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Campeche
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CAMPECHE
, capital of the state that bears its name, is one of Mexico's colonial gems and was at last recognized as such in 1999 with the designation of the city as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Elegant eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses painted in pastel shades (hundreds of which have been recently restored to former glory), interspersed with the occasional church, give it a distinctly European feel. At its heart, relatively intact, lies a colonial port still surrounded by hefty defensive walls and fortresses; around, the trappings of a modern city that is once again becoming wealthy. The seafront is a bizarre mixture of ancient and ultramodern: originally the city defences dropped straight into the sea, but now they face a reclaimed strip of land on which stand the spectacular new Palacio de Gobierno and State Legislature (spectacularly ugly in the eyes of most locals), a series of striking new sculptures representing various aspects of the city - piracy, warfare at sea, fishing - and several big hotels. In the past few tourists have stopped here, preferring to sweep by en route to Escarcega and Palenque or take Hwy-180 along the beautiful coast route via Ciudad del Carmen to Villahermosa. Though more and more visitors are discovering the immaculately preserved and tranquil streets which compare favourably with Merida's, for the moment at least Campeche remains unblighted by tourist overkill.
A Spanish expedition under Francisco Hernandez landed outside the Maya town of Ah Kin Pech in 1517, only to beat a hasty retreat on seeing the forces lined up to greet them. It wasn't until 1540 that Francisco de Montejo founded the modern town, and from here set out on his mission to conquer the Yucatan. From then until the nineteenth century, it was the chief port in the peninsula, exporting mainly logwood (source of a red dye known as
hematein
) from local forests. It also became an irresistible target for the pirates who operated with relative impunity from bases on the untamed coast roundabout. Hence the fortifications, built between 1668 and 1704 after a particularly brutal massacre of the population. Although large sections of the walls have gone, seven of the eight original bulwarks (
baluartes
) survive. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Mexico,
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