 Antigua, Guatemala cover page. |
 Map of Guatemala with the star indicating Antigua. |
 View of the Arch of Santa Catalina, which spans Calle del Arco. |
 Built in the early 17th century, the arch was part of the Santa Catalina Monastery. |
 Clock tower of the Arch of Santa Catalina. |
 I was walking north on Calle del Arco when a man carrying a heavy load walked towards me. |
 I stopped in a souvenir shop on Calle del Arco and met this handsome feline who was napping on some Guatemalan fabrics. |
 Bartoleme de las Casas (1484-1566), a Spanish Dominican priest was partly responsible for the repeal of Indian slave labor laws. |
 Side view of the Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de La Merced, Antigua’s most striking colonial church. |
 In 1773, an earthquake struck, and the convent was destroyed. Repairs to the church were made from 1850 to 1855. |
 The baroque façade of La Merced dates from this 1850 to 1855 period. |
 View of the exquisite upper façade of La Merced, the most intricately decorated façade in all of Antigua. |
 Detail of a beautiful doorway of La Merced. |
 View of the interior of La Merced with a domed ceiling. |
 Close-up showing the altar. |
 Worshippers praying in front of a side altar inside of La Merced. |
 A beautiful Guatemalan carpet on display for the Lent season in front of the worshippers. |
 Nice fountain that is next to La Merced. |
 View of the fountain with La Merced in the background. |
 Verdant passageway inside Casa Santo Domingo convent. This colonial-era convent housed the order of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. |
 Some gardens inside the convent which is now a hotel. |
 Nice tile walkway with buildings in the background. |
 Passageway with interesting perspective. |
 Walkway leading to some ruined buildings of the Casa Santo Domingo convent. |
 A dilapidated wall which was formerly part of the convent. |
 A nice fountain among the Casa Santo Domingo convent ruins. |
 Vendors camped out in front of the ruins of the Church of el Carmen. |
 Remains of the ornate baroque façade of the Church of El Carmen which was completed in 1728. |
 This market is a bargainer's paradise. |
 Tourist going by El Carmen in a horse and buggy. |
 Ruins of the Church of el Carmen with a typical Guatemalan 3-wheeled taxi going by. |
 Side view of the Church of Capuchinas which is connected to the convent and was completed in 1736. |
 Façade of the Church of Capuchinas. |
 Interior of the Church of Capuchinas. |
 Interior courtyard and fountain in the Convent of Capuchinas, founded in 1736 by nuns from Madrid. |
 Close-up of fountain. The nuns who lived in this convent were prohibited from having any visual contact with the outside world. |
 A wide angle photo of City Hall. Construction began on it in 1740 by Diego de Porres, master architect of Antigua. |
 Today, it is the seat of the municipality of the city. Also, several museums are housed here. |
 People enjoying the beautiful Parque Central in Antigua. |
 People in front of a bird bath in Parque Central. |
 Close-up of the bird bath with the fountain in the background. |
 View of the fountain that is in the middle of Parque Central. |
 A closer view of the fountain. |
 In this photo, you can see the fountain's risque mermaids! |
 View from the south side of Antigua's Parque Central of the Palace of the Captains-General. |
 The Palace of the Captains-General was, for more than two centuries, the seat of Spanish colonial government. |
 While the two-tiered arched façade has been restored, the present palace is but a small remnant of the former complex. |
 Details of the upper façade of the Palace of the Captains-General. |
 I took a walk through the interior arched passageway of the Palace of the Captains-General. |
 This is another passageway that goes along the merchant stores on the west side of Parque Central. |
 A quaint horse and buggy scene in front of the Palace of the Captains-General. |
 Horse and buggy rides are popular with Antigua's tourists. |
 View in the background of the Cathedral of Santiago located on the east side of Antigua's Parque Central. |
 It was started in 1542, damaged by several earthquakes and badly ruined in 1773. The current cathedral was rebuilt by 1820. |
 Façade of the Cathedral of Santiago. While impressive, it lacks the former grandeur of the original cathedral. |
 Details of the upper façade of the cathedral. |
 Close-up of religious carvings on the upper façade. |
 I took this photo of the Cathedral of Santiago at night. |
 A wedding took place place at the cathedral. The bride was standing with the groom behind her. |
 The bride with some of the younger members of the wedding party. |
 People leaving the cathedral after the wedding was over. |
 Interior view of the altar of the Cathedral of Santiago. |
 Side entrance to the Cathedral of Santiago. |
 The cathedral was largely ruined the earthquake of 1773. Except for the front, much of the cathedral is still ruined. |
 These open areas were once beautiful domes. |
 Much of the cathedral is skeletal, without a roof and pillars. |
 Despite the ruined condition, there are still details showing the beautiful colonial architecture. |
 More intricate carvings at the top of the cathedral's columns. |
 This man was reading the paper in front of the Cathedral of Santiago. |
 A street vendor was selling fruit nearby. |
 It looked like there was a buggy race in front of the cathedral. |
 Architectual details above the Colonial Museum which is across from the Cathedral of Santiago on 5a Ca Oriente (street). |
 The Colonial Museum was formerly the University of San Carlos which was founded in 1675. |
 Horse and buggy passing on 5a Ca Oriente in front of the Colonial Museum. |
 The wooden doors of the entrance to the Colonial Museum. |
 As I was turning the corner onto 2a Avenida Sur, this firetruck went speeding by. |
