On the road to somewhere: Cusco - an entry point to the Inca culture

Cusco, the ancient capital of the Inca, consists of some 13 provinces of some 1 million people. The city of Cusco itself has some 400,000 sitting at 11,000 feet above sea level....whew!! Yes, it hits you about the time you step off the plane from the short flight from Lima. It takes a little adjustment that is for sure....just about the time you head to Machu Picchu...

I arrived at my hotel with only 30 minutes to find somewhere to get a fast lunch. The hotel suggested the pizza place at the corner.....a quaint little place with a brick oven.....the pizza was ordered and served within 10 minutes...and was it ever good...ummm

Ready to head out on the tour of Cusco and its Cathedral as well as the Sacsayhuaman fortress and the Tambomachay....

The Cathedral is really a complex of three churches.....but, sorry to say...no photographs inside....and it was oh so beautiful. The main alter in the Cathedral had at least 20 vases of fresh flowers...the art work was remarkable as were the many icons.....

On the streets it seems like everywhere you turn there are Peruvian women and children carrying baby Alpaca to solicit you to take a picture...for money of course....here are but a couple of examples...(no...I did not pay for these photos!!!)

The Koricancha Complex in Cusco is the location of the main Inca Temple....while no pictures were allowed in the Chapel of Santa Domingo they were allowed in other parts of the complex....here are the walls of the temple....

Check out the the lines in these walls....we are talking construction with crude tools....the portals housed religious icons....

The gardens around the temple were destroyed by the Spaniards. But this courtyard adjacent to the temple was almost identical to a courtyard that I visited in New Zealand....

I almost forgot....I wanted to show how ingenious the Inca were in construction. Check out the tongue and grove on these stones.....

And, in looking thru this window....the masonary skills exhibited in this photo....

Off to Saqsaywaman fortress....

It is thought that this fortress was a major protective area for the Inca. It easily could be seen as a temple but it was determined to be fort or military type fortress. There are some 33 archaeological sites at this location...here are some examples...

Some of these stones weigh between 90 and 120 tons!!

This statue of Jesus, patterned after the one in Brazil overlooks the city of Cusco from Saqsaywaman.

Peruvians thrive on tourism....therefore there are many markets and just individual stands selling goods...but since I am going to the markets tomorrow I will hold off on those pictures. I just want to show these beautiful faces of Peru....