Cancun is a coastal city in Mexico’s easternmost state, Quintana Roo, on the Yucatan Peninsula best known as the Mexican Caribbean or at the northern section of the Mayan Riviera; however Cancun does not share a similar climate or topography to the Mediterranean. The older section of the city, known as “El Centro” follows the original master plan, consists of neighborhoods called “supermanzanas” (superblocks) that are formed by the intersections of the boulevards and traffic circles (roundabouts). This area is characterized by winding streets with cul-de-sacs that tend to keep out the main flow of traffic, including market places such Xel Ha. They usually have one or more parks, green spaces, paseos (pedestrian walkways) and various national historical monuments. Ave. Tulum is the main north-south artery (connecting downtown to the airport some 30km to south). Tulum is bisected by Ave. Coba (pronounced Koh bah). East of Ave. Tulum, Coba becomes Ave. Kukulcan which serves as the primary road that runs through the long “7″ shaped hotel zone. Ave. Tulum is terminated on the north side by Ave. Paseo José López Portillo which connects to the main highway to Chichen Itza and Merida. Another major north-south road is Ave. Bonampak which runs roughly parallel to Ave. Tulum. The main ferry to Isla Mujeres is located off Bonampak. Nice tourist destinations.
GPS travel destinations: 21° 9′ 38″ N, 86° 50′ 51″ W
Hi,
Chichen Itza (from Yucatec Maya chich’en itza’, “At the mouth of the well of the Itza”) is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization, located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, present-day Mexico.
Chichen Itza was a major regional center in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic through the Terminal Classic and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period. The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, from what is called “Mexicanized” and reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico to the Puuc style found among the Puuc Maya of the northern lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion.
Archaeological data, such as evidence of burning at a number of important structures and architectural complexes, suggest that Chichen Itza’s collapse was violent. Following the decline of Chichen Itza’s hegemony, regional power in the Yucatán shifted to a new center at Mayapan.
According to the American Anthropological Association, the actual ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH). The land under the monuments, however, is privately owned, as are most of the sites of patrimony in Mexico. In the case of Chichen Itza, the archaeological zone is owned by the Barbachano family.
Coordinates: 20°40′58″N, 88°34′09″W
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