to.-
TAMBOMACHAY.- Located 7km from Cusco at 3,700 meters above sea level, this site was popularly known as the "Inca's Baths". Researchers believe Tambomachay was an important centre of worship of water. It is an archaeological complex made up of well-crafted canals, walls and windows which show the Incas' extraordinary architectural talents and their in-depth knowledge of hydraulics.
Well the walk up to it nearly 2klms uphill nearly did me in ,the effects of the altitude raising its ugly head ,still pouring with rain feeling extremely hot with the waterproofs on returned to bus knackered and wet, then on to another site .-
PUCA PUCARA.-
This construction is located 6km from Cusco. "Puca" in Quechua means "Red" and "Pucara" means "Fortress-Watchtower. Located at a strategic point along the road to the Antisuyo (the jungle part of the Inca empire), it also served as a checkpoint on the Inca road and was a military and administrative center.
By
this time I had had enough of gasping for breathe and getting wet so I gave it a miss.10mins later the hardy fit ones returned very wet and we returned to Cuzco.
The city tour wasn’t what I expected most of the time you were climbing bloody great hills outside the town .Ah well you live and learn
Phileas
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