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

Teotihuacan, Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

~ Gordon

At the entrance

of Teotihuacan

Going towards the temple of the feathered serpent

Avenue of the Dead

On the Avenue of the dead
which splits Teotihuacan into 4 pieces
north, south, west,east

We went to 2 places at day 2. Climbing up to 2 pyramids and visiting the museum made me feel the power of the city of Teotihuacan. The pyramids at Teotihuacan were sometimes very high, or sometimes very short. There are many purposes of them, some about the 5th sun, some about the moon, some about jaguars and others about sacrificial things. The museum contains many things, like real human bones! Seeing the huge Basilica on our way back from Teotihuacan brought me peace. The Basilica church was large and had a rollway to see the picture of our lady of Guadalupe. Try to make a wish to the picture, and your wish will become true.

Teotihuacan - the mysterious city

Avenue of the Dead

Pyramid of the Moon behind us

Walking on the Avenue of the Dead

Avenue of the Dead Complex

Cactus growing on Avenue of the Dead Complex

Avenue of the Dead Complex

and the Pyramid of the Sun

Avenue of the Dead Complex

and the Pyramid of the Sun

Avenue of the Dead Complex

and the Pyramid of the Sun

Avenue of the Dead Complex

and the Pyramid of the Sun

Avenue of the Dead Complex

and the Pyramid of the Sun

Avenue of the Dead Complex

and the Pyramid of the Sun

Walking on the Avenue of the Dead

Well preserved Mural del Puma in color
in the Jaguar Temple

Well preserved Mural del Puma
in the Jaguar Temple

Teotihuacan, which is a huge city. Out of the 32 square miles only about 3.2 - 3.3 is actually revealed! Can you guess how long it took to reveal it all? 100 years! I wonder why it took so long! The Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun splits the Teotihuacan into 4 pieces.

Piramide de Sol (Pyramid of the Sun)

Pyramid of the Sun

Ready to Climb Pyramid of the Sun

Ready to climb

Pyramid of the Sun

climbing up

Pyramid of the Sun

climbing up

Pyramid of the Sun

climbing up

Pyramid of the Sun

At the middle of Pyramid of the Sun

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

Open arms to absorb

the sun's energy

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

Pyramid of the Moon at far

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

Pyramid of the Moon at far

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

Pyramid of the Moon at far

At the top of

Pyramid of the Sun

Pyramid of the Moon at far

Climbing down

Pyramid of the Sun

Climbing down

Pyramid of the Sun

Climbing up Piramide de Sol

Climbing down Piramide de Sol

The Pyramid of the Sun was built around 200 CE. It is very high. It is about 216 feet or 65.5 meters high! The pyramid is very hard to climb if it's sunny. Make sure you bring enough water. Did you know it's best to first start going up the moon, then the sun? If you go up the sun pyramid, you can get tired but the view on the top is fantastic. Did you know that you can see everything on the top of the pyramid of the sun? You can even see the pyramid of the moon. Open your arm when step on top of the Pyramid of the Sun. Feel the power, absorb it.

Piramide Tepanapa (Temple of Feathered-Serpent) 羽蛇宫

Piramide Tepanapa from far

(Temple of Feathered-Serpent)

Piramide Tepanapa

Feathered Serpent

Piramide Tepanapa

(Temple of the Feathered-Serpent)

Until very recently, the Temple of the Feathered-Serpent at Teotihuacan was called the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl, and it is also called the Temple of the Plumed-Serpent. The Temple of the Feathered-Serpent takes its name from the stone carved heads that are on the eastern side. The exquisitely crafted beastly heads were added during the Temple of Quetzalcoatl’s initial construction in the 3rd century. The purpose was to Honor The God of Rain which could bring harvest for the crops. Off course, human sacrifices happened here during the ceremony.

Piramide de la Luna (Pyramid of the Moon)

Getting closer to the Pyramid of the Moon

Getting closer to

the Pyramid of the Moon

Getting closer to the Pyramid of the Moon

Piramide de la Luna

Walking towards
Piramide de la Luna

Goddess of Water sculpture

Climbing up
Piramide de la Luna

At the top of
Piramide de la Luna

At the top of Piramide de la Luna
Piramide de Sol and Avenue of the Dead from far

At the top of Piramide de la Luna
Piramide de Sol and
Avenue of the Dead from far

Climbing up to Piramide de la Luna

Standing at Piramide de la Luna

viewing Avenue of the Dead

and Piramide de Sol

The pyramid of the Moon is very high! It can reach all the way up to about 3/4 of the Pyramid of the Sun, but most of it is closed. The view, however is great. It is the second highest building in all of Teotihuacan, right after Pyramid of the Sun. Guess who is older, Pyramid of the Sun or Pyramid of the Moon? The answer is the moon! It was built earlier than the sun.

Palacio Quetzalpapalotl （鸟蝶宫）

Palacio Quetalpapalotl from far

Inside Palacio Quetalpapalotl

colorful paints well preserved

Pillars of Palacio Quetalpapalotl

carving bird body with butterfly wings

Pillars of Palacio Quetalpapalotl

carving bird body with butterfly wings

Pillars of Palacio Quetalpapalotl

Quetzalpapalotl's palace, also known as the palace of the beautiful buterflies, is very beautiful. It is famous for its pillars carving bird body with butterfly wings. There is still colorful paints on the wall and the pillars! The palace locates right besides a market. It is very crowded sometimes. We were the lucky one. Palacio Quetzalpapalotl is not open everyday. We went on a Saturday. There is also a painting of a jaguar near it.

Museo de Teotihuacan

At the entrance of the Museum of Teotihuacan

Local Fauna

Fragment of mural painting

displaying geometric designs

Ceramic receptacle

650-750 AD

Mural painting

Obsidians

Incense braziers for ceremonial use

From the museum

view Pyramid of the Sun

skeletons from

human sacrifice

skeletons from

human sacrifice

skeletons from

human sacrifice

Neckless with imitation

human maxillae in sea shell

God of Fire

Architectural crests or crenellations

Stone frieze at the exit of the Museum of Teotihuacan

Teotihuacan city model

at the Museum of Teotihuacan

The museum, which is next to the pyramid of the sun, was very cool with so many artifacts. There were a few skeletons and they had this odd teeth necklace. Can you believe that they are fake??? They were actually made out of shells! They were actually warriors. All their arms and legs were tied up, and their faces were in pain. This proves that human sacrifice happen here back to Teotihuacan time.

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

At the entrance of Basilica

Interior of Basilica

A statue beside

picture of Our Lady

of Guadalupe

Picture of Our Lady

of Guadalupe

on the wall

A statue beside

picture of Our Lady

of Guadalupe

Picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe

A church of Basilica

At Basilica

A church of Basilica

At the exit of

the main church

Basilica

At street corner of Basilica de Guadalupe

The church of Basilica was very fun. It was very large and it had a ceremony just when we got there. We couldn't understand what they were singing, but it was good to listen to the music. There was a rollway just to see a picture of the Our Lady of Guadalupe. The picture is so high that can be seen from any angle.

Day 2 was really fun. We stood at the top of many pyramids of Teotihuacan, and saw skeletons . The Basilica church was very fun to go to. The pyramids were both so high. The rollway was famous and fun to go on 3 times! This was a very good day!