Peru 🇵🇪 Machu Picchu

October 27, 2021

Machu Picchu

October 10, 2021

Machu Picchu means “Old Mountain “ but as guide, Harvey stated the word “Old” means wise not age. Inca were nature worshipers. All the Inca structures were built by their own Craftsman. Unlike Egypt - no slaves were used to build Inca structures.

Looking over the pictures I took, it is impossible to pick a small number of the hundreds I took to put in my blog. The majestic, mystic and awe of this amazing wonder is not able to be translated by photos. If you have the chance to see this part of the world, grab it!!!

Going soon after COVID allowed travel to resume had

its advantage and disadvantage. It was wonderful seeing this amazing place without the normal crowds but Climbing up to it was a bit difficult with masks. Since visitors were limited we could take breaks and lower masks to breath in the fabulous fresh mountain air. This is not the place to have your oxygen intake blocked while breathing back in your carbon dioxide!

When I first laid eyes on this view I literally started to cry. It is so overwhelmingly magnificent and as I stated, impossible to show in pictures

It is hard to believe this ancient Inca Citadel was not discovered by archeologists until the early 1900s (lead by Hiram Bingham). Harder still is that it was not until 1981 that Peru declared the area (125.84 sq mi) a “historical sanctuary”! In 1983 UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site……”an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization”!

Since you all can look up facts about Machu Picchu I will share my pictures with few words…,

It is incredible how all the rocks fit perfectly to one another. Also how without mortar how the structures withstood time, earthquakes, etc

Up at the top of this picture is the temple of the sun. They closed access to it right when we got there unfortunately. A trapezoid window of the temple of the sun was positioned along its curved wall to capture sunlight during the winter solstice.

The main temple or “Wayrana”

Indoor this temple was used to perform rituals dedicated mainly to the God Wiracocha, creator of everything in the universe

No Inca temples or constructions were effected by earthquakes. However there was a geological fault that happened in 600 year time and as a result of this planar fracture the Wayrana temple was altered

Temple of the 3 windows in the heart of the urban sector and is part of the main plaza

For some reason The Temple of the Condor below intrigued me the most of the temples

The Condor was a sacred bird for Incas. This structure resembles the wings of the condor in flight.

The stone on the ground represents the head of the condor. Our guide, Harvey said it is believed this was used as a flight into the afterlife for the dead. Other things I have read said the condor represented fertility for the Incas. Other writings state the immense lower part in the ground is an underground enclosure that received the denomination of dungeons and used as a place of punishment for Inca inhabitants who committed some faults punishable by them (thieves, liars, and idlers).
And to be honest Harvey may have stated all the above - I was busy getting these pictures.