Discovering La Mitla Ruins!

On Sunday, we went to Tule, the widest tree in the world.  At first, scientists thought Tule was formed by multiple trees, but after using tree ring dating, they realized that Tule was only one enormous tree!  The local indigenous people believed that the tree held spiritual powers, so they frequently prayed to Tule.  When the Spanish arrived, they built a church next to Tule to deter the indigenous community from praying to "pagan" gods.  

After Tule, we went to a local authentic taller de tapetes artesanales, where they made handmade rugs with natural materials.  

The owner showed us how they create the various dies out of fruit, flowers, stones and fungus.

The artists hand weave beautiful designs that take months to make just one single rug.  We bought colorful table cloths to cover our desks at Saucedo!  

Following the taller de tapetes, we went to the Mitla ruins.  Mitla was the last Zapoteca structure standing after the Spanish invasion.  It was constructed with rectangular stones that fit together to form walls.  Mitla was considered a holy place for the priests to live and worship.  

The priests were buried in tombs below the ruins, which we were able to explore.

Following Mitla, we went to an indigenous Zapoteca market where they sold everything, ranging form clothes and fruit to edible worms and grasshoppers!   

The final stop on our trip was a Mezcal factory where we watched the process of making their local drink from maguey plants.  The whole process is made without machinery or chemicals.  

Thank you Fund for Teachers for supporting us in learning about the Mexican culture!