From the World Heritage inscription for the Historic City of Ayutthaya: The Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350, was the second capital of the Siamese Kingdom. It flourished from the 14th to the 18th centuries, during which time it grew to be one of the world’s largest and most cosmopolitan urban areas and a …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Ban Chiang Archaeological Site: The Ban Chiang Archaeological Site is a large, prehistoric earthen mound located in an agricultural area in the Ban Chiang Sub-district, Nong Han District of Udon Thani Province in northeast Thailand, within the watershed of the Mekong River. It is an oval-shaped mound formed …
From Petra to Pamukkale, the Middle East is bucket list worthy, with natural wonders, ancient history, and vibrant culture. Mesmerizing ancient architecture is a huge part of visiting the Middle East as well as satisfying culinary delights, distinctly different as you move from place to place. While many flock to the obvious wonder,: the Pyramids …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of Ryukyu: Five hundred years of Ryukyuan history (12th-17th century) are represented by this group of sites and monuments. The ruins of the castles, on imposing elevated sites, are evidence for the social structure over much of that period, while …
I’m guessing the moment you read the header for this post, certain images and thoughts popped into your head. In fact, for most people in the world, Hiroshima means one and only one thing. If you asked someone to name something else about Hiroshima, they probably couldn’t. The word Hiroshima has become so intertwined with …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Prambanan Temple Compounds: Prambanan Temple Compounds consist of Prambanan Temple (also called Loro Jonggrang), Sewu Temple, Bubrah Temple and Lumbung Temple. Prambanan Temple itself is a complex consisting of 240 temples. All the mentioned temples from the Prambanan Archaeological Park and were built during the heyday of Sailendra’s …
From the World Heritage inscription for Kinabalu National Park: Located in the State of Sabah, Malaysia, on the northern end of the island of Borneo, Kinabalu Park World Heritage property covers 75,370 ha. Dominated by Mount Kinabalu (4,095m), the highest mountain between the Himalayas and New Guinea, it holds a distinctive position for the biota …
Tomorrow I’m off to Jakarta. I hope to be in Indonesia for two weeks going through Java, Bali, and then a few days in East Timor. I came to Borneo not really knowing anything about the island. Next to nothing about the political divisions on the island, the history, the people, and very little about …
From the World Heritage inscription for Quseir Amra: Quseir Amra bears exceptional testimony to the Omayyad civilization which was imbued with a pre-Islamic secular culture whose austere religious environment only left behind insignificant traces in the visual arts. It is the best conserved architectural ensemble, if not the most complete, of all the Omayyad palaces …