On the 93rd day there was a battle for the capital of the Aztec empire. Only for the last three days did fighting take place in the city of Tenochtitlan. Alvarado's detachment - about 50 knights - was rushing to the pyramid of the Aztec god of war - Huitzilopochtli. They advanced, being completely surrounded by thousands of Aztec detachments. The arquebus players fired occasionally, and there were 4-5 of them - there was no need to wait for a tray of gunpowder while being completely surrounded. There was a brutal hand-to-hand fight - a slaughter. And finally, the knights stepped onto the first step of the pyramid. Not all of them, of course, but about 20 people, the rest covered their backs; if three or four thousand Aztec warriors were crowded on the pyramid, then there were much more of them around the pyramid. Imagine you need to climb 114 steps of the pyramid in 50 kilogram armor with a sword and shield in your hands. Yes, it's a little hard. But there were aggravating circumstances there. On every step there were dozens of warriors who wanted to kill these strangers coming to their god. They already knew that rushing alone, two or even three at a knight was a hopeless task. A normal attack is 4-5 people against a knight. The main thing is to knock him down, and then, as experience shows, he cannot get up if more than three people are holding him. But sometimes they get up after lying down, killing a couple of attackers. And if the knight does not have time to cut off the hands and heads of a couple of Aztec warriors in a few seconds, then his fate will be grave. The knights began to climb the steps of the pyramid. Blood splashed in all directions, the arms and heads of the attackers flew in different directions. It must be said that the knights had already been fighting for several hours towards this pyramid. But according to the observations of the Aztecs, these mortal warriors do not know fatigue, and if they are not killed, they will nevertheless climb the pyramid and destroy sacred relics and altars, throwing down the statues of the gods. None of the earthly goods could be an incentive for either side. It was not for freedom and independence that the Aztecs fought on the pyramid; it was not for the king and the glory of Spain that the Spaniards fought on the pyramid. The battle moved to the metaphysical plane, or rather its driving mechanisms. Both the Spaniards and the Aztecs fought without fear and beyond the mental stability of a normal person. Yes, you can say it was a battle of the gods. The battle of the gods is mediated in our material world through human bodies. Even more difficult - through the collective unconscious of fighting units. For the death of a person there, on the pyramid, was no greater event than a piece of skin being torn off during a domestic or work injury. And the feeling of pain probably left people. No one was surprised that a knight could fight studded with arrows that had pierced his armor, sometimes right through. As well as the fact that an Aztec warrior with a severed hand rushed to attack. ***   Reconstruction of the pyramid of the Aztec gods - Huitzilopochtli and Tlaloc. For three months, meter by meter, the Spanish conquistador knights conquered three dams and three roads leading to the city from the Aztecs. A separate corps broke through into the city along each of the dams. At the head of the corps, consisting of 150 knights and several thousand Indian allies each, were Hernan Cortes, Pedro de Alvarado and Gonzalo de Sandoval. Who are these people? Why are they here? Captain General Hernan Cortes, who led the entire army besieging Tenochtitlan, was 36 years old at that time. This time of the prime of life in a person’s life successfully coincided with the most grandiose achievement in his existence. Hernan Cortes was born in the city of Medellin (province of Badajoz), in a family of successors to old noble families - the Cortes, Monroes, Pissaro and Altamirano. When Hernan was seven years old, the war with the Moors for Granada ended. The Moors were defeated and Granada was annexed to Spain. More precisely, the 750-year-old Reconquista ended - the liberation of Spain from Arab conquest. The boy, who had heard a lot about the exploits of the knights, regretted that now he would not experience any such exploits. But he was wrong. His health was poor, and therefore his father saw his son’s future in the service, in some prestigious civilian position. And when Hernan turned 14, he sent him to Salamanca to study law. And then it will be clear whether to become a priest or a secular lawyer. But the young man wanted more and more romantic. He leaves the University of Salamanca and goes to Seville. There he opens a notary office. But young blood is seething, and he has no peace of mind while rewriting papers. He was overwhelmed by city life. Beautiful women captivated his gaze. He cares, sings serenades, for which he composes poems himself. And in love, his strong-willed character led to success. His youth and command of an elegant style did their job, and the impregnable fortresses of women’s hearts surrendered to him. But then it turned out that skillful mastery of an elegant style for survival in a world where many are good with weapons is not enough. After one of his stormy dates, he encounters a jealous husband. The matter immediately turns to armed combat, from which young Hernan barely escaped alive, although he was wounded. Then he travels around the country, taking private fencing lessons. Fortunately, there were plenty of skilled craftsmen in this field in Spain at that time. At this time, news broke - the New World had been discovered. It was actually discovered a long time ago - in that famous year of the expulsion of the Moors, but by this time people who had become fabulously rich began to return to Spain. Their stories about overseas adventures and adventures, passed from mouth to mouth, grew in incredible detail and attracted many to distant lands. Suddenly it turned out that he was Hernan Cortes, a distant relative of Nicholas de Ovando, the first governor of Hispaniola. And Hernan, taking advantage of this luck, goes to New Spain. Thanks to the education he received and, naturally, the use of family ties, he became treasurer of the governor of Cuba, Diego Velazquez. He also receives - repartimiento - in other words - an estate with the serfs. Soon after this, an event unusual, at first glance, for his nature, or even two, occurs. Diego Velazquez sends two expeditions to the continent, first by Francisco Enandez de Cordoba, and then by Juan de Grijalva. Hernán Cortés did not take part in any of them. Was involved in the estate - yes. But the fact that this overshadowed all other matters for Hernan Cortes, and most importantly, the expedition, is hard to believe. The riddle can be solved if you look closely enough. He is preparing his expedition. We need money to equip it. Diego Velazquez will give something. But this, as the experience of both Cordoba and Grijalva has shown, is not enough for success. In any case - for a solid act. And here is the explanation of the phenomenon - the landowner activity of Cortez. He earns money to equip the expedition. The time will come when he will sell the estate and invest the proceeds in the expedition. This also explains the fact that he sets sail after Velazquez’s ban. How can a person who invested his entire fortune be removed from the leadership of an expedition? Naturally, such a person will try to avoid being removed as soon as he can. And Cortez managed to do this. And how he selected people can be said by the fact that the helmsman in his flotilla of 11 ships was Anton Alaminos - the chief helmsman of the 4th expedition of Columbus, the expedition of Ponce de Leon, who discovered Florida, the expeditions of Cordoba and Grijalva. But this was not enough: members of the spiritual knightly order, united not only by discipline, but also by common ideals, went on his expedition. Their physical data was complemented by spiritual strength and allowed them to act at critical moments beyond human capabilities (obviously in our terms). *** Pedro de Alvarado was the same age as Hernan Cortes. He was born in the same province of Badajoz, but not in provincial Medellin, but in Badajoz itself, the center of the province. He, like Hernan Cortes, listened and admired the stories about the exploits of the knights in the war with the Moors. But unlike Cortez, being born into a family of a hereditary military man, he was directed by his father along the path of his ancestors. That is, he was prepared for military affairs from a very young age. When the winds blew towards New Spain, Pedro, with his uncle Diego and five brothers, set off on an overseas voyage for exploits and success in life. For Pedro, these were not only tailwinds, but also the winds of life's luck. Both he, Pedro, and his uncle, Diego, were prompted to do this by an interesting incident in the Andalusian port town of Paloe. In this town they went into a tavern to have dinner and heard the song of a wandering singer - Neither the Moorish fleet, nor all their Sinbads - Can’t sail across the Ocean! But if you want Fortune's reward, then you need to swim through it! And don’t let the exploits of knights torment you, Like the light of an inaccessible star. Here comes a chance in your destiny - The caravel of your dreams is standing. Conversations in the tavern died down - everyone's attention was attracted by the singing of a strange ballad accompanied by a lute. In the quiet tavern, the lute sounded solemn and alarming, the singer’s voice rang, the hearts of the listeners beat excitedly, and the song continued - It will take you to distant lands, To lands of abundance of miracles. Unknown to us are the plans of the Almighty, the mystery of the movement of the heavens. And what at first seems like paradise to us is in fact an insidious deception. No one will show you the way to glory - That is - the Almighty's plan. And someone will die in the fight against the Ocean - without seeing their dreams. And someone, like a sword, will cut through hurricanes and reach forests and fields. A stormy wave of exclamations and hissing whispers swept along the tables. And again silence reigned. Everyone again listened to the singer - There, in the marvelous forests from the untold fairy tale, the flowers are divinely bright. The people live there, hidden under masks - the sins of fanaticism. There in the wonderful fields the harvest is golden - it will feed many people. But what kind of dust is swirling over the road - Children are being driven to the altar. There the rulers may be imprisoned by hell, And horror squeezes their hearts. The young beauty will be the reward - Whoever survives the battle to the end! Let the Toledo steel sparkle over their world - Slay all the vampires of the country, And bring death to the bloodthirsty idols. On the campaign of Hispaniola, sons! The singer fell silent, but continued to play the lute. A buzz of approval ran through the tavern. The singer received offers of wine and dinner from different tables. But the singer, silently, continued to play. - Who is this singer? - Diego asked his neighbor at the table. - Blind knight! - he answered. -- Knight? He's dressed like a commoner. - Yes, now he is poor and landless. And before he had decent income, a wife and children. Then he went to war with the Moors. His estate was attacked by some gang, of which many appeared during the war years. The wife and children were killed, the estate was plundered and burned. And then some merchants set up warehouses in his house. - How did he go blind? - He's not blind. He was blinded! -- Who? - Moors! - The Moors are not robbers. They are honest warriors. Which of them did this? - Honest and noble! But not always, and not all! This knight broke through to their regiment commander in battle and killed him, but was wounded and captured. So that colonel was the son of the army commander. It was this commander who ordered our knight to be blinded. And this is even a sign of respect on his part. They simply chopped off the heads of ordinary knights, and blinded only representatives of noble families. - Yes, and I heard about such a practice among the Moors, from my father. He fought a lot with the Moors... What is his name? - Their name is simply blind knight. Nobody knows the name. - What is your name, dear? — Anton Alaminos is a sailor, or rather a helmsman. - And my name is Diego de Alvarado. And this is my nephew - Pedro. We are passing through from Badajoz. - Badajoz in Extramadura. I know a lot of brave