Izamal, known as the yellow city because most of its buildings are painted yellow, is a lovely colonial town that contains gigantic Mayan temples throughout. Climb to the top of the tallest; the view is spectacular.
Explore the magnificent 1500s church. Tour guides are available at the church and monastery entrance.
Take a carriage ride or tricycle taxi city tour, visit the municipal market, and sample the local foods that range from fine dining to a cocina económica where you can get stuffed on local specialties at bargain prices. Souvenir shops abound and real authentic Mexican folk art is here.
Izamal was put on the modern map by a visit from Pope John Paul II in August of 1993. Bishop Fray Diego de Landa put it on the ancient map in the 1500s.
Statue of Bishop Diego de Landa in Izamal.
Izamal has a rich Mayan and conquistador history. Huge temple pyramids are still prominently part of the town. A 16th century Franciscan monastery is situated atop the base of one of them. The statue in the photo above of Bishop Diego de Landa faces the monastery he directed to be built. In July 1562, Friar Diego de Landa held an auto de fe Inquisitional ceremony in Maní, burning a number of Maya books and 5000 idols, saying that they were "works of the devil."
The colossal amount of stone harvested from the ancient Mayan temples that stood here to build this city center is simply mind boggling considering that several enormous pyramids still remain standing to this day. We recommend Izamal as a must-see place. Bring your camera, read-up ahead of time, and by all means take a guided carriage ride.
Take your time and spend two or three unhurried days here. It is just too good to hurry through.
Bus and taxi connections on to Mérida and Valladolid are frequent. The bus terminal is located in the downtown area.
Accommodations are numerous. Check Lonely Planet or Moon guide or ask locally.
John L. Stephens in his book Incidents of Travel in Yucatan, gives this reflection on his 1840 visit to Izamal:
The eye turned involuntarily to immense mounds rising grandly above the tops of the houses, from which the whole city had been built, without seeming to diminish their colossal proportions, proclaiming the power of those who reared them, and destined, apparently, to stand, when the feebler structures of their more civilized conquerors shall have crumbled into dust.
Read more about this one-of-a-kind colonial city with its huge Mayan temples in the books, Yucatán’s Magic, Mérida Side Trips and Yucatan for Travelers - Side Trips: Valladolid to Tulum.
No comments:
Post a Comment