Speaker 1: You see, something's going to happen. What's going to happen? What?
Speaker 1: Welcome to the occult rejects. In this episode, we will
Speaker 1: be discussing sacred solar temples. The Sun has been revered
Speaker 1: across cultures of millennia as a life giving force and
Speaker 1: cosmic power. From the banks of the Nile to the
Speaker 1: hy Andes, ancient civilizations built monumental temples aligned with the
Speaker 1: heavens to honor their Sun deities. These solar temples were
Speaker 1: not only architectural marvels, but also centers of religion, science
Speaker 1: and legend. In this episode, we delve into the history, symbolism,
Speaker 1: and lore of five famed Sun temples around the world.
Speaker 1: The Temple of Amunra at Karnak in Egypt, India's Conarch
Speaker 1: Sun Temple, the Pyramid of the Sun at TiO Tuwaka,
Speaker 1: New Mexico, the Kala Sosaiya Complex and the Gate of
Speaker 1: the Sun at Tijuanaku in Bolivia, and the Chorus Sancha
Speaker 1: Temple of the Sun in Kusku, Peru. Each side's story
Speaker 1: illuminates the people who built it, their beliefs and rituals.
Speaker 1: The astronomical alignments encoded in stone and the myths and
Speaker 1: miracles that echo through time. These temples not only reflect
Speaker 1: advanced ancient knowledge from precise solsis alignments to intricate cosmologies,
Speaker 1: but have also become touchstones from modern culture, identity, and
Speaker 1: spiritual practice. We will visit each temple in turn, uncovering
Speaker 1: its origins, decoding its symbols, and reliving the legends that
Speaker 1: make it a sacred solar heritage of humanity. And first
Speaker 1: stop is the Temple of a mun Ra. The Temple
Speaker 1: of amunrah a Karnak lies on the east bank of
Speaker 1: the Nile at ancient Thebes modern Luxor and is the
Speaker 1: largest religious complex ever built. Its construction spanned over fifteen
Speaker 1: hundred years, reflecting the rising glory of New Kingdom Egypt.
Speaker 1: Modest shrines existed on the site by the Middle Kingdom
Speaker 1: twentieth to nineteenth century BCE, when Pharaoh senusrat To first
Speaker 1: built a white chapel to Amun. As Theves became Egypt's capital,
Speaker 1: local deity, Amun was elevated and fused with the sun
Speaker 1: god Rah as amun Ra king of the Gods. Successive
Speaker 1: pharaohs of the New Kingdom fifteen fifty to ten seventy
Speaker 1: BCE vastly expanded Karnak into a walled city of temples.
Speaker 1: The mighty eighteenth dynasty rulers Amenhotep the first, Tutmost the
Speaker 1: first Hatshepsut, and Tutmost to third laid out grand pylon
Speaker 1: courts and feigned hypostyle hall with one hundred and thirty
Speaker 1: four soaring piperis columns, each aided obelis and sanctuaries. For example,
Speaker 1: hotshipsput erected towering obelisks of red granite, one still standing
Speaker 1: thirty meters high, and Tutmost third built the festival hole.
Speaker 1: In the nineteenth dynasty, Seti the first and Ramsay's the
Speaker 1: second completed the hypostyle hole, adorning it with intricately carved
Speaker 1: hieroglyphs and battle scenes. By the late period, the complex
Speaker 1: included multiple precincts for Ammun, Mutt, Mantu, and Moor, with
Speaker 1: Pharro nectin Nebo the Ft adding the massive outer enclosure
Speaker 1: walls in the first pylon. Even into Greco Roman times,
Speaker 1: rulers contributed a grand gate by Ptolemy the third stands
Speaker 1: at the Temple of Consu's entrance. Karnak thus evolved as
Speaker 1: a palimp set of Egyptian art and architecture, its layers
Speaker 1: of construction symbolizing continuity of divine kingship. Karnak was dedicated
Speaker 1: primarily to aman Rah, and its very location and layout
Speaker 1: were rich in cosmic symbolism. Recent geoarchaeological studies suggests the
Speaker 1: earliest temple area was on a natural rise, originally surrounded
Speaker 1: by Nile floodwaters, resembling the primeval a mound from Egyptian
Speaker 1: creation myths. As Inundatian waters receded annually, this ground would
Speaker 1: appear like a mound emerging from chaos, reinforcing Karnak's mythic
Speaker 1: role as a site of creation. The temple's design was
Speaker 1: deliberately orientated to the skies. The main axis is aligned
Speaker 1: to capture the winter's solstice sunrise. Every December twenty one,
Speaker 1: at dawn, sunlight pierces through the eastern gateway and beams
Speaker 1: straight down the main aisle to illuminate the sanctuary of Amunrah.
Speaker 1: This breathtaking event, witnessed for nearly four thousand years, symbolizes
Speaker 1: the rebirth of the sun at the shortest day. Ancient
Speaker 1: Egyptian astronomer priests likely used instruments like the market, the
Speaker 1: star gauge, and observes stars like Sirius to achieve this
Speaker 1: precise alignment. Karnak's Great Temple thus function as a giant
Speaker 1: solar observatory, marking the solstice a manifestation of mat on Earth. Indeed,
Speaker 1: the temple's name I've had issued the most selective places
Speaker 1: hints at its sacred status. Beyond the solstice, Karnak was
Speaker 1: the stage for the Grand Opet festival. Each year, statues
Speaker 1: of Ahmen, his consort Mutt and sun Kansu were ferried
Speaker 1: along the Nile or the Avenue of Sphinxes to luxor temple,
Speaker 1: re enacting divine renewal and cyclic rejuvenation of kingship. This
Speaker 1: festival coincided with the summer Nile flood and reflected cosmic
Speaker 1: order and agricultural cycles. The priests of Karnak adept and
Speaker 1: Astronomy maintained calendars and timing of rituals, for example, orienting
Speaker 1: other temples like Hatchupsu's dare el Bari to winter solstice sunrise. Thus,
Speaker 1: Karnak was not only a cult center, but a cosmic
Speaker 1: clock in spiritual powerhouse linking heaven and Earth, and during Karnak,
Speaker 1: one passes along the Avenue of Sphinxes, a processional road
Speaker 1: flanked by hundreds of ram headed sphinx statues, leading to
Speaker 1: the first pylon. Inside the main precinct, courtyards and holes
Speaker 1: unfold in succession, drawing the visitor ever deeper and higher,
Speaker 1: a symbolic journey to the divine. The great hypostyle hole
Speaker 1: built by city the first and rameses a second astonishes
Speaker 1: with its forest of columns seventy feet toll carved with
Speaker 1: sunkening leaves of the king worshiping Amun Rah. Beyond lies
Speaker 1: the Holy of Holies, a dark granite sanctuary aligned with
Speaker 1: the rising Solsice Sun. In antiquity, this sanctuary housed Amun's
Speaker 1: cult statue, which only the high priest and pharaoh could approach,
Speaker 1: surrounding it with subsidiary chapels and storage for the gods
Speaker 1: ceremonial bark. Karnak's walls and pillars are densely inscribed with
Speaker 1: hieroglyphic texts from king's lists to battle scenes, effectively making
Speaker 1: it an encyclopedia and stone of Egypt's religion and history. Notably,
Speaker 1: tutmost the Third's festival hall holds the Karnak Kings List,
Speaker 1: a procession of past kings who tutmost honoured in another sector.
Speaker 1: Release of Mernepta's campaigns include the famous Israel Stelae text.
Speaker 1: Also remarkable is a sacred lake within the precinct Doug
Speaker 1: under Tutmosis the third, symbolizing the primeval waters. It was
Speaker 1: used for ritual purification of priests and likely for observing
Speaker 1: star reflections near it. Recent excavations even uncovered a planned
Speaker 1: workers village, hinting at the community of priests, craftsmen, and
Speaker 1: labourers who sustained the cult. Karnak was an evolving sacred landscape,
Speaker 1: with each new ruler adding chapels, pylons, obelisks or shrines
Speaker 1: to leave their pious mark. Even during periods of decline,
Speaker 1: the site remained venerated. In the late period in ptolemaica E,
Speaker 1: all blocks were reused and new gates inserted, showing a
Speaker 1: continuous thread of sanctity. A little side note about the
Speaker 1: Israel Stelle distell was carved from Pharaoh Meneptah, son and
Speaker 1: successor of Rameses a second late in Egypt's new kingdom
Speaker 1: the nineteenth dynasty. It is a little over three meters
Speaker 1: about ten feet high of dark granite stone, and originally
Speaker 1: stood in the forecourt of Meneptah's mortuary temple on the
Speaker 1: west bank at Thebes, directly across the river from Karnak.
Speaker 1: It was discovered there in eighteen ninety six by the
Speaker 1: British archaeologist Flinders Petrie, who was clearing the ruins of
Speaker 1: the king's temple when he realized that a large fallen
Speaker 1: block in the first court was a finely inscribed victory monument.
Speaker 1: The stone itself had a life before Meneptah. It began
Speaker 1: as a monument of Amenhotep the Third a century earlier.
Speaker 1: He had used it to celebrate his building works at
Speaker 1: his mortuary temple, Luxor Temple and the third Pylon at Karnak.
Speaker 1: Meneptah's artisans turned the stella around and carve their own
Speaker 1: text on the rough reverse, facing it outward against his
Speaker 1: new temple wool. In other words, this one stone physically
Speaker 1: carries two layers of history, the golden age of Amenhotep
Speaker 1: the Third and the later, more embattled age of Menepta.
