Chichen Itza belongs to the list of the most significant Mayan cities. Its name, translated from the Maya languages, has several meanings at once: "The mouth of the well of the sorcerers of water", or "The mouth of the Itz wells", or "The mouth of the well of the Itza tribe." Itza is an ethnic nation that, according to ancient legend, achieved economic and political primacy in the region.
In 2007, Chichen Itzu was included in the list of the new seven wonders of the world. The ancient city is the second most popular archaeological site in Mexico. It was founded in about 455 and destroyed in 1178. It is located in the northern part of the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula, 120 kilometers from the city of Merida. The total area of the city's territory is more than six square kilometers.
Chichen Itza is a complex of various buildings, including cenotes, temples, platforms, columns, an observatory, a monastery and other ancient architectural objects. The most famous landmark of the city is El Castillo, a 24-meter-high pyramid with a temple on top. The base of the pyramid is a square, each side of which is 55.5 meters. The sides of the pyramid are oriented in accordance with the cardinal points. The pyramid consists of nine levels, four staircases of 91 steps rise up on each side. If you multiply the number of steps by the number of stairs and add the upper platform of the pyramid as another step, you get the number 365 - the number of days in a year.
A large number of tourists come here twice a year. They all want to see how, during the spring and autumn equinox, the shadow from the sun forms the shape of a snake. And when the shadow moves, the illusion of movement of this very "snake" along the pyramid stairs is created. All this natural spectacle lasts for 3 hours and 22 minutes.
The exact purpose of El Castillo is unknown to scientists. Perhaps it was a kind of calendar, or maybe the pyramid had some other astronomical meaning. But later, a hole was found in the floor of the temple through which you can get inside another even more ancient pyramid. Two sculptures were found there, the meaning of which has not yet been established.
Another important architectural object of Chichen Itza is the Temple of Warriors. It is also a pyramid with four levels and a base of 40 x 40 meters. In front of the Temple there is a platform with four rows of columns. The height of the columns is different and reaches three meters. Almost all columns bear images of Toltec warriors. The researchers believe the columns were supplied as support for the roof. However, to this day, no traces of the alleged roof have survived.
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Among other structures of the ancient Mayan city, the Sacred Cenote is of particular importance. The word "cenote" means "well". And this cenote has another name - the Well of Death: priests threw people here during the rituals of sacrifices. The diameter of the well is approximately 60 meters and its total depth is 50 meters.
The representatives of the ancient civilization loved to play ball. And especially for this entertainment, they built several sites for themselves in Chichen Itza. The largest of them is a playing field measuring 83 by 30 meters and with walls over 8 meters high. The bases of the walls are decorated with engravings depicting scenes of human sacrifice. The engravings show two teams, each with seven players. In the hands of one of the players is the severed head of the player of the second losing team. There are also rings on the walls, into which the players had to hit the ball.
The diameter of the ball was only a few centimeters different from the diameter of the ring, so you had to try hard to hit the target. But judging by how the game ended for the losing team, it can be assumed that they played well.
