Because it's there

Easily one of the most photographed sites in Oaxaca, Santo Domingo draws the eye like a magnet. Construction for this magnificent baroque structure was begun in 1572 and completed over the next 200 years. A full restoration was undertaken in 1993 and completed six years later, but obviously it continues. This is from August and the finished project from just a few days ago.I never fail to be amazed by the amount of gold leaf and the opulence of the building. When one realizes that Mexico was divided up by three factions, the Dominicans, the Franciscans and the Assisians, one can see that Santo Domingo was at the heart of the Dominicans power base. During revolutionary times, the mid-19th century until almost 1940, it was turned over to the military. When I started coming here, the area that is now a well-established botanical garden was still filled with military. I remember looking out of the museums windows and watching them exercise their horses.

And of course there is always that late afternoon light.