If you don't like warm weather visit Paris of Latin America, if you do there's the Valley of Kings, and for the lovers of the ancient civilizations Chichen Itza is the place to go.
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Buenos Aires
With an average temperature of 17 Celsius Buenos Aires is a nice place to visit any time of the year. People call it "Paris of Latin America" because of its architecture. But it is less known than in time of the general economic Argentina's crisis in 1987 politicians took a decision to build new capital city in Patagonia to take off the weight from Buenos Aires. But nothing of that happened until these days. Buenos Aires is still vivacious, pleasant and surprisingly cheap city. So, take a chance and buy leather goods at favourable prices, in the end you are in the country with more than 50 million cows.
Visit Plaza Mayo, main square in Buenos Aires and a tourist attraction. On that place Evita Peron organised mass demonstration in 1945 to release Juan Domingo Peron from prison who latter became the president of Argentina. Visit Buenos Aires neighbourhood La Boca that has a strong European flavour. Buenos Aires has probably the most interesting cemetery in the world, settled in the rich part of Buenos Aires called Recoleta. La Recoleta cemetery is arranged like a little city with streets that goes near marble mausoleums decorated with statues. It is the place where Evita Peron and many other important persons of Argentina are buried.
In La Recoleta cemetery people traditionally engrave the date of death without the date of birth. Thanks to its interesting architecture La Recoleta cemetery is the tourist spot included in touristy catalogues. The unique aspect of La Recoleta are numerous cats that comes in cemetery in the time of closing when local people feed them.
Egypt
The story that Valley of the Kings was once green and full of various vegetation sounds almost unbelievable today. In the middle of Egyptian desert barren land and stone mountains lies the most beautiful cemetery in the world - the cemetery of king and queens. The Valley of the Kings is divided on East and West valley and the most important tombs are situated in the eastern valley. In West valley lies just one tomb open for visitors, the tomb of Tutankhamon legatee Ay.
Probably the most important discovery of modern archaeology happened on November 4, 1922, when English archaeologist Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamon and golden sarcophagus with his well preserved body. Above the sarcophagus there was the title: "The death will get those who disturb pharaoh's dreaming." Those words started rumours that the tomb is cursed and those who enter uninvited will certainly die. In the period of six weeks from opening the tomb 12 people that participated in the opening died, and after seven years just two people from original expedition was still alive. All in all, 22 people connected somehow with the expedition died, while Howard Carter lived 17 years longer.
The majority of the royal tombs were decorated with religious texts and images drawn in black, white, green, blue and red colours. Each burial was provided with equipment that would enable a continued existence in the afterlife in comfort.
Mexico
Mexican town Chichen Itza hides the biggest and the best preserved archaeological discovery of Mayan culture. The main Mayan temple is perfectly shaped astronomic pyramid 24 metres high. Its four stairways looks at the four cardinal directions. Each stairway has 91 stairs and with the temple on the top counted as one, you get the number 365, the number of the days in a year. The pyramid is divided on platforms and their number is equal to the numbers of the months in Mayan calendar. The playground in Chichen Itza reveals excellent sound possibilities.
When two players stop on the opposite sides of the playground the acoustic of the playground allows them to speak with the normal intensity of voice, while the player which stays in the middle of the playground doesn’t hear what they speak.
Astronomical observatory with it curved stairs looks like today’s modern astronomical observatories. The holes on the roof are places from which Maya astronomers looked at the objects. Although Maya didn't know for telescope, didn't have any instruments for measuring angles, didn't know for a watch more precise than sun's, Maya's had great knowledge of mathematic and astronomy. They knew for zero a few centuries before the Europeans, they could predict Moon phases, solstices and equinox, and Sun's and Moon's obscuration. They knew how long the year last on the Earth, Venus and Mars. Their calculation deviate less than a day from today's values.
And those are just few examples of Chichen's Itza miracles. If math was your favourite topic in school and you like puzzles, visit Chichen Itza to see what can be built without a calculator. ■
