gleaming white in the morning sun, commanding attention. 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 means of a jeep generously 
made available to us by Serior 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 had wrought on the site of that 
strategically and scenically placed city, built some years before 
seventh 
the turn of the ££&£¥& century of our Christian era. A stela 
found at Tulum carries an authenticated Mayan date corresponding 
exactly with our A.D. 564. 
The Castillo, or principal temple, at Tulum 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 cliffs; stretches of golden yellow beach swing north 
and south far beyond the rocky shore at the foot of the cliff 
A* 
upon which the Castillo is perched. Beaches and rocky shores 
are lapped by pastel-green waters, indicative of inshore shoals 
