Chichen Itza: Mexico's Mayan Wonder

[@darnellharris6780]

One of the most beautiful places I’ve got to visit. Worth the trip it’s self

[@samtaylor8067]

If you clap at the base of the pyramid, the sound of the Quetzal can be heard ! It was a very surreal experience !

[@Locutus]

I've been there and done that. Amazing experience.

[@tristanhallmark2724]

Not that you can do it anymore, but walking up the steps you can hear rainfall. Each sound put into the pyramid is echoed differently. Drums, claps, footsteps, chanting. All make unique sounds

[@Carepedoit]

I did that! It’s cool!

[@nuucha]

Exactly. I experienced this myself while visiting there and the feeling is somewhat spooky

[@Locutus]

@@nuucha Spooky? You really found it spooky? You must be petrified of graveyards then.

[@tyardovdabulldht2340]

I had the pleasure of visiting this WONDER 4/20/22(My Bday) and felt Blessed to have had the experience. The Cenotes are magical.

[@sergioadriangonzalezcerver9960]

As a Mexican it’s outstanding to know someone who is so into your culture. Even though Chichén Itzá is quite remarkable Teotihuacán is also another marvel. Hopefully you’ll receive my comment.

[@majestichotwings6974]

Honestly, all of the cultures of the Americas could use a bit more attention, if only the Spanish conquistadors weren’t such genocidal maniacs, they deliberately tried to exterminate the native cultures, destroying countless manuscripts and priceless books containing god knows how much information on these cultures, then they tried to write over the native history with Catholicism. Same goes for the US government with the native Americans, who knows how many priceless relics and stories were lost from these cultures when they were almost wiped off the map, forcefully removed from their homeland and treated as second class citizens at the best of times and treated with outright distain in the worst.

[@chickenmonger123]

We learned about a lot of the known history in of the peoples native to this land and the States. Including those of the Lower North American continent like Mexico, and the Upper North American continent First Nations. And down into South America too. And they didn’t sugar coat the rape and slaughter as much as they used too. So here’s hoping for a little less stupid bigotry in the future.

[@majestichotwings6974]

@@chickenmonger123 we can hope, I still weep for the history and knowledge of these cultures we will never learn about because of their near-complete destruction

[@9sunstar9]

I want to visit teotihuacàn so badly 😩

[@minervacuervo4662]

You should come. It’s a short trip from Mexico City. The site is massive though, you’ll need lots of sunblock and comfortable shoes, but it’s worth it

[@briangarrow448]

Fun fact-there a still many villages that have Mayan descendants in Mexico that are NOT controlled by the Mexican Federal government. These villages have been controlled by the indigenous people since before the Spanish conquistadors rode through.

[@Locutus]

Are they equivalent to the non contacted tribes, or the US Indian Reservations?

[@Ivan-Manzo]

@@Locutus Neither of those, they have contact with the western world all the time, and they don't have land in the form of reservations. The mexican constitution has a law called "usos y costumbres" that permits individuals groups of people like indigenous communities to self govern, it's kind of a gray area where the federal and state governement allows them to do as they please as long as they don't explicitly violate the most common and important laws, the government won't intervene in for example how they decide to organice their local administration within their municipality, taxation, land rigths, etc. But would investigate murders, kidnapings, drug trafiking and so one and so forth. Basically as long as it isn't criminal activity and it doesn't bother the adyacent communities, towns/cities or infrastructure, they can rule their communities as they see fit. That doesn't mean they're independent however, the federal governemnt can suspend the use of the usos y costumbres law to any particular community if they become increasingly problematic.

[@timwilliams7957]

In the 1800's the Yucatan applied to become a state in the United States. Their geography and isolation from the rest of Mexico has always made them somewhat separate from the rest of Mexico. The US congress perhaps mistakenly turned down their request.

