Tourists at Machu Picchu
by Catherine Sherman
Title
Tourists at Machu Picchu
Artist
Catherine Sherman
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
"Tourists at Machu Picchu" by Catherine Sherman.
On the left, tired tourists rest on a bench under the thatched roof of a reconstructed building at Machu Picchu in Peru. The altitude of Machu Picchu is 7,972' (2,430 m) so the air is thinner, and there are a lot of steps to climb! Also, it was a hot, sunny day.
Machu Picchu was built around 1450, at the height of the Inca Empire and was abandoned in 1572. This citadel is probably the most familiar icon of Inca civilization. Although the Machu Picchu citadel is only about 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Cusco, the Inca capital, the Spanish never found it and consequently did not plunder or destroy it, as they did many other sites. After Machu Picchu was abandoned, the surrounding jungle grew over the site, and few knew of its existence. American historian Hiram Bingham brought international attention to the site in 1911. The National Geographic Society devoted their entire April 1913 issue to Machu Picchu.
In 1983 UNESCO designated Machu Picchu a World Heritage Site, describing it as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization." In 2007, Machu Picchu was voted one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a worldwide Internet poll. In 1981 Peru declared an area of 325.92 square kilometres (125.84 sq mi) surrounding Machu Picchu as a "Historical Sanctuary" It's a very popular tourist destination, but because of the pressure of it being loved to death, tourist numbers are limited each day.
Featured in "3 a day AAA Images" group (04/14/2015); "Images That Excite You" group (04/14/2015); "First Friday Gallery Group 1x day" group (10/11/2015)
Uploaded
April 9th, 2015
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Viewed 862 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 04/09/2024 at 5:52 AM
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Comments (5)
John Bailey
Congratulations on being featured in the Fine Art America Group "Images That Excite You!"
Sandy Jorgensen
The sky is gorgeous! Peru is a place I've always wanted to see.
Catherine Sherman replied:
Thank you, Sandy! It rained part of the time, so we were lucky when the sun came out and beautiful clouds appeared.