Templo Mayor and Teotihuacán

We are no strangers to pre-columbian sites, having seen Machu Pichu, Tikal, Chichen Itza and many others. What stands out at Teotihuacán is the sheer scale of the Pyramid of the Sun and the broad "Avenue of the Dead", which leads over a mile from the Pyramid of the Moon at one end to the Temple of Quetzalcoatl at the other.

Neither Aztec, Toltec or Mayan, the Teotihuacáno culture remains something of an enigma. This massive city, just north of present-day Mexico City, was already the centre of a thriving culture a century before Christ was born, but seems to have succumbed either to famine or invaders by 700 AD. Although the level of craftsmanship does not match some of the magnificent masonry of the Inca, the stonework nonetheless shows nice detail.

The photo below was taken looking southward from atop the Pyramid of the Moon, with the wall at right pointing down the Avenue of the Dead. Those tiny dots clustered atop the Sun Pyramid at left are people (you can click on the picture to enlarge).
The Temple of Quetzalcoatl is surrounded by a walled compound and was mistaken for a "citadel" by the Spaniards. The area most likely served as both an administrative and religious hub, and was also where Teotihuacán's elite lived. Here also is where one finds the most well-preserved detail, as in the temple facade below.
Teotihuacán is one of 27 UNESCO world heritage cultural sites in Mexico. Only China, Spain, France and Germany have more.
From the northern outskirts, let us venture back to the very heart of Mexico City (itself another UNESCO world heritage site), to the Templo Mayor of the Aztecs, which was rebuilt six times, each layer built over the last as the structure grew outward and upward.
Although fragments had been discovered throughout the 20th century, it was not until 1978 that formal excavation began, after workers laying electrical cable ran into the temple walls. Interestingly, this piece of land was long known not to flood after rain storms, and it still holds firm as the surrounding neighborhood tilts and sinks into the old lake bed, as in the picture below.
It was common practice for the Spaniards to tear apart then build churches on indigenous sacred sites, and the Templo Mayor was no exception.
Since it was rediscovered, many beautiful objects have been recovered from the old temple and are now on display at the on-site museum that was built in 1987, and which is still growing its collection to this day.