[@wpjohn91]

When i visited our native guide told us maya men do not grow beards unless they have western blood mixed in

[@cheyopimienta]

Well, not exactly. The last maya, real independent state ceased to exist in 1697 with the pillage of Tayasal, in Guatemala. From there, the Spanish ruled all of the maya area and there were several rebellions, but none of those achieved independence from Spain until Chan Santa Cruz rebelled and was recognized by the UK government as a sovereign nation. The last reduct of this independent nation ended in 1901 when Mexican president Porfirio Diaz took the land and turned it into part of Mexico. You can find small, rebel communities of Zapatista Maya in Chiapas today, but those rebelled in the 1990's.

[@ShrimplyPibblesJr]

Went here when I was 17 and it remains the most amazing place I've ever been.

[@susanfisher4944]

#Al R. It has been 35 years since I was there, and I still am in awe of it. Amazing place.

[@EnglishAdventures]

I went there today and it is absolutely incredible! The only strange part was looking into the cenote (it was covered in algae) and thinking about how many people were thrown in. Amazing place to visit thought and there’s a lot to see there!

[@julianb1550]

I visited Chichen Itza when I was 12 and at that time we were allowed to climb to the top of the pyramid. The steps are incredibly steep and going down was more difficult than going up. I also jumped into one of the deep cenotes from the highest point. I’m 30 now and am trying to appreciate that trip from a different perspective.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Chichen Itza, Mexico's most famous site famous for a reason! El Castillo is quite the amazing structure. And once you dive into Mayan history, you're intrigued to keep learning about them and their mysterious civilization

[@banktella1537]

Should be renamed to Chicken pizza, to help promote American tourism.

[@jon2914]

Wife and I visited it and got a tour early last year (a week before US started shutting down air travel). It was a truly amazing place, and I'm really happy we got to visit it. I had recently read some books about the Brothers/Twins, Xiabalba, etc, and it was super cool to get a visual/physical representation of those stories.

[@theodoresmith5272]

Well you might want to start addressing it properly. It is the MAYA culture with something like 26 different tribes and many kingdoms. The people spoke the MAYAN languages. They are not the Mayan people. They are Maya.

[@CSMartin]

I've been there. A creepy fact about why it is roped off is because tourists used to be allowed to climb the stairs, but it became a common occurrence for people to pass out and fall to their deaths. I experienced the heat in June, and the only reprieve is when you get back on the air conditioned bus. You can't escape the heat. No wonder why people passed out while climbing it.

[@overrated44]

My wife and I climbed it back in 2004. Can’t confirm that is dangerous. Steps are very narrow and had to come down on our butts

[@janmac7587]

My mother climbed it when she went in the late 80s. At the time she was told that they thought to climb they used the steps like switchbacks.

[@PitboyHarmony1]

You can still climb the temple at Coba. The thing is ... is that the Coba site is actually larger, with more excavated buildings in the first than Chichen Itza, but it takes a bit longer to get there (as far south as Telum, then turn right and head inland for an hour) than the easy bus ride to Chichen. The nice part is that crowds are smaller, its mostly under the forest canopy so its cooler as well. Done both, Coba is far, far better.

[@rickden8362]

I was there in the early 90's and no one mentioned any warnings about people passing out climbing the big pyramid. In fact, ran up the pyramid, twice...that was in my marathon days. It was a lot harder than I had imagined, the stairs are very narrow and very tall, you have to watch EVERY step.

[@dredeth]

US tourists...

[@santiagomagana3148]

I went there in December of 2018. One of the best trips ever and one I will never forget. It's more amazing in person.

[@Dlt814]

We were just here last week! It’s incredible as is but what I wouldn’t give to go inside these structures!

[@joewilliamson4890]

Now let’s see Simon link this to the Cold War

[@megaprojects9649]

I WILL FIND A WAY. THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY.

[@edmundthespiffing2920]

@@megaprojects9649 with cocaïne everything is possible!

[@jameskramer3836]

That's for business blaze

[@maudglazbrooke1287]

@@edmundthespiffing2920 cocaine probably is the way, link Chichen Itza to cocaine, cocaine to the CIA, CIA = cold war, Done!

