More Mayan ruins…

More Mayan ruins! This is about the 5th Mayan ruins we´ve visited within ten days, yet we still weren´t tired of it. It´s amazing all these Mayan sites are somewhat similar(you know, with a lot of stones), yet carry distinct characteristics. This Mayan site in Palenque is one of the most impressive. Its jungle setting gives it an unique feel. Part of it are still covered under vegetation and being restored! My fantasy over Mayan ruins also got realized here. :) That is, climbing a temple (upper left picture) and exploring the interior (middle picture). I was really bummed at Chichen Itza when i learned that tourists are no longer allowed to climb the temple due to safety reasons. Most of the temples here are climb-able, even though my excitement vanished quickly after climbing a few of those narrow knee-high steps… :) let´s just say, they do not meet the standard of today´s building code. There is also a building, known as the Palace, where a dark stairway leads you down to the interior of the building. Several rooms can be found down there and the hallway eventually takes you outside the Palace on a different level. For the lack of better words, i´ll just say it´s really cool. :)

Mayan ball games

just like modern people, Mayan played ball game to entertain themselves too. Although when there is human sacrifice involved after the game (not always, but sometimes it´s true, depending on the mayan period), it´s not in my definition an “entertainment”.
i would have to say it´s more difficult than any sports we play today. look at how high the “hoop” is, and no hands or feet are allowed to touch the ball. The guide at Chichen Itza said it could take DAYS before someone scoring a goal! exhausting sport, not to mention when it´s followed by human sacrifice! it´s not clear whether it´s the winning or losing caption that gets decapitated. my logical guess would be the loser, but Mayans don´t always do the most logical things in modern standard. :)
I tried to imagine how they played the game. no hands or feet? that´s tough! do they have fauls or yellow card? :) what we know today about the game came from the interpretation of paintings. the truth could be very close, or we could be way off. it´s like a few hundred years later, if all the digital and printed documents are somehow destroyed, how would people from the future interpret our soccer game?

The accuracy of Mayan astrology

two days ago on Mar 21, we were fortunate enough to be here on time to witness the twice a year equinox phenomenon in Dzibilchaltun. The temple here is situated so that every year, on the spring and fall equinox, the sun shines directly through the doorway as it rises. The early morning in the Mayan site feels very different, sacred and spiritual, as the sun rises and sends its beam through the door and some white dressed people (meditating, it was stunningly beautiful. The door was constructed in such accuracy that even taking one step away from the direct line, the sun rise will be out of sight. This is only one example of Mayan´s astrology reflecting on their architecture. Another stunning phenomenon happens on the same day in Chichen Itza, where the sun down casts shadow of a serpent slithering downwards until it joins the head carving at the bottom of the stairway. already stunning by imagination… :)