Tower Hill, situated northwest of the Tower of London, is one of the oldest parts of the city. Archaeolgical evidence shows that there were settlements on this Hill dating back to the Bronze Age, and later a Roman village that was burnt to the ground during the Boudicca uprising. Other related monuments in the area which are directly linked to or surround the Hill include Trajan's Column, which was raised in honour of the Roman Emperor Trajan, and the London Wall, which was a defensive wall built by the Romans to protect Londinium. Furthermore, the Tower of London, a historic fortress, which is now home to the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom and which is the oldest building still being used by the British government.
The arena at Pula in Croatia is one of the best preserved Roman amphitheatres in the world, and one of the largest. It has four side towers and with all three Roman architectural orders entirely preserved – the only amphitheatre to be able to make such a boast. It is without a doubt the best preserved Roman building in Croatia.
Today it is the venue for summer performances - the Film Festival, Opera Season, Equestrian Festival, concerts, which can seat about 5,000 spectators.
The Galapagos Islands, or Archipiélago de Colón, are situated 1000km off the coast of Equador. Made up of 13 islands, only 5 are inhabited by humans.
The area's unique combination of total isolation (until modern times), volcanic activity and position at the point of convergence of three currents has led to completely unique species to develop on the islands, including the giant tortoise and the land iguana.
Charles Darwin was one of the first people to visit the islands, in 1845, and was inspired there to write his theory of evolution. However, years of tourism, introduction of non-native species, and climate change have taken their toll, and the Galapagos Islands have also suffered from hurricane El Nino, and a major oil spill in 2001. Now, many species are at risk of extinction, and a major conservation effort is underway to protect the islands' ecosytem.
The Palace Museum is housed within the Forbidden City, an imperial palace originally completed in 1420 that served a succession of twenty-four Chinese emperors and their dynasties during the Ming and Qing periods of Chinese history. It is located in the center of Beijing, the capital city of China. The museum itself was established in October 10, 1925, and is China's largest museum.
Built from 1406 to 1420, the The Forbidden City complex consists of 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 covering 720,000 square meters. It is recognized by UNESCO as the site with the largest number of preserved wooden structures in the world. The Mongol Yuan dynasty first constructed a palace on the site but it was ordered burned down by the Ming emperor Hongwu and the imperial captial was moved to Nanjing. But the capital was moved back to Beijing by his son Zhu Di and a new palace was built on the same site as the previous palace. Over a million workers labored on the new palace for 15 years, using Phoebe zhennan wood from the jungles of southwest China and marble from quarries near Beijing.
Krak des Chevaliers is a fortress castle in the Horn's Gap, east of Tripoli, Lebanon. It is built on a 650m-high hill. The fortress controlled the road to the Mediterranean.
The Babylonians, Egyptians, Hittites, Hebrews, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Arabs, Kurds, Ottoman Turks, Seljuk Turks and Franks have all occupied or fought for the land here. Each has influenced and led to the unique architecture that can today be found at the Krak des Chevaliers.
Krak des Chevaliers is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site.
Purnululu National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage-listed area in Australia's far north-west. It is famous for the Bungle Bungle Range. The national park is home to some of the most amazing geological landmarks in Western Australia, and features extensive Aboriginal rock and cave art.
The Bungle Bungle Range rises up to 578 metres above sea level and stands 200 to 300 metres above a woodland and grass covered plain, with steep cliffs on the western plain. Although the Bungle Bungles were used extensively by Aboriginal people during the wet season, when plant and animal life was abundant, few Europeans knew of its existence until the mid-1980s. The area is rich in Aboriginal art and there are also many burial sites.
The Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed area, is located 440 kilometres by road south-west of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory. It is home to Uluru (known also by its European name Ayer's Rock), which stands some 348 metres high. The monolith has a great cultural significance for the traditional Aboriginal owners, the Anangu people. The park also includes the 36 domes of Kata Tjuta (The Olgas). Both iconic Outback landmarks date back hundreds of million of years.
Uluru's traditional owners are the Anangu, comprised of Yankunytjatjara and Pitjantjatjara people. They ask visitors not to climb Uluru as the ancient monolith is key to their ancient Dreamtime beliefs. They also ask visitors to respect the park and treat it with care, given that it forms part of their ancient tribal homelands.
The Australian federal government handed the land back to its traditional owners in 1985, with the local people granted a lease over the land. it was subsequently leased back to the National Parks and Wildlife Service, which jointly manages it with the Anungu.
Neues Museum was constructed in the era of Frederick William IVat 19 June 1841. The original Friedrich August Stuler built magnificent Egyptian rooms, a Greek temple and a Pompeian villa. As it was closed after World War II due to extensive damage, and has finally come to life after a six-year restoration project by British architect David Chipperfield.
It was built in the neo-Classical style, with all the floors decorated by important Classical Painters and a wonderful grand staircase as the focal point of the main building. The staircase winds down all three storeys, and is surrounded by the famous Kaulbach frescos.
Located in the centre of Berlin, Museumsinsel is a key tourist and cultural destination. The five museums on the island host an impressive collection of art and archaeological artefacts assembled over the 19th century.
UNESCO describes the island as “a unique ensemble of museum buildings which illustrates the evolution of modern museum design over more than a century”.
The oldest museum, the Altes Museum, was opened in 1830 to display King Frederik William III’s art treasures. A century later, Berlin celebrated the opening of the Pergamon museum, home to the ever-expanding collection of antiques excavated by German archaeologists. To this day, the museum is mostly dedicated to Egyptian, Islamic, Middle Eastern and Classic antiquities. Its main attractions include the reconstruction of the massive Pergamon altar. The Neues Museum is home to an impressive Egyptian collection, and the island also contains the Bode Museum and the Alte Nationalgalerie.
All five museums were severely damaged by World War II air raids. Key parts of the collection, such as Priam's Treasure, removed by the Allies have yet to be retruned. During the Cold War, the collections were scattered between East and West Berlin.
New Lanark is a small 18th-century Scottish village built around a cotton mill in beautiful leafy green countryside in South Lanarkshire. In the 19th century, it was molded by Utopian socialist idealist Robert Owen into a model industrial community. While most industrial villages, towns and cities in Scotland were cramped and dirty, New Lanark was relatively clean and spacious, with adequate workers housing, safe and consciencous workshops and a dignified educational institute and school.
From a peak population of 2,500 in the 19th century, it's today home to just 200 people. The factories closed in 1968, and New Lanark was only saved from demolition when it was purchased by the NLCT. Fully restored, it's now a popular tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In 2009, New Lanark became the first of Scotland's five UNESCO World Heritage Sites to be laser scanned - as part of the Scottish 10 - by a team from Historic Scotland and the Glasgow School of Art. They'll eventually produce a 3D digital record of the site which will be made available to the public.