[@Banidil]

@@edmundthespiffing2920 because it's always respectful to make stupid jokes like this

[@InAverySilentWay]

Simon, the only bummer about this video is that you failed to mention their observatory, El Caracol. It's absolutely one of the most unique structures at the site and most distinct. Otherwise, good job.

[@juliejules1822]

Chichén Itzá is fascinating. I was in Tulum in January 2017 for my 30th birthday and we took a day trip to Yucatán, first a guided tour of Chichén Itzá and then we went swimming in a Cenote. Awesome place, awesome day.

[@angiepangie2724]

Another suggestion for Spanish-speaking Americas: the Nazca lines in Peru.

[@terryarmbruster7986]

It's already been done

[@nyax129]

Not by simon

[@gabobeltran9132]

Nothing compares to chichen itza nothing the architecture and astronomy aknowledge is by far the most magnificent and stunning archeological site on this planet

[@majestichotwings6974]

@@gabobeltran9132 I’m not sure about that, can we really say that we already know everything about the cultures and civilizations that came before us? I believe there’s still entire civilizations of people yet undiscovered and countless mysteries in the cultures we do know about to be revealed. Certainly the Mayans were exceptionally good at things like astronomy and architecture, but even among the other people of central and South America there are some absolutely stunning works of architecture that I’d argue rival the best of the Mayan. There’s still so much we’ve yet to learn about so many cultures all across the world, a day may yet come where we discover a long forgotten site full of priceless artifacts that completely shatter all we thought we knew of our past

[@GroupieImp64]

I visited here in 2000! Fascinating to hear about this now, thank you!

[@NoviTheSovi]

I went to this place few years ago. The Mayan guide we had contradicts what Simon was saying about the sport. It wasn’t like a racquet ball but rather a game where teams kicked rubber ball with their hips. He said that the Captian of winners are the one that got sacrificed not losers. It was an honour to win and die. I don’t know who to believe. I really thought that the guide may know a bit better 🤷‍♂️

[@ronjon7942]

I recall that as well, but I remembered it backwards. But now that u mentioned, I’m pretty sure you’re correct...unless the guides are in cahoots at passin us tourists a fast one. Or, same guide? Guess it could happen :)

[@lucywisinski8732]

The captain winner was the one sacrifice. The guide was right!

[@kayleylenard9313]

My husband doesn’t ask “are you watching megaprojects?” Or “are you watching Business blaze?”... no no. He asks “are you watching Simon?”

[@tsartomato]

i don't say i'm gonna watch youtube i say i'm gonna watch simon

[@Cervando]

Amazing place. Fascinating to imagine it being built so long ago and so precisely. The Mayan calendar is still more accurate than the ones we use today. Well worth the day trip from Cancun.

[@ronjon7942]

We got free tickets to go. Well, not exactly free bc we had to suffer thru a 4hr sales pitch for timeshares along the coast. Worth it in the end

[@davekirk100]

Amazing place, I went there in 2002 when you were allowed to climb the pyramid. Really steep, with no health and safety concerns other than a rope to hold onto. There is a door in one of the snake heads carved at the base that leads to the inner pyramid and a damp dark slippery stairway leads to a small cavern with a carved jaguar (not a car). Sadly all closed off now for H&S and worries over erosion

[@311mdub]

Not sure why Simon is so so enjoyable to watch.. his voice, the friendly beard and nice button up shirts.. homey comfortable feeling of his home/studio. I get the feeling it’s raining where he is at, just got home from a long work week, it’s the weekend, it’s warm and quiet inside and it’s the type of feeling where you kick off your shoes and relax.. that type of comfort.. dude must be pretty well read, all the multiple topics he covers and in depth info on it.. wonder if it’s just him or he has writers and editors.. also, do a mega project or side project on the Kennecott Copper Mine in Bingham Canyon in Utah.. largest open pit copper mine on the planet.. they’ve basically turned the mountain inside out and it’s visible from space.. thing is unbelievable to visit.. can be seen from 50 miles away, across the SL valley.. mountain where the mine is has huge streaks of color due to the ore thats been dumped on the side of it for decades..

