From the World Heritage inscription: Because of their great antiquity, and because they are closely and directly related to the cult and legend of Aphrodite (Venus), who became the ideal of beauty and love, inspiring writers, poets, and artists throughout human history, Paphos is of outstanding universal value. Pre-Hellenic fertility deities were worshipped in Cyprus …
From the World Heritage inscription: Located in the District of Larnaka, about 6 km from the southern coast of Cyprus, the Neolithic settlement of Choirokoitia lies on the slopes of a hill partly enclosed in a loop of the Maroni River. Occupied from the 7th to the 5th millennium B.C., the village covers an area …
From the World Heritage inscription: ?al Saflieni Hypogeum is a cultural property of exceptional prehistoric value. This unique monument dates back to early antiquity (about 2500 BC) and it is the only known example of a subterranean structure of the Bronze Age. The hypogeum was discovered accidentally in 1902 by a stonemason who was laying …
From the World Heritage inscription: Valletta is pre-eminently an ideal creation of the late Renaissance with its uniform urban plan, inspired by neo-Platonic principles, its fortified and bastioned walls modeled around the natural site, and the voluntary implantation of great monuments in well-chosen locations. The capital of Malta is one of the rare urban inhabited …
There are human artifacts older than the megaliths in Malta—cave paintings, pottery fragments, etc.—however, no structures on Earth (that we yet know of) are older than Malta’s impressive megalithic temples. That fact alone makes this an incredibly important world heritage site worth visiting. There are several monolithic structures around the islands of Malta and Gozo. …
The experience of traveling the world on can vary greatly depending on a traveler’s passport. A lot of Americans and Europeans assume they have the most powerful passports in the world, but that honor falls to Japan, where passport-holders can visit 190 countries without a visa. Many people in the world, however, are not so …
Every so often I showcase the work of other travel photographers on my site. Today I’d like to introduce you to Laurence Norah. He has been traveling around the world since 2009 and blogging and photographing his travels since 2010. He is well known for his stunning landscape images which has garnered him a large …
From the World Heritage inscription: The town of Chichen-Itza was established during the Classic period close to two natural cavities (cenotes or chenes), which gave the town its name “At the edge of the well of the Itzaes”. The cenotes facilitated tapping the underground waters of the area. The dates for this settlement vary according …
Technically, Badlands National Park was the first national park I ever visited. My family visited here on a road trip in the late 70’s. I’ve visited several times since then and it never ceases to amaze me. What makes Badlands special is its colorful landscape. The erosional features of the park are actually the remains …