Mexico 2018 - Cholula

When visiting Puebla, an excursion to Cholula is obligatory.  Originally a distinct city, Cholula is has now been swallowed up by the urban sprawl of Puebla but it retains its distinct character and is a huge draw for tourists.  

One of the chief attractions there is the Great Pyramid of Cholula with a base of over four times the size of the great pyramid of Giza. 

 It is the largest archaeological site of a pyramid (temple) in the New World, as well as the largest pyramid known to exist in the world today. The pyramid is part of the archeological zone of Cholula, which is estimated at 154 hectares.  

The site is accessed through a long tunnel constructed for archeological exploration originally.

The temple-pyramid complex was built in four stages, starting from the 3rd century BC through the 9th century AD, and was dedicated to the deity Quetalcoatl.  At the top is the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios sanctuary built in 1594 by the Spanish.  

This church has been damaged by earthquakes three times and repaired twice so far, the most recent being the earthquake last September.  The church hasn't been repaired yet and is closed to visitors.  Maybe there's a message there?  
 
The other notable feature of Cholula is the number of churches.  

 It is said that the city of Cholula has 365 churches, either one for each day of the year or one for each pre-Hispanic temple that used to be there. In reality, there are only thirty seven churches; 159, if all the small chapels including those on local haciendas and ranches are counted.  

The San Gabriel church and monastery was established in 1529 by the Franciscans, on top of the destroyed temple to Quetzalcoatl 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbZPYTcgMeU

Moorish influenced architecture

 

In any case, there are are a lot of churches even by Mexican standards.  So, while visiting Puebla, I set one day aside to visit Cholula.