An aerial view of the lost city - Machu Picchu, Peru.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of Corel Photography
President of Peru Visits Ancient Incan Sites
News story originally written on August 1, 2001
The country of Peru has a new president. His name is Alejandro Toledo. Toledo really wants to help the people of Peru, but he has a really big job to do! He wants to help the poor and homeless people find jobs and homes and he wants to pay
teachers more.
The day after Toledo became president he visited Machu Picchu and Cuzco. During ceremonies, he asked for the blessing of the Incan gods in doing his job.
People have lived in Peru for a long, long time. The people that first lived there were Ancient Incas. The ceremonies for the new president were held at Machu Picchu and Cuzco because these were important cities for the ancient Incas.
Machu Picchu is a really cool place located between 2 mountain peaks. You can see a picture of it on this page. Lots of the buildings at Machu Picchu and Cuzco were linked to astronomy. Some of the buildings were used to watch the the stars, especially the Sun.
The ancient city of Cuzco even had a Temple of the Sun at its very center.
National Public Radio (NPR) covered Alejandro Toledo's first week as president in detail. Please see their site below for more information.
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