museums - i should log off

Mexico’s National Anthropology Museum

June 15, 2012 By Jillian

Mexico’s National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City (Museo Nacional de Antropologia) is a good place to spend a few hours, even if you aren’t a history buff. Between the interesting architecture of the actual building, the fantastic sculptures on the outside, and the impressive exhibits inside, I have to rate this as an A+ museum. The most famous exhibit inside is without a doubt the Piedra del Sol, or the Aztec stone calendar unearthed in the Zocalo while doing repairs on the Cathedral. It was fascinatingly large, much larger than I expected.

Some years ago, the facades of Aztec temples were rebuilt or transferred to the museums gardens. We wandered into the garden only to find ourselves in a bit of a jungle-like Aztec temple dream land. Several facades and even full buildings hidden along a gravel path gave us somewhat of an “authentic” jungle explorer feeling.

IF YOU GO: Mexico’s National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City hosts a number of cultural events and activities, which are worthwhile if you can time your visit properly. We caught the ritual ceremony of the Voladores, where men climb to the top of a pole and hang off the top as the pole spins, gently unwinding them down to the ground. Note that the museum is closed on Mondays, and check the hours before you plan your trip. Read more about our travels in Mexico City.

Photo: Crazy Face

November 8, 2011 By Jillian

Before the conquest of the Incan civilization, other groups and tribes dotted the Andes mountain range. Much of their culture was recorded in the pottery which they used day to day. From water jugs to symbolic fertility statues, the National Museum in Lima holds an incredible collection and variety of ceramic pottery from around the Andes.

Although there are tons of ceramic objects on display, the geometric shapes on this pot and the expressiveness of the face in clay, make this one of the most memorable.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: Lima has just a few museums worthwhile, this being one of them. Don’t miss the Incan Gold Museum or some of the art galleries just off the main plaza. Being the center of the Spanish world in South America, Lima has an interesting smattering of European and native architecture, art and religion.

Photo: Masks in Mexico

August 22, 2011 By Jillian

If I told you Zacatecas has a museum of masks, would you go?

It was enough to get us to go to Zacatecas. The 3,000 indigenous masks on display at Museo Rafael Coronel in Zacatecas are from all over Mexico and represent significant cultural history. The collection is colorful and outstanding, but most interesting perhaps is the incredible variety of rituals masks. Ranging from the bizarre to the cheerful, this museum really started our own mask collection. From that point on, we purchased any and all indigenous masks we found interesting as we crossed the globe. Today we have a strange collection of three dozen masks representing dozens of countries, ethnic groups and civilizations.

Our collection is housed in our little home, but the incredible display in Zacatecas is housed in the restored section of a 16th century convent, convento de San Francisco. For the $2 entrance fee not only do you get to see the masks, but you also get to walk around the grounds, which are absolutely delightful. Bring a picnic basket, the museum had the softest, greenest grass I’ve ever seen outside of a golf course!

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: Zacatecas is a bit off the tourist path, but it’s well worth it. We had a wonderful time (except for the gas delivery man), and the town has a great mix of culture, history and modern conveniences. The cathedral is architecturally interesting and there are museums, a silver mine and hiking to keep you busy. Local nightlife is good, but you shouldn’t forget that it’s at 2500m so the altitude may affect your energy level. It’s worth the flight or long bus ride from the capital, if only to spend some time relaxing and soaking in modern Mexican culture. The museum entrance fee was $2 when we went and there are local gift shops in the area that will sell replicas.

Photo: Golden Tumi

August 8, 2011 By Jillian

There’s a reason the Spanish conquistadors wanted to control South America – the gold. The conquistadors were hoping for a big pay out when they arrived in South America. Although the Spanish did pretty well clearing South America of silver, they never found “el dorado” or the mythical lost city of gold.

Traditionally, the native tribes of South America used gold for religious purposes. It often adorned ritual objects, like this sacrificial knife, or tumi. Made of gold, bronze or silver, tumi’s were used to yes, cut the beating hearts out of animals during the annual sun worship. Today hanging a tumi in your home is a medallion of good luck in Peru.

The Spanish conquistadors may never have found el dorado, but Colombia and Peru host lavish collections of Incan and pre-Incan gold in their museums. The metalwork is intricate and fascinating considering the tools (or lack there of) available at the time. We highly recommend checking out the Museo d’oro in Bogota if you get a chance, the items and descriptions are well worth an afternoon.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: There’s something very tantalizing about gold. Even today it mesmerizes us in the same way it mesmerized the conquistadors. It’s worth it to check out the gold museums in both Lima and Bogota to get a sense of what the explorers saw. You’ll have a much better understanding of what wet their appetite so to speak. Traveling exhibits can be found in the US and Europe, so don’t miss the opportunity close to home. If the conquistadors are more your thing, catch cheap flights to alicante from london and start from the beginning of a conquistadors journey along the Iberian coast.

Photo: Nubian Glass Vase

June 13, 2011 By Jillian

Sometimes an object, alone in it’s display can be powerfully beautiful. This vase sat alone on a pedestal in the Nubian museum in Aswan, Egypt. A museum dedicated to a civilization that predated ancient Egypt and eventually was conquered by them, then later conquered the Egyptians, it’s a history of people that have survived.

This glass vase, although not ancient in it’s heritage is part of a small collection of items in the museum from the Islamic period. It’s a semi translucent piece of art, covered in gold foil and delicately painted colors that later reminded us of the Ottoman empire in Turkey. Among the enormous sculptures and monuments in the museum from ancient Nubia, this seemed somewhat out of place. It’s location in the museum, just before the displays on Aswan dam, which flooded hundreds of acres of lower Nubia (southern Egypt), forcibly relocated a significant Egyptian Nubian population and flooded several ancient Egyptian sites, made it somewhat of a sad relic of the Nubian people.

To see more of our favorite photos from around the world check out our travel photo page. Let us know your favorites and we’ll include them in our photo of the day series.

IF YOU GO: The Nubian Museum/International Museum of Nubia holds treasures and artifacts collected by international archeologists in both northern Sudan and southern Egypt. Even today the area outside of Aswan is not heavily populated and pictures from archeological expeditions show a landscape similar to that of today. The museum, an easy walk from downtown Aswan (no matter what the taxi driver’s say!) sits atop a hill overlooking the city and Nile valley. It’s popular with tour groups and Holidays to Egypt type groups, but they move through rather quickly. There’s a beautiful garden with indigenous plants and benches if you want to stop for a picnic. As with all sites in Egypt, be prepared to go through metal detectors and have your bag searched before entry. The signage is excellent and in fairly good English. There’s an on-site cafe, but you’ll do better enjoying a snack at a shop along your walk.

Mexico’s National Anthropology Museum

Photo: Crazy Face

Photo: Masks in Mexico

Photo: Golden Tumi

Photo: Nubian Glass Vase

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