Spotlight Thursday – Exploring Mexico’s Templo Mayor

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Spotlight Thursday - Exploring Mexico's Templo Mayor

Every Thursday, I will be posting a photo from my travels and a spotlight on the location. Today’s Photo Thursday was taken while I was visiting Mexico City, Mexico for a long weekend.  I took a cheap SouthWest Airlines flight from Houston to Mexico City for the weekend.  I was so excited to visit Mexico.  Despite having been to over 20 countries I had never been to Mexico.  I couldn’t wait to start exploring the history of Tenochtitlan.  This photo was taken on my visit to Templo Mayor or the Great Temple in downtown Mexico City.

The Templo Mayor is located next to Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven or should I say that the Cathedral is located next to the Templo Mayor.  The Templo Mayor is a large temple complex dedicated to the Aztec gods of Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture.  It had several phases of construction starting in the early 1300’s and ended when the Spanish destroyed the temple in 1521.  The site was built over until the mid-twentieth century.  Over 7,000 objects were discovered during the excavations.

I spent a day exploring the historic site and walking through the history of Mexico City.  I loved seeing the numerous historical objects like the large stone tablets as well as one of the largest historical finds in the history of Mexico.  As I walked through the site, I couldn’t believe that the Spanish would destroy this magnificent temple.  I took the time to explore the site.  There are a lot of hidden sculptures like snakes, frogs, and other stone statues.  Each statue has a history and I wish more was known about this historic site.

Enjoy this photo of the Templo Mayor in Mexico City, Mexico? Check me out on Instagram @MatDifference for more great photos.

Check out my other photos from Spotlight Thursday.

11 thoughts on “Spotlight Thursday – Exploring Mexico’s Templo Mayor”

  1. What a cool place! I adore the rich history of Mexico. I haven’t been to Mexico City yet – perhaps I should add it to my list! 🙂 Beautiful photo.

  2. Great photo of this historic site. Glad you were able to capture the flag flying. It seems every time I try to take a photo involving a flag, it hangs limp on the pole due to a lack of wind! :p

  3. So many people go to Mexico for the beaches and resorts and skip over Mexico City altogether. But Mexico City is so full of culture and history! I’m not sure if I visited Templo Mayor when I went there (I was 12), but I would love to explore it!

  4. That looks incredible! From your picture, I get the impression that the temple complex is below ground level. It seems massive too. Would love to go and explore, as I love history and ancient architecture.

    1. The complex is below the current level of the city. It was buried over the centuries and had been built over until recent history.

  5. Love the photos you have taken of Templo Mayor! It is indeed an amazing site to visit in Mexico in order to learn and witness a bit of what the Aztec civilization made. I would love to go back! Thanks for sharing.

  6. I love that you can just pop down to Mexico City for a weekend! Living in Australia, it’s a very long way to go! The Temple and the Cathedral sound like great places to explore – especially with the different religious/historical connotations!

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