Description of the attraction
Mitla is an ancient city in the east of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. The real name of the city is Nahuatl Miktlan, which translates as “place of the dead”.
Mitla is a city-state of the Zapotec Indian people. During the heyday, and this is the 7-8 century AD, the city was inhabited by about 10 thousand people. This is the site of the ancient Aztec settlement Yoo-paa, the existence of which is evidenced by four palaces and two temple pyramids.
When the Spaniards came to Mexico, Christianity came with them. The sacred places of the city were destroyed, and the church of San Pablo was built from their ruins. Its red domes still triumphantly rise above the rest of the buildings. On many buildings in Mitla, you can find their characteristic geometric mosaic patterns that cover almost all of the walls. Such an ornament is found only here. One of the most interesting buildings - the Palace of the Supreme Ruler - is a complex architectural structure, somewhat similar to a labyrinth, it is held by four-meter columns, carved from monolithic stone.
Today the city is an archaeological site. Many tourists say that the city bewitches with its mysticism, that being here, a person experiences something like a trance.
At the site of the ancient refuge of Mexican ancestors, many household items were found: ceramic dishes, funeral urns and jewelry made of precious metals and stones. Excavations at the site of Mitla do not stop in our time.
