Machu Picchu - The Unceasing Wonder!
In 1911 the world woke up to the news of the fascinating discovery of 'Machu Picchu' - the lost city of Incas in the lap of verdant greenery and clouds. And the man who achieved this incredible feat was no other than Mr. Hirman Bingham, a professor who taught history at Yale University in the United States. His much celebrated book 'Lost City of Incas' was a smashing hit amongst the travellers and tourists all over the world. Professor Bingham was visiting the city of Cusco in Peru and heard a weird tale of a puzzle which remained unresolved for the last 400 years! That was all about the lost city of Incas.
The Spanish Conquistadors launched several expeditions to conquer Peru and in one of such invading expeditions Incas were believed to have fled to a place whose terrain was extraordinarily rugged and virgin and Bingham was in search of the place where they built a city that caught the fascination of the entire world with firm evidences of existence of a civilization far advanced than what could be imagined. 'Machu Picchu' happened to be this city which was the cradle of this civilization. It was also a widely held belief that the fleeing Incas took with them invaluable and sacred treasure to Machu Picchu'.
Now a few words about Binham's exploration and discovery and some funny asides! Bingham became the target of a vicious attack over his discovery. The Peruvian authorities summarily asked him to return the treasure he supposedly looted from this archaeological site by branding him a 'grave-digger'! Even questions were raised as to the veracity of Bingham's discovery! Was he guilty of stashing away the wealth of artefacts and other valuables to America? A local woman of Cusco city went to the extent of making a hereditary and family claim on 'Machu Picchu'! Thus the story enshrouding the discovery could match a gripping suspense thriller! What originally started off as an exploration to discover a lost city went into making of one of the eternal mysteries of the world which was : How a granite city of such huge physical size could come up atop an inaccessible mountain in the company of haze-filled Andes mountainous range. The attention of the world shifted from the study of the personal motives of Bingham and riveted more upon the importance of knowledge about a very old civilization. It is time to focus on the historical aspects of Inca empire.
Between 1438 AD and 1532 AD the Inca empire had its glory at its zenith. This empire was spatially spread over a vast expanse of nearly 2500 square miles with a population nearly touching 10 millions.
The city Cuzco was the capital. Sanctity of this city was so dear to them that the ordinary populace were prohibited from living in it beyond sunset as the 'Sun God' dominated their lives completely. At the centre or heart of the city of Cuzco stood th majestic architectural wonder 'Coricancha' the golden sun temple which was described by the noted historian William Prescot as one of the most brilliant architectural marvels of the world! Its infinitely beautiful intricate decorative panels and amazing geometrical patterns can hold anyone in perpetual thrall!
The emperor of this empire was known as 'Sapa Inca' and regarded as living son of 'Inti' meaning 'sun'! Such was the perceived sense of his godly powers that to his subjects he was just the living embodiment of god. His people would not let him die as he was mummified after death and continued to believe that he was eternally there to rule them.
If anything captivated and still is captivating, it is the beauty of wonderful stone structures discovered at Machu Picchu which is simply baffling pundits with their astonishing geometrical patterns and the use of sophisticated technologies thought to be non-existent and unheard of in those days! Incas were not known to be able to use iron implements or tools but mysteriously they were able to carve beautiful drawings on these stones! Similarly the discovery did not find any wheels or like objects. Yet they successfully hauled those stones block up there! If one draws a parallel with Europe - a European artesan or artist might be using a chisel to a piece of white marble while his Incan counterpart was using some other tool to make those pieces of stone come alive! Another remarkable find was the kind of binding agent they used to hold those stoneworks together which even proved to be earthquake resistant. It was observed during earthquakes that these individual pieces would vibrate and tremble just to come back to their original position! Some of the structures built by the Spanish invaders were razed to the ground by the 1950 earthquake amazingly structures beneath built by Incas were found to be intact!
Now a throwback to Harnan Bingham's maiden trip to Machu Picchu and his divinely enthralling experience! On 24th July in 1911 the day he set his foot on a place near Machu Picchu, rains and windy weather welcomed him. And he met one Ortega, the owner of a road-side serai who was deep asleep in the early morning and reluctant that he was to accompany Bingham in his quest for the lost city and finally fell to the lure of dollars. And a team of three set out to an exciting journey. Within 40 minutes they reached the head of a ramshackle suspension bridge of a primitive kind crossing which they were soon at the foot of a mountain. Bingham and his Peruvian mates started clambering up it - a nerve-wracking and most dangerous exercise as the face of the mountain had flora and fauna of nameless and infinite variety infested with deadly venomous snakes. Meanwhile the typical fickle weather in the hills changed for the better. Dark hanging clouds gave to way to smiling bright sun to bathe the mountain and the surrounding valley luxuriantly. More surprises were in store for Bingham and his party!
As they worked their way up farther, to their great curiosity chanced upon a primitive cottage and the inhabitants of it were surprised to meet a White with yellow hairs like Bingham and they received him well. Bingham discovered himself in a fairyland with stunning beauty, drinking in it with infinite joy and sense of wonderment. Down below the foaming and sparkling waters of mountainous falls and the velvet rolls of verdant greenery kept him mesmerized for quite some time. He was struck to find a marble tunnel of 2000 ft long rising up. He met granite residential structures neatly divided to the right and left of his way with superb architectural workmanship. Evidences of advanced agricultural practices by Incas were present in the form terrace cultivation. Perhaps, the biggest and most amazing find of Bingham was the Sun Temple located in a cave with its spectacular architectural accomplishments which he described one of the best specimens in the world.
All said and done Machu Picchu still remains the unceasing wonder of the world with the world still looking at it agape! Then how much do we know about this truly big and vast world!
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