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 ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
WorldHeritageSite posts
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 ...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 ...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 ...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 ...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 ...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 ...Harar home stay: living in a traditional African home
Mar 17th, 2011 at 8:30AM:
If you're staying for any length of time in a place, the best way to experience the local culture is through a home stay. Luckily Harar has a number of traditional homes offering spare rooms.
A local guide showed me a few and I chose one hidden away in a small alley not far from the Catholic mission. This is the neighborhood that got Harar a UNESCO religious tolerance award because there's an ...Harar tour: a walk around one of Africa's most unique cities
Mar 11th, 2011 at 8:30AM: After a few days in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa and a long Ethiopian bus trip, I've made it to Harar, my home for the next two months. I'll be exploring the culture and history of this unique city and making road trips to nearby points of interest.
Harar is a medieval walled city in eastern Ethiopia between the central highlands to the west and the Somali desert to the east. It's been a ...Getting to Harar: riding the bus through eastern Ethiopia
Mar 7th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
It's good to be back in Ethiopia again.
I've noticed some changes since my last trip to Ethiopia. More high-rises are going up in the capital Addis Ababa and ATMs have finally appeared. The Internet is faster too, although it isn't the full broadband promised by the government.
Addis is fun, but my real destination is Harar, a medieval walled city in eastern Ethiopia. The whole city is a ...Top five sights of Ethiopia: traditional tribes, rock-hewn churches, and medieval castles
Mar 2nd, 2011 at 9:00AM:
As I mentioned on Monday, I'm moving to Harar, Ethiopia, for two months to explore the ancient and unique culture in that medieval walled city. Before settling in, I thought I'd share some of the most popular places to visit in the country. Many of them were covered in my travel series about Ethiopia during my visit last year. All but the Southern Tribes are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
...Tod's shoe company to restore Rome's Colosseum
Jan 23rd, 2011 at 11:00AM: The Colosseum in Rome will get some much-needed repairs thanks to the sponsorship of Tod's, an Italian luxury shoe manufacturer, the BBC reports.
The restoration will cost about 25 million euros ($34 million). The iconic gladiator arena is right next to a busy road in a polluted city, and a subway line runs close by. Many stones have shifted and require bracing, and the whole things needs a ...Paradores: the historic luxury hotels of Spain
Jan 13th, 2011 at 1:30PM:
Spain is known for its rich history, fine art, and excellent cuisine. By staying at a government-owned Parador, you can get all three right in your hotel.
Just look at this shot by Michael Stallbaum . This castle in Zafra, Extremadura, dates to 1437 and was once home to a duke. It's the sort of place where you'd expect to pay a few euros, get your ticket stamped, and line up for the guided ...Top five castles of Extremadura, Spain
Jan 10th, 2011 at 9:00AM:
Spain is one of the best countries in the world to see castles. Throughout the Middle Ages, the Iberian peninsula was split between various Christian states and the Moors, Muslim invaders from North Africa. These factions fought and traded with each other in a constantly changing network of political alliances. Leaders protected their domains with castles and walled cities. One of the hot ...Taj Mahal is getting a facial
Jan 8th, 2011 at 10:00AM:
India's most beautiful monument is going to look even more beautiful after a team of specialists give it a mud facial. The Taj Mahal in Agra is getting treated with multani-mitti , known in English as fuller's earth, an absorbent mud that sucks up dirt and grime and is normally found in beauty parlors. The Archaeological Survey of India is conducting the cleaning.
The site's mosque and some ...More Roman heritage from Mérida, Spain
Dec 30th, 2010 at 9:30AM: In the Extremaduran city of Mérida, it feels like at any moment you're going to turn a corner and meet an ancient Roman. Sometimes that almost happens.
This fellow was at the Museo Nacional de Arte Romano, a world-class museum featuring Roman statues, mosaics, and other artifacts. Built by the famous architect Rafael Moneo Vallés, it looks like an old Roman basilica, with lofty ...
