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insomsbf  ·  4331 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Yesterday and today - two views of Machu Picchu.

Hiram Bingham, a North American explorer, or a modern day thief? My family who are locals of the Peruvian Andes, share their knowledge of the American discovery of this ancient city. Explorers for years have been trying to find this city to no avail. The altitude is high, transportation is minimal, and the city is more than a myth than reality. Come Hiram Bingham, with his ultimate goal to find the treasures buried deep in this unknown city, with his team or archeologists financed by one of the wealthiest institutions in North America. They ask the indigenous locals of this city but the secret is well kept, as the locals are reluctant to give information knowing the westerners have a hidden agenda. It was a young campesino, or land dweller, that for the mere price that adds up to $10 in their times, agrees to show Bingham and his crew this lost ancient city. Once the city is discovered, Bingham and his crew loot the city for its riches including the precious gold that has been hidden for years. Small pay offs to government officials allows for the treasures to be smuggled into the US without Bingham and his crew being caught. An ancient city that has always been known to the locals, is now claimed to being found by an American explorer. Items stolen from the ancient city are never to be found, yet Hiram Bingham is credited for the discovery of a city that has well been discovered before him and occupied by the indigenous. Now it is a Disneyland, deemed one of the seven wonders of the world, with the Mickey Mouse ears as hats being replaced by the peruvian beanie, or chullo. Hiram Bingham is considered to be like Christopher Columbus, somebody who stole from the indigenous, but is credited for this city that has been discovered long before he set foot in this magical place.