Speaker 1: At the top is a carvlunette scene that still preserves
Speaker 1: traces of its original yellow, red, and blue pigments. It
Speaker 1: shows the triad Amun, Mutt, and Kansu. Amun, chief god
Speaker 1: of Karnak and often fused with the Sun, as Amun
Speaker 1: Ra hands a sword of victory to Meneptah, while Mutt
Speaker 1: and Consu stand behind as divine witnesses. This little panel
Speaker 1: visually ties the stella back to Karnak itself. The same
Speaker 1: gods whose cult was centered in the Ammun precinct are
Speaker 1: here empowering the king's campaigns. The text of that flows
Speaker 1: down beneath is in effect a long hymn to that
Speaker 1: divine royal partnership. The inscription dates to year five of Mernepta,
Speaker 1: around twelve oh eight BCE. Most of its twenty eight
Speaker 1: lines are not about Canaan at all, but about a
Speaker 1: dramatic war on Egypt's western frontier. Menepta boasts that he
Speaker 1: crushed a coalition of Libyan tribes, the Libu and their
Speaker 1: northern allies, an early wave of the peoples we now
Speaker 1: group under the label Sea Peoples. This stelli describes them
Speaker 1: as a threat that came on Egypt from the west,
Speaker 1: but claims they were utterly destroyed their chiefs, killed, their camps, burned,
Speaker 1: their seed wiped out. Only in the closing stanza do
Speaker 1: the text pivot eastward to Canaan, then part of the
Speaker 1: Egyptian imperial sphere. In a compact poetic list, it names
Speaker 1: Syrian and Canaanate polities that have been subdued Hati and
Speaker 1: Haru brought regional terms for the serial Palestinian zone, then
Speaker 1: more local units like Canaan, the cities of Eskalon, Gazar
Speaker 1: and Yanoum, and finally a group called Israel. It is
Speaker 1: the single lion that has made the stella famous far
Speaker 1: beyond Egyptology. In almost every modern translation, the line is
Speaker 1: rendered along the lines of Israel is laid to waste
Speaker 1: his seed is not. This is standard bragging language for
Speaker 1: Egyptian royal propaganda, not a literal extermination. Notice. When pharaohs
Speaker 1: describe cities made as though they never existed or lands
Speaker 1: whose seed is not, they are using stylized hyperbole. Crops destroyed,
Speaker 1: warriors killed, and tribute cut off, all to magnify the
Speaker 1: king's glory. This stelae contains the earliest known reference to Israel,
Speaker 1: dating back to around twelve oh five BCEE In recent years,
Speaker 1: some have proposed that there may be even earlier references
Speaker 1: to Israel and Egyptian records, potentially dating back to around
Speaker 1: fourteen hundred BCE. However, the meneptas Stella remains the most
Speaker 1: widely accepted and recognized reference to Israel and ancient texts.
Speaker 1: Given Karnak's immense antiquity, it accumulated rich myth and legend.
Speaker 1: The alignment of the temple with the WinCE's solstice was
Speaker 1: not only an astronomical feat, but laden with meaning. The
Speaker 1: annual birth of the sun and Ammun Shrine reaffirmed the
Speaker 1: Pharaoh's divine mandate to maintain cosmic order. According to new research,
Speaker 1: the choice of Karnak's sight on a raised terrace a
Speaker 1: mid Nile channels made it literally a sacred island identified
Speaker 1: with the creation mound and Egyptian belief. This suggests that
Speaker 1: priests deliberately linked geography with theology. As Noile floods rose,
Speaker 1: the temple's base would appear to emerge from orders, re
Speaker 1: enacting creation. In Egyptian law, amun Ra was a mysterious
Speaker 1: transcendent creator who could also manifest as the sun disc
Speaker 1: at midday. It was said that each night Amun ra
Speaker 1: sailed on the world, only to be reborn at dawn,
Speaker 1: a cycle the Karnak sanctuary enabled through its solar channeling.
Speaker 1: There were a few miracle tales in Egyptian records about Karnak. Specifically,
Speaker 1: the god's statue was carried on the bark and would
Speaker 1: nod or move to answer questions, likely via priest. One
Speaker 1: legend holds that Alexander the Great, after conquering Egypt, traveled
Speaker 1: to the Libyan desert oracle of Ammun to be confirmed
Speaker 1: as divine son of Amun. Karnak, as Amun's chief temple,
Speaker 1: likely also inspired such narratives of divine legitimation. In modern times,
Speaker 1: locals and travelers described a kind of awe or energy
Speaker 1: at Karnak's solste sunrise, a meeting of ancient spirit and
Speaker 1: present wonder as the hall's glow gold for a few
Speaker 1: moments in midwinter. Karnak also ties into wider esoteric law.
Speaker 1: Some authors speculate that Karnak, the Giza Pyramids, and other
Speaker 1: ancient sites lie on global lay lines or energy grids.
Speaker 1: For instance, it's often noted that the Great Pyramid and
Speaker 1: Karnak might align on certain longitudinal arcs. Though such claims
Speaker 1: are unproven, they feed the aura of Karnak as a
Speaker 1: node of Earth's sacred geometry. Today, Karnak stands as a
Speaker 1: magnificent open air museum and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Speaker 1: Its gargantuan ruins from the fall and topple of its
Speaker 1: first pylon to the standing Obelis and Colossi continuing to
Speaker 1: undergo excavation, perservation, and study by Egyptologists from around the world.
Speaker 1: In recent years, archaeologists have made exciting discoveries. In twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: a cachet of twenty six dynasty gold jewelry was unearthed
Speaker 1: and a hidden recess. In twenty twenty five, comprehensive sediment
Speaker 1: analysis revealed new insights into the site's origin, pushing initial
Speaker 1: occupation back to the Old Kingdom twenty three hundred to
Speaker 1: twenty two hundred BCE. Conservation efforts have stabilized walls and
Speaker 1: cleaned blackened ceiling, soot, and lesser known chambers, revealing brightly
Speaker 1: painted reliefs in the Temple of Consu and elsewhere. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: Karnak remains a place of living heritage. At dawn on
Speaker 1: every winter solstice, hundreds of visitors, locals, tourists, and spiritual
Speaker 1: pilgrims gather in the chill to witness the Sun's ray
Speaker 1: strike Amun's sanctuary, just as it did in Pharonic times.
Speaker 1: The event is treated with reverence and often accompanied by
Speaker 1: cultural performances. By night, Karnak hosts a popular sound and
Speaker 1: light show narrating its history amid illuminating ruins an Egyptian
Speaker 1: popular culture. Karnak and the connected luxury temple have come
Speaker 1: to symbolize national pride. Yet standing in Karnak's Great Court
Speaker 1: under a sky of blazing stars, one can still feel
Speaker 1: the numinous atmosphere that ancient worshippers must have felt, the
Speaker 1: sense of communion with the cosmos in the most selective places.
Speaker 1: Karnak's legacy is thus twofold, a treasure trove for scientific
Speaker 1: inquiry into ancient civilization, and an enduring sacred site that
Speaker 1: continues to align human consciousness with the rhythms of the sun.
Speaker 1: And now we will head on over to the Knark's
Speaker 1: Sun Temple in India. On the eastern shores of India,
Speaker 1: facing the Bay of Bengal, stands a Conark's Sun Temple,
Speaker 1: a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a crowning achievement of
Speaker 1: ancient Hindu architecture. Built in the thirteenth century CE, Karnak
Speaker 1: from Konah meaning engel and Arka meaning sun, is designed
Speaker 1: as a colossal stone chariot for the sun god Serdia,
Speaker 1: complete with wheels and horses carved from rock. This temple
Speaker 1: encapsulates the cosmology, artistic brilliance, and devotional fevor of the
Speaker 1: Eastern Ganga Kingdom while also being wrapped in legend and mystery.
Speaker 1: The Sun Temple of Carnark was constructed around twelve fifty
Speaker 1: CE under the patridge of King Narisima Diva, the first
Speaker 1: of Eastern Ganga dynasty and its zenith. The Ganga Kingdom
Speaker 1: had defeated Muslim invaders and flourished in Odisha. A Kalinga
Speaker 1: and Narissima Diva likely built Karnark to commemorate military triumphs
Speaker 1: and assert cultural glory. According to Sanskrit inscriptions in medieval texts,
Speaker 1: the temple's core structure was two hundred and twenty nine
Speaker 1: feet tall. It was oriented eastward so that at dawn,
Speaker 1: the sun's first rays would strike the main altar and
Speaker 1: the idol of Surdia. The entire complex was conceived as
Speaker 1: Surdia's chariot rising from the sea, symbolizing the Sun's daily
Speaker 1: journey across the sky. It is built from three types
Speaker 1: of stone, quarried condolite for the main body, and harder
Speaker 1: chlorite and laterite stones for certain sculptures and foundations. The
Speaker 1: base of the temple is the chariot's platform, edged with
Speaker 1: twenty four giant stone wheels about nine feet in diameter.
Speaker 1: Each wheel is exquisitely carved with spokes and hubs bearing designs,
Speaker 1: and they famously double as sun dials. One can tell
Speaker 1: the time by the shadow cast by the spokes. Seven
Speaker 1: stone horses appeared to pull the chariot. This integrated symbolism
Speaker 1: of time and motion is unique to Knark. Contemporary records
Speaker 1: like the text Madhavi Kanakachampu if I'm saying there correctly
Speaker 1: praise Conark's magnificent suggesting It was originally called Kanaka Serriya
Speaker 1: Mandir Golden Sun Temple because it was said to have
Speaker 1: been plated in copper or gilt on some parts, gleaming
Speaker 1: in the sunlight. The temple had a main sanctum now
Speaker 1: collapsed and a still standing Jagamarhana assembly hole, about one
Speaker 1: hundred and twenty eight feet tall, whose pyramidal roof is
Speaker 1: in intact and displays tiered sculptures of musicians, dancers, and
Speaker 1: celestial beings. The construction techniques must have been advanced. Some
Speaker 1: of the massive stone blocks weigh around thirty five tons each.
Speaker 1: There is a famous local legend that a gigantic loadstone
Speaker 1: magnet sat atop the temple to hold the structure together,
Speaker 1: and that it interfered with ship's compasses at sea. While
Speaker 1: not verified, it speaks to the ore the temple inspired
Speaker 1: by the late sixteenth century, the main sanctum had tragically collapsed,
Speaker 1: possibly due to structural stress or, according to some accounts,
Speaker 1: after being damaged in the earthquake or by lightning. European
Speaker 1: mariners in the seventeenth century knew Krnark as the Black
Speaker 1: Pagoda for its dark silhouette on the coast. British antiquarians
Speaker 1: in the nineteenth century cleared sand and vegetation to reveal
Speaker 1: Krnark's ruins, and even excavated the buried sculpture of Suria.
