Monasterio de Santo Domingo, Antigua, Guatemala

14 March, 2019

Today I had a guided walking tour of the Monasterio de Santo Domingo, the ruins of a 17th century monastery/convent and now the site of a museum and a luxury hotel. I was impressed by how the hotel and its restaurants have been built integrated with the ruins and in such a way as to preserve them as much as possible. Without the hotel to generate revenue and interest, it's likely that these ruins would have deteriorated further than they have, and some of the garden and its features have been restored.

Antigua's ever present iconic Volcan de Agua was very clearly visible today.

Just another typical street view in Antigua.

I'm not sure of the original purpose of this object, but it was filled with water and floating bouganvillea flowers, what a beautiful effect.

You might have noticed by now that I am enchanted by fountains of all kinds.

This is the walkway just inside the gate.

 The following two photos show part of the original water system.

A lush mini garden tucked away inside.

The restaurant is in the hallway beyond the arch, in part of the original architecture.

This giant tree is in the central courtyard after passing through the archway. The near side of the courtyard houses the hotel, and beyond it are the ruins, chapel, and museum. If I recall correctly it is an Esquisuchil tree; there are a number of these trees around Antigua and they are associated with Santo Hermano Pedro, a locally important saint who brought the seeds from Spain.

Walking beyond the courtyard to see the ruins.The area in this view used to be the kitchens and refectory.

Below the kitchen are tunnels which now house a tiny museum of antique Guatemalan silver items. I'm not certain whether it was originally part of the crypt or was a storage area for the kitchen.

The acoustics in the hallway of this underground section were incredible.

This statue of the Archangel Michael was incredibly beautiful, the carved wooden face and lifelike eyes truly angelic.

Across from the kitchen area are the above and below ground sections of the crypt.

There was a single room of the crypt restored for viewing.

This is its entrance from above.

Beyond the kitchen and crypt areas one comes to the original church, the main hall of which is covered with awnings and appears to be in current use for weddings. I would have liked to see the altarpiece, but it was curtained to protect it from the elements.  

 In the front left hand corner was this pole of bells, with cherubs watching from the wall.

Behind the bells, one enters into an area which has below and above ground levels containing some beautiful rescued works of religious art. Most of them were brightly painted, but I was most taken with this unpainted carved wooden statue of a saint holding a child, and the level of lifelike detail the artist brought out of the natural wood.

This is a large fountain in a courtyard which lies between the church and the kitchen ruin area. It did not have any water but must be stunning when it is in operation.

To the side and behind the fountain, there was a wonderful museum containing not only relics of the monastery, but also an exhibit of artworks contrasting ancient ceramic works and modern glass counterparts.

Replica of part of the kitchen.

Antique apothecary with ceramic jars. I would love to have a kitchen this organized!

After leaving the monastery we walked back through the streets of Antigua. In the background here is the ruin of an incredible church, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Carmen, (link to same page translated by Google) which unfortunately you can only see through a barred gate as it has not been restored for safety.

Our next stop was a jade factory and shop, Jades Imperio Maya, which makes and sells items from locally sourced jade, in a variety of beautiful colors including a beautiful lavender.

Informational plaque about jades around the world.

Inside of the shop was a miniature museum display area featuring some very famous ancient pieces made of local jade.

Like most buildings in Antigua, there was an inviting central courtyard.

The tour ended at the jade factory. On the way home, I walked through the Plaza Mayor at the perfect time for a picture - the sunlight slanting down behind the fountain.

The beautiful display case of a nut vendor.

I have to share one thing (aside from the air pollution) which I did NOT like about Guatemala - most cafes and restaurants do not have chairs or benches but rather wooden stools, which make my hips and lower back very unhappy. The ones in the photo are luxurious because they are padded.