view from Oaxaca hotel rooftop patio
It is spacious, elegant with small garden patios and a dramatic roof terrace. It even had a television. But more importantly, it had an amazing hot water shower and bathroom. This was especially important after our hike and bus ride.
view from Oaxaca hotel rooftop patio
view from Oaxaca hotel rooftop patio
Seeing Monte Alban on April 9th is it understandable that it is considered to be one of Mexico's most impressive sites.
Monte Alban
Before retiring for the evening we booked a tour for the next morning to Monte Alban.
Monte Alban was first occupied around 500 B.C., probably by the Zapotecs (indigenous people in Mexico) from the start. Archaeologists divide Monte Alban history into five phrases. The years up to about 200 BC saw the leveling of the hilltop, the building of temples and probably palaces, and the growth of the town of 10,000 or more people on the hillsides. Hieroglyphs and dates in a dot-and-bar system carved during
this era may mean that the elite of M.A. were the first people to use writing, and a written calendar, in Mexico. Between 200 BC and AD 300 M.A. the city came to dominate more and more of Oaxaca. The city with its peak from about 300 to 700, when the main and surrounding hills were terraced for dwellings and the populations reached about 25,000. Most of what we saw dates from this time.
Monte alban
Monte Alban was the center of a highly organized, priest dominated society, controlling the extensively irrigated Valles Centrales, which held at least 200 other settlements and ceremonial centers.
Many Monte Alban building were plastered and painted red and the architecture (a stepped building style with alternating vertical and sloping sections). Nearly 170 underground tombs from this period have been found.
Between about 700 and 900 Monte Alban, the place was abandoned and 40,000 people dispersed and settled in other area, and M.A. fell into ruin. Many believe that this happened because of drought. Monte Alban, Phase V saw minimal activity, except that Mixtecs (indigenous people in Mexico) arriving from northwestern Oaxaca reused old tombs here to bury their own dignitaries. This was a truly amazing site to see the morning of Thursday, April 9th.
wooden 'alebrijes' carved figures
Leaving Monte Alban we proceeded to the town of San Antonio Arrazola which specializes in alebrijes, figures carved in copal wood creating fantastic zoology.
Leaving San Antonio Arrazola we proceeded to the town of Culilapan De Guerrero, a magnificant site with an outstanding open chapel.
open chapel church
open chapel church
The unfinished church of basilica base and the ex convent is truly spectacular. From this beautiful site, we went to the indigenous market in Zaachila where you could buy food, i.e, fruit, vegetables, fish Mexican aprons, hardware items, etc.
open chapel church
Taking a self-directed tour of churches on Thursday evening, we visited the Iglesia de La Compania and the Iglesia de San Juan de Dios, the latter is a beautiful small 17th church on the site of Oaxaca's first church, which was built in 1526.
church in Oaxaca
The 18th century baroque Templo de San Felipe Neri is where Benito Juarez (the first indigenous president) and Margarita Maza were married in 1843.
Back in Oaxaca City one of the beautiful Churches here
After visiting this magnificent church we headed four blocks north of the cathedral to the gorgeous Santo Domingo it is considered to be the most splended of Oaxaca's churches. It was build mainly between 1570 and 1608 as part of the city's Dominican monastery, with the finest artisans from Peubla and elsewhere helping in it construction. Like other big buildings in this earthquake-prone region, Santo Domingo has immensely thick stone walls. Amid the fine carving on the baroque facade, the figure holding a church is Santo Domingo de Guzmain, the Spanish monk who founded the Dominican order (1172-1221). The Dominicans observed strict vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and in Mexico they protected the indigenous people from other colonists' excesses. This vow is difficult to understand when you see the church as nearly every square inch of the church's interior is decorated in 3-D relief, elaborate coloured and gilt designs swirl around a profusion of painted figures.
Church next to Zocalo in Oaxaca City
Back in Oaxaca City, the Zocalo
The entire church had a magically warm glow in the candlelight.
church in Oaxaca
onion skin decorations
We thought it was lovely, other tourists, primarily Mexican, also walking
through the churches as we were on the Thursday evening before Good
Friday. We later found out that it is a Semana Santa custom to visit
seven churches on the Thursday. It is no wonder the churches were
decorated in such a glorious fashion.
Semana Santa decorations
Semana Santa street procession
Semana Santa street procession
Oaxaca church
Semana Santa street procession
Semana Santa street procession
In our self-directed tour of Churches, we also visited the Basilica de La Soledad. This Church was in the poorer section of town. However, it also was breath-taking. It seems that people come from all over the world every year because someone saw a vision at this site and consequently built the church there. Beside this church there were many vendors selling various kinds of food and the area seemed to be a very social gathering place, like the Zocalo.
worlds largest tree 'el Tule'
The evening was complete with a full moon overlooking our evening journey.
