C & C globetrotting around the world…

Cuzco is South America’s oldest continuously inhabited city. It was once the administrative, political and military capital of the Inca Empire (13th century-1532), the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The area is also the archeological capital of the Americas and also has beautifully preserved colonial architecture. The city is so steeped in history, tradition and myth that it’s hard to tell where fact ends and fantasy begins. Legends tell that in the 12^th century the first Inca, Manco Capac, was charged by the ancestral sun god Inti to find the “qosq’o” (the navel of the earth). When he finally discovered such a place, he founded the city.

The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century. The official language of the empire was Quechua, although hundreds of local languages and dialects of Quechua were spoken. The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu which can be translated as “The Four Regions or The Four United Provinces”. Quechua is still the language used by many inhabitants of the region. From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used a variety of methods, from conquest to peaceful assimilation, to incorporate a large portion of western South America, centered on the Andean mountain ranges, including, besides Peru, large parts of modern Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, north and central Chile, and southern Colombia into a state comparable to the historical empires of Eurasia. The term Inka means ruler, or lord, in Quechua, and was used to refer to the ruling class or the ruling family in the empire. The Spanish adopted the term (transliterated as Inca in Spanish) as an ethnic term referring to all subjects of the empire rather than simply the ruling class. As such the name Imperio inca (Inca Empire) referred to the nation that they encountered, and subsequently conquered. The Inca built on ruins of buildings built by the Killke culture. The first Spaniards arrived in the city on 15 November 1533 and Francisco Pizarro renamed it the “Very noble and great city of Cuzco”. The Spanish destroyed many Inca buildings, temples and palaces. They used the remaining walls as bases for the construction of a new city. The many buildings constructed after the Hispanic invasion therefore have a mixture of Spanish influence with Inca indigenous architecture.

We arrived in Cusco by overnight bus and checked into our hostel: Hostal Royal Frankenstein! It’s run by a German guy from the Franken region and is decorated according to its name. Although overnight buses in Peru are pretty comfy, they are not like sleeping in a bed. After a short nap we went out to explore the city. There were lots of people dressed up in beautiful and colourful costumes. It was an important festival and it was wonderful to see. These people have definitely not forgotten their roots! In the evening we went to Plaza de Armas where there was a parade of people in costumes. Christoph took soooo many pictures because all of them were nice and interesting. Colonial arcades surround the Plaza de Armas, which used to be the heart of the ancient Inca capital. For example, the cathedral sits on the site of Inca Viracocha’s palace and was erected using blocks from another nearby Inca site. After walking around a bit, we bought some gloves and socks (made of alpaca wool) because it’s cold in the evenings and it’s supposed to get even colder in Bolivia.

While in Cuzco, we watched some Euro 2012 soccer games at the hostel when Germany played and chatted with lots of different people. We also explored the city and went to the Inca site of Qorikancha. Qorikancha (from the Quechua words Quri Kancha meaning “Golden Temple”), originally named Inti Kancha (“Temple of the Sun”) or Inti Wasi (“Sun House”), was the most important temple in the Inca Empire, dedicated primarily to Inti, the Sun God. It was one of the most revered temples of the capital city of Cusco. The walls and floors were once covered in sheets of solid gold, and its adjacent courtyard was filled with golden statues. Spanish reports tell of its opulence that was “fabulous beyond belief”. When the Spanish required the Inca to raise a ransom in gold for the life of the leader Atahualpa, most of the gold was collected from Qorikancha. The Spanish colonists built the Church of Santo Domingo on the site, demolishing the temple and using its foundations for the cathedral. Construction took most of a century. This is one of numerous sites where the Spanish incorporated Inca stonework into the structure of a colonial building. Major earthquakes severely damaged the church, but the Inca stone walls, built out of huge, tightly-interlocking blocks of stone, still stand due to their sophisticated stone masonry. It was nice and interesting to see. From there we visited the Santa Catalina Monastery. It used to be the “House of the Virgins of the Sun” (Acllahuasi, aka “House of the Chosen Women”), but now houses Catholic nuns.

Leading to the plaza we walked on Loreto street with the oldest Inca wall in Cuzco. From there we crossed the plaza and went up Triunfo street towards the San Blas neighbourhood until we reached “Hatun Rumiyoc”, a 12-sided Inca stone. Returning to the Plaza de Armas, we passed by the Cathedral which is flanked by Jesus Maria and El Triunfo churches, as well as the Compania de Jesus church which is also flanked by 2 churches. This makes 6 churches in total on Plaza de Armas! For dinner, we celebrated Luxembourg Day by having Pisco Sour since we weren’t at home to have a party in honour of the Grand Duchy. For dinner we had quinoa soup and “rocoto relleno”, a small spicy bell pepper filled with ground meat and topped with melted cheese. Stimmung! Party!

In Cuzco you can really feel the Inca culture is still alive through the language and customs of the people. This was not destroyed by the Spanish.