Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #35: Architecture
“Machu Picchu: The Incas built the estate around 1450 but abandoned it a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although known locally, it was not known to the Spanish during the colonial period and remained unknown to the outside world until American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to international attention in 1911.” — Wikipedia
It is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Let this Peruvian flute music accompany you…
Name of this music is Machu Picchu
After entering the gate, we followed the path, walked around the stone walls and up/down the stairways, hiked the narrow trail…, then, a corner of the Machu Picchu village appeared:
A little while later, the clouds and mist were slowly lifted opening up the scenery. Urubamba River was flowing down the mountains smoothly. The village was quietly sitting there and terraces were perfectly curved and angled on the other side:
As we continued to hike down, we could see the village setting clearly. This was the place we fell in love with long before we came for which we had been waiting.
The village sits in a saddle between the two mountains: Machu Picchu and Huayna PicchuIt. The location of the village was a military secret, and its deep precipices and steep mountains provided natural defenses.
It is situated above a bow of the Urubamba River, which surrounds the site on three sides, where cliffs drop vertically for 450 metres (1,480 ft) to the river at their base.
Buildings were in rows, each has its functions. A 5-mile creation.
Walls and buildings were made with blocks of white granite. They were perfectly cut and fit together without cement.
These terraces were built in layers. The structure ensured good drainage to protect erosion and landslides. The bottom layer of larger stones covered by loose gravel, the top of the gravel was mixed sand and gravel packed together with rich topsoil covering all of that.
Temple of the Sun: “the stone is situated at 13°9’48” S. At midday on 11 November and 30 January, the sun stands almost exactly above the pillar, casting no shadow. On 21 June, the stone casts the longest shadow on its southern side, and on 21 December a much shorter shadow on its northern side.” –Wikipedia
How was it built 500 years ago, with minimum tools? How was it even possible? Even today it would be a huge challenge.
The World Is A Book... 
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