Mexico welcomes Spring Equinox at "Pyramid of the Sun"

At the break of dawn, thousands of visitors gathered at the Aztec "Pyramid of the Sun" in Teotihucan, Mexico. They raised their hands to greet the sun during Spring equinox celebrations on Sunday.

At the break of dawn, thousands of visitors gathered at the Aztec "Pyramid of  the Sun" in Teotihucan, Mexico.

The Spring equinox, occurs in the middle of March and marks the beginning of Spring.

In order to receive the first rays of the sun to gather energy, people trekked up the huge Pyramid of the Sun which is located north of Mexico City. The sacred city of Teotihuacan, rose and fell around the same time as ancient Rome.

The smaller Pyramid of the Moon stands close-by.

Visitors said they were awed and impressed by the pyramids.

An Argentine tourist said, "The technological, architectural and scientific development were done with tools that are completely different from those we have today. It is incredible to think that this was built in such a time."

Nadia Nava, Mexican tourist, said, "They are marvels because mathematically they are very well structured. For me, these pyramids are the best and the fact that our ancestors had the capacity to achieve this is something incredible."

Housing 150,000 people at its peak, the city's influence reached hundreds of kilometers to modern day Guatemala. But no one knows its true name or who its founders were.

The name Teotihuacan was given by awed Aztecs who inhabited the area 700 years after the city was abandoned around 600 AD. The Aztecs were stunned by the monumental buildings and precise city planning.

Experts believe that The Pyramid of the Sun was probably a fertility symbol built around 80 AD and shaped like a mountain to counteract the evil influence of two nearby volcanoes known to have gone through unusually violent eruptions at the time.