Ultimate Places

I ran across this website awhile back looking for good examples of how Flash can be used as a powerful educational tool, rather than just for goofy internet ads. Its amazing to me what they have done with the technology, and how it  really brings the study of archaeology alive for the general public. It […]

The Taj Mahal, located in Agra (north central Indi), represents the high point of Mughal architecture, and stands as one of the world’s great historic buildings. The Taj Mahal combines elements of Indian and Persian design as well as those of Hinduism and Islam. It was built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a […]

The island of Santorini, among all the other islands of Greece, has always fascinated me with its unique combination of ancient history, awesome geology and colorful atmosphere. Located southeast of Athens in an island group known as the Cyclades, Santorini has a very ancient and somewhat mysterious history. Many believe the cataclysmic geologic event […]

If there is a reason I watch PBS in the United States, its to learn about places like the Wieliczka Salt Mine Cathedral in Poland. This is a salt mine that has been operational for hundreds of years, and has been a tourist attraction for almost as long, but its the kind of thing you […]

Despite the danger of Ait Benhaddou turning into another Hollywood cliche, this ancient Moroccan city on the southern edge of the Atlas mountains remains high on on my list of places to visit. Featured in more than 10 films (from Lawrence of Arabia to Alexander the Great), the city arguably has something of a love-hate […]

By most accounts Hagia Sophia stands as one of the greatest architectural feets of antiquity and the Roman/Byzantine empire. Hagia Sophia was the third church built on the location where it stands today and was commissioned by Emperor Justinian I, in 537 A.D.
Hagia Sophia remained a pinnacle of the Eastern Orthodox church for nearly a […]

Of the surviving architectural masterpieces of ancient Egpyt, I would hazard a guess that the Temple of Hatshepsut is easily recognized by many people when seen through a series of photographs, but its name, history or ultimate purpose remain largely obscure. The temple was built near Thebes, just outside the Valley of the Kings by […]

While the Pyramids of Giza outside of Cairo get alot of press, and the average person has probably heard about them, they represent only a fraction of the pyramids built by the Egyptian Pharoahs, and their Nubian neighbors to the south. Of these lesser known pyramids, probably some of the most spectacular and best preserved […]

For anyone with a interest in historic preservation, one of the saddest days of the current war in Afghanistan came in March 8th, 2001. On that day, the Taliban took it upon themselves to pass judgement on 1,500 years of human history and blow-up two of the largest Buddhist statues on Earth using tank shells […]

Continuing the series of posts I’ve done recently on Roman ruins outside of Europe, today I profile the Roman city of Thysdrus (known today as El Djem or El Jem). Thysdrus was built on the fundations of a much ealier Punic settlement in the first century A.D. and remains largely buried beneath the sands of […]