and desperate people from Estramadura! - Why, Anton, does such a warrior not live on his estate? The war ended in our victory, the Moors were expelled. So I would ask the king or queen to restore justice - to return the estate. - He doesn’t want this! He even sang ballads to Queen Isabella. They say that in ballads he predicted the outcome of the general battle and the entire war with the Moors. Such a gift came down to him from the Lord, probably for his righteous torment. Prophetic gift. So Queen Isabella herself offered him to return the estate or give him a new one. Refused. “Now I’m beginning to understand.” Now there was a song about future events! “That’s probably true,” Anton answered and began to drink the wine in slow sips. At the other end of the room, the blind knight stopped playing the lute and headed across the entire hall, groping his way to the table at which Anton, Diego and Pedro were sitting. All three were slightly surprised that the blind knight approached their table and asked permission to sit down. To which Pedro responded first, helping the blind man sit down at their table. - Well, young man, how did you decide to sail across the Ocean? - asked the blind knight. - It seems to me now - what is it, my destiny! - Pedro answered. - That's right, young man, your destiny awaits you there - great deeds and great glory. Your neighbor at the table sailed to those distant countries, what will he say? - Yes, I swam there. And I want to sail there again! - Anton Alaminos answered. While this conversation was going on, Diego ordered dinner and wine for the blind knight. When the ordered food was brought, Diego poured a cup of wine and, along with a plate on which lay an excellent roast, pushed it towards the blind knight. - Help yourself, knight! Do not refuse the courtesy, - said Diego. The blind knight did not refuse and began to eat. They ate in silence. Soon Diego said - - Sorry, Pedro and I are leaving you, business. And immediately after that, Diego and Pedro left the tavern. When they came out; the blind knight took the lute and, after a short plucking of the strings, again sang a ballad, to the same tune - In Estramadura, born in Badajoz - A messenger from the upper worlds! In Estramadura lives in Badajoz - Holder of spiritual foundations. More caravels will sail to the West, Piercing the gray Ocean. The blacksmiths will also forge armor for him so that he can rush into the devil's camp. He still doesn’t know, living between us, that the path is predicted for him. He will come to the pyramid in Tenochtitlan, to exact retribution with the sword. Legends among the people about the death of the bloody gods will shine like the sun. Once every thousand years, a messenger comes with a Sword to slay the devil's dogs. In Estramadura, a messenger from the upper worlds was born in Badajoz. In Estramadura, the Hero of purifying dreams lives in Badajoz. Everyone, after listening to the singer, continued their conversations. Only Anton Alaminos sat - silently, and looked at the singer with wide open eyes. He realized who the blind knight had just sung about. It seemed incredible to him that he was an eyewitness to epic events. But he did not know that he would be a participant in these events. In the detachment of Hernan Cortes, Pedro de Alvarado found himself with two of his brothers, but only he became the most outstanding in his family. When Cortez was forced to leave Tenochtitlan to meet with the punitive expedition of Panfilo de Narvaez, sent by Diego Velazquez to arrest Cortez for an unauthorized expedition, it was Pedro de Alvarado who remained commandant of Tenochtitlan. But finding himself with a small detachment, with a hundred knights, against an ominous city of 200,000, which by that time had drawn in a hundred thousand Aztec army, he found himself in a critical situation. The priests came to ask him to hold the holiday. But knowing that these holidays are usually accompanied by human sacrifices, Alvarado allowed the celebration, but prohibited human sacrifices and the presence of armed groups. The priests, seeing such a small number of warriors, decided to hold the holiday in full, and in the event of foreign intervention, kill them and sacrifice them to the god of war, and it was in his honor that the holiday was held. Alvarado tried to interfere with the sacrifice, but was driven back by a countless army from the pyramid of the god of war Huitzilopochtli and was forced to take up defensive positions in the palace. Seven of Alvorado's warriors fell fighting off the continuous attacks of the Aztecs. Alvarado had neither food nor water, the palace complex was already heating up when Cortez made his way to him. But all the forces of the Spaniards were not enough to pacify the frenzied army, inspired by the priests of bloody cults. I had to leave Tenochtitlan at night. It was a night battle. Sandoval and his squad were in the vanguard, Cortes was in the center, and Alvarado commanded the rearguard. So he suffered the most furious attacks of the bloodthirsty Aztec horde. Then he made the legendary “Alvarado Jump”. Using a spear as a pole, he, in armor, jumped over the strait in the dam, from which the Aztecs tore down the wooden deck bridge. Whoever did not look at this strait after the fall of Tenochtitlan, no one could imagine how a man in armor could make such a jump, and indeed, without armor either. This battle was called “Night of Sorrow.” All this happened a year ago. And now they are moving along the dams, step by step, day by day, into the city. Why is he, Pedro de Alvarado, here? The answer pulsed in his head - - Crush these Satanists! Destroy all the leader-priests who put human sacrifices on stream! *** Gonzalo de Sandoval was born, like Cortes, in the city of Medellin, Badajoz province. But he was born 12 years later than Cortez and Alvarado. The fall of Granada was already a historical legend, albeit a recent one. *** For three months, meter by meter, the Spanish knights-crnquistadors conquered three dams and three roads leading to the city from the Aztecs. It was a siege-assault. The city was blockaded, but the Spaniards did not expect the city to fall after a months-long hunger strike, but inevitably advanced along three dams into the city. They tried to throw the attackers off the dam every day, making dozens of attacks by several hundred, or even thousands of people. The dams were not that wide - about 8 meters wide. The usual screen consisted of 40 knights. Numerous Indian allies remained on the shore and covered the detachments of knights from the rear. Only the Spaniards fought a months-long battle with the Aztec army of thousands on the dams. The Indians said to go forward against the elite troops of the Aztecs, and only gods can go forward against their bloodthirsty gods. And the Spanish knights fulfilled this mission of the gods. The Aztecs were destroying the dam ahead of the attackers. And the Spaniards filled it up again. Three shifts - 40 people are fighting, 40 people are conducting restoration work at the same time, and 40 people are resting. It was necessary to learn to rest on the battlefield. Of course, at the peak moments of the battle, the resting shift also rose, and restoration workers rushed into battle. There were no Indian workers on the dams (at least when the barrier moved far from the shore), it was not the business of mortals to interfere in the battle of the gods. Even Captain General Cortes personally carried stones and logs in his area when he found himself on a restoration shift. The attackers did not have adequate nutrition. I had to be malnourished and starve. Only, perhaps, there was enough water. The Aztecs tried at night to again destroy what the Spaniards had done in a day. There were dozens of times more of them, and if the Spaniards had not interfered, they would have quickly destroyed what they had built in a day. Therefore, contractions also occurred at night. A handful of Spaniards directed the dynamic process of construction and destruction of dams towards the final result - construction. If the reader thinks that the Aztecs imagined that they were fighting immortals, then he is mistaken. The Aztecs knew that they were fighting mortals; by that time they had already sacrificed more than one Spaniard to their gods. If the reader thinks that the knights fought with the city militia, then he is mistaken. The Aztec Empire, just to keep the tribes in obedience, in peacetime, had an army of 150,000 people, and in wartime, due to mobilization, the army increased significantly. During the months of preparation for this battle, two-thirds of the army from different parts of the country arrived in the capital. And selected troops, well armed, well trained, with combat experience (though often of punitive expeditions) - stood in defense of temples and palaces and in the main directions of attack. If the reader thinks that the Aztecs were somehow armed, then he is mistaken. Only weapons of European (Spanish) production they had not less, but more Spanish troops. These are trophies from previous battles. The main trophies, of course, were captured in the "Night of Sorrows", when about 750 Spaniards died. And the Aztecs had captured cannons, but they didn’t fire, they didn’t have gunpowder. Some guns were drowned, some were used as a power element of the barricades, one was even dragged onto the 60-meter pyramid of the god of war - Huitzilopochtl and was presented to him in a special ritual. A gift, whatever you say, right for its intended purpose. And their own weapons - spears (longer than Spanish ones) with sharp and massive silicon tips, spear throwers - an alternative to a crossbow, darts, two-handed swords, folding shields that protect a full-length warrior and other weapons were in abundance. And what did you think, they and their horns kept dozens of tribes and peoples in fear and submission. *** The 93rd day was the battle for the capital of the Aztec empire. Only for the last three days did fighting take place in the city of Tenochtitlan. Alvarado's detachment climbed the double staircase to the pyramid with the temples of the god of war - Huitzilopochtli and the god of fertility - Tlaloc. There was a brutal hand-to-hand fight - a slaughter. The first attack, ordered by Alvarado, led by Captain Gutierre de Badajoz, was repulsed. The knights had already risen 10 steps, which cost the death of 120-150 Aztec warriors. The bodies of the dead rolled down the steps, blood flooded the steps, severed heads and hands lay around. It was difficult in heavy armor to climb slippery, bloody steps, when the bodies of the dead were rolling under your feet, and you had to look not only at your feet, but also at the mass of attackers, and hit them in time, creating additional barriers from dead bodies heavily covered in blood. And then some more beatings of the drum and shouts of the priests threw new masses of warriors into the thick of the battle. The attack, or rather the measured progress of the Spaniards' combat vehicle, stopped. And the enthusiastic cries of the Aztecs noted the retreat of the knights by 5-6 steps. Again there are more than 100 steps ahead. *** At the other end of the city, at the head of another detachment was Hernan Cortes. His detachment burst into the city along another dam and moved towards the center block by block. The tactics were as follows - the Spanish knights cut into the mass of enemies in front, they smashed the main forces, destroyed the commanders, and the scattered and lost commanders of the remnants of the detachments were finished off by moving thousands of armed Indian allies. But since Cortes forbade the sacrifice of prisoners, the allies, who had experienced a lot of humiliation and oppression, as well as extortion of people for sacrifices, tried to resolve the issue of sacrifice on the spot, they killed and finished off soldiers and massacred civilians. They were given the task of destroying house by house, block by block, so that there were no strongholds left in the rear of the knights. What the Indian allies did with some passion and cruelty. Although the measure of cruelty in this battle has probably disappeared somewhere. Taking possession of bridges and barricades, Cortez's detachment reached one area where there were sanctuaries and turrets. When we looked closely at the turrets, the psyche, dulled during the battle, involuntarily stirred up. The turrets were made of human heads. Here is one of them, in which the Spaniards saw the heads of their comrades captured in a night battle on a dam a few days ago. The masks made from the skin of the faces