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morning sun, commanding attention I As seen from the sea, it is as simple 
of line, and as impressive in appearance, as the Lincoln Memorial in 
Washington* 
The formerly temple -crowned, overgrown pyramid at Tancah is no 
longer visible as such from the sea* It remains little more than a 
heap of stones and rubble hidden under a tangle of trees and undergrowth. 
So, on to Tulum by Jeepi This was generously made available to us by 
Senor Jorge Gonzales A. of Tancah who also guided us to Tulum, We were 
not disappointed in this first opportunity to see what the Mayan 
architects ted wrought on the site of that strategically and scenically 
placed city, built some years before the turn of the sixth century of 
our Christian era, A stela found at Tulum carries an authenticated Mayan 
— i: - i. ' 
date corresponding exactly with our A.D. 56 k. 
The Castillo, or principal temple, faces the setting sun. A 30 -foot 
high stairway, as steep as most of those constructed by the Mayas, rises 
25 feet to the temple platform. The height of the entire structure from 
ground level approaches 40 feet. From the seaward side of the temple 
platform an entrancing vista greets the eye from north to south. Bright 
green palms, other trees and vegetation line the shore and top the cliff sj 
stretches of golden yellow beach swing north and south far beyond the 
rocky shore at the foot of the cliff upon which the Castillo is perched. 
Beaches and rocky shores are lapped by pastel-green waters indicate of 
Inshore shoals and reefs. As the depth offshore increases, the sea take e 
on, more and more, a richer, darker, deeper blue. At the distant horizon 
line it meets the crystal clear, bright azure of the overhead sky. All 
