If you have time for a day trip and if you are ready to leave the Mexico City, go 25 miles northward and visit Teotihuacan. It is a large archaeological site that is widely known for its large pyramids dedicated to the sun and the moon. But that is not all that you can see here, it also contains unique murals and carvings and several museums through which you can explore the city’s fascinating history.
Also known as the ˝city of the gods˝, Teotihuacan was a huge urban center with a population of 200,000, making Teotihuacan one of the largest cities in the world, from 200 BC up to 800 AD. To the Aztecs Teotihuacan is a sacred site despite the fact that it had been abandoned long before their time. The interesting thing is that no one was able to discover which ethnic group or the language was spoken by the inhabitants of Teotihuacan, so they are called “Teotihuacanos.”
There is one important tip for all those who decide to come and see Teotihuacan. There are five entrances and if you want to do a full tour of the site, enter at entrance 1 at the south end of the site. However, if you want a shortened tour, begin at entrance 2, it is a level where the Pyramid of the Sun is situated. Entering on the entrance 2 is a great option if you are time limited or you are not interested in all that Teotihuacan can show you.
In the following text I will try to lead you through Teotihuacan and introduce you some of the most popular things there and what you really have to see if you ever get the chance to go there. So, during this tour bear in mind that these are the things that really took my breath away and I hope that it will do the same to you.
First stop on your tour of Teotihuacan is the Citadel and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl. The Citadel actually was the center of the city of Teotihuacan. However, you would not tell that today since it is on the southernmost point of the area open to visitors. During your visit you should keep in mind that the really city actually extended over 12 square miles. What hides behind the name of Citadel today is a large open space with temples surrounding it that was probably used for ceremonies, in the past. In order to see the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, you should walk across the square and climb the steps on the opposite side. The façade of the building is decorated with alternating heads of the serpent and another figure, sometimes called Tlaloc, and there are also decorations of snails and shells that symbolize the water. The Temple of Quetzalcoatl is dated to the second phase of Teotihuacán, Miccaotli. Along the balustrades of its frontal stairway and undulating along the talud-tablero bodies of each stage of this stepped pyramid are sculptured representations of Quetzalcóatl, the Feathered Serpent. Alternating with the Feathered Serpents on the tableros are heads of another monster that can be identified with the Fire Serpent — bearer of the Sun on its diurnal journey across the sky.
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