Cycling and paddling around the world, worldtrip witk bike and canoe

Tikal

Translated by PROMT-Online-Translator

Country:	Guatemala	Location:	tikal
Rating:	Lovely Maya ruins


The jungle awakes: 03:45 clock rings the alarm, was short of free stuff from the packed and poorly lit with candles park entrance. A few minutes later, then even the first tour buses and in the great turmoil, I ask Luis Guide whom I also had my mother and we are in for 5, - € instead of 10, - to € with the sunrise tour: Well is accompanied by heavily armed pumping Guns Parkrangern a brief half hour by the pitchblack park to Temple IV, we in the first dawn climb. We are almoust the first and so after witness how different howlermonkey families awaken, start their morning roar and thus wake the remaining virgin forest dwellers we Spider Monkeys, toucans and parrots. With its 65m the Temple IV is the largest structure in Tikal, and so we sit almost directly above a sea of leaves. Thanks to the overnight rain still a lot of hang fog over the roof of the jungle, which gradually from the sun's rays be resolved.

Temple IV: After sunrise we adopt, however, the guided tour and start with the park on your own to explore. Suddenly we discover in a gap in leafes the roof of temple IV. Here we have above the sunrise spent. The 741n.Chr. Temple completed IV served as a backdrop, incidentally a rebel base in Star Wars

Temple II: Long before the masses everyday tourists arrive at the Grand Plaza, we can already impressive 44 high temple in the morning I enjoy the sun. The temple was in honor of the wife of the Maya ruler Hasaw Chan K'awil built. About a wooden staircase on the left side of the temple can even climb.

Temple I: The 47m high temple was dedicated to Hasaw Chan K'awil built, the Maya rulers, after long debates finally Calakmul, Tikals Erzfeinde, beaten. Finish leave the temple, but his son and successor Yik'in Chan K'awil in the year 712 AD.

Rain at the temple V: What actually every day so we will continue in Tikal from those included in the usual rainy season and rain Nachmittagsgewittern caught. As the thunderstorm loslegt we just enjoy the magnificent view from the 58m high temple V. The wooden staircase to the temple leads V is extremely steep (almost vertically and not for weak minds) and before the rain greasy and slippery, we will increase from the over 1400 years old temple prefer down in the Urwal. Just in time before an strong tropical rain came.

Mayas: The Maya culture existed from about 1800 BC. until about 1000 AD. in an area that today covers the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, parts of Honduras and parts of El Salvador. Unfortunately, on the Maya culture, very few is known and their sudden disappear still is puzzling scientists. Unlike other advanced cultures (such as the Incas), there was never a Maya Empire. Rather, the Maya culture from many separate cities, which also competed among themselves, as it was also the case in ancient Greece. After the Maya had succeeded to cultivate the land and thanks terraces and irrigation canals quite efficient food was produced, while the corn is of particular importance, opened up the space for science, such as the writing, architecture, mathematics, astronomy and calendar on their part. For example, there are many temples to the movements of the sun. Unfortunately, almost all written records of the Mayas were burned from Bishop Diego de loading in the 16th Century, but at least three texts have survived in European museums. Even today there are 21 ethnic groups, each with its own language, to be descendants of the Maya, and their traditions, especially in the mountains is still a traditional life.

Tikal morning mood: We enter the park in the dark and a guide leads us to the temple point IV, from which we the sunrise witness. The guide asks all during the time here to mention what I regard as particularly pleasant. Gradually the jungle wakes up and so we first hear birds, singing their morning songs and then several families of howler monkeys wake up, while over the tops of the trees som Mayan pyramids are visible. Tikal was built around 900 - 700 BC. populated, and against 500 BC. was the first, then smaller stone pyramid was built. Around 250 AD. Tikal had already become an important centre of religion, trade and culture. It followed several disputes with neighbors and between 7 Century. In the 9th century Tikal reached its peak and covered an area of approximately 30 sq. km with about 100,000 inhabitants. In the 10th Century. Long before the Spaniards came, Tikal was finally abandoned and left, so that the jungle reclaimed piece by piece the city. Tikal was re-discovered then only in late 17th Century. but the first archaeological expedition was only in 1848 by the Guatemalan government action. Many international archaeologists have unfortunately taken over the years many art objects back to their home countries where they are now far from their homeland. The excavations of the temple are far from complete and will certainly continue for many decades.

Howler monkeys and ants: On the way between the two pyramids at once, we hear a few howler monkeys high above us in the tree tops. Although the howler monkeys are quite large they can be very difficult seen, because they hide in the leaves. One of our guides made the cry of the howler monkeys and then immediately came the answer from above. A little way away from the path tramples our guide at once next to a few small holes in the ground, and now come in hundreds of giant ants from the building, suspecting an assault and wanting to defend this now. The ants, which incidentally is still a delicacy, are really huge and so we prefer to security distance. Previously, the ants incidentally also used for wounds to "sew". The skin was held together and after the ants with their tongs came to hold it together and then their head was detached, so that only the punches were left behind to keep the wound closed.

Ball game: For the Mayan ball game was not a pastime or sport, but a religious ritual. Gates served as a small holes in the earth (at least here in Tikal) and the ball was with the upper arms, shoulders, knees and legs are played. For the Mayan ball game that symbolized the struggle between good and evil. Tough seems from today's perspective, in particular the practice that the members of the winning team were sacrificed to the gods. Why should a football team want to win, if it would die afterwards? Presumably it was to be honoured sacrificed to the gods, or perhaps there was even a similar concept as in Islam, where each victim of the Holy War will spent his life in the heaven.

Solar calendar: These pyramids were aligned to the sun, each view when the sun is at the northern or southern or turning circle at the equator. Whether the Maya had probably already know that the earth is a sphere?

Toucans: The caves living in tree breeding and toucans you can encountered anywhere in the park. If you knock on the trunk of a tree where a toucan lives he stretches this curious only its huge beak and then his head out to look for potential dangers.

Steep Pyramids: The extremely steep pyramids of Tikal are only gradually grown. First, it was smaller pyramids built and in later years, a bigger pyramid was simply constructed over the old pyramid. There are pyramids, which actually consists of five pyramids and so theyremind me somehow to the Russian wooden dolls. At a temple had an American research team is trying to become into the inner temples, but finally, the whole construction then collapsed. Before the pyramids are often so called stelas, stone slabs, that describe the life of a Mayan prince and his achievements and conquests.