of their comrades, whose beards had noticeably grown during these days, had a particularly depressing effect on the psyche. Yes, there were skilled handicraftsmen in this empire of Satanists. But no cultural achievements of this lost people can outweigh the entire burden of sins, which they multiplied at annual festivals with hundreds, or even thousands, and during successful punitive and conquest campaigns - tens of thousands of human sacrifices. The Spaniards understood this perfectly well, bursting into this city, onto this site and rushing to the main sanctuary on the pyramid of death, to the temple of the god of war - Huitzilopochtli. Hernan Cortes and many of his fighters’ eyes involuntarily filled with tears. Pictures of the night battle and the screams of these comrades arose in my head. Then the night shift was headed by Cortez. A fight ensued with the oncoming dam destroyers. There were not much more of them than usual, but the battle ensued in an unusually hot manner. The Spaniards, having broken the enemy's resistance, drove him forward, climbing over logs and fording through a break in the dam and moving on. But it was a trap. As soon as they moved a couple of tens of meters away from the breach, hundreds of warriors began to land on the dam from the darkness behind them from pirogue boats. And ahead, the retreating detachment, turning around, again attacked the Spaniards. There were a lot of them. Swords were cut, severed body parts fell onto the dam and into the water. The knights began to fight their way back to their own. And this gap became the most important trap. It was not possible, he chopped and moved, groping for submerged logs. It was at this moment that 5-6 Aztec warriors rushed at the knight. And if you cut yourself, you will definitely fall into the water, and there the lovers of human hearts will catch you, and if you cross, holding on with your hand, then you will definitely get caught. Warriors fell into the water and were caught with nets and spears with double hooks. Where were the Spanish brigantines? After all, they launched 13 brigantines at the beginning of the battle. And near each dam there were 4 brigantines (one was left by this time, having removed the weapons). Yes, they could not get close to the dam; driven piles with pointed ends were in the way. The Aztec workers drove them, the piles, day after day, further and further removing the zone of penetration of the brigantines to the dam. After all, the area of ​​water closest to the dam was the zone of dominance of Aztec warboats. And if during the day it was possible to support the knights on the dam with cannons and arquebuses, then at night this could not be done, due to the complete impossibility of conducting aimed fire (the Spaniards did not have night sights). Many soldiers have already been captured. Even Cortes was knocked down by 5 Aztec warriors, and he could no longer resist, but two knights arrived. One of them killed four warriors who grabbed Cortes, but he himself fell dead, receiving a lot of blows from a boat that arrived. Another killed the fifth and covered the retreat of the exhausted captain-general, who was also wounded. This knight, having repulsed the attack of the next five, eventually capsized the boat and began to retreat after Cortes, supporting the wounded. Cortes was saved from capture, but about 70 knights fell (3-4 knights were killed) and were captured in this battle. Yes, the second shift of knights also got carried away in pursuit. But Cortez recalled the following days with a shudder. He stood on a platform with a turret made of the heads of his warriors and, lowering his bloody sword, remembered. The day after the night battle, everyone around heard the beating of a huge drum on the pyramid of the Aztec god of war. The beat of the drum and the howling of the trumpets turned everything inside, a modern well-read person would say that in addition to the sound there was also infrasound, bursting through the entire human body and resonating with some harmonics of the biorhythms of the brain, which raised an unconscious wave of fear inside. The Aztec priests were skilled in ancient psychotronics. But that was only the beginning. This double-headed pyramid was visible from all three dams; even from the distant shore, the Indian allies could see the unfolding show. And on it, after ritual dances and some spells, the priest cut the prisoner’s chest with a flint knife. The prisoner managed to shout something, but due to the great distance the words could not be heard. And the priest, rummaging inside the chest, tore out the still beating heart and began to dance again. Then he carried the still beating heart inside the sanctuary into the mouth of the bloody idol of the god of war. Everyone saw how the corpse, still twitching in convulsions, had its legs, arms and head cut off. Cortez knew that the legs and arms would be boiled and served to the best warriors to be eaten. So the procedure was repeated cyclically that day nine times. The other captive victims had to wait their turn. So a week of fighting passed, accompanied by human sacrifices. Many knights found themselves filled with fear. He is not present in battle. After the battle, you hastily washed the blood off your sword, shield and armor, drank some water, and went to bed. There is no fear or nightmares. But the worst time is when you are doing restoration work while on the waking shift. And at the same time, on the pyramid, to the drum, ritual dances, they are tearing out the heart of your comrade. You hear everything, involuntarily observe, but you can’t help. And fear permeates you, fear of this bloody sacrifice. You involuntarily see yourself in the place of your comrade, a victim to the bloody idol of the god of war. No one could remember battles, in any country, with such ritual accompaniment. Neither in current times nor in the past. And probably Indian allies too. After the first day of sacrifices, they left - ALL of them. None of them were left on the shore. The psyche of entire armies could not stand it. They left without a fight, only because of this transcendental fear. But the knights continued to fight day and night. And so, for ten days and nights, one to one and a half hundred knights fought on three dams against the armed forces (or maybe two-thirds of all armies) of the Aztec empire. The priests noted with pleasure the flight of the Spaniards' allies, the Indians, but were surprised by the continued resistance to their troops. They could not previously imagine such resilience, but now they saw it with their own eyes. There was no rear cover for the knights, and tens of thousands of warriors from distant provinces moved towards Tenochtitlan day and night. Left without cover, these madmen will inevitably die. But the spirit of the warriors was not broken. And this is the main obstacle to defeating them. But priests are professionals of psychic influence. And a week later a new show of Satanists began. Hundreds of boats circled in front of the knights near each dam. Threats were shouted from them. The severed heads of their comrades floated through the air. And those shouting assured Cortez that these were the heads of Alvarado and Sandoval and their comrades, and Alvarado assured that these were the heads of Cortez and Sandoval and their comrades, and Sandoval that these were the heads of Cortez and Alvarado and their comrades. Thus, each detachment was told - you are alone, your comrades are killed and beheaded - surrender or flee. But they couldn’t do anything with the Spaniards with these psychic attacks. Soon Sandoval, and then Alvarado, established contact (by messengers) with Cortes. The messengers on the shore saw a sad sight. There were no valiant allies. The allies began to return after ten days. The knights fought for ten days and nights without covered rears. Why ten? Ask the wise Aztec priests. It was they who sent the news far and wide that their god of war, having drunk the blood and eaten the hearts of these strangers, promised their complete death within ten days. Well, the sages did not think that this handful of mortals could withstand more than 100,000 army of the empire for ten days. At first, the allies timidly returned, sending scouts, and then it became widespread. They saw that the battle was continuing. Neither the army of the Aztec Empire nor the wrath of their god of war could defeat these mortals for ten days. Probably, they are protected by a truly mighty God. Hernan Cortes flinched when someone put a hand on his shoulder. He felt a weight on his shoulder and heard the scraping of metal on metal. He turned around and saw Sandoval. They stood at the tower of their comrades' heads. Both were silent. Because of the flood of memories, Cortez did not hear or see how Sandoval and his men made their way to his detachment. *** The 93rd day was the battle for the capital of the Aztec empire. Only for the last three days did fighting take place in the city of Tenochtitlan. Alvarado's squad continued to climb, for the second hour, up the stairs to the pyramid with the temple of the god of war - Huitzilopochtli. There was a brutal hand-to-hand fight - a slaughter. The battle was already on the 23rd step of the pyramid. *** Sandoval stood with Cortez near a turret made of the heads of their comrades. Sandoval's thoughts also wandered to memories. Sandoval could not remember how many cities and villages they had already passed where there were pyramids and towers made of human heads in greater or lesser numbers. In a word - a lot. Now he was shocked not by the very fact of the existence of such a turret, but by the fact that these were his comrades. With them he ate, drank, had fun, shared the hardships of camp life and battles, and now he sees their severed heads, masks made from facial skin. But the thought was carried away into the not at all distant past. There, at a time when he experienced a strong shock from this characteristic detail (as it now became clear) of native existence. This happened at the very beginning of the Satanists’ campaign across this land, shortly after leaving Veracruz. They approached the city of Tsaoctlan, or maybe Iztakmashtitlan, now it’s difficult to remember exactly. From the hills nearby the city, they admired the white walls of the houses, slender, colorful temples, and the rectilinear layout of the streets. Everything seemed thoughtful and well-groomed. How he and his comrades admired the beauty of this city. But what happened then when, following a dressed-up delegation of priests and women with flowers, they entered the city and reached the main square? Their squad stopped, and they involuntarily grabbed the hilts of their swords. Everyone was amazed. Severed heads stood in neat turrets in the square; they were fenced off with poles (the natives called them tsompantli) on which the severed heads were strung. The top ones were still bleeding, the middle ones were in varying degrees of decomposition, the bottom ones were bare skulls. From everything it was clear that the ritual of beheading was carried out with regular accuracy (they loved order like no other people). But the scale of this endless caravan of death was shocking. There were more than 100,000 heads in all the towers and on the poles. In any case, several times more than the city residents themselves. And the inhabitants were probably about 20,000. And Sandoval remembers his flashing thought then - “So what - they live for this!? This such a large-scale occupation of theirs was supposed to destroy all their souls!” Sandoval turned away from these towers and what he saw worsened his condition. On a separate area, the bones of the skeletons of the people to whom these heads belonged during life were also piled into neatly aligned piles. And when he learned that the heart was given to an idol, and the meat of human hands and feet was eaten, and the rest was fed to wild animals, it became clear to him that they were in a country not only of idolaters, but also of cannibals. It is not yet clear at what age this ritual treat is required. As the allied tribes explained to him, such a life was imposed by the Aztecs after the conquest. Those who have lost their independence receive from the center - Tenochtitlan, a priest-curator who introduces a new order on the ground. He also monitors its implementation. Many would like to get rid of this new order, but the Aztec empire has a strong army and cruel punitive authorities. Sandoval remembers his thought at that time: “Who, I wonder, established such an order among the Aztecs themselves? It will probably