Teotihuacan, the Pyramid of the Moon and the Street of the Dead September 28, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Destination, Egypt, Geographic, Guatemala, Hotels, Map, Mexico, Museum, Round The World, San Juan, Tickets, Tour, Travelling Bag, Trip , 3commentsThis great and urban and religious centre, 30 miles (48km) northeast of modern Mexico City, was given its present name by the
Aztecs who encountered its awesome ruins. In Nahuatl, the language the Aztecs spoke, Teotihuacan means ‘place of the gods’, or, ‘the place of the creation of the gods’. This great site, dominated by two pyramids, was ‘regarded by the Aztec as the original source of civilization and government, and the place where cosmic order was established.” In Aztec myth, Teotihuacan was where Nanahuatzin, a dying god, jumped into a ceremonial fire which the four creator gods (representing the Four Directions) were too fearful to enter. (more…)
The Monuments in the Shadows April 5, 2008
Posted by dodo in : Cairo, Egypt, Europe, The Nile , add a commentAnd so, little by little, the memory of ancient Egypt weakened in the consciousness of people increasingly dominated by classical culture. With the Arab occupation of Egypt and the spread of Islam that began in the seventh century of our era, the pharaonic past was to be found only in the descriptions of classical authors. For several centuries to come, no European, as far as is known, succeeded in visiting the Nile Valley; therefore we have little information about the Arab period that corresponds to Europe’s Middle Ages. Evidently all the most important pharaonic remains had fallen into disuse and had been more or less buried in the sand or had deteriorated. It is probable that they no longer interested the new conquerors, as they were merely souvenirs of a distant past that did not mean anything to them. It is not surprising, then, that Arab sources speak about them so little, especially those in Upper Egypt. (more…)