[@iwatchDVDsonXbox360]

Suggestions: Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Forbidden City

[@megaprojects9649]

Noted. Good suggestions.

[@GrockleTD]

@@megaprojects9649 honestly, just go down the list of wonders in Civ V, easy content

[@redram5150]

“Porcelain tower” is what my family call urinals that run all the way to the floor

[@tevvya]

I understand that there is an intriguing story on how the Mayan language was first deciphered. That would be a nice topic to explore.

[@BBulletin]

More videos about Mexico, please! When I was a kid, my family took a car trip through a lot of Mexico to see the ruins. Unfortunately, I was too young to really appreciate it. I don't believe Chichen Itza was a place we visited, but the ones we did were interesting, even if I didn't know what I was looking at.

[@chickenmonger123]

Huh. This location comes up in The Dresden Files. I was just on one of the places dedicated to talking about that series. And then I popped over here and you’d just uploaded. Nice.

[@N_0968]

Heh, the Red Court ritual to kill Dresden.

[@chickenmonger123]

@@N_0968 And others.

[@N_0968]

@@chickenmonger123 His whole bloodline. But thankfully they died themselves.

[@chickenmonger123]

@@N_0968 Indeed. And others died too.

[@Sm00k]

Who's here to save the child?

[@cyberi4a]

I was at 'Chicken Pizza' (as tour guides will tell tourist in hopes of getting bigger tips) decades ago, and those steps are hard to climb since they are so narrow. It was said they were narrow to keep invading forces to quickly run up them. You had to almost turn sideways to climb and descend them, and going down was no fun since you could tell how far you would fall if you slipped.

[@SilvioMedinaHick]

I'm from the Yucatan Peninsula (a place called Bacalar, in the state of Quintana Roo). And I've been a few times to Chichen-Itza, the snake coming down the piramid is NOT a coincidence, that's design and math. There are snake heads made of the same stones at the bottom of the pyramid, right where the effect occures. Good video, I like to see Mexico on anybodies videos 😅☝️

[@indigenouspodcast2257]

Thanks for talking about our history! Chichen Itza is truly a marvelous wonder

[@triplecap4307]

visited there three years back. The day AFTER the spring equinox. It was sunny and still pretty cool.

[@Reddenxx]

Do a video on the Mayan ruins in Tulum Mexico! They had really cool technology set up to guide ships safely to their city

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Danny built a marvelous pyramid shrine in honor of you

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@Amlaeuxrai I believe she is "resting" quietly in a health camp.

[@imouse3246]

True, and he's itching to escape the basement and put Simon in it!

[@anarchyantz1564]

@@imouse3246 The itching is simply because he is not used to his flour sack -prisoner- err I mean guest clothing.

[@a.8874]

My god! I can't believe I actually get to speak to the all mighty Supreme Leader directly 😱! I feel so humbled and honored. Please tell me "little rocket man", what is it you do these days now that you've completed your rocket collection? What comes next?

[@micahvicente1479]

The Mayans have carried on several traditions about the game played in those ball courts and it is still played (or at least a version of it) in many ruins and areas for educational purposes and/or ceremoniously. The best description we learned in school for it was a mix between soccer and basketball. The ball is tossed around using anything but your hands and you score by putting it through the rings placed on either side of the court. Traditionally it is believed that the winners of the game would have been put to death and was considered an honor to be able to do so.

[@tlee1827]

If you stand at the end of the ball court on a raised platform where what seems like where the scoreboard would have been' you can whisper and have a conversation with a person over a hundred yards away. The place is amazing!

[@bkoetter42]

I think it's safe to say that the snake shadow is definitely by design. Considering that the snake heads at the base of the stairs only exist on the north side of el castillo, which points towards the Cenote Sagrado. Kulkulcan being the "Feathered Serpent" the thinking is that the shadow represents his dissension from the temple to collect the offerings made to him in the cenote. Super fascinating legends. For reference as well Itza in mayan means water magician, so the full translation of the city is "At the mouth of the well of the water magicians".

