Peru, 2009

Machu Picchu is a city founded by the Incas high in the Peruvian Andes above the valley of the Río Urubamba. The Incas built the city in the 15th century at an altitude of 2,430 meters on a ridge between the peaks of Huayna Picchu and the mountain of the same name Machu Picchu in the Andes above the Urubamba Valley of the Cusco region, 75 kilometers northwest of the city of Cusco. The site is famous for its ingenious dry-stone walls, to which huge blocks of stone were piled without mortar. The city included 216 stone structures, located on terraces and connected by a system of stairs. Most of the terraces with their small water drainage openings built into the walls and about 3,000 steps, have been preserved to this day, as have the canal connection from the water source outside the city complex to the cascading fountain basins, the outer walls of the temples, and the residential buildings, some of which are multi-story. Characteristic of the fascinating buildings is their relational astronomical orientation and the panoramic view offered from them. Their exact use remains a mystery.

Framed with tulipwood, distance framing, and a UV 99 museum glass.