Program
106:
Mexican
Heritage
From natural wonders to the legacies of the ancient peoples. I wander
through southern and eastern Mexico, experiencing the pre-Columbian,
colonial, and internal influences on the nation south of the U.S.
border.
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| Mayan
structures continue to amaze us... |
I view the ruins of the country’s earliest inhabitants, who
were instrumental in shaping modern Mexico. The Seasoned Traveler
treks lightly to Monte Alban and Mitla, near the southern city of
Oaxaca. Monte Alban is considered one of the best preserved pre-Columbian
sites in Mexico. Then I go north to Palenque, site of celebrated Mayan
ruins, with temples, plazas, and pyramids dating back 1,500 years,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some consider this ancient site at the
edge of a rain forest the most beautiful of all. If you travel here
in late spring or summer, remember the heat and humidity can be overwhelming.
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| Chichen
Itza was the center of Mayan culture.... |
Prepare
yourself and bring water.
Finally, I make it to the Yucatán Peninsula, to visit another
UNESCO site, the Mayan ruins at Uxmal. And a visit to the region would
not be complete without a stop at the famous Chichen Itza, deemed
the most important city in the Yucatán from the tenth through
the twelfth centuries. This was a commercial, military, and religious
center of 35,000 people. For the past eighty years, Chichen Itza has
been a project for archaeologists, who have been restoring this magical
place to its former glory. It remains a breathtaking site today.
Mexico’s history does not all lie in ruins. I spend some time
in the city of Mérida, itself a former Mayan site. A conquistador
stumbled upon the place in 1542 and named it for a ruined Roman city
in his Spanish homeland. Mérida became an important colonial
city and achieved fame and fortune in the early twentieth century
when profits from a rope-making ingredient, sisal, made many entrepreneurs
rich. The city became home to many millionaires and a center of culture
and good living. Many called Mérida the Paris of the West.
Because of the heat, most mansions were painted white and Merida is
also known as the White City. Its Spanish heritage remains alive today.
For information you can visit www.visitmexico.com
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