While historical sights are always popular, some are worthy of actually being the focus of your trip.
10. St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City, Italy
As soon as you arrive in Rome, you won’t be able to miss any of its historic or religious landmarks. The Vatican City’s St. Peter’s Basilica, designed by Michelangelo, Bramante, Bernini, and Maderno in the 1600s, is a stunning piece of art.
Despite the fact that it is not the primary church of the Roman Catholic religion, the church is considered one of the holiest in the world. The late Renaissance church is also said to be the final resting place of St. Peter.
9. Stonehenge, Salisbury, England
Salisbury, England, is home to one of the most intriguing sights in England. The heads on Easter Island have always baffled people, and now you can see how they came to be.
Weird structures thought to date from 3000 to 2000 BC raise questions about how advanced our ancestors’ civilizations once was. Archaeologists and architects alike flock to this popular tourist destination in the United Kingdom. From the beginning, the World Heritage Site is thought to have been associated with burial rituals.
8. Petra, Jordan
Salisbury, England, is home to one of the most intriguing sights in England. The heads on Easter Island have always baffled people, and now you can see how they came to be.
Weird structures thought to date from 3000 to 2000 BC raise questions about how advanced our ancestors’ civilizations once was. Archaeologists and architects alike flock to this popular tourist destination in the United Kingdom. From the beginning, the World Heritage Site is thought to have been associated with burial rituals.
7. Taj Mahal, Uttar Pradesh, India
The Taj Mahal, a world-famous structure, has a fascinating history. Here’s some background information in case your history teacher didn’t go over it: Pregnancy complications killed Shah Jahan’s 14th wife in the early 1630s. The emperor’s grief led him to commission the Taj Mahal, a memorial to his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, which he had built himself.
According to legend, Shah Jahan was so enamored with the white marble temple that he had the architects and builders’ hands cut off to ensure that another one like it would never be built.
6. The Parthenon, Athens, Greece
Located in Greece, Athens has a rich history and awe-inspiring natural beauty. In contrast, the dilapidated building that sits within its confines has a fascinating backstory of its own. The Parthenon was a Greek temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the goddess of wisdom (Athena the Virgin).
Starting in 447 BC, construction on the structure continued until 438 BC, which is remarkable given the amount of time and resources required to complete something of this magnitude. Although the Parthenon has suffered some physical damage over the years, it has remained largely intact.
5. Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu is a pre-Colombian ruin in Peru that once housed Native American settlers from the Inca Empire. From 1438 to 1533, the settlement was a significant portion of the South American population.
For years, the population was deprived of many of the resources that the old world enjoyed. However, they were extremely resourceful and were able to accomplish things like farming. You can now take the four-day hike to the top of the mountain and gaze down at the ancient civilization, which is slowly eroding.
4. Moai Statues, Easter Island, Chile
Easter Island’s Moai Statues, discovered in 1722, have stumped historians and archaeologists ever since. For now, the only thing we can deduce from the guardians is that they were constructed from volcanic ash by our late relatives around 1200 AD.
Nearly 1000 of them are scattered across the island, a reminder that, despite our current technological advancements, humans were already technologically advanced in the past. In the same way that we don’t know exactly how the Easter Island heads were built, there are many structures around the world.
3. Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul, as it stands, is a city steeped in history. Constantine, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire, named Istanbul as the capital of his great empire, but under a different name: Constantinople.
After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Greek Orthodox church Hagia Sophia was converted into an Ottoman mosque. It is now open to the public as a museum, where visitors can admire the beautiful architecture that was in place around 360 AD. In the past, it was referred to as the “eighth wonder of the world”.
2. The Colosseum, Rome, Italy
Known as the amphitheater where gladiators would fight to the death, the Colosseum is one of Rome’s most well-known structures. There was a delay between 70 and 73 AD in the completion of the great amphitheater.
As soon as it was completed, it became known as the largest amphitheater in the Roman world. That’s quite a bit of time to keep going for the first 100 days of its existence! After natural disasters, weather, and (unfortunately) vandalism, the historic structure is now in ruins.
1. Cairo, Egypt
Cairo, the capital of South Africa, is home to many historical landmarks, including the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, which are both nearby, as well as the Egyptian Museum, which houses 27 mummies and more than 12,000 artifacts. You can’t possibly see everything!
The city, which was once a major shipping hub on the Silk Road, is now a treasure trove of stunning architecture and fascinating stories. There’s a lot to see here, so a guide is highly recommended.
See more: History, Dynasties, Religion, and Literature in Ancient Egypt.
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