Climing the pryimad of the god
of the sun or water

We returned yesterday from the land of pyramids, land where indigenous writing systems were invented, land of the gods of the sun and water, land of archeological wonders and ancient civilizations. No we have not been to Egypt but to Mexico, more specifically to Mexico City.

I will have more to say and many pictures of our G.A.T.E. (Global Awareness Through Experience), journey to Mexico City. From the USA media perception of Mexico we hear of drugs, violence and illegal immigrants. This ‘war on drugs’ is only near the northern border of the country, along the USA border. Mexico is a large country and would have been twice as large if the USA had not stolen in the 18th century by violent force whole or parts of what are now California, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

In Mexico City, one of the largest cities in the world, 22 million people in the metro area, we discovered people proud of their history that dates back to thousands of years B.C. Although the Spanish invaders wiped out about 95% of the indigenous people by violence or by diseases they brought with them in the 15th century, modern day Mexicans are proud of their long history. The country is full of museums celebrated this heritage and one of the most famous is the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

One of the five ancient civilizations was the Teotihuacans who lived in a largest city in the world at the time from around 100 B.C. to about 700 A.D. No one knows what happened to residents of this great city but when the Aztecs, originally a nomadic people, discovered this city they were impressed by the large pyramids in the city created as temples of the gods and called it the ‘city of Gods.’ They settled there and became a great Empire.

The largest pyramid was originally dedicated to the god of water but the Aztecs, not knowing its name, called it the pyramid of the sun. Climbing this pyramid and looking out over the valley the world seems small. One realizes the deep history of Mexico and richness of culture. Mexico becomes no longer a country of drugs, violence and illegal immigrants but a country of wonder, mystery and appreciation. There are many lessons to be learned from Mexico and we got only a glimpse of this during our brief visit. I hope to write in an essay about my experience with words and pictures. But for now all I can say is “Thank God for Mexico.”

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