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Yellow, Yellow, Yellow and some more Yellow, please!
That’s right, every building in town is painted in this bright colour. Secondly, it boasts a fascinating multi-layered culture that draws from the Mayan tradition, the Spanish colonial tradition and the modern Mexican one.
Fascinating to discover that the main Mayan pyramid of this town was dedicated to Kinich Kak Moo the Mayan god of the Sun.
Izamal was one of the largest and most beautiful cities on the peninsula. A pilgrimage site since as early as 1000 BC. The city was considered by the Mayans to be the abode of Kinichkakmo, a manifestation of the sun god, and of the god Itzam Na (that’s where the name of the city comes from).
Itzam Na was a deity of healing and resurrection, the creator of arts. The main pyramid in the centre of the city, dedicated to the god of the sun, was built to align with significant cyclical astronomical events.
Following the capture of Izamal by the Spanish, the local population was enslaved and forced to dismantle the pyramid and forced, in 1553, to erect a monastery and church.
The Franciscan monastery has been built following the scheme of the previous pyramid, therefore its structure still aligns with astrological events, such as sun and moon rise/set.