Tour of Guatemala City Sites - December 23, 2022

Mary put in a lot of effort arranging a tour of noteworthy sites in Guatemala City. We took that tour with some other senior missionary couples and it was impressive.

Our first stop was The Berlin Park which had been decorated for Christmas. We understand that the park was developed under the influence of German refugees as an expression of gratitude for being taken in by the people of Guatemala. Here are just a few of the many decorations.

A pyramid with animals to the side.

Three sections of the Berlin wall.

On the main plaza, there was leopard with background decorations, 

and a decorated salute to Guatemala (Guate for short).

He we are by the decorated "Guate" with the other two couples who joined us for the tour. 

Next we went to an ancient Mayan City that had been abandoned a very long time ago and ended up being covered over by jungle growth and soil. Here are some photos with comments.

I think the guide said this was kind of the main building that has been uncovered. You can see to the left of the stairs the opening for a tunnel. Their vast tunnel system was how the avoided anybody who came in to conquer and/or occupy. They would take food and hide in the tunnels for some time.

The tunnel to the left in this photo goes to a ball field. The goal of the game played was to put a ball through a hoop using your elbows and hips. The games played here were used to settle disputes and the stakes were high. The losers were killed.

Next we went to a field in this same area where Mayans come to complete spiritual rituals. We were told that these rituals were not necessarily worshipping a God, but more about becoming one with nature for the resulting healing. I didn't get a good picture of this but part of a common ritual is to quickly smoke a Cuban cigar and drink wine to clear your mind of distractions. These three ladies were performing the cigar portion.

These round areas made of stone are where they complete their rituals. These three young people were performing a ritual that had to do with burning something being held by a little statue.

This is another site where a building has been uncovered. I include this to show you the roofs they have to put over sites that they excavate. They do this because they are all made of an adobe which will erode if not protected. I think we were told this is a primary research area for learning about these ancient people.

Each time the tour guide mentioned a time frame for the civilizations, their buildings, etc. I compared that to my understanding of the Book of Mormon. It all seemed to tie into the Jaredites and Lehites quite well.

Next, we went to a huge topographical map constructed in the 1920s in anticipation of asking foreign governments and companies to support a project to build a train track through Guatemala from the Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. This was before the Panama Canal was built. The blue on the far left is the pacific ocean. The Gulf isn't seen on the right. It's hard to get perspective on how big the map is.

Our next stop was to the central part of the city to see the National Palace and a huge cathedral. 

This is one of the many life-size nativity scenes we saw.

During the course of the tour, it was mentioned several times that the country suffered four substantial earthquakes starting on Christmas Day 1917 and ending January 1918. These earthquakes did a lot of damage, including destroying the presidential palace of the time. A later president had a new one built that took 4 yrs 10 months to complete. We sped up lunch to be back at the time we were told and found out that enough other people had come that we couldn't make the last tour. We were blessed that the manager came out and made an exception for us. I think it was because our tour guide was buds with his associate. The building was absolutely amazing. Here are some photos.

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This is Esteban, our tour guide who did an AWESOME job.

This is a view of just one of the amazing ceilings.

 

 There was a lot of stained glass and painting art that depicted the 

interactions between Spaniards and Mayans.

Here is another ceiling shot that includes the the balconies on the side where dignitaries would  

sit during musical and other presentations.

This is one of two huge courtyards. The item you see in the middle is a tribute to one of the presidents. Above are offices that are only occupied by the ministries of sport and culture.

 Our last stop was a huge cathedral where the Catholic bishop who presides over Guatemala,

offices and lives. Here is a shot of the main chapel and more behind that statue.