Discover Abandoned Places and the Stories They Leave Behind
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Machu Picchu: The Abandoned Inca City in the Andes
High in the Andes of southern Peru, surrounded by steep green mountains and cloud forest, stands Machu Picchu, one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in the world. The Inca Empire built the stone city during the 15th century, when the empire stood at the height of its power. The builders shaped its terraces, plazas,…
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Petra: The Ancient Rock-Cut City of Jordan
Hidden among the sandstone mountains of southern Jordan lies Petra, one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the world. The ancient city is famous for its monumental facades carved directly into rose-coloured sandstone, but Petra was much more than the Treasury that appears in photographs. It was a large and prosperous city, a political…
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Tikal: The Ancient Maya City Hidden in the Guatemalan Jungle
Deep in the tropical forests of northern Guatemala lie the remains of Tikal, one of the most important cities of the ancient Maya world. Its enormous temples, palaces, plazas, reservoirs and pyramids rise above the surrounding forest, revealing the scale and sophistication of a civilization that flourished in Central America for more than a millennium.…
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Ani: The Abandoned Medieval City of Türkiye
Ani: A Forgotten City on the Silk Road On a remote plateau in northeastern Türkiye, close to the modern border with Armenia, stand the ruins of Ani. Once one of the most important cities of the medieval Caucasus and Anatolia, Ani developed at a strategic point on the Silk Road. Its position allowed the city…
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Persepolis: The Ancient Ruins of the Achaemenid Empire
Persepolis: The Ruins of an Ancient Persian Capital At the foot of Kuh-e Rahmat, or the Mountain of Mercy, in southwestern Iran, the ruins of Persepolis rise above the surrounding plain. More than two and a half millennia ago, this enormous stone terrace formed the centre of one of the most powerful imperial civilizations of…
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Ephesus: The Ancient City Ruins of Türkiye
A Forgotten Port City of the Ancient World Near the modern town of Selçuk in İzmir Province, western Türkiye, the ruins of Ephesus stretch across a landscape that was once one of the most important urban centres of the ancient Mediterranean. Today, visitors walk along ancient streets between monumental buildings, columns, fountains, houses and public…
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Herculaneum: The Roman City Buried by Vesuvius
Near the modern town of Ercolano in southern Italy lies the archaeological site of Herculaneum, a Roman city preserved in an extraordinary state after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Unlike many ancient ruins, Herculaneum does not survive only as foundations and broken walls. The volcanic material that buried the city preserved buildings,…
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Butrint: The Ancient City Ruins of Albania
Surrounded by water, woodland and the remains of ancient walls, Butrint is one of the most remarkable archaeological sites in Albania. The ruined city stands on a small peninsula between Lake Butrint and the Vivari Channel, near the Ionian coast in southern Albania. What makes Butrint unusual is not simply the age of its monuments.…
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Philippi: The Ancient City Ruins of Greece
In the fertile plain of eastern Macedonia, Greece, the remains of Philippi preserve the story of a city that connected the Greek world, Rome and the wider eastern Mediterranean for more than a millennium. Founded as Krenides in the 4th century BC and renamed Philippi after Philip II of Macedon took control of the settlement…