Machu Picchu, Peru
Machu Picchu in Peru, which means ‘Old Peak,” is one of the most enigmatic ancient sites in the world. According to legend, Machu Picchu was a long time ago considered to be a sacred place. The credit for the creation of the extraordinary city goes to the Inca people who have erected many stone structures and turned the place into an art form.
Two thousand feet above the Urubamba river, these ruins consist of baths, temples, palaces and about 150 houses, all very well preserved. These gray granite structures, some of which weigh more than 50 tons are so perfectly sculpted that they are nothing less than architectural genius. They were rediscovered by a Yale archaeologist in 1911. The ethereal beauty, the workmanship and history of the place attracts millions of tourists each year.
The Pyramids, Egypt
The Egyptian pyramids are massive monuments with a square base and four triangular sides rising up to a point. There was a lot of curiosity associated with the pyramids as to their formation, whether it was natural.
However, the Egyptians started constructing them after 2700 B.C. and were built as tombs for the Pharaohs. The most well-known and the largest pyramids of Egypt are the Pyramids at Giza which are said to be the largest ever built, and the Great Pyramid at Giza took 23 years to complete for about a work force of 30,000. About 118 pyramids have been identified and are very popular with people from all over the world.
Petra, Jordan
Described by the UNESCO as “one of the most precious cultural properties of man’s cultural heritage, Petra is an archeological site on the slope of Mount Hor. It is one of the new wonders of the world and is famous for its rock cut architecture.
