Coricancha, the Incas’ temple of the sun: a history of cities in 50 buildings, day 3

The temple was built in Andes in South America and seemed to be in the capital of the extensive pre-Columbus empire. The landscape was harsh and the residents (Incas), tamed the landscape for them to survive. They created a big empire in South America before the Europeans arrived in the region. The residents blended religious belief, political will, and their clever design, which cannot be located anywhere in the world. The temple of the sun, as it was called was in Coricancha built as a jewel of the capital city of Cusco. The empire led to the resolution of city planning, especially in South America. Pachacutec reformed the city after he took over the throne in 1438 in which he built new streets as they appear today. The city resembles puma and the Coricancha is located in the tail of the animal. The city is the holiest in Incan according to myths related to the city. The temple was built around 1200 AD using the style of the Incas, which got many praises from Pedro Sarmiento Gamboa, an early Spanish historian. In his book, Sarmiento was overwhelmed by its evenness and beauty. The temple was between four main highways, connected to the four districts of the empire and represented the importance of religion. The temple was a symbol of unity the cultural practices which were diverse in the territory of the Incas. The temple provided housing for more than 4,000 priests and has a captivating scenery especially the shadows cast by stones on the Andes Mountains.

The temple had four main chambers with the dedication to the stars, the moon, thunder, and rainbows. There was gold that filled the Coricacha and one of the chambers had a giant sun disc that reflected sunlight which provided light to the whole temple. The emperor used to sit in a sacred space, which was illuminated by the sun during the summer solstice. Cusco played a very important role for the success of the empire although there were disputes over the next Inca. There was an epidemic of smallpox brought by the European explorers in the 1530s, which resulted to chaos in the empire. Francisco Pizarro of Spanish captured the empire during the chaos and demolished most of the Coricancha, melted all the gold sculptures and sent them to Spain. Afterwards, they put up a Cathedral on the same site, which was later destroyed by the earthquake. However, the foundations of the temple were left intact and today it attracts many people as tourists. The Spanish cathedral is on top of the Incan masonry although visitors are not allowed to climb the original walls of the temple. They can move all over the grounds of the temple site and the golden sun disk was replaced by sunbathers as the golden one was stolen. The building is a very important site for tourists as they flood the area to view the historical site and appreciate its beauty. The ruins of the koricancha or the temple of the sun as it is commonly called are the most beautiful palace. The US renovated it with US$15 million to enable it attracts more tourists. People of South America are proud of the Temple and its beautiful surrounding hat attracts millions of tourists all over the world. Despite the fact that most of the Gold was taken away by the Spanish emperor, the site is still attractive with the final touches it received from the US funding. The temple provides evidence of religious activities during the prehistoric times and the importance of the places of worship. Colonization was still common as evidenced by the conquering of the temple by the Spanish emperor; who was interested with acquiring wealth through conquest. The masonry style used to build the temple was distinctive and intricate with very strong walls which remain as ruins up to date. The building is a representation of the respect the people had for religious leaders who used it for a long time. The foundations of the temple were very strong such that they could withstand the force of the earthquake that destroyed the Spanish Cathedral. The foundation is still the attraction site for many visitors who it for discovery and fun.

The Koricancha temple built in the 1200 Ad was an important building that represented the cultural diversity of the region. Before the arrival of the Europeans, the temple provides a holy place for the Incas as a sacred place. The empire was a strong one and it was conquered after its weakening due to the smallpox outbreak and some disputes tat made I weak for self-defence. The Spanis emperor took over the palace and its buildings and transferred all the gold to Spain destroying the legacy of the temple. The cathedral that was built on the foundation did not last for long as a terrible earthquake brought it down. Despite the destruction, the original foundations stand in place to explain the historical importance of the temple.

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