Quito: El Centro Historico

Although it has been a month since our visit to Quito, we would like to share with you a little bit of that interesting city. The Incas came to Quito about the time that Columbus "discovered" the new world. The Incas bloody conquest was more than matched by the Spanish conquistadores under Francisco Pizarro less than fifty years later (in the early 1500s). The Spanish colonial period lasted almost 300 years. The Spanish were defeated for good in a decisive battle on the slopes of the volcano Pichincha overlooking Quito in 1822. While in Quito, we visited the site of this famous battle. The visitors center on this site is known as "El Templo de la Libertad". The view from the site is spectacular and includes El Panecillo, and the old "Distrito Historico". El Panecillo is the location where President Kimball dedicated Ecuador for missionary work in 1965. Today there is a huge winged statue of the Virgin Mary. (It is thought to be the only representation of the Virgen Mary with wings). One can go up to an observation deck inside the structure and take photos of the historic district and the rest of Quito beyond. Quito is 22 miles long and only a couple of miles wide. It is at an elevation over 8000 ft and is only 15 miles from the Ecuator.
Quito was made a UNESCO World Heritage City in 1978. It has a remarkable historic district with a huge cathedral almost every block. The oldest church in America is the San Francisco in Quito. Construction was begun just 15 days after the 1534 founding of the city of Quito. The most elaborate and richly decorated church is "La Compa~nia de Jesus". This church took 163 years to build and was severely damaged by fire but extensive restoration was completed in 2002. The inside is almost entirely covered with gold leaf. Somewhere I read that at one time several tons of gold were used to decorate the inside of this church. Picture taking is not allowed so I took a photo of a picture in a tourist book to give some idea of the elaborate finish inside of this church. There are many other churches, cathedrals, and museums in the historic district of Quito. The majority of the artifacts and art involve the culture of the Catholic church. There is a more interesting story to tell in another blog about the old churches of Quito, which we will save for another blog.
Since the dedication of Ecuador for the preaching of the Restored Gospel in 1964, the church has grown extensively in the country. The first chapel in Quito happened to be in view below our 5th story hotel room. There are now six stakes in Quito. Fourteen in Guayaquil for a total of thirty-four stakes and nine districts in Ecuador! Now a temple is here. To the temple missionaries who have witnessed quite a bit of history in latin america, this is a remarkable thing, something that we hadn't expected to live to see. There are now fourth generation members of the church. Many members of the same families serve in the temple. At least one family has members serving here from three generations. The other day we were traveling in a taxi and in conversation with the driver, the subject of the Church came up. He proudly told us that he was a member and was serving in a bishopric in his ward. It is not an uncommon occurence here to meet another member of the church while doing everyday things here. The church is still a tiny minority of the population but it's influence is being felt in this land.