Visit Arequipa in Peru

Visit Arequipa in Peru The high mountains of the Arequipa surroundings are favorites of all climbers. Here, we find even peaks of 6,000 meters which are relatively easy to climb. Difficulties so, not stem from mountain climbing technique but, from the extreme weather conditions and lack of water. On order to avoid mountain sickness, the acclimatization is extremely important. No one should start without an experienced guide and certainly, never alone. At the lightest symptoms of mountain sickness, one has to turn back immediately. The two most popular peaks are El Misti and Chachani, Arequipa is one of the world’s most nicely-situated cities. It is located on 2,350-meter high plateau of the west Andes and even three volcanoes are projecting behind it. The weather is very favorable with 300 days of sunshine per year. Garcia Manuel de Carbajal established the Spanish city in 1540. The city soon became the Spanish Hidalgo’s Conservative Catholic Center. Several churches and monasteries were built. Among them, perhaps, the most beautiful is that cathedral which is located on the southeastern side of the Plaza de Armas. It stands in the circle of colonial-style houses. However, the building itself is neo-classic. Only few buildings from the 16th century remained in the city, destroyed by one earthquake after another. The cathedral, built in 1656 was also destroyed. The one we see today was built in the middle of 19th century according to Lucas Poblete’s plans, as pulpit is a present from France. The three pillars are fro Italy; the organ from Belgium, and the altar lamp from Spain. The other nice church of the city was built by the Jesuits. On its decorative façade, we can see the date of finishing, 1698. The building with its three gates, one tower and dome, compares to Il Gesu of Rome. The unrivalled stone sculptures and stucco ornaments of the main façade are the best examples of Mestizo decorating. Its “chirag warask” which means style alter, has been sculptured of wood and covered with 18-karat gold. A library and exhibition rooms open from the monastery cloisters. Several ancient prints are preserved here as well as a considerable collection of objects made by Amazonian Indians. The alleys painted in bright colors and named after Spanish cities, give a real Mediterranean feeling. The walls of the cloisters are decorated with religious frescos. Today, the remaining colony-aged buildings of the city served as public offices, banks or art galleries. Besides earthquakes, also volcanic eruptions and fire damaged Arequipa. Only the latest system of the streets surrounding the main square keeps the city’s structure. The Sta. Catalina monastery is probably the most valuable church building of the city, which is almost a town within a city. The 20,000-square meter building takes up a whole house block. It was built in great detail on after almost each earthquake. It has not only been rebuilt, but extended. This explains its complicated, almost labyrinthine-like ground plan. A rich widow, Maria de Guzman, established it in 1579. The daughters of rich Spanish families came here as nuns. Their families had to donate huge sums of money to the monastery. The rich young women held black slaves until the pope had enough of this practice. His severe decrees made such order that lasted for 100 years. As far as 1970, when the mayor of the city ordered the installation of a line water and electricity, the monastery could collect the necessary money by opening the buildings to paying tourists. Instead of the original 1,300 nuns, today, hardly more than 20 live here. They spend their days in the close northern annex of the monastery. The other parts are furnished for museums. The original furniture and the object of use illustrate the past of the monastery life. The other famous museum of Arequipa, exhibits in a cooled glass container in a perfectly preserved ice mummy of an Inca girl, who was sacrificed when she was 15. The archaeologist named the girl, Juanita. Since then, the Spanish have reported that the Andes nation’s sacrifice children to obtain the good will of the highland gods. The victims were nicely dressed, narcoticized and killed. Then taken to the mountain peaks together with small sacrifice statues of silver and gold. The forced sacrifice of Juanita and her fellows was unnecessary. They could not avoid the landslides, earthquakes, and volcano eruptions which killed crowds throughout the centuries. Archaeologist -- , a Peruvian expert, poses the question “How can it be that the American continent, societies and archaic states, even empires develop similarly to the Egyptian, the Mesopotamian, and others of the old world could exist in Eolithic, see to this Maya civilization or maximum Bronze age circumstances without raft animals, except perhaps the lama, almost only based on human strength and what a stranger, without the use of a writing., just see the ancient Peruvian civilizations and money. Looking from the Eolithic point of view event today, is not understandable how could this happen, but it happened. And if it happened, we have to draw the conclusion. Society is dividing into classes on state or even empire level including millions of people can be established even without metal tools, wheels, and writing,” he writes. The museum, illustrates the nearly 600-year old history of these strange societies including pre-Hispanic age; later, the story of conquest and the colony ages. The researchers divide the history of Peru into 12 sections; the pre-Hispanic namely the times before the Spanish, started with the archaic age. The first settlers came around 6,000 B.C. They were fishermen and hunters. Part of them, later settled and began agricultural activity. We count the starting period from the first ceramic pots from 1800 B.C. The society stratification and the monumental stair-pyramids and church constructions were already present at this time. After this, the archaeologist differentiates three so-called horizons into transitional eras. The latter horizon lasted until 1532, the Spanish conquest. The Colonial Era was initially characterized by the affirmation of the Spanish rule followed by the period of war of independence. By proclaiming the republic, the former colonies fate had not yet been settled finally. It was rather rough during the 20th century as well. Flower and vegetable markets in South America offer real color and exotic spectacle for tourists. Such indigenous vegetables and fruits are also cold here. Some of which are unknown to Europeans. One of these is the quinoa, a cereal used to substitute corn. The two neighborhood relatives of the potato are the ulluco and yuca. The tarweed is a kind of bean while the manioka is a root plant which is milled into flour. The locoto is compared to chili. The sapayo is a vegetable similar to marrow, while its relative, the pipino is more like a melon. Other known local plants are the cherimoya, facai and coca. The latter is not only an ingredient in the soft drink but, Indians also chew its leaf for their vitalizing effect. Of course, we can also find familiar vegetable and fruits like tomatoes, corn, beans, avocadoes, oranges, mushrooms, and onions. These are the basic materials of the Peru cuisine. At first glance, Peruvian dishes remind us of Mexican dishes, perhaps, more familiar to us. The cuisines of the high land areas and the fertile coastal zone can be well differentiated. Peru’s national drink is a beer called Chicha, which only few foreigners are willing to taste because of the method by which it is produced. However, there are also barley, corn, and malt beers produced in factories. The best of the Peruvian wines are the Tacama and the Ocucaje. It’s hard to resist the markets, buffets, and restaurants offering exotic fruits and dishes but there are rules which we keep in order to preserve our health. Drink only bottled water. Keep away from ice cubes and eat only those fruits which can be peeled or eaten from its skin.