Teotihuacan and it's Pyramid

 On our second extremely, hot dry day, we traveled by bus about 40 miles from the city center where we trekked around the ruins of the ancient city of Teotihuacan and visited the pyramids. 

The city is laid out on an east-west axis with the 
Avenue of the Dead and the pyramids in it's center

An Ancient City

The first human establishment in the Teotihuacan area dates back to 600 BC, and until 200 BCE the site consisted of scattered small villages. The total estimated population of the Teotihuacan Valley during this time was approximately 6,000. From 100 BCE to 750 CE, Teotihuacan evolved into a huge urban and administrative center with cultural influences throughout the broader region, making it the largest urban center of Mesoamerica, almost 1000 years before the Aztecs. 

Ruins of the city of Teotihuacan 

The city of Teotihuacan, built around 200 AD, included a huge metropolis, encompassing about 8 square miles with an estimated population 125,000 or more, making it at least the sixth-largest city in the world at that time. The city’s layout integrated natural elements of the Valley, such as the San Juan River, whose course was altered to cross the Avenue of the Dead. In the city center were the Sun and Moon pyramids, connected by the Avenue of the Dead flanked by huge palaces and ceremonial structures and temples.

View (taken from the Internet) of the Avenue of the Dead 
with the Pyramid of the Sun on the left

Teotihuacan may have lasted until sometime between the 7th and 8th centuries AD, but its major monuments were sacked and burned around 550 AD. Its collapse might be related to the extreme weather events of 535–536. possibly caused by the eruption of the Ilopango volcano in El Salvador.

Vendors hawking hats, souvenirs and various "mementos"
behind the remains of a building

Believed to have been built by an unknown cultural group sometimes simply called the Teotihuacanos. around 200 AD,  the Pyramid of the Sun is the largest building in Teotihuacan, and one of the largest in Mesoamerica. Along with the Pyramid of the Moon, it is believed to have been the site of ceremonial ritual sacrifices. 

Pyramid of the Sun. Unfortunately, the public is no longer able
climb up the Pyramid. However, given its height, the steep steps
and the heat we were content to admire from below.

Engraved in stone along the wall of
a temple is a depiction of the "feathered
serpent" Quetzalcoatl

Quetzalcoatl was an Aztec and Mayan creator god, the patron of rain, science,
agriculture, and more. The name means Feathered Serpent in Nahuatl,
the Aztec language, a combination of the green quetzal bird and a serpent. 

This structure was thought to have been part of the Palace or
temple of Quetzalcoatl

A familiar site, we followed our guide who
we were to recognize by his little
doll on a stick.