Cusco, Peru, Cross Poster

"Cusco, Peru' Cross" by Catherine Sherman. Flowers and an embroidered stole and robe adorn a cross at the Convent of Santa Catalina in Cusco, Peru. The convent was built on the site of Qorikancha, part of which remains today and is now a museum. Qorikancha was the most important and elaborate temple of the Inca Empire. Qorikancha means golden courtyard and at the time of the Incas, the walls were covered in solid gold sheets. When the Spanish colonized the area, they demolished and looted parts of the temple and constructed the convent of Santo Domingo on top of it. The convent is still there today. Marvel at the original stonework, walk down corridors and through the chambers of Qorikancha and find clues to its former splendor. The walls of Qorikancha were covered with gold in the days of the Inca, but the Spanish removed it, melted it and shipped it to Spain.