614 - 2nd - The white church

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 2nd May'10

524 - 23rd - The opera theatre

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd May'09

501 - 30th - The court room

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 30th Apr'09

These pillars once held a big roof and hosted a court to decide the fate of all the captives held during a war. Such court rooms were an integral part of all Mayan constructions and can be seen in almost all the Mayan sites across Latin America. Made of circular carved stones, joined together with stone and melted lime the pillars were arranged in perfect symmetry.

Standing in the middle of the courtyard once could feel and strange sense of energy around oneself. Whether it is the sheer history associated with the place or millions of deaths it would have witnessed over hundreds of years, the effect doesn't fade away soon.

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465 - 4th - Thousand pillars

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Apr'09

"Thousand pillars" is one of the main archeological finds in Chichen Itza. They are located just in front of the main pyramid and have a really interesting story behind them.

All columns once supported a frieze and a roof which have since collapsed. The exact nature of the roof is not certainly known. It may have been made of mortar, wood or thatch. It is believed that these were great meeting halls. Remains of the painted frieze indicate that it was decorated with motifs and Chaac masks representing an earlier priestly class who governed the city.
And the addition of warriors on the pillars must have made the citizens aware of the military religious aspect of this site.

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462 - 1st - Chichen Itza

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 1st Apr'09

The Maya name "Chich'en Itza" means "At the mouth of the well of the Itza." This derives from chi', meaning "mouth" or "edge", and ch'e'en, meaning "well." Itzá is the name of an ethnic-lineage group that gained political and economic dominance of the northern peninsula. The name is believed to derive from the Maya itz, meaning "magic," and (h)á, meaning "water." Itzá in Spanish is often translated as "Brujas del Agua (Witches of Water)" but a more precise translation would be Magicians of Water

It is one of the seven wonders of the world and now I can boast of seeing two of the seven ;)

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428 - 16th - Iglesia de Santo Domingo

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 16th Feb'09

The Church and former monastery of Santo Domingo de Guzmán is the most important of the numerous baroque ecclesiastical buildings in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. The complex of buildings includes a substantial sanctuary and an extensive system of courtyards, cloisters and rooms that formerly constituted the monastery but now house the Cultural Centre of Oaxaca. This museum includes an important collection of pre-Columban artifacts, among them the contents of Tomb 7 from the nearby Zapotec site of Monte Albán. The former monastery garden is now an Ethnobotanical Garden, containing a large collection of plants native to the region.

I took this photo while staring at the glowing building of the church lightened by the bright sunlight and the ambient lighting of the place. I had to place my camera on a wall to get a clear picture. Now that I have a tripod, I wish I could go back and take some more; with some better angles.

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329 - 9th - The mural paintings

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 9th Nov'08

The structure you can see in the image belongs to the Maya ruins at Tulum. This particular building hosted a series of mural paintings created by ancient Mayans as a means to mark the various symbols of the society. These symbols included various deities, different rituals and many everyday activities. Though the paintings have now faded away, this structure stands tall as a witness to the rich Mayan heritage.

I loved the way the photo came in bright sunlight with a blue sky on top and green grass in the foreground.

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327 - 7th - Point no 34

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 7th Nov'08

This photo is from Xcaret - Playa del carmen. Xcaret is a beach-side fun-cum-water activity resort. I visited there a couple of weeks back and decided to jump in for snorkeling. Snorkeling has always been something which thrilled me and I always wanted to do. So I booked for the trip and was asked by the ticket counter to go to "Point no 34" and pick up my towel, locker and equipment.

When I reached point 34, this is what I saw. A big building beautifully structured in the form of a spiral with numerous windows all around it's face and giving a combined look of Greek architecture and ancient Maya stone constructions.

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288 - 29th - Monument of “Pípila”

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 29th Sept'08

The monument of Piplia was erected in the honor of Juan Jose de los Reyes Martinez, for his heroic role in the independence struggle of 28th Sept'1810. This monument is built on top of a mountain and is visible from every corner of the capital city of Guanajuato. You have to take a rope car to reach the place. Once there you just cant stop yourself from admiring the breath taking view of the entire city.

The monument itself is a fine piece of art. I wonder how they managed to install such a huge pice of stone on top of a mountain.

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274 - 15th - Cathedral of Morelia

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th Sept'08

As we entered the city of Morelia in the wee hours of Saturday morning the first thing which caught our eye was the magnificently glowing cathedral in the downtown. It stood tall and shiny against the dark black midnight sky. The lighting was perfect and the combination of the vivid colors was charming to the edge. I couldn't resist to just stand there and stare at it.

