Added today were an assortment of Painted Chinese Fans and Korean Rosewood Boxes with four hidden drawers inside. The boxes feature brass accents and mother of pearl inlay.

Tijuana is the largest city in the state of Baja California, Mexico. Tijuana is also the most northerly city in Latin America. It is known as the corner of Mexico and consequently of Latin America. The city is bordered to the north by San Diego County, California, United States; to the south, by the municipalities of Playas de Rosarito and Ensenada; with the municipality of Tecate to the east; and to the west, by the Pacific Ocean. The municipality of Tijuana has an extension of 1,727 square kilometers and includes part of the Coronado Islands located off the coast of the municipality in the Pacific Ocean.

Population

According to the INEGI (Instituto Nacional de Estad���ica, Geograf���e Informᴩca Eng: National Institute of Statistics, Geography and Data Processing) the municipality of Tijuana in 2000 included 1,210,820 inhabitants. More than 20 universities and centers for higher education give it a dynamic student sector. The city ranks fifth in population in Mexico, after Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Puebla.

Geography

This border city just south of San Diego, California, USA, is sometimes considered a mix of Mexico’s good and bad: known for its economic prosperity, popular discos, and shopping areas, Tijuana is also considered to be Mexico’s biggest illicit drug and prostitution center. Many of the prostitutes are women from Central America who hope to enter the United States.

Name and mottoes

Avenida Revoluci󮠨as many open bars, pharmacies, and curio shops that attract many tourists. The majority of these businesses accept the U.S. dollar and use English to conduct everyday business transactions. Historians have investigated the origins of the name of the city of Tijuana. One legend says that it was the name of a ranch in the area, property of “T���Juana” - Aunt Jane. In actuality, it is recognized that name comes from the Yuman Indian language from the early inhabitants. In other documents there are mentions of “La Tia Juana”, “Tiguana”, “Tiuana”, “Teguana”, “Tiwana”, “Tijuan”, “Ticuan”, “Tijuana”. Based on the Yuman language, historians have come to recognize Tijuana originating from “Tiwan”, meaning close to the sea. These studies notwithstanding, many Americans still mistakenly believe the city to be called “Tiajuana”.

The city is nicknamed “TJ”, especially among English speakers, but also by the Spanish-speaking residents, who pronounce it as ti yei. The latter also refer to the city as Tijuas.

Tijuana’s city motto is Aqu���mpieza la patria. The Mexican government actually translates it as “Gateway to Mexico”, but the literal translation is “The homeland starts here”. It is also sometimes known as the “Most visited city in the world”, owing to its proximity to the world’s busiest border crossing.

History

Traffic traveling into Mexico through San Ysidro tends to be less congested than traveling vice versa. The border entering Mexico is also less guarded.The area in which the city of Tijuana is situated in a region once inhabited by the Kumeyaay Indians, a tribe of Yuman-speaking hunter-gatherers. Europeans first arrived in 1542, when the Spanish explorer Juan Rodr���ez Cabrillo toured the coastline of the area, which was later mapped in 1602 by SebastiᮠVisca���. In 1769, Father Juan Cresp���ocumented more detailed information about the area that would one day be called the Valley of Tijuana and Father Jun���ro Serra founded the first mission of Alta California in San Diego.

More settlement of the area took place near the end of the mission era when Jos頍ar���Echend��� governor of the Baja California and Alta California, awarded a large land grant to Santiago Arg?in 1829. This large cattle ranch, Rancho T���Juana (”Aunt Jane Ranch”), covered 100 square kilometres.

In 1848, as a result of the Mexican-American war with the United States, Mexico lost all of Alta California. Tijuana acquired a new and distinct character and purpose on the international border. The city began to shed its cattle ranching origins and began to play in a new role, forming a socio-economic structure for the city.

The year 1889 marked the beginning of the urban settlement, when descendants of Santiago Arg?and Agust���Olvera entered an agreement to begin development of the city of Tijuana. The agreement was dated July 11 of that year. Decades later, during the second Symposium of History held in 1975, this date was recognized as the date the city was founded.

Tijuana saw its future in tourism from its inception. From the end of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th, the city attracted large numbers of Californians crossing over the border, coming to Mexico for trade and entertainment.

During the Mexican Revolution, Tijuana was also a small stage for revolutionaries loyal to Ricardo Flores Mag󮬠who took over the city in 1911. Shortly, thereafter, federal troops arrived and routed the rebels. Being so close to the action, San Diegans could watch the battle from the safety of the international border.

In 1916, the Feria San Diego, California Panamᠢrought a great number of visitors to the neighboring American city to the north. Tijuana took the opportunity to attract these tourists to the other side of the border with Feria T���ca Mexicana. The fair included curio shops, regional foods, thermal baths, horse racing and boxing matches. With this event, the city became universally known as a tourist destination.

The 1920s changed Tijuana forever when the enactment of prohibition in the U.S. sent droves of Americans across the border to partake in legal drinking and gambling. Large and impressive casinos opened, like Agua Caliente in Tijuana. The Caesar Salad was invented there during this period.

