Interesting that this place (almost) shares its name with the most important pilgrimage site for Muslims, it was perhaps fitting that it was the last Mexican ruin we visited before we moved onto Cuba. In total we visited six ancient sites in Mexico, with each of them being unique and equally beautiful so its very difficult to pick our favourite, though this might just be mine. It was quite a bit smaller than the others, and I think I liked it so much because of the "Palace of the Masks", which is also known as the Codz Poop, meaning "rolled/woven matting". This façade is decorated with hundreds of stone masks of the long-nosed rain-god Chaac, giving it the appearance of woven fabric. Repetition of a design in this way is apparently quite rare in Mayan art. The site also has surviving examples some rare Mayan hieroglyphics, so while it's small (and seemingly in receipt of less restoration funding - there were lots of signs around noting plans for future excavation/restoration, and plenty of piles of ancient rubble!), it's quite special.
The Palace of the Masks with its intricate stonework, repetitively using an image of the rain-god Chaac
Examples of the rare Mayan hieroglyphics
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