Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Today I visited the famous convent in Arequipa. It was a very interesting place because it remained a mystery for nearly 400 years and only opened to the public in 1970's when the convent was in too much debt, and made a deal with a private company to operate as a museum. Back in its glory days, the convent was extremely rich and powerful, with 400 nuns residing on the premises. The family of the new member would have to pay 10,000 silver coins for a girl to join the convent in addition to buying a house for their daughter to live on the premises. The girls came from wealthy families, and had servants living with them in their homes. The convent is like a small city, with it's own streets and several cloisters. I loved exploring the place, going to all the little houses that used to be occupied by nuns. Each had a kitchen with an oven, and one even had guinea pigs. There was also a huge art gallery with religious art.
- comments