Pasargadae was the first dynastic capital of the Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus II the Great, in Pars, homeland of the Persians, in the 6th century BC. Its palaces, gardens and the mausoleum of Cyrus are outstanding examples of the first phase of royal Achaemenid art and architecture and exceptional testimonies of Persian civilization. Particularly [...]
Inhabited since prehistoric times, this Nabataean caravan-city, situated between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains riddled with passages and gorges. It is one of the world's most famous archaeological sites, where ancient Eastern [...]
The Villa Adriana (at Tivoli, near Rome) is an exceptional complex of classical buildings created in the 2nd century A.D. by the Roman emperor Hadrian. It combines the best elements of the architectural heritage of Egypt, Greece and Rome in the form of an 'ideal city'.
Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This is the most [...]
Topkapi Palace was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. It is the palace complex’s oldest and largest (700,000 square meters.) Worldwide. Therefore, it is probably most important historical sites in Istanbul are open to visitors. It is one of the most visited museums in Europe and certainly the most visited in [...]
Sultan Mehmet the Ottoman Conqueror built the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul shortly after he conquered the city in the 15th century. The palace was expanded by successive sultans, and remained the sultan’s residence for the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years. It has opulent rooms, fine art collections, and peaceful courtyards, and is one of [...]
” Necropolis Thebes, the city of the god Amon, was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. With the temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor, and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, Thebes is a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization [...]
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