The yellow arcades
Arches on every side of the grassy court.
Patrickrichaud — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carrales — CC BY-SA 4.0 · JESUS CRUZ MARTÍNEZ — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lorena Allende — CC BY-SA 4.0 · AleeCervantes — CC BY-SA 4.0
The Convent of San Antonio de Padua is a Franciscan convent in the centre of Izamal, the small city in Yucatán known as the Yellow City because most of its buildings are painted that colour. With its long arcades on a high platform above the town centre, it is the best-known sight in Izamal. Izamal was a major Maya centre and a place of pilgrimage, with temples sacred to Itzamna and to the Sun god. When the Franciscans built their temple in the sixteenth century, they partly destroyed a huge building called Ppap Hol Chak, so the convent stands on its remains. Maya and Spanish history meet on one spot. A stone stair climbs to a wide grassy court enclosed by yellow arches on every side, with the simple church front at its head. Walking under the arches is the pleasure of the visit, with cool shade and light that shifts on the walls. A statue in the court recalls Pope John Paul II. Close by rises the Kinich Kak Moo pyramid, one of the huge mounds left from the old city. Izamal is 59.8 km in a straight line east of Mérida and 89 km west of Valladolid, a good stop between them. The convent is a place of worship, so dress modestly and keep quiet during services. The best photographs come early in the morning or just before sunset, when the colour of the walls deepens.
Arches on every side of the grassy court.
A climb from the town centre to the platform.
A huge mound from the old Maya city.
Central Izamal, Yucatán state
Most of its buildings are painted that colour, which is why Yucatán knows it as the Yellow City.
Early morning or just before sunset, when the colour of the walls deepens.