On Monday we went to Chichén Itzá. Probably the name doesn't ring a bell but I guess the following picture does. You definitely have seen it in any kind of information about Mexico:
The pyramide is quite famous and I found it really impressing. It's not only the buidling itself but its function and meaning. It has 91 steps on each side which makes (91 times 4) 364 in total. Plus the "last step" on top... mmh? ... 365! The number of days of a year. Maybe you don't find that too impressing but they didn't only calculate the number of days per year exactly but also had a system to add days (as we do in a leap year) which was almost as exact as the system now (btw, it's quite interesting as it's actually a bit more complicated than adding a day every four years). Considering that they knew that already 1000 years ago and were much more exact than the Gregorian Calendar in Europe, it is something really worth knowing (for me;-).
In addition, twice per year the sun is the reasons why more people than usual come to Chichén Itzá. Because of light and shadow it looks as if a snake is coming down the pyramide. You can see it on the next picture although I think it's a bit difficult to imagine. Well, I didn't see it either as it is for the start of spring and autumn. The interesting question is how the Mayas calculated the adjustment of the building.
And some more about Mayan mathematics: they had a number system based on 20 including zero. Those who know a bit about mathematics and the history of numbers know that it isn't self-evident and that "our" zero comes from India.
Going back to Chichén Itzá and the Mayas, let me tell you that the pyramide isn't the only building there. Of course they also had a ball game field there. I think by now I told you enough about it (see previous posts) and the building called "The Observatory" is quite cool as well. You can see it on the picture on the right.
We stayed a bit longer in Chichén Itzá to see the luz y sonido ("light and sound") event in the evening. The light effects were very good and they told in short (30 minutes) the story of the region and the town.
By the way, around the archeological site there is really nothing worth mentioning. The next town is more than ugly. Therefore we continued our travel at about 9pm to arrive in Cancún about 2 hours later... (Cancún will be the next post.)
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