Teōtīhuacān Aztec Pyramids

For any Spanish learners - don't worry - that place name is NOT a Spanish word! It's a form of Nahuatl, the ancient language of the Nahua people. These were Mesoamerican people thought to have built these pyramids. The Aztec and Toltec people are both of Nahua ethnicity. It is also thought that at some point in history the Otomi and Totonac people also lived here. The name was given by the Nauhatl speaking Aztecs after the city fell in around AD 550.

The main two pyramids are those of the Sun and Moon, with many smaller temples and pyramids on a grand avenue connecting them, known as Avenida de Los Muertos (Avenue of the Dead). Sadly, when Spanish colonialists first discovered Teōtīhuacān, they thought that the pyramids were similar to those in Egypt - tombs - and thus destroyed many of them. The archaeological site became part of patrimonio nacional (national heritage) of Mexico in 1897 under the rule of Porfirio Díaz.

Being in the presence of these amazing ruins was quite breathtaking, and the moody sky made it even better.

I feel privileged to have been in the presence of pre-Columbian civilisation ruins three times now - firstly in Guatemala (Maya), then in Belize (also Maya) and now in Mexico (Aztec). In Europe we have much of this kind of thing in places like Athens, Pompeii and Bath from the Romans and Greeks so to see a different kind of civilisation is wonderful.