Flores, El Petén
| Flores | |
|---|---|
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  Flores Location in Guatemala | |
| Coordinates: 16°55′47″N 89°53′30″W / 16.92972°N 89.89167°WCoordinates: 16°55′47″N 89°53′30″W / 16.92972°N 89.89167°W | |
| Country |
 Guatemala |
| Department |
.png){kind=small} El Petén |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Armando Aragón (PP) |
| Population (2002) | |
| • Total | 13,700 |
| Climate | Aw |
Flores is the capital of the Petén department of Guatemala. The population is 13,700 (2003).
Flores is also the seat of the municipality of Flores (population 22,600).
The old part of the city is located on an island on Lake Peten Itza, connected to the mainland by a short causeway. On the mainland is the suburb Santa Elena and, to the West, a contiguous municipality San Benito.
In Pre-Columbian times, Flores was the Maya city of Nojpetén.
Transportation
Flores is served by Mundo Maya International Airport. Several international flights land here but most stop first at Guatemala City's La Aurora International Airport. The Island is also very well connected by bus, with many companies running overnight buses to Guatemala City
Tayasal
The Itza left the Yucatán region in the 13th century and built the city later known as Tayasal as their capital. They called it Noh (Nohoch) Petén, literally "City Island". It was also called Tah Itzá, or Place of the Itzá.
It was here, on the island of Flores on the shore of Lake Petén Itzá, that the last independent Maya state held out against the Spanish conquerors. In 1541, Hernán Cortés came to the island, en route to Honduras, but needed to move on and did not try to conquer it.
The Spanish did not manage to conquer the island until 1697, when they marched in, attacked via boats, and destroyed it. Those who could flee did so, and many Itzá people hid in the jungle for years. From the ruins of Noh Petén arose the modern city of Flores.
Gallery
Flores in the 19th century
The first photographs ever made from Flores where those taken by engineer Claudio Urrutia in 1897, when he was in charge of the Guatemala-Mexico Border Commission.[1]
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Flores, as seen from San Benito
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Engineering crew of the Guatemalan Border Comission. Claudia Urrutia, Commission Director is in the middle.
Flores in the 21st century
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Aerial view of Flores Island from above Santa Elena.
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Sunset in Flores.
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Restaurant on Lake Peten Itza
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Causeway connecting the island .
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Shore of Lake Petén Itza.
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Classic period panel in the main plaza of Flores found in the nearby site of Ixlu.
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The island in 1917.
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Aerial view of the City.
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flores. |
References
Bibliography
- La Ilustración Guatemalteca (1 April 1897). "Nuestros grabados: Límites con México". La Ilustración Guatemalteca (in Spanish) (Guatemala: Síguere, Guirola & Cía) I (18).
External links
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Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Flores (Guatemala). |
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