14 
ornaments of gold and Jade, the brilliant trappings and gorgeous feather 
headdresses of the coppery-hued Mayan priests who once officiated here. 
For sheer beauty, artistic composition, and "peace of mind," it is a 
panorama unsurpassed in this world. One feels as though he would like 
to sit there and "drink" it in forever. 
Given this wonderful setting, the modest Castillo and the lesser 
temples of Tulum do not suffer in comparison with the far greater, 
finer finished, and, in truth, more monumental buildings we saw some 
M f 
days later at Chichen Itza and Uxmal. 
One would have to be unimaginative and uninspired not to feel some 
Mayas 
that have been written about their marvelously unique "acropoli" (citadels, 
so to speak, within which their temples stand) , 
Tulum with its stone wall, the central portion of which is 20 to 
25 feet high and about as wide at the base, and nearly 2,400 feet long, 
was more citadel-like them either Chichen Itza or Uxmal, but acropoli 
they are nonetheless. 
The Castillo at Chichen Itzsf (Fig. ) is the most Imposing of the 
mary temples in this holiest of the Mayan cities in its day. Its base 
covers almost an acre of ground. The overall height, including the 
building on its summit, Is about 100 feet. The four stairways approach 
44 feet in greatest width and rise at an angle of 4$ degrees. Being a 
little less steep than the slope of the sides of the pyramid, the foot 
of each stairway stands out beyond the pyramid’s baseline. The individual 
steps are about 10 inches wide with risers of 11 inches. There are 91 of 
these steps to each stair. Added together they total 364 (4 x 91) ; which number 
