Mexico City (V) - Teotihuacan, Mexico (December 2023)

As we were leaving CDMX, we made a stop at Teotihuacan, an ancient civilization that existed some 500 years before the Aztec civilization. It is located approximately 31 miles north of CDMX. The civilization was enormous with the Sun Pyramic reaching 200 feet high and the Moon Pyramid 130 feet high. The civilization was believed to have started 500 BC as a small town, but Xochimilco people moved up to Teotihuacan around 100 BC from when the civilization started flourishing. Between 150-500 AD, the civilization is believed to have peaked with the population reaching 200,000. It was as wide as 18 square miles. 

The Sun Pyramid

The Moon Pyramid

Quetzal Bird, a sacred bird in Central America

This design symbolized the civilization

However, the civilization was abandoned around 700 BC for an unclear reason. Some 500 years later, the Aztec people discovered this civilization on their journey to look for the god-given sign of a golden eagle holding a snake standing on a cactus. The Aztec Empire was founded in 1428. But, the Teotihuacan Civilization was destroyed by the Spaniards in the 16 century AD. The excavation has been underway for the past 150 years, but only 16% has been excavated. It is amazing to learn that there was this much-sophisticated civilization. - Jeffrey