We then proceeded by bus to the town of Ollantaytambo. This town is notable for two reasons: (1) it is the locatino of a fortress used by Incan emperor Manco Inca during the siege of Cusco and (2) this is the place to board the train to Machu Picchu.
In the siege of Cusco, Manco Inca made his headquarters at Ollantaytambo. However, when the siege ended unsuccessfully, the Spanish then made their way to this fortress. At their first attempt to take the fortress, the Spanish were repelled, mostly because the Incas flooded the area in front of the fortress, which hindered the Spanish horses. This would have occurred where today stand many souvenir stalls. However, in the second attempt the Spanish were successful. However, before they were able to take Ollantaytambo, Manco Inca had fled (knowing he could not hold it). He first fled to a place called Vitcos and then ultimately to Vilcabambo Viejo, which he made his new capital. So this site was very important from a historical perspective.
The site had undergone restoration in the 1930's (mostly on the left side, when facing the site) and then in the 1980's (the right side). In addition to being a fortress, the site was important from a religious standpoint. By the way, the word fortress had little meaning to the Incas, since they did not fight wars in this region -- religion would have been more important. As a result, the Spanish did their best to destroy this site, as they did to anything that had religious significance. One of the interesting architectural features that survived, however, were the grain silo storage buildings on the side of the mountains. They were not destroyed, as they had no religious significance. They probably weren't used much after the Spanish came since the economy became focused on mining, not agriculture.
The site is impressive and beautifully restored. However, we had very little time to explore since we needed to catch our train to Machu Picchu. We had only about 20 minutes to walk around. Wilbur provided good information, however, and recommended a book by John Hemming to read for good historical information about the Incas.
After our tour of the site, we boarded the train at the station at Ollantaytambo that would continue along the Urubamba River to Machu Picchu Town (or Pueblo), which lies at the base of the mountain. As we left the town, Wilbur pointed out the valley that leads to the towns of Vitcos and Vilcabamba Viejo. We were told that tourists can visit these sites, but it requires camping. Plus, once you get there, you may have to deal with drug traffickers and/or the remnants of the Shining Path revolutionary forces. We'll pass for now.
The train ride afforded many nice views of the mountain called Veronica (Huacawillka).
We also passed other archeological sites, a hydro power plant, and a view of the pedestrian bridge that marks the beginning of the Inca Trail. The Inca Trail is a four day hike that terminates at Machu Pichhu, sometimes climbing to 14,000 feet. Although there are tourist groups that will do most of the carrying of tents, food, etc., the four days do not offer any bathing opportunities -- no thanks!
We departed the train in the town/pueblo, which appears to have no other purpose but to serve tourists and then got on a bus to take us up 1,500 feet to the Machu Picchu site. The bus ride is one switchback after another with no guardrails! Passports had to be shown for both the train and the bus.
At the top, we immediately entered the Belmond Sanctuary Hotel; the only lodging at the site, where we will stay tonight, but for now, it was time for lunch! Lunch for us was a green salad followed by a veggie burger in pita bread that was actually pretty tasty!
Then, it was time to enter Machu Picchu. As we surveyed the amazing site, our guide Wilbur provided an overview. The farming terraces and residential housing that we saw all face the sunrise. The terraces are for agriculture. The lower part of the site has collapsed walls that have not yet been restored. Machu Picchu is an important religious site. That is because of its connection to nature and the mountains. The river nearly surrounds the entire site. The sound of the river during heavy water flow was important. The Incas manually corrected the flow of the river. Even the sound of thunder would have been an important feature of the site to tie it to nature. It is in a "cloud forest." Machu Picchu was not a fortress and not a palace. Construction began in the reign of Pachacuteq, which started around 1435 and continued until about 1471. The name Machu Picchu translates to "old mountain." Huayna Picchu translates to "new mountain." Another reason that this site was chosen for settlement is that there is a natural spring created by a geologic fault. The Incas built a basin to collect the water, and it was channeled through sixteen different pools. Residents would haul the water to their homes. There were no aqueducts to irrigate the agriculture. The 70 inches of annual rainfall would have been enough for the crops. The housing was divided into high and low areas.
Our first stop in the site was the Temple of the Sun. This was the name given by Hiram Bingham, the explorer who "discovered" Machu Picchu in 1911. It is also sometimes called the Tower. This was a temple, but the Incas' religion was more than simply sun worship. They worshiped nature. They believed there were three worlds: the earth, under the earth, and above the earth. The temple is an excellent example of organic architecture, which uses the existing boulders and builds around them, incorporating their shapes into the overall design of the structure. The temple was a significant site as it has the finest stonemasonry. No mortar was used, and the blocks are very smooth. The temple is also oriented to the sunrise. Another comment regarding the Incas' religion: to them, the winter solstice was considered masculine and the summer solstice was feminine. The rest of the site was not built with such fine masonry, as it would have taken too long to construct. However, the "regular" stone walls would have been stuccoed to prevent the mortar from being washed away by the rain. Other examples of organic architecture include staircases carved into boulders.
We saw other examples of typical Incan architecture that we had seen before: the trapezoid shaped doors (to reduce stress on the lintel stone). There is also the double lintel, which indicates higher status. The Incans did not know about the arch to make an entryway.
Suddenly we were surprised to see some wildlife: an Andean hare, related to the chinchilla -- very cute, looks really soft!
As we continued, Rob asked Wilbur about human sacrifice. The Incas did sacrifice humans but not to the extent used in Aztec and Mayan cultures. There have been found examples of young boys taken to the snowy mountains and left to freeze in an urn (after being dosed with alcohol and drugs). This type of sacrifice would have likely followed a year or some period of having been treated quite well.
We stopped to admire the flattish green area near the top of the site. It is believed that it was built on top of stone chippings (created from the carving of all the rocks). Sixty percent of the construction of Machu Picchu is underground. This includes soil brought up from the riverbanks. If the Incas can move large stones, they can haul soil.
Our next destination was the sacred plaza with the temple of the three windows -- super large blocks. There is a scene here, as well as one other spot, where a stone was placed to mimic the mountain in the scenery behind. The second example of this is the Roca Sagrada, a ceremonial space flanked by two thatched roof buildings. We stopped to take a group photo.
We walked through the residential quarters, which feature large communal areas. The Incas did not have or use furniture. They slept on the ground. They had niches built into the walls for shelves.
As we neared the end of our tour (which would go up to and past closing time!), we passed through what would seem to be artisans' quarters with circles that look to be for grinding corn, but that is not the case. The holes are intended to hold water -- the pools then reflect the sun, "Espeju de Agua," mirrors of water. These pools could be used to view a solar eclipse (which the Incas were not able to predict, by the way). Thus this room was an important site.
The final area we viewed was a giant stone shaped like a condor. The condor represented communication between our world (earth) and the sun (above earth). Below the stone is a cave. This represented access to the world below earth.
Now concluded, our tour was just wonderful. Wilbur is a very knowledgeable guide, who has a lot of enthusiasm for this subject! What a treat to be able to walk this site with him.
Dinner tonight was at the hotel, where we celebrated Greg and Lisa's 15th wedding anniversary as well as Dave's 50th birthday!
No comments:
Post a Comment