[@nicosmind3]

*Megaprojects idea.* The Gateway Foundation's Voyager Station. The ISS max crew is 7 people. Voyager Station could have up to 400 people. Theyve actually made demonstration construction devices, and will be soon sending up one to space to build a "small" ring to test spin rate etc.

[@Daringamiga]

I just went on a tour there. I mentioned Indiana Jones and the tour guide was so excited to compare the movie with the way of life there. It was exciting and eerie.

[@rodkemsley7541]

When my wife and I visited Chichen Itza, we were told that for the ball court, the winners were sacrificed, not the losers. Hard to imagine but they fought for the honor of sacrifice. Thanks for the great video. Rod Kemsley

[@ignitionfrn2223]

2:00 - Chapter 1 - Early days 3:10 - Chapter 2 - The site 4:50 - Chapter 3 - The rise and fall 7:05 - Chapter 4 - The great north platform 10:05 - Chapter 5 - The osario group 10:50 - Chapter 6 - The chichen vijeo 11:15 - Chapter 7 - The cenotes 12:40 - Chapter 8 - Nothing lasts forever

[@ernestolombardo5811]

The colonial city of Valladolid nearby has several cenotes inside the urban grid and is a popular tourist destination for many visitors of the ruins and cenotes that find Cancún distasteful and/or expensive.

[@mynamepicklejeff2319]

Great video \\i,ve been to multiple old Maya cities and they are all so fascinating. Also would love to see you make a video on Tikal in Guatemala those temples are so impressive

[@markjames9205]

I went there five years ago or so, blew my mind! I highly recommend going there...

[@Locutus]

For the ball court, it has also been said that the *winners* of the game were sacrificed, not the losers, as it was an honour to be sacrificed to your god.

[@etonbachs4226]

*losers

[@Locutus]

@@etonbachs4226 Thanks very much! Corrected!

[@BBulletin]

Yeah, I've heard it both ways, too. Maybe everyone was sacrificed? It may be the first time I am happy to be un-athletic.

[@coltonbrown26]

The tour guide we had said that it had been theorized that the winner was not chosen by a single winnable set of rules, the priests (who were chosen at birth by the Chetmal, I believe is how it's spelled, Grand Priest) would instead interpret it based on "the movements and related to the stars". Also, at the grand ball court there were two teams the eagles and jaguars that were composed of the royalty and the common respectively... I have a feeling the eagles won most of the time...

[@cristinesplinis5815]

This looks a lot like the backdrop used in the movie The Road to El Dorado. A lot of the landmarks closely match. It’s cool. 😊

[@Batmanshypeman]

I really enjoyed this being Mexican I love seeing things about Latin America it’s really interesting to learn about cultures that may have interacted with my ancestors. They don’t really teach stuff like this in American schools it’s all so Anglo here.

[@KDH-br6hy]

I feel ya

[@franl155]

I'd heard of Chichen Itza, but I hadn't known what it meant. When Simon said "Chen = well" I thought of the cenotes that abound in that region and wondered if "chen" has a family tie to the first syllable of "cenote". Not sure if it was the Mayans or not, but I saw a documentary that found that each temple had been built over a previous one; they went down six or seven levels to find a very small temple with a single tomb in it, probably the city's founder. Never heard of one being built over a cenote, though. ps I read somewhere that the cenotes are a direct result of the Chicxulub meteor impact; the shock waves that went inland somehow formed the network of cenotes. Odd to think that the Mayas might not have existed, or at least not have existed there, but for that.

[@jameslmorehead]

There was vast quantities of Mica at Chichen Itza. That mica was nearly mined out back in the 50's and 60's for electronics. There is one small area left in tact with a heavy gate protecting it.

[@HunterX78]

I think this mica was only in Teotihuacan pyramids

[@Legitti]

I've visited there, very nice place.

[@ahmedbhayat12]

I like Simon's videos even before he starts!

