EL CONJUNTO DE LAS MONJAS
Complex where we find an ornamental style characteristic of the Puuc and Chenes styles in Chichen Itza
In the southern part of the site, also known as the 'Old Chichen', the complex of the Nuns is one of the most interesting parts of the site, whose first architectural interventions date back to its origins: there is an ornamental style characteristic of the Puuc and Chenes styles, while the main square of the site is in the Maya-Toltecan style. Several buildings, including a ball game, are to be discovered. The main construction is the Casa de las Monjas, so called by the Spaniards because of its large number of rooms reminiscent of the cells of a convent. It is assumed that it was intended for the exhortations and offerings of the Rain Gods, who were older deities that preceded the arrival of the mighty Kukulcán. The church, the Iglesia, is an ancient building from the 7th and 8th centuries, when the Puuc style flourished. It owes its name to its closeness to the nuns. Its symmetrical and geometric ornamentation is used as a backdrop for various representations of the rain god Chac, and other deities known as the "carriers of the sky"(bacabs) symbolized by the armadillo, snail, turtle and crab. The building known as theAnexo is representative of the Chenes style; the door of its eastern façade is surrounded by faces of the God of Rain, arranged in such a way that they look like fangs surrounding a mouth through which one would have to pass to discover the interior of the building.
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