Qorikancha was the major temple in the Inka capital of Cuzco, and its prime it hosted place of worship and study of the sun, moon, planets and stars. It was also smothered in gold. But its incredible shine, of course, did not withstand the Spanish invasion. All that remains today are sleek stone walls, some of which were used to calculate time and solstices (things got a tad technical during one segment of the visit, so I'll skip the part on star placements...) There is also a church that the conquistadores built over the wreckage-- sometimes using the same stone. But our tour guide barely showed our group any of the Christian parts-- "its modern," he kept saying-- while avidly recounting every world-altering Inka invention.
It's honestly very sad to force oneself to conjure up images of past Inka glory when staring at the crucifixes, cloisters and convents that assisted in the empire's destruction. Yesterday, a message in the Inka Museum's visitor's log put it even more crudely: "Screw the Spanish," someone had scrawled.
Santo Domingo church and convent.
Santo Domingo church and convent.
Original Inka walls of the sun temple. Note the slant-- earthquake proof.
Our guide displaying the Inka Rolex.
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