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Time to play ball at Chichen Itza’s Mayan ballcourt! The venue at this location is one of the largest Mayan ballcourts yet discovered. It measures an incredible 545 feet/116 meters in length, and the width runs 225 feet/69 meters:

At the north end of the ballcourt are the “Box Seats”, where the local elites watched the festivities from this “Heaven” temple:

The walls to either side are quite tall. And if you take a close look at the lead picture for this article you’ll see a stone “goal” that stands some 20 feet/6 meters above the ground. It is through that small, high-up hole that the opposing teams vie to throw a 6-to-8 pound/3-to-4 kilogram ball.

You certainly didn’t want to be the captain of the losing team here. That poor bloke got brought to the steps leading to the box seats, whereupon he was separated from his head.

And, no, I sincerely doubt his head would’ve then fit through the goal:

The predominate structure at Chichen Itza, the one that really grabs your attention, is the massive El Castillo pyramid, also known as the Temple of Kukulcán. The sloped sides of the pyramid rise 79 feet/24 meters above the surrounding ground:

Sitting atop the pyramid sits a temple that adds another 20 feet/6 meters of height to the structure. This temple is to the feathered serpentine deity Kukulcán (alternatively spelled Kulkulkan), which according to Mayan culture was responsible for the creation of the world. Here you can see the temple a bit better:

And, yes, it’s a long climb to the top, I’m sure. But tourists are prohibited from making the trek, for obvious reasons:

Now I’m going to cheat, as this next photograph is not mine. It is from the Wikipedia article on this structure. During the vernal (spring) and autumnal (fall) equinoxes, the nine stepped portions of the pyramid cast a shadow upon the foot steps leading to the temple. At the base of these steps, on either side, is a serpent’s head. The shadow created by those nine structural steps gives the appearance of a serpent descending from the temple:

Next Monday we’ll take a look at where the Mayans in Chichen Itza played ball, which will of course follow this week’s Part 2 of Chichen Itza Fun Photo Friday favorites. But here’s a little preview of what’s in store when we go to ballcourt: