This week's Photo Friday topic is "pattern" and I immediately thought of Peru.

The Inca ruins of Sacsayhuaman sit on a hill overlooking the city of Cusco. When I visited the area two months ago, I was impressed first by the size of the rocks; the largest stones visible in this shot are 12-15 feet tall. (I've also posted a second photo of the site.)

More impressive, however, is the careful engineering and construction that must have gone into building this site hundreds of years ago. Each of the huge stones fit together perfectly using no mortar, a distinguishing and fascinating trait of Incan construction.

The puma was a sacred animal to the Incas, and though it's not immediately apparent in this photo, from above, these walls form a zig-zag shape hypothesized to mimic a puma's teeth. "Cusco" means "navel of the Earth." Sacsayhuaman in the hills above was the head to match Cusco's navel.

(And yes, the pronunciation of Sacsayhuaman sounds a lot like "sexy woman.")

Comments (1)     Permalink     Filed under Structures and Travel     Taken with a Canon S40