DAY 7 SEP 29, WEDNESDAY
ZOCALO
The beating heart of Mexico City is Zócalo - the Plaza de la Constitución (Constitution Square) - where the country's first constitution was proclaimed in 1813.
Measuring 240 meters in each direction, it's one of the world's largest squares and was laid out almost immediately after the conquest of the former Aztec city of Tenochtitlán on which it stands.
In the early colonial period, the square served a variety of purposes, including as a bullfighting arena and market, while today, it's used for festivals, parades, and demonstrations.
Dominated by three of the city's most visited tourist attractions - the National Palace, the Metropolitan Cathedral, and the Templo Mayor with its Aztec relics - Zócalo is touted as the perfect place to begin exploring this historic city.
if you go more than a few blocks to the north, east or south of the Zócalo, you are getting into some dicey neighborhoods. To the west is the tourist corridor... along pedestrianized Madero Street, past the Palace of Fine Arts and the Alameda Park and all the way past Reforma to the Monument to the Revolution.
We had come to the Zócalo on Saturday, found it still barricaded. Hearing it has opened, we took the metro and got down at Zócalo station [on saturday the train did not stop at zocalo station, now it did. Good sign.]. Walked out onto the square
Templo Mayor
Templo Mayor and the Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlán Tuesday to Sunday at 09:00am until 5:00pm $80 MXP fee includes the admission to the museum and the archaeological site. Free on Sunday, fee for video camera
Despite the widespread destruction after the defeat of the Aztecs, a number of their important historic sites have been unearthed and put on display in recent years. The most important site is Templo Mayor, home to the remains of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlán, including the first relic discovered in 1978, a finely sculpted round disc more than three meters in diameter and weighing eight-and-a-half tons.
Further excavations - including the summit platform of an earlier pyramid with well-preserved temple walls, along with the skulls of sacrificial victims - indicate the temple site had been built over by the Aztecs and their predecessors 11 times.
A highlight of a visit is a walkway past the precinct of the aristocratic "winged warriors," where remains of residences decorated with multi-colored reliefs have been unearthed, along with evidence of the original paintwork.
Metropolitan Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de María) 8am-8pm
Dominating Zócalo square, the massive Mexico City is one of the oldest and largest churches in the Western Hemisphere. Built atop part of the old Aztec temple precinct, construction of this massive basalt and grey sandstone structure began in 1525 and extended over 250 years.
In spite of the two neoclassical towers and certain other features, the façade creates a predominantly Baroque impression with its massive twisted columns. Standout features are the bell-towers added in 1793 and the statues of Faith, Hope, and Charity on the clock tower, dating from 1813.
The cathedral's interior also shows a mingling of styles, with particular highlights being the richly carved Altar of the Kings (Altar de los Reyes) from 1739, with its superb devotional painting of the Assumption (Asunción de María) to which the cathedral is dedicated.
Also of interest are a chapel containing the remains of Mexican Emperor Agustin de Iturbide, and the crypt with its tombs of many of the city's archbishops, among them Juan de Zumárraga, the great teacher of the Indians and the first incumbent of the see.
REVIEW OF THE DAY
National palace was still closed for COVID. After having visited Anthropology museum, Temple Major felt 2nd rung. We did appreciate the explanations in English... other places have only Spanish.
On the whole, Zocalo did not live up to the big hype for us. We LOVED Soumaya museum and Basilica Guadalupe much more, as also Bosque Chapultepec , National History museum and the Anthropology museum
VIDEO LINK
Report of day 8 on our 3 day visit to Puebla continues here
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/8663592221312024473/876049230691607926
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