Speaker 1: In the twentieth century by Indian authorities, stabilized the Jagamahana
Speaker 1: by filling it with sand to prevent further collapse. Today,
Speaker 1: what remains is still imposing, the audience hull with its
Speaker 1: elaborate exterior and parts of the mandappa and many detached
Speaker 1: sculptures arranged in a site museum. The twenty four wheels
Speaker 1: correspond to the twenty four hours of the day and
Speaker 1: perhaps the twenty four nights of the Hindu year, while
Speaker 1: the eight spokes in each wheel make eight intervals, possibly
Speaker 1: the praharis the three hour periods. Thus, the wheels are
Speaker 1: functional sundials that can tell time accurately, a testimony to
Speaker 1: the astronomic knowledge encoded in the temple design. The seven
Speaker 1: horses represent the days of the week and the seven
Speaker 1: colors of sunlight. The temple is oriented east west, with
Speaker 1: the front door facing the sunrise over the ocean. In fact,
Speaker 1: the main Surdia idol, now missing, likely removed to Puri
Speaker 1: for safety and antiquity, was said to receive the dawn rays.
Speaker 1: Flanking the temple a three subsidiary images of surdia carved
Speaker 1: in green chlorite stone, located on the three outer sides.
Speaker 1: They show shurdia in different aspects and Notably, they catch
Speaker 1: the sun rays at dawn, noon, and afternoon, respectively. This
Speaker 1: means as the sun moves, one after another of these
Speaker 1: Surdia reliefs is illuminated, symbolically tracking the Sun's course through
Speaker 1: the sky. The iconography is purely Vadic. Surdia is depicted
Speaker 1: standing writing a chariot with lotus flowers in both hands,
Speaker 1: attended by Usha and Pradyusha. The temple exterior is a
Speaker 1: profusion of carvings that illustrate the breadth of the medieval
Speaker 1: Odishan life and belief. Lowa Boss reliefs show earthly themes
Speaker 1: elephants marching in warror, procession, lions and mythical beats guarding
Speaker 1: hundreds of elephants in parades, scenes of courtly life and
Speaker 1: possibly historical battle. Higher up are divine scenes, the gods
Speaker 1: and goddesses of the Hindu pantheon, heavenly a sparus dancing,
Speaker 1: and myriad erotic couples and amorous poses. Its erotic sculpture
Speaker 1: freezes are famous and likely symbolized the union of Sun
Speaker 1: and Earth, or the human microcosm in tune with the
Speaker 1: cosmic rhythm. One intriguing relief shows King Narasima himself seated
Speaker 1: receiving council from a sage. Another panel shows a giraffe,
Speaker 1: indicating trade contracts with Africa as giraffe's gifts to India's
Speaker 1: sultanates from Africa in that era. This sheer detail led
Speaker 1: early European visitors to exclaim that every inch of the
Speaker 1: Carnarch Temple is covered with scripture, from large freezes to tiny,
Speaker 1: intricate floral patterns. The sculptures even included celestial imagery. On
Speaker 1: the temple walls are carved navagraha denying planetary deities as
Speaker 1: a set of reliefs above the entrance. This served as
Speaker 1: a protected talisman and an homage to Hindu astrology. In essence,
Speaker 1: Carnarch's artwork forms a Sanskrit encyclopedia in stone, encoding theology,
Speaker 1: time cycle, and worldly life as one unified creation. Under
Speaker 1: Serdia's dominion, devots likely started to fill the temple at
Speaker 1: dawn to offer water oblations to the rising sun. The
Speaker 1: temple had a novagraja slab at its entrance with carvings
Speaker 1: of the nine planets. Priests would pray here first, as
Speaker 1: still done today, to avert planetary evils before approaching Surdia.
Speaker 1: While the main idol of Serdia is lost, descriptions indicate
Speaker 1: it might have been a colossal statue mounted on a
Speaker 1: magnetized iron rod to appear floating. This is part of law,
Speaker 1: though not archaeologically confirmed, This temple was such an important
Speaker 1: pilgrimage that it features in ancient travel accounts. The sixteenth
Speaker 1: century Abul Fazl noted in iin i Akbari as a
Speaker 1: femed Khannar temple. The sixteenth century Abu Fasle noted it
Speaker 1: in ein i Akbari as a famed corner temple. Mythology
Speaker 1: surrounds Karnak's origin. The first enduring legend is of Samba,
Speaker 1: a son of Lord Krishna. Samba was cursed with leprosy,
Speaker 1: and to cure himself, he performed penance to Surdia for
Speaker 1: twelve years at dmitri Van on the khandrab Haga River. Pleased,
Speaker 1: Surdia cured Samba of his disease, and Samba erected a
Speaker 1: sun temple in gratitude. This legend is explicitly tied to karnark.
Speaker 1: The khandrag Haapa River flows near the temple and to
Speaker 1: this day a festival called Samba Dashami and Odisha celebrates
Speaker 1: Samba's cure. Interestingly, historical records say one Samba sun temple
Speaker 1: existed in Pakistan Toi, and the Samba legend is associated
Speaker 1: with both, implying a pan Indian myth of sun worship
Speaker 1: is a cure for skin diseases like leprosy. In Karnak's contexts,
Speaker 1: the legend likely provided a divine rationale for the temple's
Speaker 1: sanctity and its healing reputation even into the nineteenth century.
Speaker 1: A ritual Mela affair on the Makha Saptami, the seventh
Speaker 1: day of the Hindu month of Makha, was held at
Speaker 1: the chans rob Haga Beach near Connarch, where people bade
Speaker 1: that sunrise for health with a procession carrying an image
Speaker 1: assertia to the river, a practice linked to Samba's story.
Speaker 1: Another popular law around Connach's construction speaks of the twelve
Speaker 1: year building period under twelve hundred artisans. When the massive
Speaker 1: copula stone top could not be lifted. A boy named Dharma,
Speaker 1: son of the chief architect, ingeniously solved this engineering problem
Speaker 1: and set to capstone. The twelve year old prodigy leaped
Speaker 1: to his death from the temple top, sacrificing himself to
Speaker 1: protect his father. In Pierre's reputation, this point in tail,
Speaker 1: though not documented in texts, it is told by local
Speaker 1: guys as an example of devotion and the tragic costs
Speaker 1: of great works. Conark has joined intense study by archaeologists, historians,
Speaker 1: and even scientists interested in archaeo astronomy and engineering. The
Speaker 1: precise alignment of the temple with cardinal directions and the
Speaker 1: solar path has been verified. For example, researchers note that
Speaker 1: the wheels on the platform accurately represent time divisions, and
Speaker 1: even the spokes through shadows marking equidescent intervals. A comparative
Speaker 1: study of sun temples notes that both are positioned to
Speaker 1: capture specific solar events, a modhara, the equinoxes, a cornarch
Speaker 1: perhaps the solstices, indicating a conscious tradition of temple orientation
Speaker 1: in India. The iconography of the nine planets at Conarch
Speaker 1: have been studied in light of medieval Indian astronomy. Scholars
Speaker 1: find that the temple's sculptures reflect knowledge of the planets
Speaker 1: and cosmic deities, integrating them into temple ritual. One intriguing
Speaker 1: academic exploration involved geological and material analysis. The presence of
Speaker 1: iron beams and the hypothesis of a magnet atop led
Speaker 1: scientists to examine residual magnetism in the stones. Though the
Speaker 1: legendary loadstone hasn't been found, large iron disks and cramps
Speaker 1: used structurally have been documented. One theory is that an
Speaker 1: enormous iron girder inside the temple, acting as a chain,
Speaker 1: might have magnetized over time. In twenty twenty, the Archaeological
Speaker 1: Survey of India ASI conducted ground penetrating radar scans of
Speaker 1: connarch to assess buried remains, confirming that significant portions of
Speaker 1: the original sanctum foundation survive intact below ground. Conservation wise,
Speaker 1: the ASI recently decided not to attempt rebuilding the fallen
Speaker 1: sanctum due to insufficient original stones, and instead focus on preservation.
Speaker 1: Karnak also attracts academics for the Sanskrit inscriptions on its premises,
Speaker 1: which record grants to the temple, including one that lists
Speaker 1: recipes for temple offerings and details of dance performances. These
Speaker 1: suggest Karnak was a cultural hub where music and dance
Speaker 1: flourished in Surdia's honour. Although active worships ceased centuries ago,
Speaker 1: Cornarch's cultural and spiritual legacy indoors. Every year, the Conarch
Speaker 1: Dance Festival is held in the front of the illuminated temple,
Speaker 1: an iconic event where classical dancers perform in the open air,
Speaker 1: restoring symbolically the art patronage of the Sun god. In
Speaker 1: modern India, Cornark has become a symbol of Odisha's heritage.
Speaker 1: Its wheel adorns India's currency. The sun temple wheel is
Speaker 1: also depicted in India's national flag as the Oshuka Chakra,
Speaker 1: which is inspired by a different wheel, but Cornak's wheels
Speaker 1: often associated in popular imagination. Pilgrims still come on Maga
Speaker 1: Saptami to bathe at the sea at sunrise, believing in
Speaker 1: Serdia's healing grace. The government has also declared Knark a
Speaker 1: site for solar science awareness. The temple's sun dials and
Speaker 1: solar alignments orfer educational opportunities, and a solar eclipse viewing
Speaker 1: event was organized there in recent years. On the esoteric side,
Speaker 1: New Age thinkers sometimes link Karnak's energy to other global
Speaker 1: sun temples. Some claim Cornarch lies on a lay line
Speaker 1: that connects to angor Wad and other sun aligned the monuments,
Speaker 1: though this is speculative. What is undeniable is the comic
Speaker 1: resonance visitors feel. Many report that at dawn or sunset,
Speaker 1: as the sun rays ignite the reddish stones, Karnak exudes
Speaker 1: a deep spirituality, a connection across time to those ancient
Speaker 1: worshipers waiting for the Sun. As the art historian Stella
Speaker 1: Cramrich wrote, at Karnaka, the Sun God once mounted his chariot.
