Being the capital city of the Inca empire, Cusco has a number of Inca ruins dotted around the city. The most famous of them is the fortress of Saqsaywaman, on a hill near the city. Part military fort, part religious complex, the remains of the fort give a great overview of the incredible skill of the Inca builders.
The Incas were master stone craftsmen - shaping stones and boulders and then constructing buildings with these stones, without any cement. The stones have various interlocking angles which allowed them to have a perfect fit with adjacent stones and maintain a strong coupling. Their work is really impressive when you consider the fact that Peru has a number of small earthquakes every year, and a number of big earthquakes every century. Yet in all the earthquakes, the Inca buildings have yet to be damaged and have maintained their form.
Regrettably, most of the Inca buildings around Cusco were dismantled by the conquering Spaniards. The Spanish conquerors were one of the most destructive conquering forces in history - they not only killed the ruling and nobility classes (the nobility classes included all the scholars and priests of the Inca world) but also destroyed the artwork (melted down the gold and silver) and the buildings to make their own. In some cases they adapted Inca buildings - like the temple of Qorinkancha, which was converted into a monastery (and is still a monastery), but is now a major tourist attraction detailing the building craftsmanship of the Incas.
Another ruin, close to Saqsaywaman, is that of Qenqo - a temple that was once used for human sacrifice. Human sacrifices (usually children) were made as offers to the gods for a good harvest or for a good planting. Since I did not have a guided tour of these ruins, I do not have any more details :(
No comments:
Post a Comment