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

So do I.

[@broccolirob5026]

Simon: The name Chichen Itza is now known around the world Me: 😬

[@MrG9002]

I've enjoyed Chichen Itza twice now, first time we were able to go to the top of the great pyramid but the second time we had much more time to explore the area and were able to take in the Observatory and more of the surrounding structures. If you find yourself in the area it's very interesting. One thing that changed is the ludicrous amount of vendors that are on the site now. Further West is another site named Uxmal, just south of Merida, with no vendors and a very large area to explore and be amazed at.

[@nickkester4486]

Great video guys! Small housekeeping note: I think that the background music was just a little too loud on this one. Threatened to overpower Simon at points.

[@theodoresmith5272]

The chichen itza we know today is what they call Aztec-maya design amd is post classic maya and a toltec, who conquered from the north, and were not maya. It was built over the old city. Later the toltecs left as quick as they came.

[@Perry2186]

"What part of sudden death don't you understand" Christopher Walken

[@peterwilliams6289]

Suggestion: Australia's Snowy Mountains Scheme of 1951-1973, enabling farming in millions of sq kms of dry inland areas, constructed with huge dams, relocated towns, multiple massive hydro stations and connecting tunnels. Possible future use for hydro stored power. Also the beginnings of Australia's ski slopes.

[@faridjafari6356]

Your video about this ancient civilization was interesting. I suggest you also make a video about the Persian empire which was the greatest empire in the ancient world and I am sure there is a lot you can say about it in your video which you may make about it.

[@Sword_of_Saint_14]

I literally live 1 hour away from Chichen Itza. LOL

[@paulfromoh]

I'd love to see a mega project video on Fernald uranium processing plant... During the cold war until the 80's it was disguise as a Purina dog food plant, then it was a super fund clean up and is now a nature preserve.

[@anarchyantz1564]

Please do one on the Noord/Zuid-Lijn in Amsterdam. Deep holes, mega issues, great architecture!

[@eclecticjon1019]

Ah yes, Chichen Itza. One of my favourite ABBA songs.

[@vustvaleo8068]

the Mayan's are the OG "it's just a prank bro" with their "the world ends in 2012"

[@PRDreams]

They never wrote that. Jesus Christ. The cycle ended on Dec 21, 2012. The priests were supposed to start the next cycle but the Spaniards came and I don't know about you, but if I'm to busy dying of a sickness or been hunted like a prey animal, I'm not going to be like "this is all good and what not, but I gotta finish the next cycle..." Mayan priest were killed almost at the beginning of the conquest for been pagan. The Spaniards weren't interested in saving the Maya religion. They went to impose Catholicism and they did just that. You idiots assumed and created conspiracy theories around it. And because of that some dick in CT went "sInCe cAleNdAR eNdS iN 12.21.2012 iT mUsT mEaNs tHe wOrLd iS gOiNg tO eNd tHaT dAY uNlEsS i dO sOMetHing bEfoRe tHEn." The rest is sad and unnecessary history. 20 kids + the incel killer plus any adult that got on his way dead on 12.14.2012. He was a homeschooled loner that spent his days on a computer researching about the 12.21.2012 conspiracy. He killed 21 "pure" including himself. He had enough ammo to kill many more, but he turned the gun on himself after the 20th child. THAT is no coincidence. The only reason it wasn't mentioned again is because he also had Asperger's and the media didn't want the attack associated with Autism for fear of stigma.

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

That was an misinterputation

[@timg3504]

I’ve been there. It’s amazing.

[@Forsaken6882]

The ball court was used to play that same game you have talked about in other videos where they use their bodies and limbs to get the ball through those hoops on the wall. As far as the sacrifices. That did happen but what wasn't always forced. A lot of times, the teams knew they would be killed if they lost and they looked at it as a form of honor so to speak. No always, but there were teams that played that took to the sacrifice willingly with their head held high.

[@AlbertCalis]

Simon, please do a Megaprojects video on the Bristol Brabazon aircraft.

