2017: Mexico City and Surroundings

Tenochtitlan 2. Teotihuacan 3. Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso 4. Palacio de Bellas Artes 5. Museo Nacional de Antropologia 6. Basilica de Guadalupe 7. Palacio Nacional 8. Museo de Arte Popular 9. Museo Diego Rivera 10. Xochimilco 11. Taxco 12. Parque Nacional Grutas de Cacahuamilpas 13. Templo de Tepoztecalt 14.Great Pyramid of Cholula 15. Museo Regional de Cholula 16. Bibliotheca Palafoxiana 17. Puebla 18. Tlaxcala 19. Xochitecatl 20. Tula

April 11, 2017. I began this ttrip to Mexico in the heart of Mexico City: At Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire, founded by the Aztec or Mexica people around 1325 AD. Built on two islands, at its height it was one of the largest cities in the world, with a population of around 100,000. The Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernan Cortés, and aided by an alliance of Indigenous peoples, laid siege to the Aztec capital for 93 days, until the Mexica surrendered on August 13, 1521. A great deal of Tenochtitlan was destroyed in the fighting, or was looted, burned, or destroyed after the surrender. Its ruins can still be visited:

The "skull rack" of the Great Templevat Tenochtitlán. it was used to publicly display the skulls of sacrificial victims. One skull wall is estimated to have been nearly 200 feet long and 100 feet wide.

The adjacent Museo del Tempo Mayor has a nice collection of related artifacts (some of which are copies: the originals are in museums elsewhere):

Apr 12, 2017: A more impressive ruin than Tenochtitlan is Teotihuacan, an ancient, much older Mesoamerican city located in the Basin of Mexico, about 30 miles northeast of modern-day Mexico City. It was established around 100 BC, and is one of the most popular tourist sites in Mexico.

When my family and I visited the site in the 60's, we almost had the place to ourselves. It's a different scene today:

2017 Mexico, crowd at Teotihuacan.MOV

This is the Pyramid of the Sun, the largest building in Teotihuacán, and one of the largest in Mesoamerica. It is the third-largest pyramid in the world (though still just over half the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza). It is believed to have been constructed about 200 AD.

The Palace of the Jaguars has impressive murals in good condition:

Apr 13, 2017: Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, Mexico City. A museum and cultural center in Mexico City, considered to be the birthplace of the Mexican Muralist movement. It hasmany murals painted on its walls by José Clement Orozco, Diego River and others.