 The Church of Hermano Pedro and the adjacent Hospital of San Pedro. |
 Both are named after the 17th century Spanish-born Franciscan monk Hermano Pedro de San José Betancourt. |
 I also took a photo of the Church of Hermano Pedro and the adjacent Hospital of San Pedro at dusk. |
 I took this photo of the Church of Hermano Pedro at night. |
 View of Union Park which is next to the Church of Hermano Pedro and the adjacent Hospital of San Pedro. |
 A monument in the park "symbolizing the encounter of the two sides of the sea" (Spain and Guatemala). |
 At the other end of the park are the ruins of the Santa Clara church and convent and this pool with arches. |
 I was intrigued by the reflection of the arches in the water. |
 The water was like a mirror image. |
 Through this arch was a horse and buggy and driver. |
 Close-up of the horse and buggy and driver and the driver's reflection. |
 View of the arches where the horse and buggy and driver were. Note the Volcán de Agua (mountain) in the background. |
 Photo of the rear of the pool and arches at dusk. |
 The front of the pool and arches at night. |
 Wall and doorway of the ruins of Santa Clara church and convent. Six nuns founded the convent in 1699. |
 It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1717. The present building was built in 1734 and destroyed in another earthquake in 1773. |
 Some Guatemalan people and this horse were in front of Santa Clara. |
 This horse and buggy were also in front of Santa Clara. |
 Further down Santa Clara on 1 a Av Sur was this building with an ornate entrance. |
 This is the corner wall of San Francisco Church, the most important religious center in Guatemala. |
 This view of the corner wall was taken with a wide-angle lens. |
 Arched entrance of San Francisco Church. |
 The original structure is from 1579. The church remains, but the adjacent convent was destroyed in the earthquake of 1773. |
 Pilgrims come to San Francisco to ask favors to Beatro Pedro de Betancourt (Spanish-born Franciscan monk who was made a saint). |
 Ornate interior and arched ceiling of San Francisco Church. |
 View of the upper façade of the church. |
 The bell tower of San Francisco Church. |
 The top of the church adorned with statues of saints and a cross. |
 The cloister of the Hispanic-moorish style University of San Carlos (today, the Museum of Colonial Art) built in 1676. |
 More streets scenes with a church in the background. |
 This 3-wheeled taxi was coming my way. They are usually red and are a common sight in Guatemala. |
 I took a tour of Antigua, and was taken to the El Meson De Candelaria Hotel with a courtyard. |
 The hotel is located on Calle De Los Duelo. |
 El Meson De Candelaria had some typical Guatemalan sculptures such as this one. |
 Another Guatemalan sculpture in the hotel. |
 This is the back of the hotel with buganvilias growing on this tile-roofed building. |
 Nice Guatemala artifact on the hotel wall depicting angels. |
 Another ruined building near the Jade Museum. |
 The guide took me to the Jade Factory and Museum, the largest jade operation in Central and South America. |
 Replica of a Mayan burial mask (dated 527 AD) discovered in a tomb in Tikal. |
 An impressive doorway in Antigua. |
 A quiet street in Antigua. |
 A typical white colonial house in Antigua. |
 Another typical Antigua house. |
 A great doorway on Calle de la Concepcion with a dramatic sky. |
 The man in the purple robe was part of the religious procession that took place that day. |
 Close-up of the door. |
 This fabulous door knocker was on the door. |
 Beautiful tiled sign for Calle de la Concepcion. |
 This wonderful ironwork covering this interesting window was also on Calle de la Concepcion. |
 Street view of 4a Ca Poniente as I was walking west towards the Artisans' Market. |
 Ruins of the Compañía de Jesús built by the Jesuits in 1626. It was damaged in earthquakes. |
 Street scene as I walked further west on 4a Ca Poniente. |
 A blind and obese beggar that I saw while walking. |
 Side view of St. Augustin monastery and church built by the Augustinians in the early 1600's. |
 Construction took almost 50 years. The façade is rich with images of saints. |
 Another ruin that I passed by in Antigua that had a purple flowering tree in the foreground. |
 Front entrance of the convent of Santa Clara founded by nuns from Pueblo, Mexico in 1699. |
 View of the fountain of Santa Clara through the entrance. |
 The beautiful geometric fountain in the center of the courtyard has a flower-like shape. |
 Santa Clara was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1717. After the earthquake of 1773, it was abandoned. |
 When it was functioning, Santa Clara had two levels housing 50 nuns. |
 The outer south wall of Santa Clara shows how damaged it is. |
 An even bigger ruin is the Iglesia y Convento de la Recolección (the church and monastery of la Recolección). |
 The monks had a hard time getting permission to build this monastery. |
 After getting permission, it was started in 1701 and inaugurated in 1715. |
 Two years later, it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1717. |
 Later, it was restored, but in 1976, the famous arch that was still standing fell. |
 La Recolección is the place to see large-scale ruins with huge chunks of walls and ceilings lying all over the place. |
 It looks like the earthquake just happened yesterday, instead of in 1717! |
 This wall with the tower goes along the north part of the front of the property where La Recolección is located. |
 Antigua's brightly painted buses are called "chicken buses" because there is a good chance you may ride with one! |
 Outside of La Posada de Ron Rodrigo Hotel where I stayed on Calle del Arco, this Guatemalan band performed. |
 This Guatemalan boy played the maracas. |