MCHH+6F Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
The Nunnery or Women's Monastery is the name given to complexes of Maya buildings, for example, in Uxmal. The Spanish conquistadors were the ones who assigned the names to most of the buildings. The monastery consists of several buildings, one of which is constructed in the Puuc style; however, the facade of the building itself, facing east, is not in this style but rather in the Chenes style, which is widespread in the region under that name, located in the northeast of the state of Campeche. The main building has three floors, combining Maya-Toltec and Puuc styles. On the second floor, there are lintels with long inscriptions and rich decorations including murals and stone mosaics in the late Puuc style.
The Women's Monastery faces north and consists of three buildings: Las Monjas (The Nuns), the eastern wing, and the southeastern wing, which correspond to several construction periods. Its name is related to the fact that the buildings with numerous rooms reminded the Spaniards of their monasteries. The large complex of the Women's Monastery in Chichen Itza includes palace-type structures, a ballgame court, and a low wall. The main building has at least six construction phases, during which the building itself was rebuilt, and the decoration and style changed; these are signs of a long period of use. It has three floors combining Maya-Toltec and Puuc styles. On the second floor, long inscriptions were found on the lintels, richly decorated with murals and stone mosaics in the late Puuc style.
The eastern chamber is the most luxurious and elegant facade of the women's complex. It consists of a base formed by two protruding moldings and a central band decorated with squat columns. The central entrance is framed by the curved noses of the god Chaac. On each side, you can find four masks of the same god, two of which overlap at the corners; and in the upper stucco decoration, there are zigzag bands that create the impression of a snake. This building possibly had a crest at the front of the facade. On the door lintel, there is a hieroglyphic inscription dated approximately to the year 880; and, as mentioned, part of its western wing was covered by an extension of the second level of the Women's Monastery, which reduced its rooms and created the impression that the building penetrates into the basement.
The southeastern building has the most beautiful frieze in Chichen Itza, flanked by a huge number of masks of the god Chaac. All facades of the annex are designed in the Puuc style. The main facade is decorated with a frieze depicting masks of Chaac located above the entrance on both sides of the central medallion. It features a sculptural plaster figure with a headdress of beautiful feathers and lattice patterns. The construction time corresponds to the Itza period, who brought the cult of Kukulkan and new architectural forms, such as the use of columns to support wooden ceilings and doorjambs with bas-reliefs. You can indeed see how both the Women's Monastery and the eastern buildings were added to frame a small inner courtyard surrounded by other structures of that time.
The Women's Monastery consists of a tall block reaching 10 meters in height, decorated with simple stucco ornaments, a vertical frieze, and another wide band of stucco; all walls are smooth with rounded corners. On the north side is a central staircase leading to the upper temple. It consists of two long parallel sections with six aligned squares and doors opening to the north and south, as well as two independent rooms, one at each end, with eastern and western doors, all covered by vaults.
The north-facing facade is decorated with lattice panels and columns, while the southern facade is adorned with casings, connected columns, and sculptural rosettes. The building is executed in the Chenes style, as the facade is fully decorated; the frieze in the spaces between the stucco is smooth and slanted, giving it the appearance of a rural Maya hut.
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