[@Matakshaman]

Suggestion: The Turning Torso in Malmö, Sweden

[@koloblicin9721]

Went there in High school, its an amazing place.

[@rubi4714]

The Mayan civilization was fascinating from many points of view. You touch on it in the video, but the mathematics and astronomy that Mayans developed were more advanced than any of their contemporaries. An illustration of this: Mayans were the first to know that the leap year wasn't a perfect solution; that you needed to _not_ have a leap year every 100 years or so. Cool stuff!

[@warrenhair1740]

great video! i am going to visit soon, and looking forward to it

[@colinthomas5408]

Thanks again for the great content Simon and crew. You guys make the commute tolerable. 😃

[@allendean9807]

Had the opportunity to go to this place in the early 1990’s, but the bus ride was an hour and a half in a hot school bus, versus Cozumel and 5.00 buckets of corona... so, i went snorkeling and drinking like the 20 year old i was at the time.... i wish I’d have gone, tho....

[@aquilarossa5191]

I honestly read it as Chicken Itza and thought that sounds tasty. It's 5pm here in NZ and my tummy is nagging me for feeding time.

[@brewmule6799]

For a non Cold War Megaproject, how about the Gateway Arch in St. Louis?

[@DanParkerFilms]

Has Simon ever done a video on the AC 130 gunship? That could be an interesting video exploring it. Especially as many people only have the perception of what they are from games like CoD or movies, where they are portrayed as flying canons that are seemingly unstoppable.

[@ronjon7942]

I wish I had watched Mel Gibson’s Apocalyto before I visited Chitzen Itza. Looking at my pictures of it now just sends chills down my spine. It is always a surreal experience, tho, watching a doc about a place I’ve been to. It heightens the effect of the experience and brings back a lot of memories. Laf, I remember there was a chihuahua just chillin in the shade in the room at the topof the temple; no idea how he got there or for how long, but he was well fed and hydrated and in no hurry to get down.

[@Maadhawk]

There are 3 world wonders that I consider absolutely essential when I play Civilization IV. They are the Great Wall of China, The Pentagon, and the Chichen Itza. All of them combine to give me unparalleled military power. First keeps barbarians out and doubles my rate of Great General production. Second gives me vastly more experience points to my troops when trained, affording me significantly more perks for new units, and the Chichen Itza makes it vastly harder for my enemies to capture my own cities allowing me to station fewer forces and free up more troops for my own offenses.

[@MotoMatt]

The PAVEPAWS/SSPARS radar systems would make a really good Megaproject.

[@mustafaemad3614]

Please make a video about Bar Lev Line, costing around $300 million in 1973.

[@Starman.2112]

We just visited chichenitza yesterday. It costs about 50 us dollars each. Our guide was of Mayan decent. I asked him what they were doing to stop erosion and he basically said "they take all this money and dont do anything to take care of the site, just take the money". The ruins were amazing but the cheap tourist booths full of plastic garbage completely surrounded the place with annoying sales pithers asking 10x the price of the items while making annoying jaguar noises all over the place.

[@brentvenneman6710]

Have you looked at the grand canyon. It's a beautiful place to go.

[@mho...]

on first glance, one might misread the title as "Chicken Pizza, Mexicos Mayan Wonder" ....and a confused look follows 😁

[@SilvioMedinaHick]

Actually, that's the way some "gringos" reffere to the place when they visit the Yucatan Peninsula 😆 "Take me to Chicken-Pizza archeological site" 🤭

[@angelarch5352]

@@SilvioMedinaHick lol, i just posted that I see the same thing:)

[@heidibachand5702]

Hi Simon, can you do a video aboooot the Expo 67 that happend in Montreal Canada please? Huge MEGAPROJECT!

[@Lazy_Tim]

Love this one Simon!

[@anydaynow01]

You should do a mega project on the Soviet evacuation of their population and industry at the start of WWII, a truly immense mega project.

