Peru 2007 Photos Page 2 Ollantaytambo, Seminario Studio & Peruvian Dancers

Ollantaytambo (A bit of history about this region below)	pre-Inca ruin	Ollantaytambo - Living Inca city
Ollantaytambo - Storehouses in the Pinkuylluna hill	Ollantaytambo	Fremonts
Ollantaytambo - portal to the Inca Trail	our feerless leader Julia	Original Inca Homes
Another view of storehouses	a Steep Climb	Water channels through the town
Pre-Inca stonework	Steep Terracing	Stepping stones
No right angles here (No one really know how they carved the boulders to fit so precisely)	Original Inca home	Huge blocks
Local transportation	Inca Trail Guides
Local living	Keeping the family close	Time for a little gossiping
Seminario Studio (http://www.ceramicaseminario.com)	Seminario	Seminario
Seminario	Seminario's livestock	his wife, Marilú Behar
Seminario	Seminario	Seminario
Local Peruvian Dancers	Local Peruvian Dancers	Local Peruvian Dancers

If you would like a full-size copy of any of these photos from our trip, just email me at jpiccioni@sbcglobal.net. Give me the page#, row# & column# and I'll email it to you.

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A little history about this region: The town is located at the foot of some spectacular Inca ruins which protected the strategic entrance to the lower Urubamba Valley. The citadel served as both a temple and a fortress. The temple area is at the top of steep terracing which helped to provide excellent defenses. Stone used for these buildings was brought from a quarry high up on the opposite side of the Urubamba river - an incredible feat involving the efforts of thousands of workers. The complex was still under construction at the time of the conquest and was never completed. After Manco Inca was defeated by the Spanish at Sacsayhuaman following the unsuccessful siege of Cusco (1536) he retreated to Ollantaytambo. Francisco Pizarro's younger brother Hernando led a force of 70 cavalry, 30 foot soldiers and a large contingent of natives to capture Manco Inca. The Inca's forces, joined by neighboring jungle tribes, rained down showers of arrows, spears and rocks upon the unfortunate Spanish troops. In an intelligent move the Inca's flooded the plains below their stronghold making it difficult for the horses to maneuver. Hernando, uncharacteristically, ordered a hasty retreat. Ollantaytambo became the only place ever to have resisted attacks from the Spanish. However, their victory was short-lived when the Spanish returned with four times their previous force. Manco Inca retreated to his jungle stronghold in Vilcabamba and Ollantaytambo fell into the hands of the Spanish.