When the Spaniards conquered the Inca empire, they were shocked by its splendor and wealth. They were especially impressed by the capital of the empire - the city of Cuzco. The building of the Temple of the Sun, standing in the center of Cusco, simply sparkled with gold. I have already talked about this temple - about its incredible architecture and the amazing quality of stone processing.
It is difficult to imagine that these stones were still faced with gold, which was plundered by enterprising conquistadors. However, this was not all - next to the temple was the amazing Golden Garden of Cuzco. This is how the Spaniards themselves described it: “In this garden were planted the most beautiful trees and the most wonderful flowers and fragrant herbs that only grew in this kingdom. Many of them were cast from gold and silver, and each plant is depicted more than once, but from a small shoot, barely visible above the ground, to a whole bush in its full growth and perfect maturity.
There we saw fields strewn with corn. Its stems were of silver, and the ears of gold, and all this was depicted so truthfully that one could see the leaves, grains and even hairs on them. In addition to these wonders, the Inca garden contained all sorts of animals and beasts cast in gold and silver, such as rabbits, mice, snakes, lizards, butterflies and wild cats. We found birds there, and they sat in the trees as if they were about to sing, while others seemed to sway on flowers and drink flower nectar. And there were also golden roe deer and deer, cougars and jaguars, all animals both in small and mature age, and each of them occupied an appropriate place, as it should be for nature."
And on the main square of the city, the shocked conquistadors saw a huge chain of pure gold. Its length was about 250 meters. She framed the square, and during the holidays the Indians danced, holding her in their hands. All this splendor was melted, plundered and taken out of Cuzco.
Natalia Trubinovskaya
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