The Himalayas, the highest mountain range in the world, extend along the northern frontiers of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, and Burma. They were formed geologically as a result of the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia. This process of plate tectonics is ongoing, and the gradual northward drift of the Indian subcontinent still causes earthquakes (see Earthquakes, this ch.). Lesser ranges jut southward from the main body of the Himalayas at both the eastern and western ends. The Himalayan system, about 2,400 kilometers in length and varying in width from 240 to 330 kilometers, is made up of three parallel ranges–the Greater Himalayas, the Lesser Himalayas, and the Outer Himalayas–sometimes collectively called the Great Himalayan Range. The Greater Himalayas, or northern range, average approximately 6,000 meters in height and contain the three highest mountains on earth: Mount Everest (8,796 meters) on the China-Nepal border; K2 (8,611 meters, also known as Mount Godwin-Austen, and in China as Qogir Feng) in an area claimed by India, Pakistan, and China; and Kanchenjunga (8,598 meters) on the India-Nepal border. Many major mountains are located entirely within India, such as Nanda Devi (7,817 meters) in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The snow line averages 4,500 to 6,000 meters on the southern side of the Greater Himalayas and 5,500 to 6,000 on the northern side. Because of climatic conditions, the snow line in the eastern Himalayas averages 4,300 meters, while in the western Himalayas it averages 5,800 meters.

The Lesser Himalayas, located in northwestern India in the states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, in north-central India in the state of Sikkim, and in northeastern India in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, range from 1,500 to 5,000 meters in height. Located in the Lesser Himalayas are the hill stations of Shimla (Simla) and Darjiling (Darjeeling). During the colonial period, these and other hill stations were used by the British as summer retreats to escape the intense heat of the plains. It is in this transitional vegetation zone that the contrasts between the bare southern slopes and the forested northern slopes become most noticeable.

The Outer or Southern Himalayas, averaging 900 to 1,200 meters in elevation, lie between the Lesser Himalayas and the Indo-Gangetic Plain. In Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, this southernmost range is often referred to as the Siwalik Hills. It is possible to identify a fourth, and northernmost range, known as the Trans-Himalaya. This range is located entirely on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, north of the great west-to-east trending valley of the Yarlung Zangbo River. Although the Trans-Himalaya Range is divided from the Great Himalayan Range for most of its length, it merges with the Great Himalayan Range in the western section–the Karakoram Range–where India, Pakistan, and China meet.

The southern slopes of each of the Himalayan ranges are too steep to accumulate snow or support much tree life; the northern slopes generally are forested below the snow line. Between the ranges are extensive high plateaus, deep gorges, and fertile valleys, such as the vales of Kashmir and Kulu. The Himalayas serve a very important purpose. They provide a physical screen within which the monsoon system operates and are the source of the great river systems that water the alluvial plains below (see Climate, this ch.). As a result of erosion, the rivers coming from the mountains carry vast quantities of silt that enrich the plains.

The area of northeastern India adjacent to Burma and Bangladesh consists of numerous hill tracts, averaging between 1,000 and 2,000 meters in elevation, that are not associated with the eastern part of the Himalayas in Arunachal Pradesh. The Naga Hills, rising to heights of more than 3,000 meters, form the watershed between India and Burma. The Mizo Hills are the southern part of the northeastern ranges in India. The Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia hills are centered in the state of Meghalaya and, isolated from the northeastern ranges, divide the Assam Valley from Bangladesh to the south and west.

Some of the most amazing things to see in Mexico are the ruins, which provide us with a glance into a very important and sometimes difficult past. Take the Mitla, Mixtec Ruins as an example. The name Mitla comes from the word Mictlan, a Nahuatl word that translates to “Place of the Dead.” Now, the ruins are also called Lyobaa in the Zapotecan language, which translates to “Burial Place.”

The Mitla Ruins are indeed a location with tombs of ancient priests and kings. Through years of archeological study, it is estimated that the site was inhabited as early as 900 BC. However, the current ruins and structures date between 200 and 900 AD. As you travel about the ruins, you will discover many different and unique structures.

For example, the city itself corresponds with the peak of Zapotecan rule over Monte Alban from 500 BC to 800 AD, although there was tremendous growth from 750 to 1521 AD at which time the Zapotecan rule ended. Because of this, you will see some ruins that are very ornate and detailed while others have a more rustic, ancient appearance.

In the late 1500s, a Spanish explorer by the name of Canseco came to this region and stated that the interior chamber of the Hall of Columns was the home of the High Priest. In fact, Father Burgoa who was a Spanish Chronicler added to that saying that Mitla was also the residence of the Zapotec High Priest. This man was so incredibly powerful that legend tells us even King Zaashila bowed to his commands. Burgoa also stated that the High Priest rules from a jaguar covered thrown.

This ancient city was originally comprised of five primary palaces. One of these palaces was for the Zapotecan High Priest, one for the secondary priests, one for the military officers, and then one maintained for the king along with his entourage whenever they were in Monte Alban. As you can imagine, the Mitla - Mixtec Ruins were quite impressive in the time and today, you can experience what is left.

To get to the Mitla - Mixtec, you would take the famous Pan American Highway. The great thing about this route is that along the way, you pass a number of interesting archaeological sites, along with craft villages and markets. In addition, you can stop to visit the church at Tlacochahuaya, Teotitlan del Valle, which is a weaver’s village, the Dominican chapel, and other ruins that include Yagul, Dainzu, and Lambityeco.

You will even have the opportunity the El Tule, which is a massive and ancient cypress tree. The reason the El Tule so incredible is that it is 2,000 years old. This particular tree is in the town of Santa Maria del Tule, which is located just outside Oaxaca where it stands in a churchyard.

As you plan your trip to the Mitla - Mixtec Ruins, try to plan your trip so you can take in some of these amazing sites. You will really enjoy the visit and learn many things about the people of this era.