Beautiful colonial buildings

All of the central part of Arequipa is heritage listed. There are so many stunning old mansions with exceptional stonework. The rock used to build these buildings is a white soft volcanic rock formed out of ash from the nearby volcanoes. 

Ancient water purifier still working today

We saw several examples of these ancient water purifiers in the convent. Water is placed in large volcanic rock cylinders. Because it is porous material. The water passes through quite slowly and is purified in the process. 

The laundry

This archaic laundry was used until 1969. 

The confessionals

 

The kitchens

The kitchens were as they were  from several hundred years ago. 

Monastery of Santa Catalina

We had a guided tour of the largest monastery/convent in South America. It was established in 1580, covers over 5 hectares and is a city within a city. Since its inception, women from diverse social backgrounds have entered the convent to serve as cloistered nuns. A major part of the convent is now open to the public and we visited the cloister and attached rooms used for novices until 1969, the individual houses for nuns used until 1871, the kitchens, laundry and the dormitories which came into being after the reforms in the late 1890s. It was a fascinating place. Nuns still live in the convent but in a secluded section. 

Plaza de Armas

This is the central square of Arequipa, bordered by beautiful arched buildings and dominated by a magnificent cathedral. As it was Sunday, the square was packed with families and hundreds of pigeons. It seems the thing to do is to feed the pigeons and have your photograph taken either by a friend or by one of the many professional photographers.