Day 2 in Mexico City - a visit to Teotihuacan.

Teotihuacan pre-dates the Aztecs, or Mexicas, whose power center was 40 miles south at what is now the heart of Mexico City several centuries after Teotihuacan had been abandoned. It was a very large, carefully planned city that rose and fell roughly between 100 and 1000 A.D. It was at the time, the 6th largest city in the world, home to as many as 125,000 people. It's structure and layout shared some similarities to other city-states and states that emerged during and afterward in Mesoamerica - the Aztec empire, the mosaic of many Maya cities and states that thrived eastward in the 1500+/- years before the arrival of the Conquistadores.

It has several predominant features: the Pyramid of the Sun, Pyramid of the Moon, Avenue of the Dead, and the Plumed Serpent Ciudad. These were all clustered relatively close toward the northern end of the city. This was where all the religious and governmental and main market and community events took place. Only about 2.5 km of the Avenida of the Dead today has been uncovered. It was at least 10 miles long, extending south into the mountains toward points unknown today.

There are numerous theories to explain the fall of Teotihuacan, but no one seems certain - internal strife, external threats, environmental pressures, climate change leading to loss of food production or water availability. The site has been revered ever since as a sacred site, though when the Aztecs wandered through this area looking for a homeland, Teotihuacan pyramids and streets were buried under dirt and trees. Some have even speculated that the residents intentionally buried the city before they abandoned it, but that seems crazy to me (but what do I know?)

Anyway, here are some photos from a tour I joined to visit the site. It was quite amazing in its layout, scope and scale. The site we visited is enormous, but this is just a small fraction of the once-great city. Most of it remains unexplored and un-excavated.

I am standing atop the Pyramid of the Moon, with the Avenue of the Dead behind me, and the Pyramid of the Sun over my right shoulder.

Atop the Pyramid of the Sun (which, based on recent excavations, may in fact me a pyramid to honor the Tlaloc, the God of Rain.) This the the higher, larger, of the two pyramids. Steep steps lead to the top.

This is a bust of the plumed serpent, Quetzalcoatl, a mythic god creature, on the face of the much smaller pyramid in the market area, La Cuidadela.

View from the Pyramid of the Moon; looking down the Avenue of the Dead.

Ditto above photo.

The view looking north - the Ciudadela, closest on the right, then the Pyramid of the Sun beyond that, and finally, the Pyramid of the Moon in the distance.

With the Pyramid of the Moon behind me.