We visited the above-ground portion of Qoricancha,
which was the main temple in Cusco-- the center of the Inca world.
Qoricancha was built on pre-Incan ruins, and the Spaniards built a
Catholic church on top of it. They built churches on many
sacred sites, so there is an abundance of elaborate
colonial cathedrals in Cusco.
Incas considered rainbows to be a sign of connection between
our world and the world of the gods. The flag of Cusco is a 7-color
rainbow, our guide was quick to inform us, unlike the "gay flag," which has only 6. "Some tourists think Cusco is
a city full with gays. This is not true." In the Temple of the Rainbows, we saw the smallest known stone in Incan ruins. It was a little bigger than the end of my finger. Then we went to the temples on the hills just above Cusco-- the temples of the Sacsayhuamán complex (sounds a LOT like "sexywoman"), which include Tambomachay, Pukapukara, Q'enqo. The sacred, natural rock slab around which the latter site was built is incredibly cold, all the time. This helped preserve bodies that were placed on it for mummification. At the main Sacsayhuamán site, we saw the largest known stone found in Inca ruins. It's more than 7 meters high.
The original Cusco of the Incas ("Qosco") was constructed in the shape of the sacred Puma --protector of the middle kingdom of man & earth.The temples of upper Cusco were in the head of the puma, and the main temple, Qoricancha, was near the tail. The Condor protected the high kingdom of sun & sky, and the Serpent protected the lower kingdom.
It was our last night in Cusco. We had dinner at a slightly-more-expensive-than-usual restaurant; (I made Jim take his hat off, and everything). I had blue corn chica. It was warm and thick and sweet.
No comments:
Post a Comment