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The original name of the town was La Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Merida.  Caballeros means gentlemen and for many years the town was known as the "gentlemen's city."  The older generation is still very formal, even within the family unit.  Merida is considered the most polite metropolitan area in the country.  Merideños tend to be well mannered, reserved and conservative but, with current influences on young people, things are slowly becoming less formal. The city and its inhabitants are very friendly and helpful to tourists.

In town, there are several aqueducts crossing the rivers.  We walked to the public market and, as we crossed the aqueduct near there, we saw this memorable graffiti. Notice also the "firme" "no firme" which indicates support for or opposition to Chavez.  The barios or poorest section of housing is located down by river.  If your purse gets snatched, the police will not pursue the thief into the bario for fear of being killed.  It is interesting to note that these buildings are much more substantial than the barios in Margarita where they are little more than shacks.  The market in Merida, Mercado Principal, is unusual in that it is a three story enclosed building with a nice sit-down restaurant, unlike the typical dirty open public market.  It has many craft stalls, baskets, foods, tee shirts, etc. 

Merida does not have tall buildings because there are many geological faults in the area, the largest one running underneath the Chama River.  The river flows along the fault and is straighter than most rivers whose courses look like a snake.   There were major earthquakes in Merida in 1610 and 1812.  A third in 1894 buried the city completely.  Many buildings including the current cathedral date their construction or reconstruction back to 1894.  Some fields have radically different levels due to tremors.

The tallest mountains in Venezuela are five peaks visible from town called Las Cinco Aguilas Blancas, The Five White Eagles.  The round one to the far right is called El Leon, The Lion.  El Toro, The Bull, is flat on top.  Pico Bolivar is the highest peak in Venezuela and usually has snow at its higher levels.  The two peaks to the left of Bolivar are Humboldt  and Bonpland, together called La Corona, The Crown.  To the immediate right of Bolivar with a waterfall is Pico Espejo, the last station for the teleferico. 

The Merida teleferico has five stations and four sections in between.  It is the longest and highest cable car in the world, going up 4,765 meters above sea level into Sierra Nevada National Park.  Unfortunately, the teleferico had a broken cable during our visit and we did not get to ride it or visit those mountains. 

Merida has no winter, only wet and dry season.  The higher peaks get snow, but the town of Merida does not.  The houses do not have heat and the older houses have no air conditioning.  There are no deciduous trees. 

Venezuelans must always carry their identification papers.  Foreigners must carry their passports or copies of them.  There are military checkpoints where soldiers have the right to search cars and people.  They are particularly interested in Colombians and drug trafficking but also look for stolen cars.

The same architect designed the original University building, the Cathedral, the Bishop's Palace, and the government building.  All are constructed of granite in the same style.