Tulum Ruins — Photo-Artistry by kenne
Monuments:
the things that remain
to remind us of what we were
before we were without that
which prompts us to remember,
but here the monument is a thing
of air, a column like Gjehovah
in the Sinai, first flame then nothing
but smoke, dust and smoke.
The monument
in the mind is an emptiness
in the airwhere once
was flesh and blood,
concret and stell,
but only the emptiness
in the mind remains.
— from Monuments by Bryce Milligan
The 13th-century, walled Mayan archaeological site at Tulum National Park overlooks the sea.
It incorporates the clifftop Castillo, built as a watchtower, and the Templo de las Pinturas, with a partially restored mural.
Tulum is a resort town on Mexico’s Caribbean coast, around 130 km south of Cancún.
Each Mayan city had a specific purpose, and Tulum was no exception.
It was a seaport, trading mainly in turquoise and jade.
The big man in the middle (Martin) was our guide.
He did an excellent job speaking in both Spanish and English.
Protected from the sun, a group of archeologists providing ongoing research on the old sandstone structures.
As well as being the only Mayan city built on a coast, Tulum was one of the few protected by a wall.
Everywhere you look you will see iguanas.
Here some of the visitors are moving toward the exist door, one of five in this ancient walled city.
An iguana keeps guard over one of the Tulum doors.
— Images by kenne
