Now or Never!: 2600 YEARS OF HISTORY

Spanish is the official language of Guatemala and a little knowledge of the language will go a long way in the country. But millions of Guatemalans speak one of 21 Mayan dialects as their maternal language. It is even used in schools. Popular knowledge will tell you that the Mayans are an extinct people. The fact is the Mayan population and its culture have survived civil war, discrimination, oppression, attempts to assimilate and the insidious methods of fundamentalist missionaries. It’s true that Mayan city-states were abandoned in the 10^th century but Mayan traditions survive.

While many young people and many men wear western garb, many Mayan women still wear traditional clothing. They are well known for their colorful textiles which they produce on backstrap looms.

Their colorful huipiles (blouses) often indicate the communities from which they come.

Archeologists tell us that the Mayan period began around 600 BCE and ended in the 10^th century CE. During those 1600 years, the Mayans developed an intricate religion, the most accurate calendar ever devised and some of the most striking architecture the world has known.

A four and a half to five hour bus ride through the mountains to the lowlands of Northern Guatemala at Flores puts you just a few miles from one of the premier Mayan sites in Central America, Tikal.

Tikal is now a national park and a UNESCO World Heritage site of over 220 square miles. The ruins of the ancient city cover a bit more than 6 square miles. Over 3000 structures can be identified on the site but only 10% have been excavated.

Great mounds of vegetation covered earth hide and protect thousands of pyramids and other structures. At the core of the site lies the Great Plaza. Giant temples flank the East and West ends of the plaza.

The North side of the complex consists of many funerary structures constructed over a period of time from 350 BC to about 900 AD. These included altars, temples and stelae. The ancient Mayans practiced human sacrifice and sacrificial altars are part and parcel of many temples.

It is interesting that the city was not built on a river or lake. It had no water source. Instead, rainwater was collected. The temples were built of native limestone and the depressions from which the stone was quarried were plastered and served as giant reservoirs.

Temple II, at the western end of the plaza is interesting. You could say it is the Taj Mahal of Mayan architecture.

It was built in honor of Lady Lahan Unen Mo' also known as Lady 12 Baby Macaws, wife of the ruler Jasaw Chan K'awiil I. Unlike the wife of Shah Jahan who was entombed beneath the Taj Mahal, the Mayan queen was not entombed beneath Temple II. The king however, was buried beneath Temple I at the other end of the Great Plaza.

One of the most famous Temples at Tikal is Temple IV. It gets its fame from the Star Wars movies. George Lucas used it as the filming location for planetary moon of Yavin IV in the storyline for the first-released Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope. It is the funerary pyramid built around 741 AD for Yik’in Chan Kawil, the son of Jasaw Chan K'awiil I mentioned above. It is the tallest pre-Columbian structure still standing, rising to 230 feet about the jungle floor. You can't climb to the top of the roofcomb, but you can climb to its base. The view of the surrounding plain is magnificent

The jumping off point for Tikal is the town of Flores. Flores is a jewel in its own right. It is an island community located in Lago Petén Itza. It is a picturesque place whose cobblestone streets are lined with gaily painted houses and buildings.

While many travel writers say that Flores is not a tourist destination. I guess they haven’t really been there; we found the numerous hotels full and the restaurants packed with tourists from all over. Still, it is a laid back place worth spending a few days exploring.