Archive for 'Short Takes'
Pictures of the Week- Ollantaytambo, Peru
Ollantaytambo is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some 60 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 meters (9,160 feet) above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region. During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti who conquered the region, built the town and a ceremonial center. […]
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Pictures of the Week- Pisac, Sacred Valley, Peru
Emperor Pachacuti erected a number of royal estates to memorialize victories over other ethnic groups. Among these royal estates are Písac (victory over the Cuyos), Ollantaytambo (victory over the Tambos), and Machu Picchu (conquest of the Vilcabamba Valley).
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Pictures of the Week- Santa Catalina Convent, Arequipa, Peru
The Monastery of Saint Catherine is a monastery of nuns of the Dominican Second Order, located in Arequipa, Peru. It was built in 1579 and was enlarged in the 17th century. The over 20,000-square-meter monastery was built predominantly in the Mudéjar style, and is characterized by its vividly painted walls. There are approximately 20 nuns currently living in the northern corner of the complex; the rest of the monastery […]
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Pictures of the Week- Inca stone walls of Cuzco, Peru
The hand-hewn andesite and granite stonework of the Inca artisan has to be seen to believed. These photos are from last summers visit to Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire in Peru.
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Pictures of the Week- Unité d’Habitation
The Unité d’habitation is the name of a modernist residential housing design principle developed by Le Corbusier, with the collaboration of painter-architect Nadir Afonso.
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Pictures of the Week- Modern Marseille
Marseille is the second largest city in France after Paris and the centre of the third largest metropolitan area in France after Paris and Lyon. In recent years, exciting new architecture has been woven into the ancient fabric of the city.
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Pictures of the Week- Fountains of the Inca
One of the most spectacular examples of Inca hydraulic engineering is the “Stairway of Fountains,” built sometime after 1450 at the city of Machu Picchu. The fountains supplied the city’s inhabitants with clean, fresh water.
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Pictures of the Week- Inca Salt Springs
Since pre-Inca times, salt has been obtained in Maras by evaporating salty water from a local subterranean stream.
