Four ancient cities in the world to add to your travel wish list

 

This architectural masterpiece from the Khmer-era is Cambodia's main tourist attraction, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists each year. What many forget is that Angkor Wat is just one of several temples in the ruins of Angkor, which contains 70 temples scattered about 50 square miles. To experience the vast area, we recommend that our readers rent day trips by tuk-tuk.

 

The mythical rock city in Jordan makes visitors speechless in front of the magnificent temple, carved directly into the cliffs. It is said that about 2 000 years ago the then prosperous city of Petra had a population of 30 000 inhabitants. The city is especially known for its tombs and temples. We advise our readers to arrive early to avoid the crowd.

Tiwanaku is an ancient city located 3000 metres (!) above sea level, near Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. It is still unknown precisely when the city was built, but it is believed to be several thousands of years old and was an important capital of pre-Inka civilisation. The highlights include spectacular temples, pyramids, and stones that are carved in a wonderfully skilful way.

Pompeii was once a famous summer town for wealthy Romans and had over 20,000 inhabitants. On August 24 79 AD, the volcano Vesuvius buried the city under a thick layer of pumice and ash. The city was rediscovered in the 17th century, and today it is an important archaeological site. Some 44 hectares of the ancient city has been excavated, but one-third still remains. In addition to the well-preserved buildings and objects, this is the only ancient city that has the whole topographic structure in its original state.