While visiting Uxmal, Enrique and I took one day to visit the Loltun Caves and the Mayan city of Kabah.
Kabah is a smaller site like Labna. The main interesting structures are the Palace, the Pyramid of the Masks, the Palace of the Masks, and the Arch. The Arch seems to mute sounds when you are in it; a really weird experience! Kabah also has a Temple of the Columns, but I did not see it on this trip.
I feel that Kabah has a harshness to it, a harsh energy. The architecture is Puuc style, but the energy does not feel Puuc. It feels more aggressive, like Toltec. That was my feeling.
According to the INAH Sign accompanying the site, “Kabah” is Yucatec Mayan for “mighty hand”. Kabah lies south of the Puuc Hills and north of the rolling terrain of the Bolonchen Escarpment. Kabah encompasses about 1,000 acres on fertile farm lands dotted with temples, palace, and dwelling places, most built from 700 to 1000 A.D. (Terminal Classic Period). A 20 mile Saq Be links Kabah to the Mayan cities of Nohpat (never heard of it) and Uxmal. Kabah consists of 3 main groups of temples: the East Group (which is the only group currently excavated), the Central Group, and the West Group. The East Group rises from a massive platform with 2 prominent, probably administrative, buildings called the Codz Poop (Palace of the Masks) and the Palace. In the Central Group, the Great Pyramid (unexcavated) and a broad square/plaza (also unexcavated) precede the Arch of Kabah, where the grand Uxmal Saq Be ends. A narrower Saq Be reaches southward to a smaller pyramid. The West Group’s Temple of the Red Hands and the Observatory (both unexcavated) seem to have had religious and ritual functions. Pottery evidence indicates that the Mayans occupied Kabah from the Late Pre-Classic Period (800 B.C - 100 A.D.), but did not urbanize until 600 A.D. Kabah reached its peak during the Terminal Classic Period (800 - 1000 A.D.). The Itzaes from Chichen Itza later conquered Kabah and occupied it for a little while before permanently abandoning it.
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