These two towers mark the skyline of the historic city. When seen from a mountain, the cathedral stands out in the panoramic view. A truly marvelous piece of architecture.

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270 - 11th - Contrasting colors

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 11th Sept'08

It can certainly be titled as the most colorful balcony I have ever seen in my life. It didnt seem like a hotel or the balcony of a fancy restaurant, but almost everyone who passed by the place did have a nice long look at the eye catching color combination.

Its rare to see such contrasting colors painted in urban buildings & that too in the heart of the downtown. Can be classified as a nice piece of art.

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262 - 3rd - Lake side castle

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd Sept'08

Last weekend I got a chance to visit this castle very near to Puebla. I heard about the castle from a friend in office and saw a picture very similar to this one in his photo album. At that time itself I decided that I have to see the place and have a similar (maybe better) photo in my collection. Though the beauty of castle and the picturesque surroundings gave me little chance to experiment, the final image was quite satisfactory.

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227 - 30th - San Jose

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 30th July'08

San Jose is a one of the churches present in the heart of the city of Tlaxcala. Its beautiful building and the picturesque surroundings make it a photographer's paradise. Situated right in the center of downtown Tlaxcala, the church premises is surrounded with small hawkers who sell breads, corn and many other delicious local sweets & snacks.

I went there immediately after having my lunch but that didnt stop me from feasting on almost everything which was eatable & vegetarian of course :)

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226 - 29th - Standing tall

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 29th July'08

This tower like structure attracted my attention in the first look itself. I saw it and I knew I am going to click it. It seemed like a considerably old structure but didnt seem to loose its charm. Given the bell hanging at the top, it surely was a part of some old church.

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213 - 16th - Intricate patterns

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 16th July'08

All the Mughal architecture work consists of series of intricate patterns inscribed all over the buildings. You go to any place, be it the Taj Mahal in Agra, Red Fort & Jama Masjid in Delhi or Kutub Minar on the outskirts of Delhi, you can see the same art form prominently present all the places. It can be in the form of horizontal stripes or concentric circles or just scattered in different patterns on the floor and on the walls.

This pattern was one such example inscribed on the walls of a tomb in Red fort in Delhi.

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212 - 15th - The three minarets

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th July'08

Islamic architecture is famous for its minarets and spherical arches. In almost all the famous Islamic architectural works you can see a main building with a circular dome at the middle & a number of minarets erected on the periphery of the compound.

I clicked this triplet of marble made minarets at a mosque in Delhi.

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210 - 13th - The archway

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 13th July'08

Though i have been living in Delhi for almost 10 years now, I never took the pain to go and explore the plethora of historical places it owns. So this time when I went to my home-town, I decided to explore the famous Lal Quila. I spent around an hour inside and it was then when I clicked this archway.

The whole premises is full of beautiful architectural work like tombs, archways and other royal residences. It was built by Shahjahan and is indeed a treat to "history-savvy" minds.

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208 - 11th - India Gate

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 11th July'08

India gate or the "All India war memorial" as it was originally called by its designer Edwin Lutyens, was built as a monument to commemorate the Indian soldiers who died in world war 1 & the Afghan wars. The names of the soldiers who died in these wars are inscribed on the walls.

At the center of the monument stands the "Amar jawaan jyoti" (the flame of immortal warrior). It consists of a rifle placed on its barrel with a soldier's helmet placed in its crest. The flame keeps on burning 24x7 and is gaurded by soldiers of Indian army 365 days of an year.

The monument looks spectacular in the darkness of the night, when it glows against the black open space.

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141 - 5th - Teotihuacan

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th May'08

Teotihuacan is an ancient Aztec city on the outskirts of Mexico City. This place is host to a bundle of temples built by the Aztecs. The main attraction of the place and actually the prominently visible constructions at the site are the Sun & Moon pyramids. These were considered to be the temples for the Sun & the Moon gods. Though most of the temples and pyramids no longer exist now you can see the architectural remains of them spread all over the place.

I took this photo from the Moon pyramid, because that is the place from where one can see the complete panaroma. The pyramid which you can see on top left is the Sun pyramid, which much higher and bigger in size than the Moon pyramid. I am providing below, some more shots of the place.

View from the Sun pyramid
Sun Pyramid - 1
Sun Pyramid - 2


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138 - 2nd - Chariot of darkness

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 2nd May'08

She is the Mexican goddess of darkness & she is believed to ride a dark chariots pulled by ferocious lions. Mexicans, like all other faiths in the world, have their parallel embodiments of good and evil.

This particular idol installed at one of the road roundabouts in Mexico city was looking simple awesome with lush green surroundings and fountains splashing all around it.

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