The navel of the world?
Trip Start
Dec 30, 2007
1
40
50
Trip End
Jun 22, 2008
Cusco,
Cusco,
Peru
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Incas, being self-centred, believed that the holy city of Cusco was the navel of the world. The city they created here is said to have been in the shape of a puma, and as the centre of their world it remains the heart of Peruvian tourism. The entire population must live off tourism at least indirectly. There is tremendous pride in the Incas here which takes some interesting forms. For instance, some streets have recently been renamed in Quechua, which makes them both unpronounceable and impossible to remember (eg Q'apchijk'ijllu). Cusco is now often spelt Q'osqo.
Genuine Inca walls still stand, including in the oddest juxtaposition of architectures. The Dominican cathedral now stands where the Qoricancha (golden court) of the Incas did. This was their most sacred building, a temple to the sun. It was literally plated with gold, most of which went to the futile ransom of Atahualpa (three Spaniards who helped the process along personally removed 170 gold plates each weighing four and a quarter pounds). Parts of the original architecture can still be seen, both inside and outside the building. It must once have been an amazing sight; now it is somewhat disappointing.
Other Inca walls are not hard to find, easily recognised by their precise fit and, in the grander structures where bigger rocks were used, a curious kind of bulging appearance when the Incas have not smoothed off the face of the rock (eg the palace of Inca Roqa). The thing that really impresses about Inca stonework, and is easily visible in Cusco is that it is not regular - they were not building with bricks - stones may have five or eight or 12 corners, but every join is perfect.
The Q'oriqancha
But we felt strangely lethargic in Cusco, which is a shame because there is much to do. Part of the problem is that Inca work has a sense of being centrally directed. It is so skilled, and yet unimaginative. You do not need to see many Inca sites to feel that you have seen the full range of artistic expression (in so far as it was expressed in durable stone; their work in precious metals and ceramics has more variation). The main attraction of the Cusco area is the many archaeological sites in the region, some obvious ones have simply been ignored it seems in the embarrassment of riches. We had a look at Machu Picchu, Ollantaytambo and Pisac which all have their own entries.
We also had a look at some ones closer to Cusco. Of those, Sacsayhuaman is the most famous and the most visually impressive. Much looted over the centuries, what now remains is chiefly the enormous zig-zagging defensive walls formed from enormous stones, perfectly fitted. The zig-zags perhaps represented teeth, for Sacsayhuaman was supposedly the head of the Cusco puma, or lightning, or a practical defensive structure; or maybe all of the above. Beyond the walls are other interesting sights, water works, platforms or chairs carved into bedrock, but the function or meaning of all of these is unknown. But standing before those enormous rocks, one can only feel awe at the manpower and ingenuity needed to fit them. It is their size that has saved the site, for they are too big to loot. After we left, I was amused to find a book in many of the bookshops explaining how Sacsayhuaman is a model of Atlantis, and how the jagged defensive walls reproduce the mid-Atlantic mountain ridge.
The Q'enqo is a little further out and even more ambiguous.
The baths at Tambomachay
Unfortunately, much of it is roped off now. There is a beautiful little altar carved out of in situ rock inside a tunnel which passes through a very large slab of rock. Outside, a semicircle of 19 seats or niches are cut into the rock wall around a central upright rock that may once have been a puma. The top of the slab has been intensely worked and would have been the focus of much ritual activity, including the pouring of blood (or fermented corn juice called chicha) down channels for prognostication, but access is prohibited. The two other sites we visited are less interesting. Puku Pukara is thoroughly ruined and was perhaps a watchtower or way point. The rocks are not fitted with typical Incan precision (this being served for the best buildings and being an infallible marker of status). Tambomachay is a bathing and ceremonial complex. The stonework around the baths is of high quality and they still draw water from a spring, but it is not a sight to hold one captive for long.
Cusco was the place we stayed still for longest on our trip so far, but I think it suffers from having so many of the same kind of sights so near by. It practically forces the tourist to gorge on the archaeology and induces slight jadedness. Just the thing for the jungle to cure ...
