Cusco, Peru - Heart of the Inca Empire

View of Cusco from one of the nearby hills
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The long day bus ride to Cusco did not disappoint. As I have mentioned on previous occasions, this presents an ideal time to check things out. Not that some people notice, because they have their heads stuck in books the entire way. I still struggle to understand that! Oh well its their loss I suppose. But you can see plenty just looking at things out the window. Houses, people, animals, the streets, shops, donkeys ploughing fields, kids playing football...the list goes on.  Its just life´s myriad of experiences that you can see by just looking out the window, and its free!

Standing in front of one of the Inca walls
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Our digs in Cusco were pretty amazing I have to say. Right next door to the Hilton and the Church of the Santo Domingo, the one which the Catholic Church built right on the Temple of the Sun and Moon. So the massive and incredible Inca stones go half way up the walls, and the Church arrogantly sits right on the top. The city itself is quite beautiful, with an inviting town square and very tourist-centred shops surrounding it (see the pics!). Most of the streets are cobbled, and there is plenty of evidence of the Inca civilization. The intricate Inca stones which make up many of the walls thoughout the city are simply amazing. If you run your hand over them, they are so smooth, and the cracks between the stones, I swear wouldn´t even take a razor blade. I couldn´t help touching them all the time, they are a marvel of a past civilization that defies explanation as to why they are so perfect.

Cusco, Peru - Heart of the Inca Empire

The group in front of the same Inca wall
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The bustling city of Cusco has about 350,000, and was originally planned to be shaped like a puma! Of course its built around all sides of the hills that surround it now, and is at 3500m above sea level. Ohh God, save me from cities with altitude!!! Cusco was the centre of the Inca Empire, and as I said, there is much evidence of this. According to Inca legend, the city was built by Sapa Inca Pachacuti, the man who transformed the Kingdom of Cuzco from a sleepy city-state into the vast empire of Tahuantinsuyu.

Me sitting on one of the seats for the Inca nobles at Sachsaywauman
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The Spanish arrived in the city on November 15, 1533 and 6 months later the infamous Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro officially "discovered" Cusco on March 23, 1534. The many buildings constructed after the Spanish invasion represent a colonial influence with a mix of Inca architecture, including the Santa Clara and San Blas barrios (and the church right next to our hostel). The Spanish, as with everything they did, wanted to leave their legacy by destroying every vestige of Inca civilization. So of course they undertook large-scale re-construction of the city on the foundations of the old Inca city, replacing temples of the conquered with churches and palaces with mansions for the conquerors. How tragic to lose a culture in such a way. But this is the story of South America, and Cusco is perhaps one of the most dramatic examples.

Domingo church just next door to our hostal (this is the one the Spanish destroyed and built right on top of the Temple of the Sun)
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The Church of La Compañia on the Plaza de Armas in Cusco is one of the most spectacular examples of religious excess I have ever witnessed. Altar after alter, knave after knave (or whatever you call them) of solid silver and gold!! The ceilings are adorned with gold leaf, the walls with massive original oil paintings depicting everything from the resurrection of Christ to the plight of some of the unfortunate saints. The removal of gold from one temple, to create another is the height of human futility, in my humble opinion. But enough of that. Suffice to say that the rape of South America by the Spanish is right in your face in Cusco.

This is inside the same church, look at the detail in those walls!
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A major earthquake in 1950 badly destroyed the Dominican Priory and Church of Santo Domingo, which were built on top of the impressive Coricancha (Temple of the Sun). The city's Inca architecture, however, withstood the earthquake. Many of the old Inca walls were thought to have been lost after the earthquake, but the granite walls of the Coricancha were exposed, as well as many walls throughout the city. While some wanted to restore the buildings to their colonial splendor, but Cuzco citizens urged city officials to retain the exposed walls. Eventually they won out, so fortunately there is plenty of evidence of the Inca civilization in and around the city.

Some of the roadside stalls on the way up to Ollytayantambo
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The other major nearby Inca sites are Pachacuti's presumed winter home, Machu Picchu ; the "fortress" at Ollantaytambo, and the "fortress" of Sacsayhuaman (pronounced "sexy woman"!). This of course is my entre into the Machu Picchu Trail, from which you depart Cusco. So see the next entry about Machu Picchu!!!