When Qhapaq Nan, also known as the Main Andean Road and the backbone of the Inca Empire’s political and economic power, was included in the World Heritage List by Unesco, Qatar was the host for the event — the 38th Session of the World Heritage Committee — that brought in this crucial development in June 2014.
Now, two years later, the Embassy of Peru in the State of Qatar is presenting what promises to be a breath-taking photographic exhibition of Qhapaq Nan at Katara, to celebrate two years of joining the World Heritage List.
A Katara spokesperson told Community, “We will be witnessing a very interesting series of photographs on display that will explore the beauty and grandeur of Qhapaq Nan. Opening this Wednesday, the exhibition will be on until July 30 at Building 19, Katara. The exhibition will be open from 10am to 10pm and the entry is free.”
Qhapaq Nan, the Andean Road System, is an extraordinary road network through one of the world’s most extreme geographical terrains used over several centuries by caravans, travellers, messengers, armies and whole population groups amounting up to 40,000 people. The whole network of roads over 30,000km in length connected various production, administrative and ceremonial centres constructed over more than 2,000 years of pre-Inca Andean culture.
The extensive Inca communication, trade and defence network of roads and associated structures was constructed by the Prehispanic Andean communities over several centuries. The network reached its maximum expansion in the 15th century, during the consolidation of the Tawantinsuyu, when it spread across the length and breadth of the Andes, according to Unesco.
In its summary of the significance and magnificence of Qhapaq Nan, Unesco explains, “The network is based on four main routes, which originate from the central square of Cusco, the capital of the Tawantinsuyu. These main routes are connected to several other road networks of lower hierarchy, which created linkages and cross-connections. 137 component areas and 308 associated archaeological sites, covering 616.06 kilometres of the Qhapaq Nan highlight the achievements of the Incas in architecture and engineering along with its associated infrastructure for trade, storage and accommodation as well as sites of religious significance. The road network was the outcome of a political project implemented by the Incas linking towns and centres of production and worship together under an economic, social and cultural programme in the service of the State.”
The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu, “the four suyu”, says a note on Qhapaq Nan issued by Katara. In Quechua, tawa is four and -ntin is a suffix naming a group, so that a tawantin is a quartet, a group of four things taken together. The empire was divided into four suyu (“regions” or “provinces”) whose corners met at the capital, Cusco (Qosqo). The four suyu were: Chinchaysuyu (north), Antisuyu (east; the Amazon jungle), Qullasuyu (south) and Kuntisuyu (west).
“The name Tawantinsuyu was, therefore, a descriptive term indicating a union of provinces. The Spanish transliterated the name as Tahuatinsuyo or Tahuatinsuyu. In these days, Qapac Nan runs over six South American countries, from north to south: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina,” the note says.
It was the lifeline of the Tawantinsuyu, linking towns and centres of production and worship over long distances, Unesco explains. Towns, villages and rural areas were thus integrated into a single road grid. Several local communities who remain traditional guardians and custodians of Qhapaq Nan segments continue to safeguard associated intangible cultural traditions including languages.
The Qhapaq Nan by its sheer scale and quality of the road is a unique achievement of engineering skills in most varied geographical terrains, linking snow-capped mountain ranges of the Andes, at an altitude of more than 6,600 metres high, to the coast, running through hot rainforests, fertile valleys and absolute deserts. It demonstrates mastery in engineering technology used to resolve myriad problems posed by the Andes variable landscape by means of variable road construction technologies, bridges, stairs, ditches and cobblestone pavings.
The note by Katara says, “Today, the cultural landscapes of Qhapaq Nan form an exceptional backdrop on which living Andean cultures continue to convey a universal message: the human ability to turn one of the harshest geographical contexts of the American continent into an environment for life.”