[@adrianlambert7130]

Hey, I have actually been here and xcharette as well. You used to be able to go inside the pyramids there, but no longer can. They stopped you being able to go in the main one 2 years after I was in there. Was such a great day though, for real!!

[@davidhannon8923]

suggestion for a future video: Development of attack submarines or balao-class submarines

[@regggyyy_8774]

Simon I think that you should change the color of that panel depending on what Chanel you are recording for. Blue for megaprojects Purple for side projects Green for geographics

[@jjww30]

This place is amazing. It’s crawling with junk vendors, but the site is unbelievable.

[@arisini]

Just like Washington D.C. or New York.

[@owensumner4128]

Suggestion : please do the dams of the Columbia river (the columbia river treaty ), of British Columbia and the states of Washington, and Montana. Very few of your episodes so far even come close to the scope of this mega project. A recent upgrade of the first dam in the system of ten dams had a price tag of 4 billion,

[@reggiep75]

Whistler, that facial foliage is getting wild.. I hear even Brian Blessed is getting envious, so look after yourself!

[@Locutus]

The facial hair in the video is different to the thumbnail.

[@danielbrowniel]

Now that I've seen everything on the internet, I'm stuck here watching Simon.

[@adrianlambert7130]

I've been swimming in that underground lake too!!! Haha this is awesome watching all thos as it was nearly two decades ago I went here. The game the Mayan used to play with a stone wall and horizontal hoops. They would hit a stone ball with their hips to get it through the stone horizontal hoops. We got to watch them play and man it looked like playing would be damn painful...

[@tommypetraglia4688]

I was there in 1984 before the first hotel was built on the beach in Cancun. El Castillo was complete but the rest of the site was still being uncovered. The same with Coba. Walked around Tulum, just me my wife and a local guide... Went back in 89, then again in 96, after Hurricane Gilbert pushed the sea 4 miles inland and nearly cut Isla Mujeres in half. By 99 the place was overbuilt, we backpacked down to Belize but the tourist trade was in full and haven't been back since.

[@adrianlambert7130]

@@tommypetraglia4688 I went in 2001 to Playa del Carmen. Cancun was a bit overbuild by then even. But going to are all the amazing Mayan and historical sites was definitely worth it I do wish I had been able to go as early as you did I get that was soon much better. Unfortunately I was like a couple of months old in '84! Hah

[@davea4245]

Back in the 90s when Mexico was still kind of safe ...ish , pre drug cartel days, my wife & I had a vacation in Mexico (Playa de Carmen). We went on a day trip to Chichen Itza. I was a cool place to visit.

[@gnansink]

Ive been there in 2011, its so impressive!

[@leehidell846]

Am I the only one who is aware of the unique acoustic characteristics of the ball court? Every video I watch talks about the game and the size of the court they never mention the acoustics. I visited in the early 2000's in the morning, before the buses show up. I had my own guide and when he showed me the ball court he had me stand in one of the "end zone" stands while he went to the one on the opposite end of the "field". We could converse at low level speaking voices despite being about 150 yards away. It was the world's first wireless communication device and an amazing experience for me. I'm wondering if tourists are no longer able to go into the end zone alcoves and that is why not one researcher ever mentions it.

[@codedude12]

it was the winners of the ball game who were executed, not the losers of the game

[@jokuvaan5175]

I also remember reading it from somewhere. The theory goes that getting into after life by ritualistic sacrifice was considered a great honor so people actually wanted it or something like that

[@coweatsman]

"Empires rise and fall with surprising regularity." Something every empire forgets or pretends doesn't apply to it. Each empire imagines itself to be the last empire and ever lasting exception to the rule. The American Empire is but the latest in decline.

[@Andrew-mp9hu]

This "Itza" great video! Alright, I'll see myself out.

[@slartybartfarst55]

I read this as "Chicken Pizza: Mexico's Mayan Wonder" on the KZbin Thumbnail. Damn Lockdown Fever.

[@C3misso]

As always great vid 🧐

[@lisataylor9152]

Plz do a vid on the harrier or the v bombers