Sunday, January 10, 2010

The City of Merida, Mexico

This is the figure of the Mayan god Chacmool in the Museum of Anthropology and History in Merida, Mexico. Sacrifices were performed and offered to this god. A figure of a Chacmool sits atop the Temple of the Warriors at Chichen Itza.
The Merida Cathedral is an imposing structure. Merida is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatan, with a population of 750,000, which makes it larger than Merida, Spain, for which it is named. One-third of the population of Yucatan still speaks Mayan language, although that is more common in small towns and rural areas rather than Merida.
This is the outside of the Museum of Anthropology and History. It is also known as Palacio Canton, as the building was originally the mansion of a wealthy family. Merida obviously had a prosperous past for grand mansions of this scale and architecture to have been build.
Merida was an excellent stop for lunch after we visited Uxmal, a nearby Mayan site. This is the restaurant where we sampled the Yucatan dishes, which differ from Mexican food elsewhere. The local food has influences of Mayan and Caribbean cuisine.
This is the courtyard of the Merida town hall, decorated for Christmas.
The Cathedral sits at the main square of Merida, which is typical of Spanish colonial towns.

5 comments:

glenda said...

This looks like a very interesting city to visit. So much history to learn about.

brattcat said...

Another beautiful series. That museum is gorgeous.

Lois said...

Lovely place and your pictures are beautiful Julie! They really did warm me up this morning.

Phivos Nicolaides said...

Your pictures are really beautiful!

Unknown said...

I was a bit disappointed with Merida, maybe because I was coming from the state of Chiapas where everything is just WOW! Anyway these photos are great.

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