Monday, January 13, 2014

Mexico: Historic Centre of Oaxaca & the Templo de Santo Domingo

Oaxaca, Mexico
The Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albán in Mexico is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was one of the Mexican cities we visited during our bus trip around Central America sometime ago. We spent our first day visiting Monte Albán and nearby Cuilapan de Guerrero. And on our second day, we walked around the Historic Centre of Oaxaca.

Oaxaca, Mexico: Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman
We made sure to visit the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman, a fantastic example of Mexican Baroque with its highly-decorated interior, built between 1570 and 1666. If there's one attraction you should visit in downtown Oaxaca, this is it!

Oaxaca, Mexico: Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman
Oaxaca, Mexico: Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman
Oaxaca, Mexico: Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman
Oaxaca, Mexico: Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman
Oaxaca, Mexico: Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzman
The interiors kept us dumb-founded as we marveled at the fabulous details of the walls, ceilings and altars. I actually have more photos of the inside in my Oaxaca album.

Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxaca, Mexico
From Santo Domingo, we walked through its cobblestone streets to reach the Plaza de la Constitución or Zócalo. Many important buildings including the State Government Palace and Federal Palace can be found Oaxaca's Zócalo.

On one side of the plaza is the Catedral de Oaxaca (Nuestra Señora de la Asuncion), seat of the Archdiocese of Antequera, Oaxaca. The cathedral was constructed between 1535 and 1733.

Mojigangas in Oaxaca, Mexico
Since we were on the run, I had some empanadas and tacos sold by a hawker in the plaza. Right after our street snack, we walked back to our hostel to prepare for another long bus ride. Our hostel was right beside a small church called the Templo de San Matias Jalatlaco where we noticed a wedding. What caught our attention was the marching band and giant papier-mâché figures worn by dancers which are called mojigangas. Mojigangas are quite popular in Oaxaca.

By 5 p.m., we began our fifteen-hour bus trip to Palenque.

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