become clear in Tenochtitlan itself!” And here they are on the streets of Tenochtitlan. There is a battle going on. There is no time for questions and answers... Now Cortez tapped the stunned Sandoval on the shoulder. There was a grinding sound of metal on metal as Sandoval emerged into reality. He and Cortez agreed in which direction, along which streets and neighborhoods their troops would move. Cortes also told Sandoval: “If you meet their emperor, don’t kill him.” Capture alive. Large Aztec armies are still marching towards Tenochtitlan. Mobilization is on the way. If they are not given the order to lay down their arms, then this army, three times larger than here, will cause us a lot of trouble, a lot of blood will be shed. Tens of thousands of our allies will be killed. So, my order is to take Cautemok alive! After that, they dispersed, taking the detachments in the agreed directions. *** The 93rd day was the battle for the capital of the Aztec empire. Only for the last three days did fighting take place in the city of Tenochtitlan. Alvarado's squad continued to climb, for the third hour, up the stairs to the pyramid with the temple of the god of war - Huitzilopochtli. There was a brutal hand-to-hand fight - a slaughter. The battle was already on the 58th step of the pyramid. Alvarado ordered the crossbowmen to shoot the commanders and priests trying to control the battle. Now it was possible, with due diligence, to defeat the figure on the top platform of the pyramid. And while the Aztecs did not realize this, several of their commanders and a couple of priests were killed by arrows from crossbows. The High Priest looked at the picture of the battle, at the balance of power, and understood that the temple, its defenders, and all the priests were doomed. Those warriors who stand on the pyramid and around it are most likely not enough to defeat these incredible warriors. But probably no one will be able to come to their aid. At a considerable distance from the pyramid stood the Tlaxcalans, in close ranks. They did not move towards the pyramid, they kept their distance, but they did not allow other Aztec units to get through to their comrades. Who took the strangers into a ring. But they can’t cope with those around them. A year ago, they were helped by the fact that on these foreigners the waves of warriors moved endlessly. And even they cannot kill an army of one hundred thousand. And now - only 8-9 thousand armed Aztecs are trying to cope with fifty of these terrible fighters. The Aztec forces are probably not enough, and the Tlaxcalans are cutting off the path for reinforcements. The High Priest recalled the last sacrifice before the battle for the city. How many hopes were placed on him. 13 boys were selected from different parts of the empire. These victims were selected from different tribes based on the mass of characteristics and age. ******************* *** The 93rd day was the battle for the capital of the Aztec empire. Only for the last three days did fighting take place in the city of Tenochtitlan. Alvarado's squad continued to climb, already in the fourth hour, up the stairs to the pyramid with the temple of the god of war - Huitzilopochtli. There was a brutal hand-to-hand fight - a slaughter. The battle was already on the 97th step of the pyramid. The Aztec fighters fussed too much and quickly became the next victims of the armored line of knights climbing the steps of the pyramid. It acquired incredible combat coordination and was truly a hellish machine for the Aztecs. However, the Aztecs had no idea about cars. But fantastic pictures from ancient legends arose in their imagination. Even some of these elite fighters of the empire could not withstand the mental stress. They, throwing down their weapons, threw themselves on their swords. The priest, who, after accepting the retribution of the high priest head-on, would, apparently, not perform the duties of the supreme priest for long, was seized with panic. But there was no way to escape from the pyramid, breaking through the steel line of knights. There was no hope for mercy. What mercy - after everything that was done to the companions of these warriors. True, they do not rip out hearts, but they have already cut off many heads. Look - they are lying all over the steps of the stairs. Yes, the Aztecs have a catastrophic shortage of warriors here on the pyramid. And, probably, it was impossible to rely on the strength and power of the army. Superhuman entities collide here. What to do? The priest's mind was racing, and he himself soon began to rush about on the top platform of the pyramid. The priest trembles - punishment rises, Cutting the flesh with swords. And mercilessly with rays - Toledo steel sparkled. The priest is not afraid of blood, Nor of cut people, And not the cry of someone else's pain - It's scary to think about his own, What the army of aliens is carrying. There is no strength to detain them! The priest runs to the temple for protection. A mighty god of war is needed. After all, now there is an accident - Their armies are defeated. Who brings death to everyone here? These are mortals - there are few of them! Now he will ask God - So that punishment falls on them. Here is a golden statue. On his knees and sobbing - the Priest shouts with a prayer to God - “I fed you with hearts, And now they are coming for us. You block their way!” The priest wept, the battle took place, and the swords clanked louder and louder. The cup is full of blood, so that He - the God of the Aztecs, the bloody god - would come to battle - Burn the aliens with hellish lava. Why is the god of war delaying?! An unprecedented battle is taking place. Whose sons are revealed?! What should happen now?! The predictors are silent... The calendar did not give out the date... Fears only knock on the temples, The mind groans - Here is the reckoning! You have lived in blood all your life - So accept what you deserve! The priest is silent, his eyes look at the bloody figure, It’s as if the aurochs got the arrows, And she walks towards the priest. The ringing of iron on granite The moment of reckoning is approaching Horror has suppressed the prayer The raised sword sparkles The fatal voice is heard - - So go home to hell! The priest stands - and it is done, Retribution in the temple of death, The knight twirls his terrible sword - The priest's body is divided. And parts fell to the ground, Blood - to the golden idol. The thirst for power has been quenched, Peace has finally come. The struggle for faith is over, And I have found a measure of wealth. *** The 93rd day was the battle for the capital of the Aztec empire. Only for the last three days did fighting take place in the city of Tenochtitlan. Alvarado's squad climbed the stairs to the pyramid with the temple of the god of war - Huitzilopochtli. The battle above is over. *** As the cowardly priest predicted, the Aztecs did not have enough people to protect the temple of their god of war. Three and a half thousand of the best warriors of the empire were cut down in this battle and no one could come to their aid. And how can you come to the aid of your comrades if the road up to the sanctuary was blocked not by 20, but by as many as 30 knights. It cannot be said that the Aztecs did not have enough brave, fearless warriors; they did, and wave after wave attacked the defenders of the stairs. But the swords flashed and those who had recently been alive fell with their heads, arms, and bellies cut off, onto a gradually growing heap of corpses. The knights gradually retreated step by step, climbing the steps of the stairs already once, which took an abundant bloody harvest. But this retreat was forced tactically. The mountain of corpses gradually grew and, as it grew, gave an advantage to the attackers, who, climbing over the corpses, found themselves higher than the defenders. The knights had to climb the stairs so that the enemy would not tower over them threateningly. But the mountain of corpses grew more slowly than the attacking twenty climbed the pyramid. Therefore, the lower Aztec detachment of thousands could observe how the distance between them and the defenders of the sanctuary grew. There was no way to get through. This was beyond human power. At the top of the pyramid there were no living Aztecs, neither priests nor warriors. But some kind of fuss continued. It was the knights who destroyed the idols. The idol of Huitzilopochtli and the idol of Tlaloc went to it. Here their fragments are rolling down the bloody corpses of the warriors, the defenders of these gods. Then a fire breaks out. There was a lot of firewood stored on the pyramid for ceremonies. Now the knights set fire to them all, not caring about the reserve for the future. A huge fire broke out between two temples at the top of the pyramid. 15 knights stood at the edges of the perimeter of the sacred platform. They raised their hands to the sky. Each had a sword in one hand and a shield in the other. Everyone's armor, from the top of their helmet to their toes, as well as their sword and shield, was covered in blood. The picture was aggravated by the reflections of the flames on the armor. Moreover, the setting sun added bloody flashes. Everyone saw this - both at the pyramid and hundreds of meters away from it. The picture was amazing. At the top of the pyramid stood superhuman beings - all covered in blood, the firelight from the armor reflected into the sky. The impression was that heaven and hell were connected by some kind of bridge. Along the steps of the bloody stairs, fragments of idols slowly continued to crawl over the dead bodies. It was into the underworld that the defeated idols rolled, carrying the bloody bodies of the dead defenders of the Aztec god of war, and behind them the bodies of the headless priests rolled in pursuit. It seemed their world was rolling there with them. And the knights standing at the top of the pyramid, raising their hands to the sky, seemed ready to continue going into the sky, only there was no further than the stairs. Through bloody horrors and suffering, these mortals seemed ready to move on to the abode of the immortals. They will not remember later who they were, moving in battle along the stairs of the pyramid of death. They were not human persons or individuals. Their small personal Ego dissolved in the vast spirituality of the world. They did not know fatigue. Energy poured into them from some unknown universal source. They used techniques in battle that would be known on Earth centuries later. It was a battle trance. It was a miracle for the Aztecs, Tlaxcalans and other Indian peoples. It was a miracle for the Spaniards themselves. The battle throughout the huge city stopped for a few moments. Everyone looked at the top of the main, sacred pyramid of the Aztec empire. From a distance, the figures of the warriors were not visible, but a fire and smoke rising into the sky were visible. But some noise of voices swept through the masses of the defenders in a wave, and soon all the Aztec warriors knew - Their god had been defeated, these invincible warriors were standing on the pyramid and lit a fire. But the warriors of Cortez and Sandoval did not know this. They saw the fire brighter and more smoke than usual. This is what Hernán Cortés wrote to King Charles V of Spain, some time later - “... from our camp, we saw clouds of smoke on the two towers [(turret sanctuaries on the main pyramid of the temple of Tlatelolco)], the highest that were in Tlatelolco - near the market square, and we did not immediately understand what had happened, since there was much more smoke than during the incense usually performed by the Indians on their idols, and we guessed that it was Pedro de Alvarado’s people who broke through there, and although it was true, we couldn't believe it. And sure enough, on that day Pedro de Alvarado and his people accomplished this feat..." It was the death of the bloody gods. They died in the mental space of the people. The spirit of the people was freed from the tenacious, terrible grip of the Satanists. Sandoval never found out how these cults penetrated the soul of the people, who initiated them here. I didn’t find out, because the main carriers of the cult were killed, taking this secret with them. But the death of the gods, not the death of man, is a planetary, cosmic event. And in a moment the Spanish knights saw the result of the death of the gods. The battle resumed. But the nature of the battle has changed. More precisely, it suddenly turned from a battle into a massacre. The Aztec warriors rushed at the Spaniards not to