Chitzn Itz

Hello, I am a Chitzn Itz. I have many buildings in me because I am a city. I

was built by the Mayans. I am over 1500 years old. God Im old! My name also means
at the mouth of the well of the Itza. It was an important pilgrimage place for the Mayans.
All the buildings in me are made of stone. When people come and see me they arent
aloud to walk up my stairs of my buildings because they say it will preserve me better.
To be honest I miss having people walk up and down my steps and pray in my temples.
I am one of the new seven wonders of the world. I was built where I am because there
are two sink holes near by so there is water available all year round. One of the sink
holes was used for human sacrifice. The Mayans made them in times of drought. They
would throw men, women, and even children, those poor kids, would be thrown in the
holes as a sacrifice to the Chac God. He is the god of rain and lightning. These
sacrifices were done to end drought. I can't believe it worked but I'm glad it did. I was
once the largest Mayan city. About 1.2 million people come and visit me every year. I
didnt know I was so popular. I am in the a dry area of Mexico. Mayan priests studied
math, the sun, moon, and stars. My people, the Mayans, had a very precise calendar.
They could carve gods, rulers, animals, and battle scenes. All the buildings inside me
were aligned carefully to the positions of the sun, moon, and stars. My people were very
religious. They had over 160 gods. Our god of rain was very important. His name was
Chac. Most of my people were farmers so the success of crops was very important. I

am about four miles in size. One very important on is the kulkan aka El Castro. I am a
cosmological symbol which mean I have to do with astronomy. El Castro has four sides,
a flat top, and a total of 365 steps. One step for every day of the year. It has 52 panels
for each week in a year and for each year in the Mayan century. It also has 18 terraces
one for each of the months in the religious year. Inside there is a temple. It is only
accessible up a narrow stairway. I also have a sports court, well its called the Great Ball
Court now but whatever, anyway, it is very large. The ball game was sacred to my
people. It was played for hours and hours at a time. To score they had to get a small
ball through high rings. Players could not use their hands. They had to wear funny
looking protective clothing and hit the ball with different parts of their body, but not their
hands. Thanks for listening to my past. Now no one plays in my ball courts, prays in my
temples, or even walks my stairs and i really do miss it.