Images from Tulum, the Mayan City
 

 
 Tulum means "wall," and this is how modern

tourists pass through it, into the city itself.
 

 

 

 

The great altar, upon which tens of thousands

of human beings were killed, in sacrifice to their gods.

 

 

 

 

The Temple of the Paintings

 

 

 

A Mural from the Painted Temple

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Was Tulum really a "city?" Or, was it a religious center,

inhabited by priests and an aristocracy, to

which the peasants of the countryside paid tribute?

 

 

 

Perhaps Tulum provided a vital service for the agricultural

peasants: the propitiation of the gods, for a good harvest.

Much is speculation--they had no advanced written language--but

we must not assume this was a trading "city" in modern terms. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tulum has a beautiful position above the sea.

 

 

Photos by John Lewis

January 12, 2008

An excursion from the Cordair art Cruise

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This page updated 01/21/08  Dr. John Lewis    classicalideals@yahoo.com