UNESCO (12)

13141918089?profile=RESIZE_710xCraig Stanfill


A British Overseas Territory with a land area of just 21 square miles – the size of a middling city anywhere in the world – and a population of 73,000, Bermuda is named after its original discoverer, Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez. It has been settled for 412 years and has been a popular tourist destination – especially for those in the United States, for whom it´s a flight of just over two hours from the East Coast – since the 1880´s, when the Hamilton Hotel (now the Fairmont

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by Pamela Acosta Ruiz

 

Even in a hemisphere full of spots with unique appeal to visitors, Xochimilco in Mexico’s Federal District (about an hour from downtown Mexico City’s main square, the Zócalo) can claim a special place.An Aztec town dating back to the 10th century, today Xochimilco (“field of flowers” in the local Nahuatl language), it largely has the feel of a Mexico City suburb it's become, but with one major exception, for which it is justly famous: its 170-square kilometre (66-square-m

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12391716060?profile=RESIZE_930xAhmad Qaisieh


In southern Jordan, just under three hours from capital Amman, one of the most recognisable ancient sites in the MIddle East - and indeed, the world - was rediscovered by archaeologists in 1812. But it dates back to at least the 2nd century BCE and probably earlier, settled by an ancient Bedouin Arab tribe called the Nabataeans, who spoke Aramaic rather than Arabic and grew into a wealthy, powerful kingdom which at its height - and until it was absorbed by the Roman Empire in the

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The Allures of Ivory Coast/Côte d´Ivoire

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A bit smaller than England and a bit larger than New Mexico this chunk of West Africa (formally known in French as Côte d'Ivoire), gets only some  670,000 visitors a year but deserves many more, as a fascinating mix of natural, cultural, and historical attractions. Here are its top draws:


12256878074?profile=RESIZE_930xCitizen59


Abidjan

The country's largest city as well as sub-Saharan Africa´s sixth largest (pop. around 5.7 million), the former political and still economic capital is a bustling metropolis with a mix of

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5 Fabulous Sites of Classical Antiquity in Libya

12238952290?profile=RESIZE_930xLuca Galuzzi - www.galuzzi.it


The territory of what is today Libya, along with Algeria and Tunisia, was once part of ancient Rome´s second most prosperous region after Italy itself, beginning with the Roman Republic´s conquest of Carthage and the rest of the Punic Empire in 146 BCE and lasting until 439, when it was in turn conquered by Germanic Vandals. Its legacy (as well as that of ancient Greece, which had its own colonies along this coast) lives on today in some extraordinary archaeologic

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11018875452?profile=RESIZE_930xJosé Balido


 

Congratulations are in order! UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) has just this summer honored Spain's capital city with its first World Heritage Site designation, elevating Madrid to the ranks of destinations with districts or monuments worth preserving for future generations (the larger Madrid community surrounding the capital already had UNESCO sites, including the royal complexes of El Escorial and Aranjuez, which make marvelous day

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Baia di Ha Long – Perla d’oriente

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La baia di Halong è una bellissima meraviglia naturale nel nord del Vietnam, vicino al confine con la Cina. La baia è costellata da 1.600 isole e isolotti calcarei e si estende su una superficie di oltre 1.500 kmq. Questa straordinaria area è stata dichiarata patrimonio dell'umanità dall'UNESCO nel 1994.

Il modo migliore per raggiungere Halong è in auto, minibus o autobus da Hanoi, che dista solo 170 km. Se il budget non è un problema, è disponibile anche un trasferimento con la macchina privata

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The Ancient Majesty of Mexico's Teotihuacán

12281480063?profile=RESIZE_930xCarlosVanVegas



I will never forget, nearly 40 years ago, laying eyes for the first time on my first ancient archaeological site. About an hour’s drive north of Mexico City, this UNESCO World Heritage complex of temples absolutely electrified my imagination and became a driving force in my fascination with not just archaeology but travel and world cultures in general. Teotihuacán has that kind of impact.

Even after decades of study, archaeologists still aren’t quite sure who (Toltecs?  Otomi? M

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León, Nicaragua's Most Venerable City

12127354494?profile=RESIZE_930xElemaki 



When it comes to tourism in Central America’s largest country, the city that tends to get most of the attention is Granada (while ironically, capital Managua is pretty much avoided by all but business people). But in many ways I find its traditional – and less tarted up for tourists/expats – rival Santiago de los Caballeros de León, even more fascinating, beginning with the fact that despite its somewhat lower contemporary profile among foreigners, Nicaragua's second largest city (aft

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Visiting Gjirokastra, Albania's 'Stone City'


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Gjirokastra (also spelled Gjirokastër) is a town in southern Albania which in 2005 was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a highly historic city and placed on slopes of the Drino River valley, with beautiful scenery and bordered by high mountains.

Known as the "City of a Thousand Stairs" Gjirokastra is characterized by cobblestone streets and Ottoman-era houses with stone roofs and wooden balconies. Gjirokastra's historic castle is located on top of a hill. The city has a troubled p

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13240074672?profile=RESIZE_710xarturobouillard.blogspot.com

 

When it comes to the pre-Columbian past of Peru, most of us automatically and understandably think of the Incas. But there were many other cultures and civilizations in these lands, some of them much older than the Incas. Several of these elder civilizations originate in what is now desert regions up and down the country's coast north and south of its present-day capital, Lima. One example you've heard about is the Nazca people, because of their now famous artifact

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