Speaker 1: Though the god has departed, his great stone chariot remains
Speaker 1: forever ready at the edge of time. Karnak today is
Speaker 1: both a ruined and a living ode to the Sun,
Speaker 1: a place where history, art and myth converged to celebrate
Speaker 1: the eternal dance of the cosmos. And now, as we
Speaker 1: wrap this one up, the next one will be the
Speaker 1: Pyramid of the Sun in TiO Towak in Mexico. In
Speaker 1: the ancient city of tier Towakin, the Pyramid of the
Speaker 1: Sun soars above the Avenue of the Dead, a testament
Speaker 1: to the ambition and astronomical genius of a civilization still
Speaker 1: shrouded in mystery. Built nearly two millennia ago in central Mexico.
Speaker 1: This monumental pyramid, the largest structure in TiO Tuwakan, was
Speaker 1: a focal point of religion and likely dedicated to the
Speaker 1: Sun or a powerful deity associated with it. Surrounded by myth,
Speaker 1: the later Aztecs believed this city was where the gods
Speaker 1: created the Sun itself. The Pyramid of the Sun offers
Speaker 1: a fascinating case of how architecture, cosmology, and ceremony intersect.
Speaker 1: In the pre Hispanic Americas, Deo Towakin was a vast
Speaker 1: urban center that flourished between one hundred PCE and five
Speaker 1: point fifty CE, reaching a peak population of over one
Speaker 1: hundred thousand and influencing all Mesoamerica. The Pyramid of the
Speaker 1: Sun was constructed in two major phases, with the first
Speaker 1: phase around one hundred CE bringing it to near its
Speaker 1: current size. Completed by two hundred CE, it measured about
Speaker 1: two hundred and twenty five meters on each side at
Speaker 1: the base and sixty five meters toll, making it one
Speaker 1: of the largest pyramids in the world. Only Egypt's Great
Speaker 1: Pyramid of Cufu and Mexico's own Chillula Pyramids are passed
Speaker 1: in volume. Unlike Egyptian pyramids tier Twakan are flat topped,
Speaker 1: built as temples with monumental staircases. The Sun Pyramid's exterior
Speaker 1: was originally plastered and painted. Traces of rigged piment suggest
Speaker 1: it gleamed with a reddish hue under the sun. It
Speaker 1: stands upon a massive platform and is oriented slightly north
Speaker 1: of west from the city's grid. The Tia of Towacanos,
Speaker 1: in an extraordinary engineering feat, built the pyramid over a
Speaker 1: natural cave. In the nineteen seventies, archaeologists discovered a tunnel
Speaker 1: leading to a cave directly beneath the pyramid center. The cave,
Speaker 1: likely a volcanic lava tube enlarged by humans, ended in
Speaker 1: a clover leaf shaped set of chambers. This was possibly
Speaker 1: regarded it as a sacred womb of the earth, a
Speaker 1: place of creation. The pyramid rising above may have marked
Speaker 1: this cave as the navel of the city, or the
Speaker 1: place of the Sun's birth in local cosmology. Offerings found
Speaker 1: within include pottery and symbols of water and fertility, implying
Speaker 1: that it was a ritual space. The building process used
Speaker 1: millions of tons of adobe bricks, rubble and earth faced
Speaker 1: with volcanic stone, Remarkably, the city's layout, including the pyramid
Speaker 1: of the Sun, was carefully oriented fifteen point five degrees
Speaker 1: clockwise from true north. This is not arbitrary, it aligns
Speaker 1: with important astronomical events. Research by scholars like Ivans Prajakt
Speaker 1: has shown that this orientation records sunrises and sunsets on
Speaker 1: specific dates. In fact, the pyramid of the Sun is
Speaker 1: aligned to face the sunset on April twenty ninth and
Speaker 1: August twelfth, give or take a day, which are two
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty days apart, correlating with the link of
Speaker 1: the Sacred Mesoamerican calendar two hundred and sixty days. August
Speaker 1: twelfth was a particularly significant date as a corresponds to
Speaker 1: the start of the current Maya long count August thirteenth,
Speaker 1: three THY one hundred and fourteen BCE. Thus, the pyramid
Speaker 1: was positioned to tie the solar year in the mythic
Speaker 1: time cycle together. Additionally, seen from the pyramid of the Moon,
Speaker 1: the sun pyramid aligns with the peak of Serro Gordo,
Speaker 1: a mountain to the north, and the setting sun on
Speaker 1: certain days. These alignments strongly suggest that TiO Tuwakin's builders
Speaker 1: intentionally embedded a calendar and cosmology in the city's urban plan,
Speaker 1: with the Pyramid of the Sun as the keystone of
Speaker 1: that grand design. We do not know the original name
Speaker 1: of the Pyramid of the Sun, nor which god it
Speaker 1: was dedicated to. No inscriptions naming that structure have survived
Speaker 1: the Aztecs, arriving centuries that the TiO Tuwakin's fall gave
Speaker 1: it the romantic name, Thinking it was devoted to the Sun.
Speaker 1: It's plausible given the alignment, that the pyramid did honor
Speaker 1: a solar deity or a sky deity. Some archaeologists theorize
Speaker 1: it may have been dedicated to Tallalak, the rain storm god,
Speaker 1: given Jar's word depicting Tallalak were found buried around it.
Speaker 1: In imagery of water is present. Yet others argue a
Speaker 1: great goddess or local version of a Sun warrior god
Speaker 1: was worshiped there. Regardless of the specific deity, the cosmic
Speaker 1: significance is clear. TiO Tuwakanos conceive this pyramid as an
Speaker 1: axis between the underworld, cave earth, and heavens, used for
Speaker 1: grand rites that possibly involved sacrifices and feasts. Time to
Speaker 1: the Sun's passage. The city's urban access point to the
Speaker 1: sun's setting and rising on key dates, meaning on those days,
Speaker 1: watches on the pyramid or in the city center would
Speaker 1: see the sun dramatically set exactly at the pyramid's flank.
Speaker 1: Imagine ceremonies on April twenty ninth or August twelfth evenings,
Speaker 1: processions climbing the pyramid two hundred and forty steep steps
Speaker 1: as the sun drops precisely along the pyramid side, an
Speaker 1: awe inspiring site affirming the city's divine plan. The pyramid
Speaker 1: summit once likely supported a temple structure now gone, where
Speaker 1: priests made offerings. In twenty eleven, archaeologists digging a tunnel
Speaker 1: at the pyramid's base discovered an elaborate offering deposit at
Speaker 1: the center, and included a sacred greenstone mask, obsidian blades,
Speaker 1: skeletons of pumas or wools with necklaces of imitation, human jawbones, birds,
Speaker 1: and a human figurine. These objects, warlike and precious suggest
Speaker 1: perhaps a dedication or consecration offering when the pyramid was built,
Speaker 1: possibly to sanctify the site for the sun or fire god.
Speaker 1: The presence of sacrifice animal and likely human is in
Speaker 1: line with Mesoamerican practice of inaugurating major buildings. Interestingly, no
Speaker 1: royal tomb has been found inside the Pyramid of the Sun,
Speaker 1: unlike the small Pyramid of the Moon, which had burials
Speaker 1: of sacrificial victims and elite offerings. This supports the idea
Speaker 1: that the Sun Pyramid was more of a cosmic altar
Speaker 1: than a royal mausoleum. Centuries later, the Aztecs wove the
Speaker 1: abandoned TiO Towakan into their mythology, calling it Tolan and
Speaker 1: claiming that TiO Tawakanos were gods or giants. They said
Speaker 1: it was at TiO Tuwakin that the gods gathered to
Speaker 1: create the fifth Sun the current age by sacrificing themselves.
Speaker 1: In that myth, Nanowatsien, a humble god leaped into a
Speaker 1: blaze and became the new Sun, while another became the Moon.
Speaker 1: One can't help but see how the Pyramid of the Sun,
Speaker 1: with evidence of sacrifices and a massive hearth on top,
Speaker 1: could have inspired that legend. Its possible. Aztec priests, seeing
Speaker 1: the sun oriented city and having no historical records of
Speaker 1: its builders, assumed only gods could have built it. Thus
Speaker 1: the pyramid's very existence fueled later myths of the Sun's
Speaker 1: origin at TiO Tuwakin. Modern science has shed considerable light
Speaker 1: on the Tea Tawakan's astronomical orientation. Surveys show that two
Speaker 1: slightly different orientations govern the city fifteen point five degrees
Speaker 1: in sixteen point five degrees clockwise from north. One alignment
Speaker 1: fifteen point five degrees is embodied by the pyramid of
Speaker 1: the Sun in main Street, tying to sunrise on February
Speaker 1: eleventh and October twenty ninth, which framed the agricultural cycle.
Speaker 1: The other sixteen point five degrees is seen in the
Speaker 1: sied data La complex and relates to the sunrise sixty
Speaker 1: days apart, possibly marking a two hundred and sixty day
Speaker 1: calendar sequence. The careful arrangement allowed observers to track the
Speaker 1: solar year and the two hundred and sixty day ritual
Speaker 1: calendar using architectural sight lines. Furthermore, recent research by Mexican
Speaker 1: archaeo astronomers suggests the pyramid of the Sun was aligned
Speaker 1: to the plaetes setting or certain star alignments. For example,
Speaker 1: some arguments oriented to where the paleightes set on the
Speaker 1: horizon which was significant in meso American timekeeping. The Paladi
Speaker 1: zenith passage signaled the new fire ceremony every fifty two years.
Speaker 1: In as Thick times, the period of the moon at
Speaker 1: the north end was found to align with the sun
Speaker 1: rising over a distant volcano, Seragordo on the summer solstice
Speaker 1: and setting alignments on Winceter solsice. If the pyramid of
Speaker 1: the Moon and the sun pyramid aligned to solstices in
Speaker 1: quartered days, respectively, it implies TiO Towakin's entire gray was
Speaker 1: a multi purpose celindrical instrument. Notably, the city's day one
Speaker 1: might have been the day the sun passed the zenith
Speaker 1: no shadow, or when it aligned with Serro Gordo. Such
Speaker 1: events would calibrate the calendar annually. Tiotwakin's alignments also influenced
Speaker 1: later cities. Evidence shows that later cities in central Mexico
Speaker 1: adopted similar orientation to align with the same sun dates.
