Izamal, Pueblo Magico

Izamal is one of Mexico’s Pueblos Magicos, a magic town. Everything in the 500-year-old city center is painted an egg-yolk yellow, a Mexican egg yolk that is. (I would consider the color more of a mustard, or golden yellow.) Izamal might be the oldest city in the Yucatan located right in the middle of the peninsula. The Spaniards captured the ancient Mayan center & their temples destroyed to build the immense church & convent we visited today. The courtyard is the world’s second largest, the first is outside St. Peter’s Basilica. The convent was founded by Fray Diego de Landa who burned all of the Mayan Indian scripts and then feeling remorseful he tried to rewrite all he could remember of the ways of the Mayans. I find it interesting that his statue is found right outside the church today.

Note John Paul where you would typically see Jesus.

Pope John Paul visited Izamal in 1993. It is a huge draw today to see the chair he sat in & the dress that the treasured Our Lady of Izamal, Queen and Patron Saint of Yucatan wore for his visit. 

The first Lady was dark-skinned, but she was burned after a spark destroyed the church.
This is her twin created over 450 years ago.

Saint Francis

We took a tour with a very animated guide who explained how the Spaniards converted the Mayans to their religion over 500 years ago. The story involves the beautifully carved statue, nearly 5 feet tall, changing her weight so that Spaniards could not move her as the Mayan began to believe that she was their queen of fertility.

Today there are only 10 monks living in part of the church that is closed off to the public.

We were interested to see the many wood pegs used to hang hammocks all through the huge structure in times past. Sleeping in hammocks is common for people living in cities & small towns today all through the peninsula.

Walking through the cobblestone streets of Izamal you pass Mayan pyramids, some small & others taking an entire city block. The history is as thick as the air.

Motorcycles are the way to get around this small town with one-way streets.
We parked our rental car & walked our feet until they were tired and sore!