Oaxaca! part 3

One of the things that we were really looking forward to was a place called Monte Alban. About 15 mins from Oaxaca, it's an archeological site that has been excavated and is open for people to go see. About 2500 years ago, the locals (Zapotecs, I believe) sheared off the top of a mountain and built a massive temple/living complex on the resulting flat space. It served as a ceremony and living space for the upper class and priests. The working class people lived down in the surrounding valleys, going up the mountain for market days, religious ceremonies and protection in wartime. Up until sometime in the last 20-30 years, Monte Alban was overgrown, buried and barely preserved, though it had been excavated at various times throughout the 1900s. As our guide put it, "heepees" used to come camp out there all the time. These days, Monte Alban is a very well maintained site that is just overwhelming to see in person. Here's a photo that barely does it any justice:



The complex has a ball court, observatorium, sacrificial altar, carvings that are in amazing shape, statues and is on a scale that you just can't believe.

There's some more photos over there on the right of our Oaxaca trip, by the way.