This 21st, flock to Tikal

It is hard to escape from it. Tomorrow i.e. 21st December, 2012 is the day wherein as per the Maya Long Count Calendar; the world is going to end. At sunrise on Friday, many groups of people across the world believe the world is coming to an end.

The old Maya temple across Mexico and Central America wherein the cult classic Star Wars too was filmed is now the most popular place on Earth. The ancient city of Tikal has now become a pilgrimage site for both hard-core Star Wars fans and fascinated people interested in how Maya culture interpreted in this place, that the world would end. The city was discovered in 1848 when locals unearthed human skulls whose teeth were studded with jade jewels. Now, the city’s current visitors believe that there is an unearthly power drawing them here. Tikal extends for 222 square miles through Guatemala’s north, one of the largest pre-Colombian Maya sites and because of its steep stairways on the temples; is often known as the ‘staircase to heaven.’

With the world supposedly ending in a matter of couple of hours, there is no surprise that the Tikal hotels are fully booked and the Guatemalan government expects nearly 235,000 people visiting the city in December alone. After all, if the world is going to end, we might as well flock to the place where it was first predicted so! Bu there is a large section of people who feel that the world is going to change, get more spiritual and it marks the beginning of good times. And the end is actually of evil times. That is how many interpret the Maya calendar. Well, this surely makes sense and instills a sense of great hope about the “spiritual” world.