Speaker 1: This diffusion shows that TiO Towakan was a hub of
Speaker 1: astronomical knowledge that radiated its cultural influence far beyond its fall.
Speaker 1: The Pyramid of the Sun has fast scinated archaeologists since
Speaker 1: the early twentieth century. Leopoldo Buttris conducted the first excavations
Speaker 1: in nineteen oh six, unfortunately dynamiting his way into the
Speaker 1: pyramid and reconstructing parts inaccurately. It practiced typical of that era. However,
Speaker 1: he did discover the entrance to the cave below the pyramid,
Speaker 1: a major fine, though he thought it was a tomb.
Speaker 1: Later in the nineteen seventies, systematic tunneling revealed the clover
Speaker 1: leaf chambers full of offerings as mentioned before. In twenty eleven,
Speaker 1: using a robot, archaeologists probed deeper into the tunnel under
Speaker 1: the pyramid of the Feathered Serpent at the Sayer Dela,
Speaker 1: another structure, and found liquid mercury pools, but under the
Speaker 1: Sun pyramid. No such tunnels beyond the cave have been found.
Speaker 1: The Tia Tauacanos had a pinchate for using pyrite fools
Speaker 1: gold mosaics. The Tia Touacanos had a pension for using
Speaker 1: pyrite fool's, gold mosaics and pigment to decorate tunnel walls
Speaker 1: to resemble a starry sky. They might have done similar
Speaker 1: for the cave, creating an inner cosmos. The pyramid itself
Speaker 1: has yielded insight into construction, for instance the existence of
Speaker 1: five superimposed layers. The Aztecs possibly dug into it and
Speaker 1: created a tunnel to deposit offerings to consecrate it to
Speaker 1: their own god. For all these findings, many mysteries remain.
Speaker 1: No definite inscriptions or written records were left, leaving us
Speaker 1: to piece together the pyramids meeting through artifacts and alignments alone.
Speaker 1: By the time the Aztecs found Tia Towakan around fourteenth century,
Speaker 1: it was abandoned for over seven hundred years, but its
Speaker 1: pyramids had such ore that they incorporated it as a
Speaker 1: pilgrimage site. In modern Mexico, Tia Towakan is a source
Speaker 1: of pride, and the Pyramid of the Sun is emblematic
Speaker 1: of the country's ancient heritage. Each year, on the spring equinox,
Speaker 1: which is not an original Tia Toowocan ritual day but
Speaker 1: a modern invention, thousands of people flocked to the Pyramid
Speaker 1: of the Sun to recharge energy. Dressed in white, they
Speaker 1: climbed to the top and raise their arms to the
Speaker 1: sky as the sun reaches zenith. This new age ritual
Speaker 1: shows how the pyramid still functions as a living monument,
Speaker 1: connecting people to the Sun's power, much as it might
Speaker 1: have fifteen hundred years ago. This is also a theory
Speaker 1: among Earth grid enthusiasts that TiO Tawakan lies on powerful
Speaker 1: lay lines. Some connect it in speculatle of maps with
Speaker 1: sites like Machu Pichu or Easter Island, or see the
Speaker 1: pyramids as nodes in a planetary energy web. While scientifically unfounded,
Speaker 1: it speaks to an enduring fascination with aligning Tiatuwakin in
Speaker 1: a global sacred geography. More concrete is the notion that
Speaker 1: the Tia Toowakan influenced the Aztec calendar. The sun pyramids
Speaker 1: two hundred and sixty day alignment likely reinforced the importance
Speaker 1: of that cycle, which the Aztecs later used in divination.
Speaker 1: The Aztec myth of five suns five errors of the world,
Speaker 1: each ruled by Sun, finds a poignant backdrop at Tiatowakan,
Speaker 1: a city structured for the Sun. In literature and art,
Speaker 1: the pyramid of the Sun appears as a motif representing
Speaker 1: mystery and grandeur. For instance, D. H. Lawrence wrote a
Speaker 1: poem The Hopi Snake Dance, referencing it and Many Mexican
Speaker 1: writers see it as a symbol of national identity, where
Speaker 1: indigenous knowledge, astronomy and engineering reached great heights. Standing atop
Speaker 1: the Pyramid of the Sun, today one can survey the
Speaker 1: whole TiO Towakan Metropolis, the Pyramid of the Moon to
Speaker 1: the north, the miles of the Avenue of the Dead,
Speaker 1: and mountains encircling the valley. At certain times of the year,
Speaker 1: the sun will set in direct alignment with the street,
Speaker 1: bathing the city in a golden line. It is a
Speaker 1: visceral demonstration of what recent research confirms. TiO Towakan was
Speaker 1: a city where men became gods, as the Aztec said,
Speaker 1: because they mastered the cosmic order. The Pyramid of the
Speaker 1: Sun was at the heart of that mastery, an ancient observatory,
Speaker 1: a temple of sacrifice and renewal, and a giant cosmogram
Speaker 1: in stole that still speaks of humanity's eternal dance with
Speaker 1: the Sun. As we leave the Tiatuwakan Temple of the Sun,
Speaker 1: we will now head over to Tiwanaku for the Kalisosaya
Speaker 1: Complex and Gate of the Sun. High on the wind
Speaker 1: swept Altiplano of Bolivia near Lake Titi Kaka lie the
Speaker 1: ruins of Tiwanaku, the spiritual center of pre Inca civilization
Speaker 1: that flourished between five hundred to one thousand CE. Among
Speaker 1: its inematic stone structures, the Kalisosaia Temple and the iconic
Speaker 1: Gate of the Sun stand out for their solar alignments
Speaker 1: and intricate iconography. Tiwanaku was a place where earth and
Speaker 1: sky intersected in ceremonial architecture. Here, the sun was revered
Speaker 1: as both lifegiver and part of a complex pantheon. The
Speaker 1: temples of Tiwanaku reveal a sophisticated understanding of astronomy and
Speaker 1: a mythology that would later influence the Inca. They also
Speaker 1: have sparked alternative theories, from being proof of ancient giants
Speaker 1: to fanciful alignments with Atlantis, a testament to their aura
Speaker 1: of mystery. The Tijuanaku civilization was a major Andean power,
Speaker 1: contemporaneous with the Classic period of TiO Tuwakan and later
Speaker 1: influencing the Inca. Its capital, Tijuanaku, sits about three thousand,
Speaker 1: eight hundred meters above sea level. By around seven hundred CE,
Speaker 1: it was an urban and ritual hub with massive stone platforms,
Speaker 1: sunken courts, and monolithic sculptures. The Kalissaia meaning standing Stones
Speaker 1: at Aymara is a large, rectangular, open temple elevated on
Speaker 1: a platform. Its walls were made of sandstone slabs and
Speaker 1: andsy columns, some weighing several tons. Stone gateways allowed access,
Speaker 1: and within it a famous carved monolith, the Ponce Monolith.
Speaker 1: Adjacent or within Klisosaia lies a semi subterranean temple sunken
Speaker 1: into the ground, with a floor stubbed by stone heads,
Speaker 1: perhaps representing ancestral or cosmic beings. The most famous artifact
Speaker 1: is the Gateway of the Sun, a single huge monolith
Speaker 1: of andesite that was once part of a larger structure.
Speaker 1: Now located on the Kalisasaia's western edge, The Gate of
Speaker 1: the Sun is about three meters tall, four meters wide
Speaker 1: and weighs about ten tons. When rediscovered by Europeans in
Speaker 1: the mid nineteenth century, it was found falling and broken
Speaker 1: in two. It has since been stood upright, though likely
Speaker 1: not at its exact original spot. Scholars suspect it may
Speaker 1: have originally been in an entryway within Kalisasaia or connected
Speaker 1: to another platform. The Tiwanaku site fell into ruin after
Speaker 1: one thousand CE, but when the Inca expanded in the
Speaker 1: fifteenth century, they regarded Tiwanaku with reverence, seeing it as
Speaker 1: the birthplace of Varrakocha, there created God and possibly where
Speaker 1: the sun and moon rose after a mythical flood. The
Speaker 1: Inca name for the gate of the Sun was into Pinku,
Speaker 1: same as they cold certain sun gates in their own cities,
Speaker 1: which indicates they saw it as real life to solo worship.
Speaker 1: Tiwanaku's Kyli Sosaiah has long been recognized as a sort
Speaker 1: of solar observatory. In the twentieth century, explorer Arthur Posnanski famously,
Speaker 1: though erroneously, claimed that extreme archaeo astronomical alignments of Kalissaiah
Speaker 1: indicated an age of fifteen thousand BCE for Tiwanaku, a
Speaker 1: conclusion now discredited. He misidentified stones as solstice markers and
Speaker 1: didn't account for Earth's axle tilt changes. Modern measurements, however,
Speaker 1: confirm that Kalissaia is aligned to cardinal directions and that
Speaker 1: certain stone pillars mark the Sun's positions on the horizon
Speaker 1: at key times of the year. For instance, viewed from
Speaker 1: the center of Kalisasaiah. The sun rises at specific pillars
Speaker 1: on the summer and winter solstices. In June southern winter solstice,
Speaker 1: observers at dawn see the sun emerging far north of east,
Speaker 1: aligning with a corner of the Kalisasaia wall. At December
Speaker 1: summer solstice, it rises far south of east, aligning with
Speaker 1: the opposite corner. The equinox sunrise appears roughly at the
Speaker 1: center of the eastern wall gate. Similarly, at sunset, the
Speaker 1: western wall's features a line with those events. Excavations have
Speaker 1: noted sets of stones on the west balcony of Kalissaia
Speaker 1: that correspond to a solar calendar. Archaeologist Leonardo Benitez found
Speaker 1: that pillars along the western side mark quarter points of
Speaker 1: the year, suggesting a solar calendar based on sunset positions.
