Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
UNESCOworldheritagesite posts
Video: The Prehistoric Cave Art Of Cantabria, Spain
May 14th, 2012 at 5:00PM:
One of the advantages of living in Europe is that you can visit lots of historic sites with your kids. This fosters an interest in the past, reduces museum fatigue and is a great way to learn together.
I live in Cantabria, on the north coast of Spain, a region filled with historic sites from Napoleonic forts to preserved Roman towns. Cantabria is most famous for the prehistoric cave art in ...
L'Anse aux Meadows: A Viking colony in Canada
Mar 15th, 2012 at 10:00AM:
The Vikings were some of the best sailors of the Middle Ages. They sailed all over the Mediterranean, far up the rivers of Russia and across the north Atlantic to colonize Iceland and Greenland. For a long time archaeologists wondered if they ever made it to other parts of North America besides Greenland. Although some Viking sagas mention a land called Vinland to the west of Greenland, no ...Ancient city of Palmyra under threat from Syrian army
Mar 11th, 2012 at 11:00AM:
The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Palmyra may become the latest victim of the ongoing violence in Syria, according to a Global Heritage Fund report.
Palmyra, an ancient oasis city in the desert northeast of Damascus, remained untouched by the conflict until last month, when the Syrian army moved in. According to several reports by refugees since then, units from the army have taken up ...The Acropolis: Greece's most famous monument weathers the crisis
Feb 3rd, 2012 at 11:00AM:
Visiting Greece and not visiting the Acropolis is unthinkable. Set atop a high rock overlooking Athens, the temples here were built primarily to honor the city's patron goddess Athena in all her attributes. The buildings here are some of the best examples of Greek architecture and have had a profound effect on the architecture of all the Western world. While I have a preference for medieval ...Archaeologists blog as they excavate Nea Paphos World Heritage site
Nov 29th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
Archaeologists excavating at the ancient city of Nea Paphos in Cyprus have written about their work and discoveries in a blog.
A University of Sydney team has been working to uncover medieval walls built atop a Classical theater and investigating a public fountain dating to the first century AD, the Cyprus Mail reports.
Nea Paphos is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was founded around 300 ...Major tourist site restored in Herat, Afghanistan. Please send me there!
Oct 19th, 2011 at 3:00PM:
While Afghanistan may not be high on your places-to-go list, the government is trying hard to offer more sightseeing opportunities.
A giant citadel overlooking the city of Herat has just reopened after several years and $2.4 million of restoration. The citadel dates back to when Alexander the Great's armies marched across Afghanistan on their way to India in 330 BC. It was used by a ...Tallinn, Estonia, to open secret tunnels crossing the medieval Old Town
Oct 8th, 2011 at 11:00AM:
Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, is one of Europe's most beautiful medieval cities, and it's getting an increasing number of visitors. Starting next year there will be more to see as the city opens up secret tunnels from the 17th century connecting the city wall, shown above, to the rest of the Old Town.
Parts of the walkway along the medieval walls will also be opened and some of the wall ...Heritage sites in Cambodia and Tanzania get preservation grants
Sep 21st, 2011 at 12:00PM:
Two UNESCO World Heritage sites have received major funding to save them from decay, Art Daily reports.
The sites are Phnom Bakheng in Cambodia and Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanzania. Phnom Bakheng temple is part of the famous Angkor Archaeological Park, which includes Angkor Wat temple complex. Phnom Bakheng was built in the late ninth to early tenth centuries AD.
Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanzania, ...Excavations at ancient city of Perge in Turkey celebrate 65 years
Sep 12th, 2011 at 2:00PM:
Archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Perge in southern Turkey have reached their 65th year, the Hürriyet Daily News reports. This makes them the longest-running excavations in a country with a wealth of ancient sites.
Perge (aka Perga) is in Turkey's Antalya province and was founded 3,500 years ago by the Hittites. It became a prosperous Greek colony like Ephesus and ...Pyramids and monasteries among the many ancient monuments under restoration
Aug 10th, 2011 at 1:00PM:
Around the world, ancient monuments are crumbling. As our heritage wears away through neglect, "development", or simply the harsh treatment of time, some countries are doing something about it.
