The clock of Comayagua
Through a wooden door at the base of the cathedral bell tower, up a narrow stairwell whit steps worn smooth though the centuries, visitor have the rare opportunity to see a functioning, 16th-century clock, that has marked time in Comayagua for more years. One of the oldest clocks in the Americas, it believes to have been donated to the cathedral by King Philip II.
An elderly gentleman, Mr. Blas Reyes, keeps the cast iron clock in perfect mechanical condition. He believes the ancient clock was made in the year to mark the beginning of the new millennium. Authors of guidebooks for Honduras insist that it was manufactured by the moors in the 12th century. Although records of the clock history have been lost, experts think that it was probably made in hollad, which was under Spanish rule the time.
From
the ‘s complex machinery, wires run to bells upstairs, to mark the quarter-hour
and hour whit Roman chime. Although the clocks runs smoothly, it doesn’t keep
good time, and Mr. Reyes keeps a modern alarm clock at make occasional
adjustment to its cast iron predecessor.
A climb up the cathedral’s bell tower is highly recommended, for a magnificent
view of the church’s dome, of the red-tiled roofs of the colonial town and the
lush valley that extends beyond them. And for a glimpse of one of the oldest
clocks in the world.