A G: Mexico City Day 2 by Aaron, Teotihuacan and Basilica

Teotihuacan and Basilica

~ Aaron

At the entrance of Teotihuacan

Going towards
Pyramid of the Feather Serpent

At the Avenue of the Dead

Going towards
the Feathered Serpent Pyramid

I spent a long time in this day. Teotihuacan was founded over 2000 years ago! We went to many wonderful places in the city of Teotihuacan. It’s so large people spent 100 years finding new things in Teotihuacan, and they estimate only 1/10 of the city was found in all! The rest is still remain underground. The pyramids stand out the most in this city. We also visited the Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe. This day is one of the best ones I ever had!

Teotihuacan - the most important archaeological site of Mexico

The Pyramid of the Feathered-Serpent 羽蛇宫

The pyramid of the Featuered Serpent behind us

Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent

Climbing up the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent

The existing Pyramid of
the Feathered Serpent

majority of the pyramid was

destroyed in an earthquake

Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent

We first started at the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. It is the modern-day name for the third largest pyramid at Teotihuacan. This structure is notable partially due to the discovery in the 1980s of more than a hundred possibly sacrificial victims found buried beneath the structure.The burials are dated to have been from about the same time as the temple. The pyramid takes its name from representations of the Mesoamerican "feathered serpent" god which covered its sides. These are some of the earliest-known representations of the feathered serpent, often known with the much-later Aztec god Quetzalcoatl. We only got to climb the small platform in front of the temple, because the actual pyramid itself was inaccessible.

Walking on Avenue of the Dead

towards Piramide de Sol, Piramide de la Luna

The Pyramid of the Sun

The Pyramid of the Sun in the distance

Walking on the Avenue of the Dead

Avenue of the Dead Complex

Cactus

Avenue of the Dead Complex

Avenue of the Dead Complex and

Pyramid of the Sun

Avenue of the Dead Complex and

Pyramid of the Sun

Mural of a Puma, well preserved in color

Piramide de la Luna (Pyramid of the Moon)

Pyramid of the Moon behind us

Pyramid of the Moon

Walking towards

Pyramid of the Moon

Walking towards

Pyramid of the Moon

Goddess of Water sculpture

Climbing up

At the top of Pyramid of the Moon

Pyramid of the Sun, and Avenue of the Dead

At the top of Pyramid of the Moon

Pyramid of the Sun, and

Avenue of the Dead

At the top of Piramide de la Luna

Pyramid of the Sn, and the Avenue of the Dead

At the top of Pyramid of the Moon

Pyramid of the Sun

and Avenue of the Dead

Climbing up to Piramide of the Moon

Standing at Pyramid of the Moon

viewing the Avenue of the Dead

and the Pyramid of the Sun

The Pyramid of the Moon was a fairly easy pyramid to climb. It was named by the Aztecs who found the pyramid a few centuries after Teotihuacan was abandoned. The Pyramid of the Moon is the second largest pyramid in Teotihuacan, after the Pyramid of the Sun. It is located in the western part of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and mimics the contours of the looks of a mountain north of the city. The Pyramid of the Moon is actually older than the Pyramid of the Sun. It was built before 200 AD. Only the first layer can be climbed, and the rest are blocked from public. Even then, the layer was high above the ground.

Piramide de Sol (Pyramid of the Sun)

Pyramid of the Sun

Ready to climb the Pyramid of the Sun

Climbing up

The pyramid made out of

volcanic lava

Climbing up

Standing at the middle of the pyramid

At the top of the pyramid

At the top of the pyramid, see Pyramid of the Moon behind me?

At the top of the pyramid

Ready to climb down

Climbing down

By Pyramid of the Sun

Climbing up Pyramid of the Sun

Climbing down Pyramid of the Sun

The Pyramid of the Sun is a very large pyramid. Its name comes from the Aztecs who named it long after Teotihuacan was abandoned. It’s even the 3rd largest pyramid in the world! The Pyramid of the Sun is the largest building in Teotihuacan and one of the largest in Mexico. It was once covered with plaster and beautiful paintings on the plaster, but most of the plaster is now gone. It’s between the Pyramid of the Moon and the museum. The pyramid is part of a large complex in the heart of the city. This pyramid is over 230 feet tall! However, not much can be learnt about this amazing pyramid because the top temple with all the information about the pyramid is gone due to man-made and natural causes.

Palace of Quetzalpapalotl （鸟蝶宫）

Palacio Quetzalpapalotl from far

Colorful paint on the wall of Palacio Quetzalpapalotl

Pillars carving with bird body with butterfly wings

color remains

Palacio Quetzalpapalotl

Pillars carving with bird body with butterfly wings

color remains

Palacio Quetzalpapalotl

There is also a small palace in Teotihuacan. The existing buildings were built about 1500 years ago. Due to the location of the palace and the high quality artwork, it is thought the complex was home to a high ranking priest or other of sort of high ranking. The complex may have also been used for ceremonial purposes. The name Quetzalpapalotl comes from the carving and paintings of birds on the pillar. The complex was rediscovered in 1962 by archaeologist Jorge Acosta. This small area is very beautiful.

Museum of Teotihuacan

At the entrance of the museum

Fragment of mural painting displaying geometric designs

A stone sculpture

Fresno mural painting

Small figures in high society

Incense braziers for ceremonial use

facing Pyramid of the Sun

skeletons from

Human sacrifice

skeletons from

Human sacrifice

skeletons from

Human sacrifice

Neckless with imitation

human maxillae in sea shell

Architectural crests or crenellations

Architectural crests

or crenellations

Stone frieze

Teotihuacan city model

at the museum of Teotihuacan

The Teotihuacan Museum has many precious artifacts from the pyramids. Many beautiful stone sculptures have been located inside the museum. Murals, and everyday objects in Teotihuacan life are fairly common inside the museum. Many objects were made of clay, or obsidian. Human sacrifices were found inside the museum of varying ranks. Offerings included high ranking soldiers with face lower jawbone necklaces, woman with offerings, and one artifacts was a young boy who had a jar as a gravestone.

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Walking towards Basilica

At the entrance

Inside the church

Statue beside

lady of Guadalupe

Picture of our lady of

Guadalupe, rollway access

Statue beside

lady of Guadalupe

Picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Inside the church

At Basilica

A church beside the main church

Wedding at the church

The church

The basilica

At the street near
Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, basilica and a national shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City. The shrine was built near a hill believed to be sacred. This site is also known as La Villa, as it has several churches and related buildings. The organs in the church play very beautiful music, and the paintings look like they’re surrounded with gold! The most famous painting in here is of Our Lady of Guadalupe, shown wearing a green cloak, standing on what appears to be thorns, outlined with gold and silver.

This day is a very memorable day for me. All the stuff in Teotihuacan make it a beautiful city, even if it has already been abandoned for over 1500 years. However, the pyramids attract lots of attention to Teotihuacan because they tower over everything else manmade in the entire city. After touring through all of Teotihuacan, we visited the also lovely Basilica of our Lady of Guadalupe, with music and paintings. This was a great day spent in Mexico City.