Sacsayhuaman

 The first stop of our weekend trip to the town of Pisac was the Incan stronghold of Sacsayhuaman. The stronghold’s functions varied, the guide told us as we stepped out onto the large clearing that offered an undivided view of the entire structure. The uses were variable, either having served a religious purpose or an area for storing goods for later use. What it mostly resembled, however, was an incredibly elaborate fortress, complete with impressively large walls laid out in a terraced, zig-zag pattern.

    As we walked up the steps of the fortress, I noticed how geometrically-structured everything seemed to be. The massive doorway leading up to the next level was shaped like a trapezoid, wide at the bottom and narrowing as it neared the rock at the top. The boulders making up the gigantic walls were incredibly large, pointing to the nearly impossible prospect of humans once carrying each boulder to its respective spot. The pattern of the rocks was beautiful, as if the fortress planner had thought the pattern out so deliberately and meticulously that there was absolutely no margin of error for the placement of each rock. It was gorgeous. I found it difficult to comprehend how one could plan out the fitting of thousands of uniquely shaped rocks to fit into one another as if it were all a puzzle, creating a visually stunning display of multiple walls layered on top of each other. 

As we neared the top of the fortress, we began to see the backdrop of Cusco appear above the queuña trees that dotted the surrounding landscape. Added to the stunning display of the perfectly-fitted boulders was the deliberate intention by the Incas to place the fortress in such a way that overlooked the entire city. It was imposing, strategic, intimidating, and incredibly genius. The fortress was incredibly long, meaning there was no shortage of the sight of Cusco along the entire corridor at the top level. At first confusing, I became very appreciative at the value the Incas placed on the patterns and placements of their structures, something that I continued to see throughout the rest of the weekend trip in the sacred valley. The main questions that occurred to me was one of understanding how Incas were able to carry such large boulders from the quarry to the fortress, and how, with such primitive tools and capacities in today’s standards, were they able to construct such geometrically and decoratively beautiful patterns void of error or flaws. How was such an engineering feat accomplished? Additionally, with the speculations of the polyfunctionality of the citadel, what other reasons was the fortress used for, if not only for military strategy and the storage of goods?