The year 2012 will be the end of the world.  That according to experts in the intricate movements of the sun, the planets and the Milky Way. But the news is not just in.

The Maya civilization, which flourished between 600 and 800 AD — but whose predictions stretch into modern civilization — was most persuasively demonstrated to me recently in Mexico, specifically in the ruins of Tulum.

(www.differentworld.com/mexico/places/tulum/tulum.htm). This ancient city was home to the descending god, whose image is everywhere and who is thought to symbolize,  in part, fertility (the photo shows the faded image juxtaposed with a re-creation in a gift shop). Tulum is one of a number of Maya ruins from which archaeologists have pieced together  the history of these brilliant thinkers obsessed with the sun.

The civilization is thought to have originated around 500 BC, and pockets survived (depending on your source) into the 19th century (www.michielb.nl/maya/astro.html). In its heyday, Mayas populated an area encompassing what is now El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Numerous ruins remain (http://mayaruins.com); Tulum is unique, in part because of its spectacular position on a cliff above the azure sea. Down the hill, a beach welcomes the sunrise, an event that was the focus of much Maya study. The encircling bay made the city a commercial center as well. Records maintain that Tulum was the first city the Spanish encountered as they sailed into the New World in 1518, and its brilliant colors (gone today) and bustling port made a large impression on the would-be conquerors.

Indeed, the surrounding Quintana Roo province was inhabited by a population, the Chan Santa Cruz, or Talking Cross Cult, which was deeply opposed to Spanish, then Mexican rule. As other settlements fell, this wily group of Maya descendents along the coastal portion of the Yucatan peninsula managed to fend off conquering populations. Not until 1935 did famine and disease drive the remaining small, fiercely independent group of Indians to sign a peace treaty with the Mexican government. Even then, Tulum remained one of the few pure Chan populations, governing itself and warning outsiders off. It is said that an unwelcome archaeologist ended up as a skeleton in the cement base of one of the temples.

Nevertheless, in the 1960s Mexico (http://gomexico.about.com/) recognized this beautiful coastal area as a potential tourist draw, and in the ‘70s commissioned a group of archaeologists to explore and map the ruins. Our guide, Alberto, described the excitement of the find: On the surface, the ancient city was nothing more than luxurious jungle; then, gradually, building after building was wrested from the vines, creepers and trees. One building’s roof was so entangled in roots that the entire ceiling collapsed as archaeologists strove to disengage it.

Tulum is named for its encompassing wall, which is unusual in Maya settlements, but which symbolizes both the glory and the downfall of the civilization. Inside dwelt the priests and thinkers; beyond the pale lived the support staff of laborers, peasants and farmers, whose tithes supported the priests’ life. Sometime around 1200, this top-heavy civilization collapsed; famine and revolt destroyed the ruling class, cities descended into ruins, and the complex theories sank into neglect.

However, extraordinarily, the intelligentsia realized their visions in ways we can appreciate today. Not only do their beliefs live on in their artwork — in Tulum, in wall and ceiling paintings — but they also are actually set in stone.

The paintings are no longer available to visitors, according to our guide, because alongside them mysteriously appeared graffiti, including “Greetings from the United States.” What visitors can see is a series of buildings with curious, tiny windows entirely geared to four special times of year, the spring and fall solstices and summer and winter equinoxes. It is impossible to imagine the intricacies of design that want into the squat, somewhat unimpressive buildings scattered over the site. One stares at dumpy pillars supporting enigmatic walls with their mysterious, undecorative square holes that bring to mind arrow slits in Irish castles.

But these holes are in service to the sun god, not the god of war. Fantastically, these heavy limestone edifices are all about a rare, dazzling  moment of light. Alberto explained it carefully — during the spring and fall equinoxes (March 21 and Sept. 22), the rising sun pierces the first building, then travels to the small window in the Temple of the Frescos. There, it brilliantly illuminates a series of paintings on the ceiling that otherwise sleep in darkness. It then explodes from yet another inexpressive hole, shedding rays in the shape of a star.

It made interesting listening. But then Alberto delivered the kicker — opening a photo album, he revealed that one solstice, he actually spent the night in the ancient temple. The result is a magical series of photos (unfortunately unavailable for this website) that conveyed the magic and mystery of the ancient culture.

And one of the Mayas’ sophisticated findings, based on complicated mathematics, is that every 26,000 an event occurs that will change life as we know it. On Dec. 22, 2012, the father Sun will move to the middle of a rift in the Milky Way that they believed symbolizes a uterus. This will engender a new era — and perhaps end the world as we know it.

All the more reason to see the world’s sights now! Until then …

Happy Traveling!