kill, but to die. They threw themselves at swords and spears. They directly exposed themselves to the crossbowmen's sights. Some of the Spaniards were involved in this massacre, some suddenly lowered their weapons. And the allies, the Indians, poured into the city like a sea. They killed and destroyed, and bloodthirsty hatred poured out from them with fury in the city. For the children selected for sacrifice, for the mutilated souls, for the constant mystical fear and horror, for this and for many things not said here, they killed soldiers, then simply residents, killed both women and children. The funnel of death, growing, captured the entire city. The dying bloody gods were pulling a huge mass of people behind them. *** On August 13, 1521, Gonzalo de Sandoval and his squire Garcia Holguin captured the last tlatoani (emperor) of the Aztecs, Cautemoc. He carried out the order of Captain General Hernan Cortes - not to kill the emperor, but to take him alive. And now the emperor is captured. Tenochtitlan has fallen. The Aztec Empire ceased to exist. A few days later, Gonzalo de Sandoval learned of the death of a detachment of Spaniards in the city of Choltepec. He himself, without the knowledge of Cortes, took his people and rushed in search of the city. When they entered the city, they immediately went to the local temple. What they saw decided the fate of the city and the aborigines. Again Sandoval saw the heads of his comrades strung on poles. I saw pools of blood near the altar-altar. I saw armless skeletons of people gnawed by wild animals. He knew that the meat of the hands was eaten by these cheerful aborigines - cannibals. I even saw horse heads on poles. Victims! Victims! The capital of the Aztecs has already been taken, and the emperor has been captured, and at the level of city authorities, rituals involving eating human flesh and tearing out hearts continue. We need to tear out this hellish cult, we need to give them a lesson in a language they understand. There is no point in admonishing vampires! Death has come! You meet her! And you will go to her very quickly, Taking your heart with you. I don't need hearts with your skin. But the creator doesn’t need your life. Living and leaving you is more expensive for people. The spark of God in my soul is important to me. In your soul you carry nothing but the flames of hell. And your empire is huge - In order to drive it to slaughter. We fought and we won! And your leader was captured by me. We even defeated the god of war - You are opponents of those changes! But we did not come of our own free will. The world ruler sent us here. The sword is raised above your share - There is no escape from it. Do you want to continue being a vampire?! But I will put an end to this! Death has come! You will receive it - With the preservation of your hearts. The city was destroyed and burned to the ground. All residents were executed. Except for a few messengers. Which Sandoval forced to watch all this, and then sent as messengers to the surrounding cities. And he said to them, “go and tell us how human sacrifices end.” Fighting with the greatest effort, experiences near pyramids with severed heads, nevertheless undermined Sandoval’s health. And at the age of 32, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, he fell ill and died. The wind died down. A star fell - In the darkness of the night. The silver of the Moon sparkled with unearthly melancholy. The depths of the Ocean are gloomy, The whales do not cry. The greedy god of Tenochtitlan - You too fell silent. They lie in the holds of the galleon - gifts for the King. The waves bend with a quiet groan, And the worlds tremble. The soul leaves this world, Passionate soul! She leaves the body - Quietly, slowly. To the heavens, to the stars and higher - the mystery is her way! It is not possible to hear it, to look at it. Orion's star belt - Strange guard! On his knees and groaning, Garcia began to cry. Sandoval lies - not breathing - He carried his cross! He does not hear praise or blasphemy from hellish places. He was not ashamed of his tears. In grief and love, He did not hide from the battle, Pain and blood. Yes, his hand punished! But who? My God! The heart spewed rage - - Down with the devil! Rushed to the heavenly court - Bright soul! They beat against the side with a mournful splash - The waves are leisurely. This was in 1528. He never appeared, after a cruel and glorious campaign, before the king of Spain. *** Appointed Bishop of Mexico City in December 1527 by royal decree, Juan de Zumarraga arrived in the former Aztec capital in 1528. He actively engaged in educating the local population, organized schools and founded a printing house. Often visiting local wealthy people and people of average income, but by no means average ability, he noticed an interesting feature. On the wall of many of them, almost next to the image of the Mother of God and Child, hung a picture depicting the capture of the pyramid with the temple of the god of war by Alvarado’s detachment. Almost everywhere, parts of huge idols were rolling down over bloody bodies. This was clear to him, he approved of this. But strange figures were climbing up the steps - all bloodied, arrows with bloody plumage were sticking out of them in different directions, and there were some hieroglyphs on their backs. When they told him that they were Spaniards, he looked closely, did not recognize the usual armor of that time, did not understand their gestures and actions. But he saw the emergence of a cult, and he did not like it. The paintings were called differently - “Storm of the Pyramid of Death”, “Closing the Doors of Hell”, “The Fall of the Bloody Gods” and even “Retribution”. The stories grew into legends month after month. It turned out from their stories that, in order to turn their people away from vile idolatry and human sacrifices, the Lord showed a miracle - he sent soldiers, put punishing swords in their hands, and they, no more than 20 in number, destroyed either five or ten thousand demon warriors, regularly eating human flesh. Juan de Samarraga also note that the Indians call Alvarado Tonatiuh, which means the Sun. Some Spaniards said it was because of Pedro de Alvarado's red hair and smile. But the priest understood that the mechanism of pagan cults was at work here - having dumped the bloody hypostasis of Huitzilopochtli, he, Alvarado, discovered for the Indians another hypostasis of this god - the Sun. Yes, Alvarado opened for the Indians a world without the horrors of tearing out hearts, without rivers of sacrificial human blood, a world of sunny existence. He really deserved it. But here Juan the priest pulled Juan the man - our Savior is Christ, and for the Indians this should be so. There is no need for neo-pagan cults, they must be eradicated. The Indians need to be educated, enlightened. One evening, Juan de Samarraga heard a song. A woman sang, sang in Spanish, but with an accent. Probably once upon a time, stairs were lowered from the sky, and the demons, knowing this, blocked people’s path to them. Probably once upon a time the Sun sent sons to earth, and for a long time their glory did not fade over this world. Stones with a metaphysical code fell from space. A metamorphosis has occurred with the once soulful people. And heroes were needed so that the doors could open again. Without fear and without mercy, to fight the forces of darkness. The people, bleeding, losing their hearts in rituals, did not know the distant countries where those warriors were born. And from another world, piercing the expanse of the ocean, they came to overthrow the idol with sword and thunder in iron. The battle between the armies of bloodthirsty gods and a handful of men in iron, who had no equal, lasted for three months. There is a pyramid of death, where the priests reveled in blood. Piercing the formidable army, the knights made their way to her. On the stairs, the knights are fighting to get through to the temple - But everyone in the line is wounded, and Alvarado himself is wounded. If you don’t take the pyramid, your hearts will be torn out. Go to the priests from hell! Destroy the bloody altar! The priests above are buzzing the drum and the trumpets, in vain, The mental armor reflects everything that is terrible for others. Those who ascended the steps killed the bloody gods. People's hearts remain - they were returned from hell. -Who is this singer? - Juan asked the secretary. - This is Luisa de Tlaxcala singing! - answered the secretary. - Is she one of the newly baptized Indian women? - She was one of the first to be baptized! This is Pedro de Alvarado's concubine. She is the daughter of a Tlaxcalian chieftain and was given as a gift to Cortes along with 19 other girls. She was baptized. And Hernan Cortes gave it to Pedro de Alvarado. “Is she actually his slave?!” - No, that's not true at all! She and Malinche, Cortez's concubine, are ready to give their hearts for their spouses! And here, where very recently hearts were torn out - this is not a beautiful phrase, but an unshakable attachment, sacrifice, love, and not slavish obedience! They deify their spouses. You heard her singing - it's about Alvarado and his squad. And the most amazing thing is that this is the truth, and this truth, before our eyes, is turning into a legend. This is above all the feats in the war with the Moors! You know - Pedro de Alvarado inspired his people in battle with the words of some ballad - Let Toledo steel sparkle over their world - Slay all the vampires of the country, And bring death to the bloodthirsty idols. Forward, sons of Hispaniola! And the most interesting thing, according to Anton Alaminos, is that he heard this ballad from a blind knight in his homeland. He says that this battle was sung in ballads by a blind knight many years before the present event. - Sailors tell many tales. Not everything they tell you should be believed! You only need to believe in our Lord - Jesus Christ! - said Bishop Juan. *** Pedro de Alvarado became captain general and first governor of Guatemala. He spent a stormy life in military campaigns. He even prepared his own expedition to conquer the Incas. But, in order not to conflict, he sold the already assembled equipment to Pissaro for 100,000 pesos. And it's not expensive at all. He got back his money invested in this equipment. And if he made a little money from this, then Pissaro understood that the time spent and organizational efforts must also be paid. In the late 30s of the 16th century, Pedro de Alvarado was preparing an expedition from Central America to China. And when the ships were almost ready to go to the Ocean, the Indian uprising broke out. Alvarado sets off to pacify the rebels. But, while crossing the mountains, his horse stumbled and fell. She fell and crushed Alvarado. A few days later he died. This was in 1541. It's amazing that he lived to be 56 years old. A life full of battles and campaigns is over. He is ready to swim across the Great Ocean - In China he will appear far away. And the planned plan is close to completion, and help came from the east. But suddenly they are distracted from daring labors - The spirit of bloodthirsty feasts has risen again. The priests again raise a formidable rebellion. I want to get drunk with power again. That caste of vampires will not give up hope - Build their happiness on death. And they manage to motivate people to rise up to the call of crazy ideas. Saddled Alvarado on the horse's journey - You need to go to the mountains along the paths. But the snake is waiting on the path for spells - And death is approaching. You knight are not at all afraid of her, But she has not forgotten her calling. The horse will stumble. Will fall. And with himself - He will crush Alvarado to the rock. Death was afraid to start a fight with him - He would attack from an ambush. And for several days after that he said goodbye to his friends and held back a groan. But, nevertheless, his last moment came - And the spirit flew away into a distant world. Where did he come from to our world in order to show us a great feat? And put an end to the cult of the possessed forever. So that a person could feel love in his heart. For three centuries the sun's rays will shine - In Hispaniola, saved from torment. Then only the mad nationalist will shout - About the glorious lost share. Having forgotten about the cult of the bloody gods, I am ready to go again along the path of the lost. Taking the pyramid of death was his destiny. But it turns out that he was not given the opportunity to open a route to China through the Pacific Ocean. ***

