You will never see Paris or New York the way it was seen in the 16th or 18th centuries. These cities burned in fires and were destroyed by bombing and shelling, the streets straightened and rebuilt every hundred years, and in place of old districts and quarters, factories, industrial plants, warehouses grew every 20-30 years. The industrial revolution passed through the European cities with a steamroller, and the Second World War forever changed the face of the Old World.
But all the excitement and anxiety of the last five centuries, which reshaped Europe far and wide, had little effect on the appearance of the Mexican city of San Cristobal. Getting here, you make a journey into the past - and you see exactly what the indigenous Mexicans saw 300 years ago - the ancient hot city.
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How to get here
San Cristobal de Las Casas (San Cristobal de Las Casas) is a city located 98 kilometers from Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of one of the states of Chiapas. You can get to it on Pan-American Highway No. 190, in the old direction, which gradually rises from the valley to the mountains and opens a landscape of extraordinary beauty. However, you need to go carefully, especially in the dark - the road is very winding and unpredictable, and the locals drive like they ride a horse, not by car.
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A paragraph of history
The city is located in the valley, which for a long time lived various Mayan tribes, but the city was laid not by them, but by the first conquistador, Diego de Mazariegos. He founded in this place a small town of Villa-Real (Villa Real). He was attracted by the moderate mountain climate and the idyllic tranquility of the valley.
The Indians who lived in this area were not so pleased with the arrival of uninvited guests: they had to lose their lands, get "unknown" from the conquistadors previously unknown diseases, and, eventually, lose their territory. The inhabitants were oppressed and cruelly oppressed by the Spaniards. The situation changed for the better only in 1545, when the Dominican monks began to settle in the city and around. The first bishop of Bartolomé de las Casas, whose name the city is named, is respected by local people so far.
Souvenirs and Markets
San Cristobal is the center of a variety of Indian cultures, in its areas live descendants of Indian Mayan tribes: tzotziles, tzeltales, choles. Each village has its own distinctive features: its special clothing, decorations, distinctive colors, motifs of embroidery and features of needlework. And local people do not mind selling traditional Indian clothes and household items to tourists.
Once a week, usually on Saturday and Sunday, Indians from nearby towns come to the market or simply walk the streets, offering jewelry and other items. They can buy amulets from evil spirits, dishes, musical instruments and so on. At the same time each village has its own tailoring of clothes and its traditional colors, so some sellers can buy shirts and tunics with birds, others - with scorpions, and others - with butterflies, etc.
Entertainment, excursions and attractions of San Cristobal
Amber Museum
A cozy place, near which local people like to trade in crafts made of amber like to stop. Near the museum is a cozy public garden, which perfectly harmonizes with the general landscape of the street. A cool terraced park in a step with steps and lattices is a great place to escape from the heat in the midday heat.
In the museum itself are amazing photographs and crafts made of amber. By the way, Mexican amber is darker than the Baltic, and more solid. Before buying hand-made articles and beads, make sure that they are really amber, not glass.
Palenque
The remains of the ancient Mayan city, which seem to have come true from the films about Indiana Jones - that's what Palenque is. In the ruins of the ancient cultural and political center of the Maya Indians there is an ancient tower, the remnants of the palace of the Indians, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of Inscriptions. By the way, local people are 100% sure that there is a relief in the Inscription Palace where the Mayan cosmonaut is located behind the control panel of the spacecraft.
Photos of San Cristobal (17)