Speaker 1: In essence, Kalissaia was a giant clock and calendar used
Speaker 1: to time agricultural and ritual cycles by tracking the Sun's
Speaker 1: moving along the horizon through the year, supporting this each year.
Speaker 1: On June twenty, first Indian winter solstice, modern Ima people
Speaker 1: and many others gathered to Tiwanaku to celebrate the wil
Speaker 1: Kakuti and the return of the sun imor new Year.
Speaker 1: As the sun rises, people raise their hands between the
Speaker 1: stone pillars to catch the first rays, a practice believed
Speaker 1: to energize and bless the new year. This current tradition
Speaker 1: likely revives an ancient ceremony. Timwanaku's priests surely commemorated the
Speaker 1: solstice as a time of rebirth of the sun. The
Speaker 1: Spanish chroniclers recorded the Inca, who inherited Tiwanaku's solo law,
Speaker 1: also celebrated June's solstice as inter Raimi, the sun festival
Speaker 1: with dawn rituals. Indeed, today Tiwanaku's Solstice sunrise still dramatically
Speaker 1: shines through the entrance of Kalisosaiah and the Sunngate if
Speaker 1: weather permits. The Gate of the Sun itself has a
Speaker 1: central opening that likely aligned with the setting sun on
Speaker 1: certain days. Some suggest on equinox afternoon sunlight would pass
Speaker 1: through it. Moreover, the gate faces east. On June Solstice,
Speaker 1: the rising Sun's rays reportedly passed through its portal and
Speaker 1: illuminate the back, indicating a solsticial alignment with the gate.
Speaker 1: This phenomena has made this sungate a gathering point on
Speaker 1: those sacred mornings. The gate of the Sun is essentially
Speaker 1: a free standing monolithic doorway, famous for the elaborate carvings
Speaker 1: above its portal. These freeze is a masterpiece of Tiwanaku
Speaker 1: iconography and is often likened to a cosmic calendar. At
Speaker 1: the center of the lintel is a deity figure known
Speaker 1: as Staff God, a figure holding a staff receptor in
Speaker 1: each hand with rays emanating from its head. This figure
Speaker 1: has a stern, human like face with tears or ray
Speaker 1: lines descending from its eyes. It variously identified as Indi
Speaker 1: Sun of Vercolta, a Thunapa, and Imra storm God. Many
Speaker 1: researchers lean towards it representing Vicolta or a Panandian creator
Speaker 1: Sun deity, because later Inca art shows Vericolcha similarly with
Speaker 1: a sun rayed crown surrounding this central figure. On the
Speaker 1: gate of forty eight smaller winged figures or attendants arranged
Speaker 1: in three rows of sixteen. Originally there may have been
Speaker 1: fifty figurines, but part of the frieze is damaged. Of
Speaker 1: the forty eight, some have human faces thirty two of them,
Speaker 1: and others condor or bird heads sixteen of them, and
Speaker 1: all appear to be running or flying towards the central god.
Speaker 1: Each little figure holds a staffer object too, and wears
Speaker 1: a headgear. Their wings and postures suggest they could be messages, spirits,
Speaker 1: or time markers. Some scholars interpret these forty eight figures
Speaker 1: as representing a solar calendar, perhaps forty eight weeks or fortnights,
Speaker 1: or even a multiple of lunar months, though Indian calendars
Speaker 1: were not strictly forty eight weeks. Another interpretation is they
Speaker 1: represent star or constellation deacons dividing the night sky for
Speaker 1: clindrical purposes. The number forty eight is close to fifty two,
Speaker 1: which resonates with the Mesoamerican calendar, but it's likely coincidental.
Speaker 1: The central rays around the deity's head number twenty four,
Speaker 1: if counting big and small alternations, possibly symbolizing twenty four
Speaker 1: hours or a twelve months. Also below the central deity
Speaker 1: are a series of rectangular designs that some think depict
Speaker 1: celestial cycles, possibly a solstice marker and an equinoctial marker
Speaker 1: in the form of abstract patterns. In the nineteen seventies,
Speaker 1: archaeo astronomer Stanislaw Mestrovich proposed that the Sun's gates carvings
Speaker 1: encode a lunar calendar of two hundred and ninety two
Speaker 1: solid days and twelve months of twenty four days. That
Speaker 1: math is debated regardless of the specific calendar readings. The
Speaker 1: gate clearly symbolizes in orderly cosmos, the supreme God radiates power,
Speaker 1: surrounded by lesser celestial beings and in organized the array.
Speaker 1: This imagery strongly influenced later Andian art. Inka tapestry and
Speaker 1: Kero's cups features similar staff, guard and attendant motifs, showing
Speaker 1: the continuity of the religious iconography. There was also a
Speaker 1: tale on local armorial law. They called the central figure
Speaker 1: Thunipa another name for Verkoca, and say when he appeared
Speaker 1: he brought knowledg before a great flood. The tears on
Speaker 1: the god's face on the gate are often remarked. Some
Speaker 1: call the deity l Diaisluron the weeping God. Perhaps it
Speaker 1: weeps for humanity suffering or the rain. Interestingly, Verracoca and
Speaker 1: Inca myth wept at mankind's wickedness before sending a flood.
Speaker 1: Such resonances suggest the gate's carvings capture a mythic scene
Speaker 1: or concept of renewal after catastrophe. The study of Tiwanaku's
Speaker 1: astronomy began with Posnansky, who, as noted, vastly overestimated the
Speaker 1: site's antiquity by claiming the Kalisasa alignments only made sense
Speaker 1: fifteen thousand years ago, when obliquity was different. Modern radiocarbon
Speaker 1: and stratigraphy firmly date Tiwinaku's peak around five hundred to
Speaker 1: nine hundred and fifty CE, with alignments basically matching the
Speaker 1: era's sky, taking into account a small adjustment for a
Speaker 1: few millennia of axial tilt changes. In the twentieth century,
Speaker 1: Bolivian and foreign archaeologists excavated Coli Sosiah and re erected
Speaker 1: monoliths They found beneath evidence of earlier phases. It was
Speaker 1: modified over centuries, perhaps why some alignment stones seem oddly placed.
Speaker 1: The sun gate was found by European traveler outside Diorbigny
Speaker 1: in the eighteen forties. Lion broken, it was repaired and
Speaker 1: stood up in nineteen oh eight, not far from where found.
Speaker 1: Some debate its original placement. Possibly it was a portal
Speaker 1: within Kalisosaia or atop the Acapana Pyramid. However, its current
Speaker 1: location on kalis Sosia's western wool works as a frame
Speaker 1: for the sunrise on the winter solstice, which could very
Speaker 1: well have been intended. Excavations around the gate uncovered carved
Speaker 1: stelae and also the Gateway of the Moon a similar
Speaker 1: to those smaller monolithic gate now in law paths, all
Speaker 1: indicate a thematic emphasis on solar and lunar rituals. In
Speaker 1: recent years, archaeologists using ground penetrating radar have found tunnels
Speaker 1: or canals under Tiwanaku's temple structures, likely used for ritual
Speaker 1: drainage or offerings. Water was a big element. Tiwanaku's monuments
Speaker 1: often haveits for pouring libations. Some suggest on solstices water
Speaker 1: might have been poured and illuminated by the sun at
Speaker 1: key moments, a speculation tying natural elements. Timanako, though in ruins,
Speaker 1: remains a sacred site for the Imran and Quechua people,
Speaker 1: as noted will Kokuti Imran New Year each June draws
Speaker 1: large crowds to Tiwanaku and officially recognized ceremonies. Since twenty ten,
Speaker 1: the Bolivian government and indigenous leaders conduct sunrise rights at
Speaker 1: Collie Sosaiah and the Gate of the Sun, including offerings
Speaker 1: of vlama fetuses, incense and alcohol to Pachamama, Mother Earth
Speaker 1: and Inti Fa the Sun. This modern festival is a
Speaker 1: direct cultural descendant of what likely occurred in antiquity, greeting
Speaker 1: the Sun symbolically returning the Sun to the world, thereby
Speaker 1: ensuring the cyclos seasons continues. In a sense, Tiwanaku is
Speaker 1: once again a living temple, at least on that one
Speaker 1: day a year. Participants often gather around it with hands
Speaker 1: raised as the the first rays break through the doors
Speaker 1: opening or above it. For many, the experience is mystical.
Speaker 1: They describe feeling the cosmic energy of the Sun at
Speaker 1: that portal. The gate has thus become a New Age
Speaker 1: icon too, sometimes associated with ancient aliens. In fringe literature,
Speaker 1: Eric von Dinakin infamously hypothesized spacemen had something to do
Speaker 1: with Tiwanaku's monoliths. Some many soteric writers correlate Tiwanaku's location
Speaker 1: with a earth chakra, or say Tiwanaku lies on the
Speaker 1: Rainbow Serpent lay line, which purportedly connects Ularu in Australia
Speaker 1: to Lake Titi Kakka, a line of female earth energy.
Speaker 1: A mention in a psychic studies article claims Ularu connects
Speaker 1: to Lake Titti Kaka along the female great dragon lay
Speaker 1: line known as the Rainbow Serpent, drawing a fanciful link
Speaker 1: between Tiwanaku's area and global mysticism. While such claims are
Speaker 1: in scientific, they reflect Tiwanaku's power to inspire the imagination
Speaker 1: as a portal between worlds earth and sky, past and future. Notably,
Speaker 1: the Gate of the Sun is frequently used as a
Speaker 1: symbol of Bolivia's heritage. A depiction of it with the
Speaker 1: staff God appears on Bolivia's national coat of arms and currency,
Speaker 1: underscoring its important as a national icon. Apart from the
Speaker 1: via kochamanths mentioned, a local lore held that Tiwanaku was
Speaker 1: built in a single night by giants, or that the
Speaker 1: stones moved by sound, common themes to explain megaliths. When
Speaker 1: the Spanish arrived, they were astonished. One conquistador wrote that
Speaker 1: it seemed impossible humans made such works, and enduring mystery
Speaker 1: has been Tiwanaku's abrupt collapse. Some say a massive drought
Speaker 1: ended them. In mythic terms, i'm maur folklore sometimes linked
Speaker 1: it to the idea that the sun once tarried and
Speaker 1: didn't rise until a hero intervened at Tiwanaku, perhaps an
Speaker 1: echo of the long night of winter solstice, when the
Speaker 1: sun seems halted. In summary, Tiwanako's Coli Sosaiah and Gate
Speaker 1: of the Sun present a vivid picture of Astro religion,
Speaker 1: carefully aligned stones to the Sun's annual court, art that
Speaker 1: encodes cosmic order, and ceremonies that bound the community to
Speaker 1: celestial rhythms. These have survived in cultural memory to this day.
