Arequipa
Arequipa is a lovely city in southern Peru, situated 2000m
above sea level.
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The lovely Arequipa Plaza de Armas.
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Arequipa is home to the Convent of Santa Catalina,
whose Web site is here.
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The famed ice princess, Juanita, was recently found mummified
at the top of a peak near this town. Juanita was a beautiful
(judging from her well-preserved body) teenager sacrificed
by the Incas as part of a program to pacify the mountain gods.
We are told that Juanita was given huge amounts of both coca
and chicha, and was thus already very woozy when killed by
being struck on the back of her head, and tenderly buried
in a tomb together with large numbers of beautiful and valuable
figurines, fabrics, and ceramics. A museum in Arequipa is
dedicated to Juanita and the handful of other ice mummies
found on mountain peaks.
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