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What are your favorite ruin/ruins?


kannin

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Dun Aonghasa, on Inis Mor, off the Western Coast of Ireland... A Stone age fort built right up against the 600 foot drop off...

That is awesome. :tu:

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I have never been anywhere, so all of the places you have mentioned are on my bucket list, which alas, at my age I will only see in books or on the computer...or in dreams. The long barrows, Wayland Smithy, Stonehenge, and so many of the European standing stones are on the wish list. I would love to visit anything in Wales, as so many ancestors came from there.

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I've been to two different pyramids on two different continents... I would like to add to the 'collection'...

Ur - Iraq

Ur003.jpg

Chichen-Itza - Mexico

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Hadrien's wall...awesome!

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From the places we've been, my fave have been:

Cappadocia, Turkey:

DSCF6556_zps35b58ecf.jpg

The Colosseum:

DSCF0785_zpsda34a373.jpg

Herculaneum - some awesomely preserved mosaics there!

herculaneum_zps827fb8d5.jpg

Pompeii (with Vesuvius in the background):

DSCF1853_zpsa959acd0.jpg

Linlithgow Palace, Scotland. Birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots and location of our wedding (see us in the tower?):

Nikki_179_zps37ea52dc.jpg

Going to Peru for 3 weeks this fall, so will be sure to come back with more pics!

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From the places we've been, my fave have been:

Cappadocia, Turkey:

DSCF6556_zps35b58ecf.jpg

The Colosseum:

DSCF0785_zpsda34a373.jpg

Herculaneum - some awesomely preserved mosaics there!

awsome you should def post them when you return! straight up eye candy!herculaneum_zps827fb8d5.jpg

Pompeii (with Vesuvius in the background):

DSCF1853_zpsa959acd0.jpg

Linlithgow Palace, Scotland. Birthplace of Mary, Queen of Scots and location of our wedding (see us in the tower?):

Nikki_179_zps37ea52dc.jpg

Going to Peru for 3 weeks this fall, so will be sure to come back with more pics!

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Favourite place I have been to is the Angkor Wat/Angkor Tom complex in Cambodia - amazing place and so much to see.

Most disappointing would have to be Stonehenge. I guess it is impressive enough (if you can ignore the busy road about 100m from the stone circle) but I drove about 4.5 to 5 hours to see it and pretty much seen it all withing 20 minutes. it reminded me of Dr Johnson's quote about the Giant's causeway in Ireland: " Worth seeing but not worth going to see" :yes:

post-140373-0-11684200-1372471302_thumb.

post-140373-0-49971000-1372471312_thumb.

post-140373-0-08843900-1372471329_thumb.

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they aren't the most visually striking, but i was amazed and fascinated by cahokia when i visited there. just being on the site of this ancient city, in a place where no one used to believe cities ever were... standing on the top of the highest mound and picturing what it must have looked like as a vibrant and thriving trading community, and so on. it was a great experience.

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Once you've seen one ruin you've pretty much seen them all. They should be left alone for the scholars.

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i can't really agree with that. well, maybe a bit with the second part, i mean, if you're talking about limiting access in order to prevent damage. maybe that's an ok idea.

but i've been to the ruins of ancient american cities, and to the ruins of 150 year old mining towns, and they're different, and there's a lot to be learned from both.

i don't know, maybe I'm misunderstanding you.

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You are honorably humble, but did not misunderstand me. I see people (mostly what we call "backpackers," and it is not a flattering word) climbing all over various Chom or other ruins here and in Kampuchea, and cringe as I see the rocks tumbling down. Only the really famous ruins get any protection, and the interests of the tourists seems to come first.

Travel somewhere and then stay there several months or even longer. Otherwise you are just wasting energy and resources and time getting fleeting impressions that are probably wrong. To me the only thing of real interest around the world anyway are its people. Mountains and rivers and museums and ruins and bridges and so on are beautiful everywhere.

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hm, yeah. the point about tourists is a good one. even where i live, a place where there just aren't that many people at all, i still see where people damage these old buildingd and sites because they just don't think.

to be honest, i've never been outside the united states, so i guess my knowledge of ruins and the world is somewhat limited.

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Favourite place I have been to is the Angkor Wat/Angkor Tom complex in Cambodia - amazing place and so much to see.

Most disappointing would have to be Stonehenge. I guess it is impressive enough (if you can ignore the busy road about 100m from the stone circle) but I drove about 4.5 to 5 hours to see it and pretty much seen it all withing 20 minutes. it reminded me of Dr Johnson's quote about the Giant's causeway in Ireland: " Worth seeing but not worth going to see" :yes:

I didn't mind Stonehenge. Were you able to go among the rocks or did you have to stay behind the barrier? I went with a tour so we could actually go up to the rocks which made it more impressive than the first time I visited and had to stay behind the rope. It's not at the top of my list, but thought it was cool.

You want disappointing? Try Troy. We were so excited to go, didn't do much research beforehand, cause, you know, it's Troy, thought we knew enough. Nope. Barely anything there. Wasted a whole day. So disappointing!

Travel somewhere and then stay there several months or even longer. Otherwise you are just wasting energy and resources and time getting fleeting impressions that are probably wrong. To me the only thing of real interest around the world anyway are its people. Mountains and rivers and museums and ruins and bridges and so on are beautiful everywhere.

I agree to a point. Mountains and rivers and museums are more or less the same. Ruins and bridges though...gotta say, I've seen a lot of both and they amaze me every time. Especially the ruins - they do give you a glimpse of what life was like way back when. Like in Herculaneum, they have this one little building with a table inside and a bench outside - they think it was a cafe. We read the description and were like "OMG it's a 2000 year old Timmies!" (Timmie's is Tim Hortons, a Canadian institution, if you don't know. It's a coffee shop). On the one hand, life would have been so different 2000 years ago, on the other, they had a little restaurant where you could sit with your friends like you would do today. It was pretty neat!

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the only ruins I've ever seen is underground Seattle. so I would have to say underground Seattle. I'd really like to visit some of the ancient temples in Thailand however

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The Thais have largely (in my opinion) ruined them by repairing them. That's okay if you are after beauty, but if you are after the real thing then go to Sian Reip.

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Ruins are fascinating because of what they reveal of the the people who built the constructions. My favorite ruins probably have not been discovered yet.

I've only seen parts of N. America, including Mexico and Canada.. so thank goodness for pictures !

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The Thais have largely (in my opinion) ruined them by repairing them. That's okay if you are after beauty, but if you are after the real thing then go to Sian Reip.

I will keep that in mind thanks

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Pueblo Bonita at the Chaco Canyon Cultural Park in North Western New Mexico is pretty impressive as well...

DSC00604_zpsd738ad26.jpg

PuebloBonita.jpg

Edited by Taun
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This is how the archeaologists think it looked at it's peak...

DSC00587_zpsf34fb034.jpg

beautiful

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This is how the archeaologists think it looked at it's peak...

DSC00587_zpsf34fb034.jpg

Anasazi were more mysterious then Egypt, Sumeria, Indus valley, China, Jomon... combined.

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