Speaker 1: As dawn breaks on June twenty first and illuminates the
Speaker 1: ancient gateway, one can feel connected not only to the
Speaker 1: Aymara priests and people gathered in celebration, but also to
Speaker 1: those ancient Tiwanaku astronomer priests who engineered this monument over
Speaker 1: a thousand years ago. The Sun's Gate remains open, welcoming
Speaker 1: each new year's light, bridging an old civilization with the new,
Speaker 1: and inspiring wonder at the ingenuity of those who track
Speaker 1: the heavens from the high andes. As we leave Kalis Sosaiah,
Speaker 1: we head on over to our last temple, to Corey Kanscher,
Speaker 1: the Temple of the Sun in Kusku, Peru, in the
Speaker 1: heart of the Inca capital. Kusku stands the Corey Kansha,
Speaker 1: the fabled temple of the Sun, which was the most
Speaker 1: important religious site of the Inca Empire. Krey Kansha means
Speaker 1: golden enclosure, and indeed its walls were once lined with
Speaker 1: sheets of pure gold shimmering in the Indian sunlight. This
Speaker 1: temple was the spiritual nexus of the Inca world, a
Speaker 1: repository of the empire's most sacred objects, a celestial observatory,
Speaker 1: and the anchor point of an extensive sacred geography radiating
Speaker 1: outward in old directions. Though the Corey Cancer was largely
Speaker 1: dismantled by Spanish conquerors, its finely carved stone walls still
Speaker 1: formed the foundation of the colonial Church of Santa Domingo
Speaker 1: that sits atop it, providing a stark visual metaphor for
Speaker 1: the layering of cultures and religions. Cori Kanca was considered
Speaker 1: the center of the universe by the Inca. It was
Speaker 1: dedicated primarily to Ininti, the Sun god, who was the
Speaker 1: patron deity of the Inca state. According to legend, the
Speaker 1: first Inca king, Menko Capac, son of Inti, founded Cusku
Speaker 1: by divine mandate and a temple to the Sun existed
Speaker 1: here from earliest times. Historically, the corey Kanca, as seen
Speaker 1: by Spaniards, was built or greatly expanded by the ninth
Speaker 1: Sapa Inca Pachacuti, who ruled fourteen thirty eight to fourteen
Speaker 1: seventy one. Pachacuti is said to have rebuilt Cusco into
Speaker 1: a planned city and enriched the Corianchia with unparalleled splendor.
Speaker 1: Chronicler Garcelasso di la Vega, whose own maternal ancestors were
Speaker 1: Inco nobility, gave vivid descriptions. The coricancer's rectangular holes had
Speaker 1: interiors paneled with thick gold plates. A large golden disc
Speaker 1: representing Inti hung on the wall of the main shrine,
Speaker 1: positioned to catch the rays of the rising sun. In
Speaker 1: the courtyard stood a garden of gold and silver, life
Speaker 1: size lamas, corn plants, flowers, and birds, all crafted from
Speaker 1: precious metal offered by all corners of the empire. The
Speaker 1: complex actually housed temples to several celestial deities. Alongside Inti's
Speaker 1: sanctuary were dedicated chambers Fakila, the moon goddess, which was
Speaker 1: lined with silver, Vitasca, Venus, Vilappa thunder and weather god,
Speaker 1: and possibly one for Verkoca the creator. It was thus
Speaker 1: a pantheon center, but INDI's temple was foremost. The high
Speaker 1: priests of the Sun, called willock Umu, officiated here, and
Speaker 1: during the Interrami, the Sun festival at June Solsice, all
Speaker 1: regional lords convened at Cuscu, with the Kooracha as the
Speaker 1: ritual focus. One can imagine on Interrami the Sun's rays
Speaker 1: striking the great golden disc at winter Solsice, and the
Speaker 1: Inca emperor and nobility gathered in the courtyard to receive
Speaker 1: the Sun's blessings for the new year. Indeed, Garsolaso relates
Speaker 1: that Patcha Cuti formalized Interrami as an annual event around
Speaker 1: fourteen thirty CE, with offerings in dancing to ensure the
Speaker 1: Sun's return, likely held first at Koreacha, then continuing at
Speaker 1: the fortress saske Human above Cusku. As the modern re
Speaker 1: enactment does, the Koreancha also served a funerary function. The
Speaker 1: mummies of the Inca emperors were kept here, richly adorned
Speaker 1: and brought out for ceremonies. Patchacuti reportedly had the bodies
Speaker 1: of his royal predecessors removed from earlier burial sites and
Speaker 1: placed in Coriancha on a golden bench, each with attendants
Speaker 1: and offerings, effectively making them oracles and participants in state rituals.
Speaker 1: This illustrates how Coriacha embodied Inca cosmology and continuity, uniting
Speaker 1: the living ruler, the ancestral mummies, and the gods under
Speaker 1: one roof. Though much of the glory is gone, the
Speaker 1: Inca stonework of Coriaca still ors visitors. The temple was
Speaker 1: built in the classic Inca imperial style, perfectly caught ashlar
Speaker 1: blocks of hard andesite, fitted without mortar so tightly that
Speaker 1: one cannot insert a knife blade. The Spanish who marveled
Speaker 1: at it said the stones were so well worked that
Speaker 1: no cement can be seen. The Inca's famed polygonal masonry technique.
Speaker 1: The outer walls of the Coriacha form a gentle curve
Speaker 1: on the west, a masterpiece of engineering still visible as
Speaker 1: the curved base of the Santo Domingo Church. This curving
Speaker 1: wall was reportedly covered in gold sheet in the inside,
Speaker 1: making a dazzling semi circular shrine. The Inca also created
Speaker 1: a system of trapsodoidal nietches and doorways in these walls
Speaker 1: which not only withstood earthquakes. The Spanish church above collapsed
Speaker 1: multiple times in quakes, but the Inca walls stas standing,
Speaker 1: but also create beautiful lines of sight. For instance, one
Speaker 1: alignment of three trapezoidal windows in Koreanchia is famous. Some
Speaker 1: researchers believe these windows had astronomical significance, aligning it with
Speaker 1: certain solar or stellar events. Hence one is dubbed the
Speaker 1: Window of the Sun. It is said that on June Solstice,
Speaker 1: sunlight entering the east doorway would project onto the gold
Speaker 1: disc of Inti inside. The layout of the Koreancia was
Speaker 1: also symbolic geographically. It was the zero point of the
Speaker 1: Sikh system. The Seek system was a conceptual and ceremonial
Speaker 1: grid of forty one or forty two lines seeks credating
Speaker 1: from Cooriancha to the horizons and beyond, along which were
Speaker 1: positioned three hundred and twenty eight sacred shrines wakas. This
Speaker 1: was effectively a sacred geography and calendar. Each waka corresponded
Speaker 1: to specific dates for rituals. The fact that all Sikhs
Speaker 1: begin at Koreanca underscores the temple's role as cosmic access
Speaker 1: for the inco world, the Sikhs were divided into four
Speaker 1: series quarters of the empire, mirroring Kusko's own quartered layout. Thus,
Speaker 1: Koreanchia was not only a physical temple, but the spatial
Speaker 1: center of the Inca Empire's ideology. The navel Kuskuul itself
Speaker 1: means naval from which order and time emanated. Some of
Speaker 1: the carved stones still in Kriancha's ruins show geometric features
Speaker 1: possibly used for astronomical observation. For instance, a series of
Speaker 1: baths or water channels might have reflected stars or measured
Speaker 1: the sun's zenith passage. The incre were known to mark
Speaker 1: the two dates where the sun is directly overhead at
Speaker 1: kusku around November fourth and February eighth, by deserving it
Speaker 1: cast no shadow on vertical gnomons, an event likely tracked
Speaker 1: at Koreancha. The Torreon tower at Macho Picchu's Sun Temple
Speaker 1: has similar observation windows. Koreancha likely had such devices. Indeed,
Speaker 1: early Spanish observers recorded that Incas observed the solstices through
Speaker 1: the temple's windows. This semi circular wall faces June solstice
Speaker 1: sunset direction, suggesting that at dusk the light would fall
Speaker 1: into the temple. Also notable, the walls had a vitrified
Speaker 1: inner surface. Reports say some interior stones were polished to
Speaker 1: a high sheen or even a glaze, causing them to
Speaker 1: reflect the lamplight brilliantly, possibly through an unknown incastone treatment technique.
Speaker 1: This would enhance the temple's glow effect at night. Additionally,
Speaker 1: in one stone block, three small holes were found, thought
Speaker 1: to drain offerings or aligned with something. When struck, these
Speaker 1: holes resonate musical tones d a in g, implying the
Speaker 1: temple itself had an acoustic or musical dimension, essentially a
Speaker 1: lithophoam feature, where tapping these holes could produce a sacred cord.
Speaker 1: The court Contia met a tragic fate with the arrival
Speaker 1: of the Spanish in fifteen thirty three. The gold and
Speaker 1: the silver of the temple were among the ransom collected
Speaker 1: for the captive Incorra emperor Attawopa. Most of the temple's
Speaker 1: gold was stripped and melted down to satisfy the exorbitant
Speaker 1: ransom demand. Garcelasso lamented that the Corianca's opulence, fabulous beyond belief,
Speaker 1: vanished in months. The mummies of the emperors were removed.
