Miracles of extinct or modern civilizations do not cease to amaze the world, to arouse controversy, to give rise to hypotheses about the origin and purpose for which they were created.
One of these wonders is the Chichen Itza architectural complex or the Mayan fortress of Chichen Itza, which stretches over an area of 600 hectares on a platform in the middle of a jungle belonging to an ancient Mayan city in the heart of today’s Mexico, between Merida and Cancun. .
Chichen Itza knows two periods of evolution in which its temples were built. One of the periods stretches between the 7th and 10th centuries, and the other between the 10th and 13th centuries, corresponding to the two periods, the ancient city bearing the imprint of different architectural styles, from the Mayan to the Toltec.
The complex includes several temples, such as the Castle (El Castillo), the Ossuary or House of the High Priest, the Colorada House, the Snail or Astronomical Observatory (El caracol), the Nuns (Las Monjas), the Great Ball Court, the Eagles and Jaguars Platform, the Platform of Venus, the Group of 1000 columns, names given by archaeologists who discovered them.
The most important monument in the ancient city with a population of up to 100,000 inhabitants is the Castle. Unlike the pyramids on the Giza plateau, the pyramid of Kukulkan or Castillio, as it is also called, is built in terraces, and at its upper base is a temple, which justifies the 91 steps arranged in the central part of each of the the four facets, so that the temple dedicated to the god who bears his name is accessible.
How could these man-made temples, stone by stone, be built in such distant times? Moreover, nothing has been left to chance, if we think only of the fact that all the steps of the pyramid add up to as many days as the solar year…
The height of the pyramid is not spectacular, being only 24 meters, but it transmits a perfect harmony. A not insignificant detail is that when the sun sets, during the equinoxes, on the north side of the sacred temple, a serpent-shaped shadow descends on the steps, embodying Kukulkan, the god revered by the Mayans, an opportunity for impressive growth. of the number of visitors during this period. The sound of a simple clap of hands near the pyramid forms an echo that resembles the howl of the Quetzal bird (today the national symbol of Guatemala), joining the shadow at sunset and descending to its base where there are two ends. of the snake, metamorphosing as if into the god Kukulkan himself, both symbols representing the most revered Mayan creatures, true creative forces. It is interesting that only the north face of the pyramid has this peculiarity.
For the preservation of the Castle, a few years ago, access to the interior was forbidden, thus preventing the inevitable degradation.
Those who set out in search of the Mayan pyramid first stop at the Ikil Cenote, located in the Ik Kil Archaeological Park, located in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula, a true natural aquatic paradise located 26 meters below sea level, which offers a unique experience, even in near Chichen Itza. It is actually a deep pit filled with water from the ground formed by the collapse of the limestone rock layer, such pits representing in the past the primary sources of water.
The archeological site within the Chichen Itza complex is part of the Unesco world heritage. A wonder of the world that has inspired other cultures, Chichen Itza is not only an ancient Mayan city, an important religious, political and military center, but a place full of mysteries of which not much is known even today, a undisputed testimony of an advanced civilization long gone.