After visiting the Grand Pyramid, we walked over to the House of the Doves. The House of the Doves sits behind the Grand Pyramid. It is at this point a long and narrow front facade/wall. I like it; it looks and feels great. Enrique and I sat under the main entrance/arch and just enjoyed the view and the feel of this beautiful temple.
The back side opens into a courtyard/quadrangle with a lot of trees growing in it. Before the front side is a field/plaza sitting much lower than the House of the Doves. Rows of small temples line the field/plaza.
According to the INAH Plaque accompanying this temple, the House of the Doves got its name from the Spaniards thinking that the fretwork of the roofcomb resembles a pigeon house. A patio with palace-like buildings (only the north building remains) surrounding it forms the cluster center. The north building has cresting made of 9 stepped triangular units with fretwork, resting upon a row of pillars formerly covered with painted stucco bas-reliefs representing human figures reclining on pedestals. The temple dates between 900-1000 A.D.
