City of Chan Chan, an amazing and different place to see

Last night I went to a lecture at Fresno State given by an archaeologist who had excavated at Chan Chan, an ancient city in Peru. The reason I was so stoked to go to the lecture is that I’ve been there before. Although after the lecture I have a lot more detail about the culture of the people that built it and issues with erosion of the site, it’s still nothing like seeing the place for yourself.  While living in Peru, I spent a few months up in Trujillo and Chan Chan is just a stones throw away:

Just follow the big red arrow to Chan Chan!

 
When one of my best friends from college came to Trujillo to stay with me, we took a taxi out the the site and were both amazed.  The reason this place stood out to me so much in my memory was by how different it was from any other ruins I had visited in Peru. Most Inca ruins are made of stone that finely fits together, but this city was made of Adobe by pre-Incan people the Chimu.  They were later conquered by the Incas, but their city remained in tact even after the Spanish came.  This style of building and carvings in the wall are different from any other site I’ve ever visited, it is something unique, which if you’ve visited lots of ruins you know that after a while they can start to look the same!  Just check out these walls:

Photo Credit: Yandi

Is there any place that stands out in your mind for being especially unique?