Speaker 1: Some sources say the Spanish displayed them as curiosities before
Speaker 1: they were hidden or rotted. In the fifteen thirties, the
Speaker 1: Dominican Order received the site and demolished much of the
Speaker 1: temple to build the Church of Santa Domingo by sixteen
Speaker 1: thirty three. Indeed, after severe earthquakes in sixteen fifty and
Speaker 1: nineteen fifty, the Spanish church crumbled, but the Inca's walls stayed,
Speaker 1: becoming exposed again. Today one can see the juxtaposition Spanish
Speaker 1: archers and cloisters sitting atop perfectly fitted Inca masonry. During
Speaker 1: the twentieth century, excavations uncovered some remaining treasures. A cachet
Speaker 1: of gold ornaments was found in a cloister well in
Speaker 1: eighteen ninety, possibly secretly stashed by the Inca priests. The
Speaker 1: on the Ground Museum now displays mummies, textiles, and idols
Speaker 1: found around Coriancher. Notably, a significant golden sun disc was
Speaker 1: never found. Legends say the Inca priests spirited it away,
Speaker 1: perhaps to his secret refuge. Some think it was possibly
Speaker 1: taken to Lake Titicaca. Coriacher's destruction and conversion is emblematic
Speaker 1: of the colonial erasure of indigenous religion, yet ironically it
Speaker 1: preserved what remains. The conquerors value the quality of the
Speaker 1: stonework enough to keep large portions intact as foundations. These
Speaker 1: remaining wolves have since become a focus of Peruvian national
Speaker 1: pride and indigenous resurgence. Coriancia also has its share of law.
Speaker 1: One tale holds at a giant golden chain used in
Speaker 1: Inca ceremonies mentioned by chroniclers, was hidden during the conquest,
Speaker 1: possibly buried somewhere in the Krancher or Cuscu, and remains unfound.
Speaker 1: Another says that when the Spanish first entered Koreancha, they
Speaker 1: were blinded by the gold, and the woman attendants of
Speaker 1: the temple fled, carrying as much gold as they could
Speaker 1: to hide in the hills. There are also stories that
Speaker 1: Cuscu was laid out as a puma shape, Corey Kansha
Speaker 1: as the puma's genitals symbolic of generative power. With the
Speaker 1: revival of anti and spiritual practices, some Shamans consider Corey
Speaker 1: Kansher's still a living temple in the spiritual realm. They
Speaker 1: perform offerings outside the church on anti Raimi and other
Speaker 1: occasions in a twist of fate. In June twenty twenty,
Speaker 1: near the solstice, a fire broke out in the Church
Speaker 1: of Santo Domingo, and while it threatened the structure, the
Speaker 1: inca walls of Corey Kansher, of course did not burn,
Speaker 1: a poignant reminder of their permanence. This led some locals
Speaker 1: to say it was Inty reclaiming his temple on a
Speaker 1: symbolic way. Today, visitors to Corey Kancer can walk through
Speaker 1: the remaining inca chambers. Inside the convent, the masonry's precision
Speaker 1: and slight inward lean of walls for seismic stability are
Speaker 1: plainly visible. In certain rooms. The trapezoidial niches, often filled
Speaker 1: with idols or gold offerings, are intact, emanating the austere
Speaker 1: sanctity outside. In the gardens, the outlines of the temple's
Speaker 1: floorplan are laid out, and some reconstructed bits show how
Speaker 1: the shrines were arranged. A replica of the golden garden
Speaker 1: with a few metal llamas and cornstalks, is on display
Speaker 1: to spark imagination of its original splendor. Visitors often remark
Speaker 1: on a special feeling inside Corey Keansher, perhaps from the
Speaker 1: alignment in craft it indeed feels like a changed space.
Speaker 1: On June twenty, first Winter Solsice, a ceremony, now more touristic,
Speaker 1: is held in Cusco, but a smaller ritual offering is
Speaker 1: sometimes done at Kriyancher's courtyard. At sunrise at the summer
Speaker 1: solstice December, the sun's rays at dawn strike a specific
Speaker 1: window in Corey Kansa, and some observers quietly noted, despite
Speaker 1: having been physically overbuilt by conquerors to Corey Kanscher's essence
Speaker 1: persists as long as the sun rises and sets the
Speaker 1: people remember to honor it. The temple of the Sun
Speaker 1: in Kusku lives on. In kabbalistic or esoteric terms, if
Speaker 1: one were to draw parallels, Koreanchia might represent the solar
Speaker 1: center tephiith of the Andean world, a place of beauty, harmony,
Speaker 1: and mediation between the earthly and the divine, and indeed,
Speaker 1: for the Incas, the Sun Temple was exactly that, the
Speaker 1: shining heart of their empire, binding heaven and Earth and
Speaker 1: illuminating the four quarters of their realm across continents and ages.
Speaker 1: Humanity's reverence for the Sun has inspired some of its
Speaker 1: most extraordinary monuments. We have journeyed to the chariot shaped
Speaker 1: sanction of Conarch, where shurdiest stone wheels tell time, from
Speaker 1: Mexico's pyramid of the Sun anchoring a city's cosmic grid,
Speaker 1: to the high Indian altars of Tiwanaku, with the Sun's
Speaker 1: rays still greed gathered pilgrims, and finally to Kusku's core Kancer,
Speaker 1: where Inca emperors offered gold and blood so Inti's benevolence
Speaker 1: would sustain the world. Each solar temple is unique to
Speaker 1: its culture Egyptian, Hindu, Mesoamerican, and Dan, yet common threads
Speaker 1: shine through alignment with the heavens is one. These sites
Speaker 1: are deliberately orientated to solar events, solstices, equinoxes, xenith passages,
Speaker 1: so that architecture and astronomy unite in sacred theatre, Whether
Speaker 1: through the hieroglyphs of Karnark proclaiming pharonic divine order, the
Speaker 1: erotic carvings at Karnarch celebrating lifes of vitality, or the
Speaker 1: glyphs on Tiwanaku's Sungate encoding a cosmic calendar. The art
Speaker 1: of these temples communicate complex cosmologies, power, and ritual also converge.
Speaker 1: These temples were stages for state ceremonies and popular devotion.
Speaker 1: Alike Emperors, priests and pilgrims met the Sun's first light
Speaker 1: or bid it farewell in choreographed revenance, be it the
Speaker 1: Opet festival in Thebes, the new Fire renewal, and Tiotwakan
Speaker 1: to wil Kakuti at Tiwanaku or into Raimi and Kusku.
Speaker 1: Often these rituals were tied to agrarian cycles, underscoring the
Speaker 1: Sun's role as sustainer of crops and kingdoms. In examining
Speaker 1: these sanctuaries, we also encountered their legends and law. It
Speaker 1: is striking how many involve healing or creation. The Samba
Speaker 1: legend at Knark credits the Sun with curing leprosy. The
Speaker 1: Aztec myth positions Theotwakan as birthplace of the fifth Sun,
Speaker 1: and Dean tradition holds Lake Titti Kaka nearer Tiawanaku as
Speaker 1: where the Sun first emerged after darkness. Such myths underscore
Speaker 1: a universal motif the Sun as both physician and progenitor,
Speaker 1: whom humans must honour to maintain cosmic balance. Far from
Speaker 1: being brute some worshippers, they were philosopher architects, encoding sophisticated
Speaker 1: knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and theology into their construction. Modern
Speaker 1: science has confirmed many ancient intuitions, for instance that Karnak
Speaker 1: indeed lights up on solsice storm, or that Colossiah marks
Speaker 1: the solar year's division, vindicating the ingenuity of those long gone.
Speaker 1: Yet these temples are not mere relics to study. They
Speaker 1: remain living monuments, whether through continued or revived ceremonies, tourism
Speaker 1: that inspires spiritual oree, or their symbolic presence and national identity,
Speaker 1: each continues to cast a long shadow or beam of
Speaker 1: light into the presence. They also remind us of an
Speaker 1: older way of living with nature. People built in harmony
Speaker 1: with celestial cycles, not against them, making the earth itself
Speaker 1: a temple. In a world now often disconnected from natural rhythms,
Speaker 1: the solar temples invite us to pause and observe the sun,
Speaker 1: to celebrate solstices and equinoxes as common human heritage, as
Speaker 1: our ancestors did with wonder and gratitude. Finally, if there
Speaker 1: isn't a cult or esoteric angle uniting them, it might
Speaker 1: be this all these sanctuaries sought to mediate between the
Speaker 1: material and the divine, the below and the above, and
Speaker 1: harmatic parlance, the sun is the visible symbol of the
Speaker 1: invisible creative force. These temples channel that force through lay
Speaker 1: lines of meeting, if not literal energy, linking far flung
Speaker 1: sacred sites around the globe in a spiritual network. Perhaps
Speaker 1: it is no coincidence that many of them, karnak tyutawakan, tiwanaku, Kusku,
Speaker 1: have all been thought to lie on hypothetical global alignments
Speaker 1: or shared latitudes. Whether or not literal lay lines connect
Speaker 1: them symbolically, they are connected by humanity's perennial quests for illumination.
Speaker 1: Each culture filled the Sun with its own understanding, yet
Speaker 1: all soar in a higher truth. In honoring the Sun,
Speaker 1: they honoured the source of light and insight, aspiring to
Speaker 1: align human society with the cosmos. Standing in any one
Speaker 1: of these temples at dawn, as the first sunlight touches
Speaker 1: the ancient stone, one can almost hear across time the
Speaker 1: chants of priests and the gasps of the devotees, the
Speaker 1: miracle of the sun, that it returns reliably, that it
Speaker 1: warms and illuminates, and that it can be tracked and welcomed,
Speaker 1: binds us in a continuum with those before us. Their temples.
Speaker 1: Those some in ruins continue to speak of human devotion
Speaker 1: and genius, of the marriage of science and spirit, and
Speaker 1: of the hope that light will triumph over darkness each
Speaker 1: new day. And exploring these solar sanctuaries, we not only
Speaker 1: learned of their history, but perhaps also felt a spark
Speaker 1: of the very awe that moved their makers. They remain
Speaker 1: in the grand narrative of civilization, bright beacons of iron
Speaker 1: during desire to touch the heavens and bring the gifts
Speaker 1: of the Sun down to earth. Hope you all enjoyed,
Speaker 1: and until the next one.