Pyramids - so what were the pre-Inca civilizations thinking of?

Well, second day in Mexico. Still noone has called my 'gringo' which I class to be a good thing. And on only the second day, I have had my first bout of sunburn thanks to forgetting to take any suncream with me. Ho hum.

It was an interesting day, as far as organised tours go. While I assume most people are probably aware of the Inca heritage in south and central america, there are a number of pyramids from the pre-Inca civilisations. Teotihuacan being one of them. Teotihuacan is teh name given to a complex of pyramids which are left as remenants from a virtually forgotten civilisation - there isn't a great deal to indicate much about the culture other than living accomodation and holy sites within what would have been a city which housed around 200 000 people at it's peak. The pyramids which are left in what seems like the middle of the desert reflects an urban design which was founded on the availability of fresh water, as the site was believed to have been surrounded by fresh water springs. Presumably, a very significant and long lasting change in the water table caused the civilisation to fall.

There was an interesting aside to one of the other sites we visited earlier in the day when I was at the Plaza de Las Tres Cultures. It did strike me that having a square which was surrounded by architecture influenced by three major cultures or civilisations was a very strong statement for cultural integration and understanding. I don't think I am the first person either to relate this to home and think about the squares in Birmingham which have developed over the last few years and think that it would be possibly a very positive move to have a stronger influence say around Millennium Point from cultures linked to the immigrant populations that have made their home in the West Midlands. As the climate becomes more mediteranian, perhaps our town planning will also follow suit and there will be support for this type of venture...maybe one day.

Yesterday several of the tourist sites I tried to get into were closed because of the protests relating to the privatisation of petrochemical industries in Mexico with several banners around the streets telling the US to get stuffed. It's nice to have something going on culturally that makes you feel at home. The levels of political involvement seemed very high and there were a very large proportion of women protesting, presumably all the men in the city were in the pubs.