November 5th, 2016

I haven’t written about Cambodia for a long time, so I decided to refresh my memories now. Previously, I posted Khmer historical monuments on my blog in order of time - first the most ancient, then all the others in descending order of their age. I will continue this tradition, although the Angkor area is usually outlined more often geographically - first the most significant temples, and then all the rest. The time scale is closer to me, and now on our agenda is the 10th century of Kambujadesh - the Khmer Empire, then the world famous tourist attraction - the Angkor Wat temple - had not yet been built, and the great city of Angkor Thom did not exist (or rather, it had only just begun to be developed). This was the time of the wandering capitals of the Khmer Empire and their great pyramidal temples.

Let me just remind you in general about the essence of the structure of Khmer cities - the capitals in Kambujadesh were built around central temples, which had a pyramidal shape and also served as the final resting place of the Khmer rulers. Each new king built himself a new pyramid, everything was almost like in Ancient Egypt, only in their pyramids the Khmers did not store the mummies of the deceased kings, but their ashes left after cremation.
After all, the entire culture of ancient Cambodia was built on Hinduism, it was the idea of ​​​​Aryan cities embodied in stone and wood, even brought to some degree of madness. For the construction activity of the Khmers is truly amazing.

Pyramid of the Temple of Pre Rup.

The temple of Rajendravarman II was dedicated to the god Shiva, its name (Pre Rup) translates as “turning over the body”, and reflects an important part of the Khmer funeral rite, when the corpse was turned over in the fire for better combustion. Like all early Khmer royal temples, Pre Rup is a step pyramid symbolizing the Hindu Mount Meru. The Pre Rup pyramid has three steps on which there are five towers of prasats, in fact, these are the temples themselves, in them there were statues of deities, as a rule, these were figures with portrait features of the donors of the temple, i.e. rulers of Kambujadeshi. In addition to statues, the temples housed symbols of royal power - stone lingas.

The bottom stage of the Pre Rup pyramid.

In addition to the temple of Rajenravarman II himself, Vishwapura, the legendary ancestor of the king, the aunt of Rajenravarman II and wife of Jayavarman IV - Jayadevi (Jaendradevi), and Harshavarman II, her son and predecessor of Rajendravarman II on the throne, were revered in the Pre Rupa prasaths. That is, the Khmers deified the entire royal family; each relative of the king had his own temple.

Central Prasat Pre Rup.

Now, from the ancient statues inside the main temple, at best, only the foundations remain, on which cheerful images of Buddhas were placed.

The early pyramidal temples of the kings of Angkor pose a major challenge to researchers of the history of the Khmer Empire. This is due to the idea that each such temple should be the center of a separate city, i.e. When the kings of Cambodia built their tomb sanctuaries, they also built the cities around them. The question arises as to how many of these cities there were and why such a costly activity was needed at all. Previously, I looked at the example of Yashodharapura, the first capital of Angkor. Now we can add that the issue of the Khmer capitals has not yet been resolved. There is no exact answer - why was it necessary to move the capital just a few kilometers, especially in a very short period of time, for example, in one 10th century at least 4 capitals (and most likely more) were founded in the Angkor region.

Ceiling of the main temple.

One can understand the transfer of the capital to Koh Ker by the usurper Jayavarman IV; this city was built far north of Angkor. Koh Ker was then a competitive center of power. Or is it logical to move the capital from, in the 10th century the artificial one that fed this city may have already begun to dry out. Therefore, the capital area was moved to the northwest. Although the drying up of Indratataki is just a guess, it is surprising that this giant pool dried up in less than 100 years.

Indravarman I completed the construction of the Bakong sanctuary in Hariharalaya in 881, and already in the 900s Yasovarman I founded Yashodharapura - only 20 years passed. In the case of Yashodharapura, the transfer of the capital could, indeed, be associated with the shallowing of the main reservoir, since, along with the capital, Yashovarman I began the creation of the huge Eastern Baray - a new reservoir. But for other cases of moving the capital, this factor is not applicable, because the reservoirs remained in place, and the capitals seemed to move.

Similar vigorous urban development activity was observed in the Middle Ages in other places, for example, in India in the Delhi Sultanate. There the Turkic rulers of India built, they did not try to expand the old settlements, but constantly built new ones, with new palaces, mosques and city fortifications, all on an area of ​​about 10 square meters. km. In ancient times, these cities were not adjacent to each other; perhaps only rural settlements were located between them; subsequently, a dozen Turkic capital cities merged into one large one, and this is how the current capital of India, Delhi, appeared.

In Angkor, this process of city formation was interrupted in the 14th-15th centuries. the capital was moved to present-day Phnom Penh, and the entire territory of the ancient cities was overgrown with tropical forest. The similarity of city formation processes may indicate the similarity of cultures of seemingly different civilizations. Perhaps the transfer of the capital by each new ruler had primarily a cult significance; with a high degree of probability, the ruling Kambujadeshi dynasty was of Indian origin, they were people from the Kushan Empire, founded by nomadic tribes. They were even preserved - on horseback, in Scythian headdresses and with a mustache like the Zaporozhye Cossacks. The rulers of the Delhi Sultanate were the same nomads; they were Turks from Central Asia. For nomadic rulers, it was apparently important to periodically change the location of the headquarters.

The frequent transfer of capitals among the Khmers did not contribute to the creation of normal fortifications around the cities, although impressive fortification lines were present at later settlements in Kambujadesh. In the Angkor region, walls were erected only in Angkor Thom in the 12th century; apparently fortifications also existed in Hariharalaya; in any case, huge ditches filled with water were well preserved there. Archaeologists testify that ditches with water were previously present at Pre Rup, but now they are completely invisible, no matter how I looked for their signs on Google maps, I didn’t find anything.

The ditches are not visible from the top of the temple pyramid; there is only forest around. Here we must not forget that the Khmer ditches-reservoirs are significant engineering structures; the moat could have a width of 100 meters or more. Around Angkor Wat, or they were perfectly preserved, and then suddenly disappeared without a trace... Around the temple, only two laterite fences and the ruins of “auxiliary” buildings that were part of the complex are visible, these are small temples, halls for pilgrims, ministers, after all, Khmer temples visited by a large number of people.

