Essay --

Day 2: Start the day off by visiting one of the 7 wonders of the Modern World. The great city, Chichen Itza, located in deep jungle of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula, flourished between the 9th and 13th centuries A.D. It was also a sophisticated urban center and center of regional trade. The Mayans emerged around 3,000 years ago in present-day Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico. According to a Mayan source, a man named K’uk’ulkan, which means feathered serpent, come from the west and establish a capital at Chichen Itza. It is unknown if this story refers to the Toltec groups or the Itza groups, or if it just a myth. During 550 to 800 AD, the main purpose of the city was to make human sacrifices and magical ceremonies. Itzamnà ¡, the supreme God, was the most important deity; he was the creator god, the god of fire, and the god of the hearth. Other significant Gods included Chac, a hooked-nose god of rain and lightning, and Kukulcà ¡n, the Feathered Serpent, who resembles the man who established the city, K’uk’ulkan. These Gods appear on many temples and were later adopted by the Toltecs and Aztecs as Quetzalcoatl. The Kukulcan, also known as El Castillo, is considered the most famous monument in the city; a unique feature of the pyramid is that it represents today’s modern calendar. A 16th-century Spanish bishop, Diego de Landa, named this pyramid after the legendary ruler of the city and the ancient snake deity. The accuracy of Mayan astronomy influenced the number of steps the temple has. In addition to space observations, the Maya used their mathematical knowledge to create a monument that has 91 steps on each side and a total of 365 steps, the same number of days in a year. The Mayans wanted to create monuments to observe and ... ...eas. The primary attraction of the town is the Ollantaytambo Fortress, located on the edge of the settlement in a section known as the Temple Hill. A monument close from the fortress is the Wall of the Six Monoliths, a towering section of wall composed of six large sections. Archaeologists believe that the construction of the wall was abandoned before its completion and the reasons are remain unknown. Some might believe that the Spaniards swiped the Incas out of the region. A nature megalithic structure near Lake Titicaca is Aramu Muru. Legends say that Viracocha first created life on Earth at Lake Titicaca, on the borders of Peru and Bolivia. In the center of the lake, the Island of Sun stands; in the island, there’s a sacred temple and unknown burial towers called chulpas in Sillustani; these towers were plated with gold and holds the remains of the Inca royalty.