Teotihuacan
christina
After visiting the incredible museums of Mexico City and seeing the vast antiquities that are housed there we were really moved to visit the actual site of Teotihuacan 40km (~25 miles) outside of the city. We didn’t take a tour but instead followed these explicit directions from SightDoing to take the metro (line 5) to the Autobuses del Norte Station from which we took the Autobuses Teotihuacan to the park (tickets located next to Gate 8). The ride to the archeological site was about an hour and once we got off we bought tickets there – very easy. We left in the early morning so as to arrive when the site opened and before the tour buses got there. When we got there around 8:30am there were only a handful of people there walking around – it is absolutely worth it to go early. Additionally, we downloaded the Wiki travel guide before going so that we could understand what we were looking at while we were there without a guide.
The grandiose nature of Teotihuacan is bewitching. When you first enter the site you notice that the whole city is situated around a long 1.5 mile road called Calle de los Muertos or the Avenue of the Dead, originally (and questionably) called such because of all the ceremonial pyramid temples that line it and were once thought to be burial places (this has now been questioned and assumed to be plaza residences). According to Britannica, the road points to the nearby sacred peak of Cerro Gordo. Wikipedia says, “the (original) city is thought to have been established around 100BC, with major monuments continuously under construction until around 250AD and at its zenith had between 150,000 and 250,000 people living there.” It is estimated that it was the 6th largest city on the planet during this time. When the Aztecs arrived centuries later they gave the city the name Teotihuacan, which generally means “birthplace of the gods” in the Nahuatl language. The origins of the city are still unclear and debated but there is general consensus that there was indeed human sacrifice there and that the primary deity was the “Great Goddess (Spider Woman) of Teotihuacan” who rules the underworld. Recent exploration of this deity questions its gender association as female and instead points to a mixed-gender identity.
Since we were there so early, we walked down the avenue and went directly to the Pyramid of the Sun – the largest structure in the city at approximately 225 meters (738 feet). This pyramid is the third largest in the world, it’s huge. The name was given by the Aztecs and little is truly known (yet) about who the pyramid was meant to venerate in the original Teotihuacano culture. We were able to climb and reach the top with barely anyone else around. The view from the top is exquisite and gives you a true sense of how large the footprint of this place is, at its height the city was approximately 8 square miles.
Once we descended from this pyramid we headed to the Pyramid of the Moon where we again encountered very few people. Walking between the two temples you are struck by the monstrosity of this city and you can easily imagine thousands of people roaming around at the time. It was astounding for me to think of this ancient civilization at its peak and then to imagine a potential future where our great cities are no longer populated but rather emptied of life; only holding their architectural remains for future tourists to visit. Don't miss the Pyramid of Quetzalcoatl - The Feathered Serpent which is adorned with alternating snake-like and feathered serpent heads on the outer edges.
The intricacy, symbolism and artistry of the murals and artifacts at Teotihuacan is mesmerizing and continues to this day. In the last 15 years, archaeologists have discovered tunnels under the Pyramid of The Feathered Serpent and under The Pyramid of the Moon. Both excavations are ongoing but there have been great finds of artifacts. Here’s a Smithsonian article that goes into great detail on all of this if you’re interested. If you’re in Mexico City, take this day trip – it’s really mind-blowing and will leave you awestruck over the great civilizations of this region.
FOOD FACTS: There is very little known about the mysterious Teotihuacanos but it has been agreed that they farmed salt and cacao for the making of chocolate as a beverage.