The prasat towers on the Pre Rupa platform were built from bricks, albeit quite large ones, larger than standard sizes. Apparently, Rajenravarman II tried to save on construction, because in the 10th century the Khmers built all the main royal temples from stone.

Rajenravarman II had every reason to save, since he planned to build two large temples at once - his Pre Rup, and his parents - East Mebon, which we will now also examine.

A small temple in the corner of the square complex of Pre Rup.

External wall Pre Rup.

About one kilometer further north is the temple of Rajenravarman II's parents - East Mebon. Now there are peasant meadows and fields around it, but earlier the waters of the giant Eastern Barai splashed here - an artificial reservoir created by Yashovarman I at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries. Its length was 7.2 km and width 1.8 km, the depth of the artificial lake was about 5 meters. Now this baray is completely dry, so you can imagine its scale using the example of a preserved one, dug up a little later.

East Mebon was an artificial island, now its structures resemble a low pyramid. It is interesting that Rajenravarman II was the first to build a temple for his parents - in 952, and only 9 years later he began to build his own temple mount, Pre Rup.

The ceremonial staircase leading to the sanctuary was once a pier where pilgrims' boats moored. Apparently, East Mebon did not have a causeway connecting it to land, so it was a fairly secluded place.

The East Mebon platform is, in my opinion, the most interesting part of the temple complex, because the sanctuary itself is quite standard for Angkor.

The dimensions of the platform are 115 by 115 meters; the island itself was made of earth and broken stones, which was lined with a shell of laterite blocks.

At the corners of the platform there are stone elephants, carved almost life-size.

In general, East Mebon resembles Pre Rup, only there is no pyramidal base.

Despite the lack of mountain-like appearance, the temple looks impressive. There are few tourists here, which also creates only advantages. I found it even more interesting than the Pre Rupa pyramid.

Numerous small holes on the walls were designed to hold heavy plaster, but as we see, this method could not protect the external decoration of the temples. The plaster has fallen off the walls everywhere, but in ancient times all Khmer temples were covered with a thick layer of it and brightly painted.

Once upon a time, only the surface of the water was visible in all directions from the East Mebon platform, but now the landscape has changed significantly.

Reconstruction of one of the pier-entrances of East Mebon.

Stone elephants, by the way, rarely decorated temples in Angkor; as a rule, lions were placed everywhere.

On the platform of the temple there are remains of halls for pilgrims; these were wooden structures with tiled roofs, which can now be seen throughout Indochina. They only had stone pillars.

Outer fence of East Mebon.

Well, now we will move a few kilometers west to examine one of the tallest pyramids in Angkor - the Ta Keo Temple, which was the center of the city of Jayendranagari, the capital of Jayavarman V, the son of Rajenravarman II.

Before examining the pyramid itself, it is worth paying attention to an interesting engineering object located nearby, this is a bridge over the Siem Reap River, it has its own name Spean Tmar. Now the river bed is located to the west of the bridge, and most importantly significantly lower, which hints that the full flow of the river in ancient times exceeded what it is today.

The city of Jayendranagari was located in a tricky place, to the east its edge hung over the giant man-made lake East Baray, and to the west, it abutted the Siem Reap River, which flowed from north to south, resulting in a regular square blocked on both sides by water barriers. At the same time, the ritual center of the Ta Keo temple was surrounded by additional ditches, although now seeing them from above, on Google maps, is problematic, because the entire territory of the city is densely overgrown with trees. The remains of the ditches are not easy to notice even from the ground, they are so overgrown, but it can still be stated that they are there; in any case, the dam and the sacred road for the processions of the Ta Keo temple are clearly visible.

Pyramid of Ta Keo Temple. It was started to be built at the beginning of the 11th century by Jayavarman V, but was never completed. Perhaps the ruler died early and had no heirs, so the temple remained unfinished.

Like many temples in Angkor, Ta Kaew is very difficult to photograph in the daytime, because it is surrounded by tall trees that create sharp and long shadows. In general, as everywhere else, in Angkor it is better to shoot in the morning and evening; during the day the lighting there is very poor; you can probably catch softer light during the rainy season, when there is no such bright sun. But I had no choice, because the scale of Angkor is large, and if you limit photography only to the evening hours, the inspection could take several months.

I have read different opinions about the height of Ta Keo, some believe that it is all 70 meters including the main tower, which is certainly not true, most likely 45-50. It’s just that Ta Keo has an elongated silhouette; only the largest in Cambodia had such a ratio of height and width of the base.

Ta Keo has the same steep staircase as in Angkor Wat, only there, after repeated falls of tourists, special railings and steps were made. Here the staircase remains natural, the height of each step is about half a meter, so you can only climb up using your hands.

The main sanctuary of Ta Keo, dedicated to Shiva, is also shaped like a pyramid.

The builders managed to erect the main volume of the temple, but did not have time to decorate it with reliefs. Therefore, all the stone blocks in Ta Keo are pristine, demonstrating how the walls of Khmer temples looked without artistic decoration. Round holes in the blocks were needed for ease of carrying; wooden or metal sticks were inserted into them.

The internal volume of the main prasat in Ta Keo is surprisingly large; as a rule, the area of ​​premises in such towers is negligible, but here there is a whole hall. This is where another nun or someone similar to her does her business.

Unlike the temples of his father (Pre Rup, East Mebon), Jayavarman V made his temple entirely of stone. He obviously had thousands of captive Chams working on the construction (now this people lives mainly in Vietnam), with whom he waged successful wars.

Before going down the steep stairs, it is worth paying attention to the galleries around the main pyramid; perhaps these are the first such galleries in Khmer architecture. Subsequently, similar covered corridors will be used in Angkor Wat.

A souvenir photo on the platform of the Pre Rup Temple - Maximus at his maximum weight - 103 kg. At the end of the story, advice from the author of this magazine goes like this - before climbing the temples of Angkor in the heat of 40 degrees, try to lose at least a little weight, this may save you from many unnecessary health problems. Unfortunately, the man in this photo did not heed this sage advice and after a couple of weeks of running around the Khmer jungle, he ended up in a local hospital. Having suffered heatstroke, poisoning, and spinal injury. I’m sure if I lost at least 15 kg it would be much easier for me in every sense :) In general, I wish everyone good health)

Previous posts dedicated to Cambodia and Angkor:

Lost in the jungles of Preah Vihear province in the north of the country, formerly known as Chok Gargyar, which means Island of Glory, the Koh Ker area has about 100 temples. Most of the ruins have been found in the jungle and cleared of mines, but there are still a lot of mines in the area, so it's dangerous to go off the roads!

This area is much older than the well-known Angkor Watta, since Koh Ker is the very first capital of the Khmer state of antiquity, and later it was moved to Angkor.

Road to Koh Ker.

Inaccessible to tourists until 2002, the temples of Koh Ker still look like they were just discovered in the jungle. On an area of ​​35 sq. km. there are religious buildings, among which is a pyramid, so reminiscent of Mesoamerican... Prasat Thom translated from Khmer as “Great Temple”.

The pyramid itself is shrouded in legends; locals avoid it - for them it is a cursed place.
In ancient times, one of the kings was a fan of the cult of Mara and sacrificed living people, throwing them into the pyramid shaft; the shaft was something like a portal between worlds. In the case of the cult of Mara, the mine was the entrance to hell...

We did not find a single bird or small living creature around the pyramid... we asked the aborigines - they confirmed that animals and birds do not get along in this place. We also didn’t hear any cicadas nearby.

The pyramid is located behind the inner, ancient fence in the very center of the forgotten city. Its height is 35 meters, and the length of the side of the base is 55 m, made of stone blocks. I tried to push 100 bucks into the gaps between the blocks in places where the masonry was intact, but it didn’t work... Just in case, I took a small piece from the masonry, it can be used for rock analysis, dating.... In many places there are very smooth joints, traces of handicraft are visible on the outside of the masonry work, but on the sides, in the depths of the blocks there is a very smooth surface. This can be especially seen in places where the masonry has moved apart, but has not undergone erosion, or the influence of the environment was minimal.

Punched round holes were found in the masonry; they were punched holes; no traces of drilling were found.

A rotten wooden staircase leads to the top of the pyramid, which was built in our time, on top of destroyed ancient stone steps... We climbed it with great caution.

At the very top of the pyramid there is a shaft, it is fenced with a flimsy wooden fence. Now the shaft of the pyramid is covered with rotten boards, overgrown with all sorts of greenery on top, I think these boards can be easily moved apart.

The tiers of the pyramid are overgrown with vegetation.

Behind the pyramid there is a hill of similar size, all covered with trees and vines; according to local legend, this is the grave of a white elephant, an animal especially revered in Buddhism. The entrance to the hill is currently closed to outsiders, and they took great care with the fence, even hanging a sign with a picture.

All these prohibitions evoke thoughts of hidden knowledge, that there is something to look for there, and therefore the descendants of the priest-monks strenuously hide this from strangers... and even their fellow tribesmen (cursed place, etc.)...

And here is a photo of the inner masonry and outer cladding of the pyramid for comparison (in the damaged area):

The guard below, naturally, does not allow you to go to the top of the pyramid... but in fact, he can be distracted for a minute while the main group storms the ancient structure. That's what we did. Already at the peak of the pyramid we saw, like a guard, a carved garuda - the mythical bird of the god Vishnu. In ancient times, there was also a huge linga - a symbol of Shiva, whose height was at least 4 meters and weighed about 24 tons. Now all this lies in rubble on top of the building. To see the stone sculptures in the rubble, you need to be a small person...

