George: The next town along the sacred valley has historical roots but most people know Pisak for its marketplace. The market sets up show Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Get your shopping face on.
Pisak is a marketing extravaganza. Now Lisa and I have been doing some shopping. She’s very good at this bargaining so what are we buying here?
Lisa: Looks like alpaca. Scarves. [Foreign language]
George: That’s 24.
Lisa: [Foreign language]
George: We’re down to 40 for four. So we’ve done a little bargaining.
Lisa: $10 each, that’s not bad.
George: I think we’ve got a deal.
Lisa: Yes, we’ll do that.
George: Gracias. Further along the valley, the once mighty fortress of Ollantaytambo, a precious military and sacred site for the Incas. It’s named in honor of the Inca leader, Ollantay and placed strategically at the northern end of this sacred valley. It dates to the mid-15th century. This so called living Inca city is said to display some of the finest architecture in the entire Inca world. Scientists say Ollantaytambo is perhaps the best preserved of all Inca sites, even though the Spanish fount it and set about destroying it. There’s a temple of the sun here too, through this doorway. Archeologists think residents here never completed the temple. They may have been chased away by other tribes or by Spanish invaders. Today’s invaders have to hike high steps to see Ollantaytambo properly. It was rough going for this American tourist.
Female: The stairs are always challenging for any of these ruins that I’ve seen and sometimes when on your way up, you’re wondering if it’s worth it but it’s been my experience that it certainly is worth it once you see it from above.
George: It’s remarkable to think that the Incas knew nothing of the wheel and had no written language yet they build an empire extending 2300 miles or 3700 km along the Andes Mountains from Columbia to Chile and here, they harnessed rainfall, channeling it down the mountainside for washing, drinking and cooking. And they developed this astronomical wall which told them exactly when the seasons were changing, allowing them to plant and later to harvest their crops.
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