Chichén Itzá

The next morning I headed off to see Chichén Itzá - now classed as one of the great wonders of the world. Getting there took about an hour from Merida. The first site we looked at was the giant ball court. Entry to the ancient games was voluntary and players would play for the honor of being the best player - who was then decapitated. It is hard to see why this prize would be appealing to anyone, but it was a ritual of great religious significance and the family of the sacrificed ball player lived the rest of their life in great honor and splendour. At each end of the the huge ball court there was a small hoop. If a ball player could get the rubber ball through this hoop, it meant instant game over - for the match - and the player. At the very top of the ball court there was the royal box, where the aristocracy could look down on the game from a great height.

The face of the feathered serpent is in the foreground and the grand pyramid is in the background.

The stone ball hoop.

Iguana!

The site offers glimpses into so many aspects of ancient Mayan life. There are sites devoted to the worship of different deities, burials sites, an observatory, sites for market stalls and so on. It is interesting to note the links between the Mayan religion and other asian cultures which it evolved from - features like animism and the balance between male and female feature prominently. The importance of the mayan calendar and numbers is also reflected in the architecture of the site. The great pyramid for instance, has 365 steps up to the top - one for each day of the Mayan calendar. On the way around the site we also saw an iguana who was climbing out of some 2,500 year old ruins. 

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One of the spectacular sites among the many pyramids is the temple of the warriors. It is surrounded by hundreds of stone plinths.

On the way back we passed some cenotes. The Yucatan peninsula has this unique feature, limestone sinkholes that provided fresh water all year around. The cenotes made the Yucatan peninsula an ideal place for habitation, and many of the cenotes were believed to be sacred.

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