Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The city's most fabulous museum (6a Calle Final Zona 10, tel. 2331-3739,
www.museoixchel.org , 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Mon.-Fri., 9 A.M.-1 P.M. Sat., $3.50 adults, $2 stu-
dents), on the grounds of the Francisco Marroquín University is dedicated to Mayan cul-
ture with an emphasis on weaving and traditional costumes. It's housed in a beautiful brick
buildingbuilttoresemble aMayan huipil, orhand-woven,embroidered blouse.Ondisplay
arePre-Hispanicobjects,photographs,hand-wovenfabrics,ceremonialcostumes,weaving
tools, and folk paintings by Guatemalan artist Andrés Curruchich. You'll find interactive
multimedia displays, a café, bookstore, and huipiles for sale in the excellent gift shop. Dis-
playsareinEnglishandSpanish.Thismuseumisamust-seeforanyonewithevenacasual
interest in Mayan weaving, as it manages to condense the country's rich weaving heritage
spanning a fairly vast geographical range into a single place with excellent displays and an
attractive setting.
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Museo Popol Vuh
Nextdoorandalsoontheuniversitycampusisthesimilarlyhigh-caliberMuseoPopolVuh
(tel. 2361-2301, www.popolvuh.ufm.edu.gt , 9 A.M.-5 P.M. Mon.-Fri., 9 A.M.-1 P.M. Sat.,
$3.50adults,$2students). Started in1978fromauniversity donationbyprivate collectors,
it has been in its current location since 1997. The museum houses an impressive collection
from Guatemala's archaeological record grouped in different rooms denoted by Preclassic,
Classic, Postclassic, and Colonial times. The highlight is in the Postclassic room with a
replicaofthe Dresden Codex, oneofonlythreeMayanbookstosurvivetheirpostconquest
burning by the Spanish (the other two are the Paris Codex and the Madrid Codex).
ZONA 11
Museo Miraflores
TheexcellentMuseoMiraflores(7aCalle21-55Zona11,PaseoMiraflores,tel.2470-3415
/16/17/18, www.museomiraflores.org , 9 A.M.-7 P.M. Tues.-Sun., $2 adults, $1 children/
students)isdedicated tothehistoryoftheMayansiteofKaminaljuyú. Justoutsidethemu-
seum's main entrance is a replica of an irrigation canal similar to those found throughout
theMayancityasearlyas600B.C.Inside,thelargewindowpanelsprovidefantasticviews
of the stark contrast between old and new, with the green temple mound of structure B-V-3
flanked by modern glass buildings in the background. Also at the entrance is a scale mod-
el of what the city probably looked like in its heyday, built into the museum floor under a
glass case. In the main exhibit area, you'll find a comprehensive history of Kaminaljuyú in
English and Spanish as well as a burial display, pottery, jade jewelry, stone sculpture, and
obsidian blades. There are also old photographs of the site's excavation and maps showing
 
 
 
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