Wednesday, May 30, 2007

At Qoricancha, Ave el Sol















This is Qoricancha (Koricancha) which is opposite Maximo Nivel in Ave el Sol. The photo was taken by Eber.

Qoricancha was one of the most important temples in the Inca empire. It was home to 4,000 priests and also the main astronomical observatory for the Incas. Dedicated to worship of the sun, the temple was a glittering palace of gold: Qoricancha means "courtyard of gold" in Quechua.

Its walls were lined with gold panels, housed life size gold figures, solid gold altars, and a huge golden sun. Much of the wealth was removed to pay ransom for the captive Inca Atahualpa at the time of the Spanish conquest, but the Spaniards looted the temple anyway and emptied it of gold and used the polished stone walls to build the Dominican Convent of Santo Domingo on the site.
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1 comment:

Unknown said...

Very stylish there young Donald.

Is it as cold as it looks? Being an islander i suppose it doesn't really matter!