Qorikancha

Qorikancha is a Quechua word which translates roughly to "golden courtyard". In the Inca days, this site in Cusco was a large complex consisting of the temples of the sun, the moon, the stars, and the rainbow, which were used both for religious ceremonies and as astronomical observatories. It got its name from its plethora of pure gold adornments, including gold-plating on the walls. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived, the gold was quickly, er, reappropriated, and the Dominicans had this church constructed on the same site, unfortunately destroying much of the existing structure. Here are two views of the interior courtyard of the church of Santo Domingo, as it is known. If you look closely in the second picture you will see, behind the colonial arches and columns, the original stone walls of the Incan temple of the sun, topped by anachronistic glass walls that protect the site.