noon
Because of the thickness of the walls , the view was limited . Apparently , however , they were located on a side of the fortress which formed one of the outer walls , and because of the distance to the city seen below , this wall evidently crowned a great rock . Later , they were to learn that the rock upon which the Acropolis was built had been quarried and squared until it rose 200 feet above the city , the walls sheer , and approachable only upon one side . The hour was past noon , and from the direction of the sun they could see the valley in which lay the Enchanted City stretched east and west . They faced the east and , high though their altitude was , they could see in the distance lofty mountain peaks crowned with snows . But it was the city itself which caused each man to gasp at first sight . Everywhere nearby , showing the Acropolis was at the center of things , were great stone palaces , some private dwellings and some quite obviously public buildings .