Local legends say that there was originally a 5-meter golden statue at the top. But when a French expedition discovered Prasat Thom in 1930, there was nothing at the top... And since it is simply impossible to lower such a huge thing down without special mechanisms, they assumed that the statue fell into a shaft that gapes at the top of the mysterious pyramid.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to verify this. Everyone who went down inside the pyramid did not return back... (except! read below).

At a depth of 15 meters, all kinds of equipment stop working, even a flashlight, and the safety ropes on which people descended break...
It was not possible to get to the missing through the holes that the French tried to punch in the pyramid itself. The mystery of the pyramid remained unsolved. She remains like this to this day...

According to unverified information (I myself am not familiar with the participants in the descent):

In 2010, our Russian diggers finally descended into the pyramid - with professional equipment. It was discovered that the mine was filled with fresh earth at a depth of about eight meters.
Someone closed this strange portal from too curious eyes. However, research by diggers has shown that the pyramid is hollow inside, that is, the shaft remains, only the entrance itself is blocked!

But where it leads, no one knows to this day... Since the local authorities practically do not guard the pyramid (a security guard does not count for appearances), I think it is possible to organize a descent into the pyramid shaft. The main criterion: to have climbing equipment, several physically strong men, a methane sensor, and of course, a video camera with the ability to film at night....

In the video I have attached you can see all the interesting moments of walking around the pyramid, climbing it, as well as the nearby ancient buildings.

Koh Ker is one of the most mysterious places in Cambodia. This name refers to an ancient Khmer city with a unique temple, located in the jungle of this Southeast Asian country. For a long time this mysterious place was hidden from people, and even now it is in no hurry to reveal its centuries-old secrets to the world.

Koh Ker is located in the province of Preah Vihear, just 90 km from the temples of Angkor, but many mines remain in these places, and tourists who first came to these surroundings only in 2007 are rarely seen here. Only the most courageous true lovers of oriental exoticism get here, and there is plenty of it here, because Koh Ker is one of the most mysterious places in Southeast Asia.

The mysterious capital of the Khmer Empire

In the 10th century, in just two decades, at the behest of Jayavarman IV, who wished to move the capital of the Khmer Empire from Angkor to a new place, a new large-scale city was built in the jungle, initially called Lingapura. This is the name found in most ancient chronicles, and the name Koh Ker appeared much later.

Oddly enough, such a majestic city, in which there were up to 100 temples, was the capital of the kingdom for a short time, and the history of Koh Ker, as well as the life of the initiator of its creation, is full of many mysteries. In the most mysterious way, Jayavarman IV disappeared, after which the residents of the new capital left these places, and Koh Ker acquired the fame of a cursed place. However, in terms of its structures, this ancient settlement is not much inferior to Angkor, and its unique mysterious pyramid temple attracts the attention of all connoisseurs of oriental mysticism.

Unique pyramid at Koh Ker

The total area of ​​the ancient capital of the Khmer kingdom is 35 sq. km, but most of the palace complex and temples of Koh Ker did not withstand the destructive influence of time: only ruins remained from them. However, the greatest interest in the ancient complex is a structure that has remained almost unchanged by time - a unique central temple in all respects in the form of a 32-meter pyramid consisting of 7 steps. This architectural appearance is more reminiscent of the typical pyramids of the Mayan and Inca civilizations and is not at all characteristic of the Khmer culture: similar buildings are not found anywhere else in Cambodia.

The temple, the length of the sides of the base is 55 m, is built from massive solid stone blocks, which are located so close to each other that even a banknote cannot pass between them, but there are no rocks anywhere in the entire area, and where did such building material come from - mystery. The local residents themselves firmly believe that the pyramid temple was built by the great gods. Interestingly, the famous pyramids in Giza, which also surprise with the mystery of their creation, were built around the same time as the pyramid in Cambodia.

"Pyramid of Death" - the gateway to hell?

This unique sacred structure is called Prasat Thom, which means “Great Temple,” but it is better known under the eerie name “Pyramid of Death.” Ancient Khmer legends say that at the top of this strange temple, Lord Koh Ker made bloody sacrifices to the demon Mar, throwing them into a deep shaft going down, which was the entrance to the other world, where this bloodthirsty demon lived. Legends are legends, but the reality is that all the desperate explorers who ventured inside this pyramid ended their lives very sadly. In addition, many tourists note that in the vicinity of the Koh Kera pyramid no sounds are heard - neither birds nor animals, as if everything here had long since died out, disappeared along with the ancient civilization that erected this extraterrestrial, even by the standards of contemporaries, structure.

In 2010, Russian diggers managed to go down into the mine, and unexpectedly it turned out that already at a depth of 8 meters the mine was covered with sand, although scientists recorded that the void inside the pyramid remained. Apparently, someone tried to hide the entrance to this kingdom of ancient secrets.

Most of the Koh Ker complex still remains unexplored, because going off the beaten path here is quite dangerous: the risk of ending up on mines is very high. Because of this, there is also an assumption that perhaps not all the buildings of Koh Ker have been opened yet, and somewhere in the jungle there are ancient temples that people simply have not yet been able to reach. And who knows what other secrets this mystical area of ​​Cambodia holds?

• Address: 120 km from Siem Reap, Cambodia
• Height: 32 m
• Base side length: 55 m
• Date of construction: X century n. e.

If you are attracted by mystical places with a very ancient and mysterious history, the Pyramid of Death, located in the vicinity of Angkor (90 km in a northeast direction), fits this definition well. This is one of the oldest buildings in the city, and many extreme sports enthusiasts come to see it every year. It dates back to the 10th century. n. e. and is located on the territory of the city of Koh Ker, which has long disappeared from the face of the earth. From 921 to 941, during the reign of Jayavarman IV, it was the capital of the Khmer Empire. Then the capital was moved to Angkor, and Koh Ker with all its monumental temple buildings fell into disrepair.

What is the Pyramid of Death famous for?

The Pyramid of Death, or Prasat Thom, is located in the inner enclosure of the city. It is slightly shifted towards the city center to the north. It is believed that the temple was supposed to symbolize Mount Meru, erected from the World Ocean. That is why the sanctuary, like most Khmer temples, is surrounded by a moat with water. At the moment, this temple complex is considered not to be fully explored. Key facts that travelers should know about the Death Pyramid in Cambodia are:

1. The pyramid has seven steps, and seven, as you know, is a sacred number in the Buddhist religion, meaning the transition from our time dimension to non-existence.
2. It is believed that this temple complex was supposed to be used as a tomb for Jayavarman IV, but this did not happen for unknown reasons.
3. The dimensions of the pyramid are impressive: its height is 32 m, and the length of each side is 55 m. As follows from the inscriptions preserved here, there was a huge lingam on its top. Researchers estimate that its size was approximately 4 m and it weighed about 24 tons.
4. All six tiers of the sanctuary are abundantly overgrown with vegetation, but there are walking platforms from which it is very convenient to explore the surroundings.
5. Previously, people climbed to the top of the pyramid using a wooden ladder, but now it has been destroyed. Even earlier, they climbed to the top of the pyramid along ancient stone steps, but for Europeans this was extremely inconvenient. This was explained by the fact that the height of the steps was much greater than their width, so when climbing, you had to pull yourself up with your hands. Only selected priests climbed to the top of the pyramid, so there was no talk of comfort for the majority here. In March 2014, a new, more convenient staircase was built to the right of the main entrance to the temple.
6. Entrance to the territory of the ancient temple is paid: tourists are charged $10 per person.
7. There are practically no sculptures left on the territory of the temple complex: they were either destroyed or transported to museums. Now you can see mainly pedestals there, as well as the miraculously surviving head of the sacred bull Nandina.
8. The top of the pyramid is guarded by an image of garuda, the mythical bird of the god Vishnu, carved on a stone block.
9. The megalithic blocks of the pyramid's masonry fit almost perfectly, there are no gaps between them, and the side surface of the blocks themselves is very smooth, as if it had been processed with a grinding machine. The outer side of the masonry has traces of manual processing.
10. The temple received its second name - Pyramid of Death in Koh Ker - because of its bloody history. It is believed that once one of the ancient kings worshiped the dark god Mara, to whom people were sacrificed, throwing them while still alive into the pyramid shaft. According to one version, this mine was a portal between worlds, according to the second, it was a gateway to hell itself. Now it is an ordinary well, covered with wooden boards. It is located at the bottom of a square structure built from stone blocks with punched holes. Local residents prefer to avoid Prasat Thom, claiming that even animals and birds do not settle in the vicinity of the sanctuary.
11. According to legend, the top of the Pyramid of Death was previously decorated with a 5-meter golden statue. But when French researchers discovered Prasat Thom, she was no longer there, so scientists assumed that she fell into the mine. It is not possible to verify this, since many of those who tried to go down into it went missing. They say that at a depth of 15 meters, any equipment stops functioning there, even a flashlight, and safety ropes break. The holes that they tried to punch in the pyramid itself also did not reveal the mystery of the disappearance of people. In 2010, Russian diggers tried to explore the mine, but at a depth of 8 meters it was already covered with fresh earth.

How to visit?

Getting to the Death Pyramid in Cambodia is not too difficult: it is located 120 km from, so the trip will take you about 3 hours. The area here is quite deserted, and mines from the Civil War were often found, so it became possible to explore this attraction only relatively recently. there is no service here, so tourists have to either get there by car or rent a vehicle such as a minibus. The latter option will cost an average of $100.