Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Perou - Trujillo

Trujillo et une ville situee dans la vallee du Rio Moche sur la route panamericaine au nord de Lima. C´est une tres jolie ville, tres harmonieuse aussi, avec de nombreux edifices datant de l´epoque coloniale, comme la cathedrale, le monastere El Carmen, de nombreuses eglises et de magnifiques hotels particuliers. La ville est renommee pour ses fenetres de fer forge, ses balcons de bois sculptes souvent peints en vert et ses murs couleur d´ocre, une vraie beaute.
La ville est connue au Perou pour etre "la ville du printemps eternel" en raison du climat doux et ensoleille dont elle beneficie tout au long de l´annee.
Elle jouit d´autre part de la proximite d´importants sites archeologiques des cultures Moche et Chimu avec notamment Chan Chan et les Huacas du Soleil et de la Lune.
Comme le lieu est relativement agreable, nous y avons sejourne quelques jours, histoire de se remettre un peu de notre trek.
Nous en profitons aussi pour visiter les sites archeologiques de la region qui sont des vestiges de civilisations anterieures aux Incas, tres interessants et incoyablement bien conserves.
Avec la culture Mochica (du Ier au VIIe siecle) est nee l´organisation de l´Etat au Perou. Les pyramides d´adobe (brique de terre crue, sechee au soleil et utilisee comme materiau de construction) situees dans les vallees de la Libertad temoignent du pouvoir et de la richesse des anciens seigneurs mochica. Ce peuple dominait magistralement l´orfevrerie et la poterie, a tavers lesquelles ils ont decrit divers aspects de leur vie.
La Huaca du Soleil servit de centre politique et administratif tandis que la Huaca de la Lune servit de centre ceremonial. Entre les deux se trouve la zone urbaine, composee d´habitations, de grandes avenues, de ruelles, de galeries et de places. Tous ces elements confirment la grande organisation politique, religieuse, economique et sociale des Moches.
La visite de ce site ne comprend pour le moment que la visite de la Huaca de la Lune. Il y a toujours a l´heure actuelle des fouilles.
La huaca de la Luna tenait donc lieu de centre de culte pour l'ensemble du royaume Moche. On trouve de nombreuses et superbes fresques mythologiques très colorées sur les murs aussi bien intérieurs qu'extérieurs, avec des motifs représentant Ai-Apaec et d'autres créatures mythologiques. La huaca était le site de nombreuses offrandes aux dieux, de sacrifices d'animaux et même de sacifices humains en témoignent les ossements humains retrouvés sur dernier étage de la pyramide.

La meme zone, aux alentours du XIIe siecle de notre ere, a ete le berceau de la culture Chimu. Les seigneurs Chimu successifs ont construit la ville de Chan Chan, a partir de laquelle ils ont oganise leur expansion vers la cote. Cette culture conquise par les Incas au XVe siecle, se caracterise par ses techniques avancees de l´irrigation et une excellente orfevrerie.
Le centre urbain de Chan Chan represente la plus grande ville de terre glaise de l´Amerique prehispanique. Elle aurait ete la capitale du royaume Chimu, englobant a l´origine plus de 20 km2. Les archeologues estimet qu´elle abrita plus de 100 000 personnes. Dans sa structure se distinguent des places, des habitations, des magasins, des ateliers, des rues, des murailles 4t es temples pyramidaux. Ses enormes murs sont profusement decores par des reliefs de figures, certaines sont des représentations réalistes d'oiseaux, poissons, et petits mammifères. D'autres sont des représentations plus stylisées des mêmes sujets.

Nous sommes de meme alles nous promener a Huanchaco. C´est une petite station balnéaire touristique non loin de Trujillo. C'est un haut lieu du surf, et on peut également y admirer les "Caballitos de Totora", frêles embarcations faites de jonc utilisées par les pécheurs locaux.
La gastronomie Trujillana est fameuse au Pérou, nous avons goute notamment le fameux Cebiche (poisson et fruits de mer marines dans du jus de citron vert), ainsi que le Cabrito (plat a base de chevreau).
Perou - Trujillo
Perou - Huacas del sol y luna

Perou - Huanchaco

Trujillo, in northwestern Peru, is the capital of the La Libertad Region, and the third largest city in Peru. The city is located at the banks of the Moche River, near its mouth on the Pacific Ocean, in a valley of great cultural hegemony.Trujillo aspires to be designated a World Heritage Site, because of the proximity of both cultures and its historical colonial city centre whose old houses attract many visitors. The old mansions and manors of Trujillo are distinguished for their solemn and austere facades. Inside, their impressive halls are overflowing with ornaments.
Trujillo's window railings are a truly unique feature of the mansions.
The city is absolutely beautiful and very pleasant.Trujillo is known in Peru as "the eternal spring city" because of the good weather all the year round.
Tourism is also a major industry in Trujillo due to the city's proximity to important sites where the Moche and Chimu civilizations evolved, with important archaeological sites like Chan Chan, Huaca del Sol, Huaca de la Luna.
As the place was very pleasant and relaxing, we decided to spend few days there, which was needed after the trek we did.

We took the opportunity to visit these archaeological sites wich are all pre-incas sites, very interesting and well-preserved.
The Huaca del Sol is an adobe brick temple built by the Moche civilization on the coast. The temple is one of several ruins found near the peak of Cerro Blanco, in the coastal desert near Trujillo. The other major ruin at the site is the nearby Huaca de la Luna, a better-preserved but smaller temple. Located at the center of the Moche capital city, archaeological evidence suggests that this temple was used for ritual activity and as a royal residence and burial chambers.
The Huaca de la Luna, though it is the smaller of the two huacas at the site, yields the most archaeological information. The Huaca del Sol was partially destroyed and looted by Spanish conquistadors in the 17th century, while the Huaca de la Luna was left relatively untouched. It is believed today that the Huaca del Sol may have been more administrative, military, residential and burial mound for the Moche elite, while the Huaca de la Luna served a largely ceremonial and religious function, though it contains burials as well.
The huaca was decorated in registers of murals which were painted in black, bright red, sky blue, white, and yellow.

Nearby ruins include the Chimu mud city of Chan Chan,which is the world's largest city built out of adobe Chan-chan, also known as "Ciudad de la Luna" (City of the Moon) or "de las Largas Murallas" (of the Long Walls).
Chan Chan was constructed by the Chimor (the kingdom of the Chimú), a late intermediate period civilization which grew out of the remnants of the Moche civilization. The vast adobe city of Chan Chan was built by the Chimu around AD 850 and lasted until its conquest by the Inca Empire in AD 1470. It was the imperial capital of the Chimor until it was conquered in the 15th century. It is estimated that around 30,000 people lived in the city of Chan Chan.The city is composed of ten walled citadels which housed ceremonial rooms, burial chambers, temples, reservoirs and some residences. Chan Chan is a triangular city surrounded by walls 50-60 feet high.The walls themselves were constructed of adobe brick and were then covered with a smooth surface into which intricate designs were carved. There are two styles of design present in these carvings: one is a ‘realistic’ representation of subjects such as birds, fish, and small mammals; and the other is a more graphic, stylized representation of the same subjects.
We also went to the world-famous beach Huanchaco, a surfing destination, located just north of Trujillo. We can also see "Caballitos de totora" which are reed watercraft used by Peruvian fisherman, originally the Moche people. Fishermen still use these vessels to this day, riding the waves back into shore, and suggesting some of the first forms of wave riding.

The food is also very famous and tasty there with for instance the Ceviche which is a form of citrus-marinated seafood dish (excellent).

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