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Two
areas near Cusco that feature some superlative religious architecture
are the shrines of Qenqo and Tambomachay.
Qenqo is a vast rocky hilltop carved into staircases, holes
and channels, probably built to store the chicha (fermented
maize beer) used in Inca rituals. The site features a semi-circular
patio studded with several large niches surrounding a stone
figure embedded within a chamber, rather like an idol inside
its own shrine.
Tambomachay is another fine example of Inca architecture made
up of platforms, niches and fountains which still function
today, as water flows down through them from a spring higher
up in the hills. In Inca times, this was a sacred site used
for worship of the water deity, one of the shrines that made
up the Cusco ceque, the system of imaginary grid lines that
irradiated out to sacred spots or indicated the time and place
of the ceremonies.
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