The imperial city Cuzco, meaning navel of the earth,' was laid out in the
form of a puma, the animal that symbolized the Inca dynasty. The belly of the
puma was the main plaza, the river Tullumayo formed its spine, and the hill of
Sacsayhuaman its head.
To start exploring the Incan Empire, you can take a walking tour from the
Plaza de Armas in Cuzco to the Cathedral, San Blas church and Q'oricancha, the
site of the Sun Temple.
The Coricancha is a fine example of how the fusion of Inca style and Colonial
styles of architecture evolved into the Cuzco of today. Originally the site was
a ceremonial center featuring a number of stone rectangular buildings laid out
as to be the convergence of ley lines connected to numerous 'huacas' or power
spots.
One of the most imposing architectonic complexes
inherited from the Incan Society is Sacsayhuaman, which because of several of
its qualities is considered as one of the best monuments that mankind built on
the earth's surface (Sacsayhuaman - Saqsaywaman). This site is located north of the city of
Cusco, at an altitude of about 3555 meters above sea level, between the
districts of Cusco and San Sebastian, both of them within in the province and
department of Cusco.
The stones fit so perfectly that no blade of grass or steel can slide between
them. There is no mortar. They often join in complex and irregular surfaces that
would appear to be a nightmare for the stonemason.
Three walls of Sacsayhuaman - the teeth of the Puma's Head
Ollantaytambo in the Sacred
Valley
At the northern end of the Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo is rare if not unique
in Peru. Ollantaytambo is a massive citadel located 50 kilometers from Machu
Picchu. The citadel served as both a temple and a fortress. At some time
unknown, and for reasons unknown, work mysteriously stopped on this huge
project.
On the Summer Solstice sun light from the opening in one of the rooms
illuminates a specific niche in which sits the Inca chief. The rooms were
adorned with elaborate gold ceremonial objects including a huge gold sun disk
which was considered sacred. After the Spanish Conquest much of the structure
was torn down and reassembled as the Church of Santa Domingo. A considerable
amount of the original Inca structure was left intact and integrated into the
church structure.
The Temple of the Sun was once the most important temple of the Incas. When
the Spanish conquered the Inca Empire, they used the fine Inca stonework to form
the base of the Church of Santo Domingo. Inside the church area are some of the
buildings built by the Incas that were used by the conquerors for their private
quarters.
The temple also served as a tomb for several Incas, or kings. During Inca
rule, the Coricancha, or Golden Courtyard, was covered with gold and silver
sculptures representing llamas, corn, babies, and the sun.
When the Spaniards conquered Cuzco, the Inca capital, they set about
stripping the gold from the temples and melting them down. Legend has it that it
took three months to carry all of the gold from the Sun Temple.
Sacsayhuaman
Sacsayhuaman (satisfied falcon) - (pronounced like sexy
woman) - is an Incan sacred and strategic site above the city, serves as the
head of the puma. On the peak of a hill overlooking the city of Cusco lies the
ancient fortress of Sacsayhuaman . Once the domain of Inca warriors, nobles and
engineers it now stands in ruins but many visitors explore its maze of
intricately constructed walls, stairways and structures. After the conquest of
Cusco in 1536 most of the inner structures of Sacsayhuaman were dismantled and
used to construct Spanish Cusco.
The carved stone walls fit so perfectly that no blade of grass or steel can
slide between them. There is no mortar. They often join in complex and irregular
surfaces that would appear to be a nightmare for the stonemason. There is
usually neither adornment nor inscription. It reminds me of the stones of the
Great Pyramid. That too has no inscriptions. One has to wonder who created these
great stone edifices with such precision in that timeline with such limited
tools. Could they have been created by the same gods? aliens?
Most of these walls are found around Cuzco and the Urubamba River Valley in
the Peruvian Andes. There are a few scattered examples elsewhere in the Andes,
but almost nowhere else on Earth.
Sacsahuaman was supposedly completed around 1508. It took approximately a
crew of 20,000 to 30,000 men working for 60 years to complete it.
Archaeologists tell us that the walls of Sacsahuaman rose ten
feet higher than their remnants. That additional ten feet of stones supplied the
building materials for the cathedrals and casas of the conquistadors. It is generally conceded that these
stones were much smaller than those lithic monsters that remain.
Perhaps the upper part of the walls, constructed of
small, regularly-shaped stones was the only part of Sacsahuaman that was built
by the Incas and finished in 1508. This could explain why no one at the time of
the conquest seemed to know how those mighty walls were built. Near Sacsayhuaman is Qenko (Zigzag), a carved limestone
formation that served as a sacrificial site or temple. Across from the ruins of Ollantaytambo
in the Urubamba Valley stands a sacred mountain believed to have the profile of Viracocha, the
Inca sun god, carved into the stone.
[I see not only the head of Viracocha, but long robes and a lamb at the
bottom just above the trees [metaphor for Tree of Life.]
He also appears to be riding a horse - Revelation - Revolution -
That which revolves in the Cycles of Time.
Metaphors carved in stone - The Lion and the Lamb - a time of revelation.
Gods who went to sacred mountains for answers. Age of Leo - approximately 13,000
= years ago - Precession of the Equinoxes. The Lion - Leo - Light - symbology
found in ancient Egypt.
When the sun strikes this profile of Viracocha during the winter solstice,
the mineral content of the mountain reflects and refracts the rays. The Inca
believed that this was a sign verifying the deity of Viracocha. The solstices
were sacred days for the Inca since so much of their culture was based on
planting seasons.
The buildings to the right and to the left were constructed by the Inca to
store corn as food for winters and as offerings to Viracocha.
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu, the Lost city of the
Incas, is a mystical, sacred place. Touched by the clouds, the ruins are one of
the most enigmatic and beautiful ancient ruins in the world. The palaces,
temples, terraces, baths and some 150 houses, all in a remarkable state of
preservation, are carefully arranged so that the function of the buildings
matches the form of the surroundings. The natural slopes host agricultural
terraces and aqueducts; the lower areas contain buildings occupied by farmers
and teachers, and the most important religious areas are located at the crest of
the hill, overlooking the lush Urubamba Valley thousands of feet below.
Although Machu Picchu was known to a handful of Quechua peasants who farmed
the area, the outside world was unaware of its existence until the American
historian Hiram Bingham stumbled on it almost by accident on July 24, 1911.
Where these monuments left for expression a message for the future?
Stein Morten Lund, 22 November 2005
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