The pyramid of Djoser, the oldest of the pyramids of Egypt, will be the object of a major restoration effort. The government recently announced that funding has been earmarked for restoration after the ...Brochs: the prehistoric castles of Scotland
Aug 5th, 2011 at 12:00PM:
In Scotland, the past is still very much present. In rural areas you can hear people speaking Scots Gaelic or Lowland Scots like their forefathers did. There are castles and stone circles all over the region. The most enigmatic remains from the past are the brochs.
Brochs are mysterious drystone towers dating to around two thousand years ago. Built without mortar or nails, they're ...Madrid day trip: Segovia
Jul 18th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Madrid offers a wide range of interesting day trips, from a Renaissance castle and Spanish Civil War bunker to challenging hikes. My personal favorite is the ancient town of Segovia just on the other side of the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains. With a beautiful cathedral and castle, one of the best preserved Roman aqueducts anywhere, winding medieval streets, and delicious cuisine, it's a great ...Archaeologists explore "Pompeiis" in Bulgaria and El Salvador
Jul 10th, 2011 at 4:00PM:
Pompeii is an archaeological wonder, an entire Roman town preserved by a volcanic eruption. Now archaeologists are investigating two other "Pompeiis" to learn more about the past.
In El Salvador, a team has discovered a village dating to c. 630 AD that was covered in volcanic ash. Joya de Ceren was sealed up so well that archaeologists have been able to examine corn cobs, the logs used to ...Conservation victory: Serengeti highway plans cancelled
Jun 26th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Plans to build a paved, two-lane highway through the Serengeti National Park have been canceled.
The road, which was supposed to bring better access to Lake Victoria, will possibly be rerouted further south to avoid having an impact on the Serengeti's rich wildlife.
There's already a gravel road across the park, but paving it would have attracted much more traffic and probably fencing. The ...Bengal Tigers to get special protection
Jun 14th, 2011 at 11:30AM:
The Royal Bengal Tiger and other animals are to get special protection from the government of Bangladesh.
The government is setting up a 300-member force to patrol the areas where the endangered tigers live. This is in reaction to recent poaching incidents targeting the tigers and well as other animals such as turtles and crocodiles. The poaching and smuggling of animals is a major ...Mystery mound in England turns out to be ancient monument
Jun 2nd, 2011 at 9:00AM:
England's prehistoric landscape has a new addition.
Marlborough Mound in Wiltshire has long been a mystery. The flat-topped cone of earth looks like a smaller version of Silbury Hill, pictured here. The bigger mound was finished around 2300 BC at a time when Neolithic farmers were erecting stone circles such as Stonehenge and Avebury. Now archaeologists have taken samples from Marlborough ...Salt, wine, and wealth in Spain's Basque region
May 23rd, 2011 at 3:00PM:
In the modern world we don't give much thought to salt. We casually pick some up in the supermarket or tear open a packet at a café, but in the past salt was a vital and sought-after commodity. Everyone needed it for preserving food and as a source for iodine. Nobody could live without it and those who controlled its supply became rich and powerful.
The Basque region of Spain was a ...Egypt's newest public wonder: the temple of the crocodile god
May 13th, 2011 at 10:00AM: Last week a new ancient site opened to the public in Egypt--a temple of the crocodile god Sobek.
Medinet Madi is located in Egypt's Faiyum region, a fertile area around a lake at the end of a branch of the Nile called Bahr Yusuf ("The River of Joseph").
The temple features a long avenue lined with sphinxes and lions, plus an incubation room for hatching the eggs of sacred crocodiles. You'd ...A visit to an African market
Mar 28th, 2011 at 8:30AM:
One of Africa's best attractions are its markets. Full of vibrant life and color, an African market always makes for a fascinating visit.
Harar has one big and several smaller markets. There used to be one at each of its five gates, but some have dwindled to barely half a dozen women selling tomatoes and potatoes. The only big gate markets now are at Assum Gate, where there's a busy market ...An interview with a traditional African healer
Mar 25th, 2011 at 8:30AM: At first glance, Alia Abdi doesn't look like someone who can cure cancer with a simple recipe. A middle-aged wife and mother living in a typical home at the end of a rambling alley in Harar's old city, she offers visitors hot coffee and a ready smile, like any other hostess in this hospitable town.
Alia gets a lot of visitors. She's a traditional Ethiopian healer, with a variety of herbal ...
