Spent an afternoon visiting Korikancha, or Temple of the Sun, in Cusco. This site was formerly the main Incan temple of Cusco and was believed to have walls covered in gold. The Spanish looted the temple when they invaded and converted it to the Convent of Santa Domingo, using the original Incan walls and adding additional stonework and stucco to complete the structure.
Incan stonework is quite sophisticated – the walls are built with large interlocking stones; in fact, the larger the stones, the more important the structure. Walls are angled inward to provide strength during the frequent earthquakes in the Andes, with niches carved in the top of each wall to reduce weight and provide balance so the wall does not fall forward. Windows are not typically found in all walls; when there are windows, they are usually aligned with an important astrological phenomenon.
Incan spirituality was centered around the natural world and Andean people still have great reverence for nature; the Sun was an important god, as well as the Moon and Mother Earth. At Korikancha, we saw a beautiful gold carving developed from research depicting many of the gods worshiped by the Incans.
The terrace of the convent built atop Korikancha provided great views of the city; the grassy plaza below was lovely and provided a great spot for locals’ wedding photos.
The walk back towards the Plaza des Armes gave us the opportunity to enjoy the narrow streets of Cusco, with original Incan walls.
That night, we ate dinner at MAP Café; a lovely restaurant in the Museo de Arte Precolombino near our hotel. We sampled cuy, grilled guinea pig and alpaca, both notable Andean dishes as well as maracuyo (passion fruit) sours. Great dining experience!