The past is not always tucked neatly in pages of books; it is sometimes lurking below layers of sea, forgotten in jungles, or buried beneath volcanic ash. Several ancient cities seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye and were rediscovered millennia later. Those cities are now among the most sought after holidays spots.
Ready to join for a an adventurous trip through time?
- Pompeii – Italy
Picture- this is an ambitious combination of the opera ‘Aida’ and the artwork of Gustave Dore, and of a classical ballet ‘Romeo et Juliette, on one hand. On the other hand is a City that completely halts. One second,you’re enjoying lunch and the very next a volcano erupts and covers everything miles around. That, is Pompeii for you.
In the 79 AD things were not so easy as now- for Vesuvius had erupted, blanketing Pompeii with volcanic ash. The whole City vanished until a Seventeenth century Spanish engineer goes by the name of Rocque Joaquin de Alcubierre, so happens to place it. A city filled with streets, homes, people that seemed preserved in time, does not need much of a stretch of the mind to believe.
Level quite some as an archeological wonder and now it is a prime targets site for tourists.
- Machu Picchu
Perched in the Andes mountains is Machu Picchu; a place so exotic it was concealed in plain sight. The locals were always aware of it; however, American historian Hiram Bingham brought it to the limelight in 1911.
Constructed in the 15th century, this Inca city is unparalleled when it comes to ancient engineering feats—think of terrace farming, temples, and precision stone cutting. Currently, it is among the UNESCO World Heritage list and is one of the most sought after hiking destinations worldwide.
- Heracleion – Is This The Missing City Of Egypt?
Lost cities form part of folklore, but the Heracleion/Thonis was one of the most sought after ancient cities located in Egypt’s port city next to the Nile Delta. It is famous for having stunning temples, huslte and buslte trade routes, and lots of bling.
Earthquakes, floods, and the Mediterranean Sea consuming the city led to its disappearance. Heracleion remained a fictional story until underwater archeologist Franck Godido rediscovered it. Currently, they are working on pulling out statues, coins, and shipwrecks lying in shallow waters.
- Troy – Once A Myth And Now A Real Venue (Turkey)
The story of the Trojan Horse was once thought to be a piece of fantasy. In 1870, a German’s archeologist Heinrich Schliemann, unburied the site of Troy’s city and proved the epics Iliad as the imagination weaved fiction was based off something factual in the world.
Arguably the most remembered Greek epic of all time, shows discovery of numerous typical houses, bronze-age artifacts, and ancient civilization. All these elementary modern aids for the non-academics have made Troy one of the most stunning sight for ancitent civilizations and remains in Turkey.
- Petra – The Rose City in the Rocks (Jordan)
A location that seems to have emerged from the pages of a fantasy novel, What will take your breath away is the fact that Petra carved into red sandstone cliffs petra came into existence in 1812.
You will always find something to marvel at; from electric rock-cut architecture to bewitching ancient engineering, there’s a little something from every era of the world.
- Angkor – Khmer Empire’s Hidden Gem (Cambodia)
When the French explorer Henri Mouhot went to the Cambodian jungles back in the eighteen hundreds, he probably expected to adore city landscapes. Instead he came upon Angkor. The heart and core of the Khmer empire.
Seeing the effortless and skillful city planning coupled with some delightful temples was a treat to the eyes. Now it is one of the most frequented places for tourists.
- Ebla – Syria’s Forgotten Powerhouse
Italian archaeologist Paolo Matthiae discovered one of the most astonishing and stunning sites one could hope to find back in the 1960s when he unearthed a city in Syria, known as Ebla. That became the center of trade and culture during the third millennium BC.
What makes Ebla stand out is its discovery of thousands of baked clay tablets, which indicates a sophisticated economy and extensive diplomatic relations with other ancient civilizations. Also, it provided historians with deeper perspectives on Semitic languages and the politics of the early Middle East.
- Mohenjo-Daro: The Unprecedented Urban Wonder of the Ancient World (Pakistan)
Mohenjo-Daro is a city of the Indus Valley Civilization. It boasted well organized street grids, public baths, and an efficient drainage system–places that get a fancy name as plumbing and “smart” cities didn’t exist yet. It was built around 2500 BC!
Indian archaeologist RD Banerji discovered it Mohenjo-Daro in 1920. The ruins sparked an astonishingly organized societal ideology. We’ve got planners to thank for taking ancient life to new systematic heights.
So what’s the moral of the story?
Civilizations seem to rise, disappear, and sometimes return victoriously, all depending on an inquisitive explorer or a serendipitous dig. These cities may have been out of touch for a few centuries, but now they are narrating the stories we have almost forgotten through fortunate moderned time. Aditionally, they make tremendous travel destinations.
Don’t forget to grab some history books and, of course, a camera because you’re bound to need them.