What ruins have have you seen? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

**LostFarmboy** · 03-12-2006, 02:21 PM

I absolutely freakin love ruins, they bloody fascinate me. I love to walk around them and try to imagine what they would have been like back when they were populated, and what the citizens of the ancient cities were like. My around the world trip i got back from 4 months ago pretty much revolved around visiting different archaeological sites.

So, i was just curious to know if i was alone in this fascination of mine. Who else out there loves visiting Ancient sites?? What ones have you seen?? Which are the best??

My list is:
- Rome (Italy)
- Pompeii (Italy)
- Teotihuacan (Mexico)
- Palenque (Mexico)
- Tulum (Mexico)
- Tikal (Guatamala)
- Cusco (dunno if this counts, but there are a lot of Inca walls in the city) (Peru)
- Saw one site in the Valley of the Incas, didn't get to walk through it though (Peru)
- Machu Picchu (Peru)
- 4 or 5 smaller (but equally impressive) ruins on the inca trail (Peru)
- Isla del Sol (Border of Peru and Bolivia)

...i think that's all

Machu Picchu was absolutely bloody amazing (of course). Palenque was awsome. Tikal was probably my favorite though, it's pretty much a heap of massive pyramids right in the middle of the jungle and as you walk amongst the ruins there are monkeys swinging in the trees just above you....it was crazy!!

**Somnambulation** · 03-12-2006, 02:51 PM

The pyramids at Chichen Itza in Mexico are amazing. They are Mayan ruins if I remeber correctly. The best part is that they actually let you climb the Pyramids and pretty much explore the ruins as you see fit.

**Rozza** · 03-12-2006, 02:53 PM

i've seen the ampu-theartre (sp) in verona, which was pretty cool,

but i really want to see the ancient cities of the incas/aztecs/mayan's etc

Angkor wat, cambodia

wat phra kaeo, bangkok, thailand

petra, jordan

mark-0 · 03-12-2006, 07:18 PM

Rome - coloseum, forum, cricus maximus (not much in the way of ruins, though) tons of other stuff
Ostia - closest port to ancient Rome
Cumae - ancient Greek colony on west coast of Italian peninsula and the gateway to the underworld according to Virgil
Pompeii - the whole ancient city
Herculaneum - ditto
Tours, France - ancient Roman site in the middle of a medieval square
Loire Valley, France - caves, ancient burial structures (cool one in the middle of the backyard of a small town cafe/restaurant)

There's probably more in Italy, but it was 5 years ago and I can't recall EVERYTHING right now on the spot. We saw so much in 10 days, but that's all...so far. I'm hoping to hit up some more in France, UK, Latin/South America...um, ok so the plan is to check out ruins everywhere...eventually. I love ancient ruins but I don't know when "eventually" is.

When I was in Barcelona last summer there was an exhibit in a section of the Gaudi apartments that was specifically about ancient ruins and how we are fascinated by them. Specifically it was about the representation of ancient ruins in art from (I'm guessing) the late renaissance onward. They had some AMAZING paintings of ancient ruins and a couple of films running, one from WWII (I think) just showing a boy, probably 10 years, wandering through all these bombed out buildings, and another was about ruins and war through the ages. It was an awesome exhibit and I came across it completely by random. I love going someplace expecting to see the sights and stuff that is there all the time, all year long (i.e. buildings, museums) and catching really cool exhibits that are only there for a limited time.

**goyincognito** · 03-13-2006, 12:51 AM

I absolutely adore ruins and ancient places/cities...they are my #1 thing to see on trips so here's my list of sites, and what city and/or country they're in next to them

Jerusalem - Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Dome of the Rock, Al Aqsa Mosque, Solomon's Temple, Garden Tomb, Church of Gethsemene
Bernkastel-küs (Germany)
Jerash (north Jordan)
Amman (central Jordan)
Petra (Jordan)
Apollonia (Crusader port, central Israeli coast)
The Synagogue of Peter (Capernaum, northern Israel)
Orthodox Church of the Disciples (Capernaum)
Tiberias (Galilee, northern Israel)
Bet Saida (Golan Heights)
Fortress of Nimrod (Golan Heights...next to Lebanon and Mount Hermon over 1000m above sea level)
Qazrin (a preserved Jewish city from the early middle ages in the Golan Heights)

I have a feeling I forgot some...but I'll post them if they come to me :P

**goyincognito** · 03-13-2006, 12:58 AM

Oh and I think it goes without saying that Petra blows them all away

but...I'll say it anyway

PETRA BLOWS THEM ALL AWAY. :D

mr-turisty · 03-13-2006, 01:50 AM

Clava cairns, Scotland
Old Druid burial ground. That place has a really strange feeling to it, especially at night!

Dunotter castle, Scotland
Truly breath taking castle

Urquhart castle, Scotland
Ruined castle on the banks of loch ness. Went to a wedding there and never been so cold.

Ruthven barracks, Scotland
Old barracks left over from the first Jacobite rebellions in 1715,its in the middle of no where on top of a hill.

Slaines castle, Scotland - amazing!
So glad I got to see this before they destroy it, not that old but Bram Stoker based Dracula on it during a stay there. Its a total wreck and u can climb all over it.Its going to be turned into "luxury apartments" though.

Deer Abbey, Scotland
Home of the book of deer.

Arbroath Abbey, Scotland
Where Scotland’s declaration of independence was signed in 1320.

that castle on the hill, Wales (no idea of name)
Was a fair climb up the hill but def worth it in the end!

Devon castle, Slovakia
Went there by boat from Bratislava, totally amazing place.

Spiss castle, Slovakia
In the middle of nowhere, was a huge castle with an amazing view at the top.

Summolina, Finland
Wasn’t that impressed with this place to be honest.

Rome, Italy
Saw all the usual sites and a really out of the way aquaduct that i thought was better than anything else. Locals told us it wasn’t worth seeing and "not important", they were wrong.

Also been inside a abandoned mental hospital in Inverness and to an old deserted underground station in Glasgow. Totally love Urban exploration.

Think Devon castle is my favourite. Seeing Machu Picchu is very high on my list of places i want to go.

**MeTurk** · 03-13-2006, 02:18 AM

I'm sick to me eye teeth of ruines, Irelands poluted with them there must be 4 or 5 in this town alone. We should re-develope the lot what do we need a castle and a big abbey for?! Carparks and supermarkets are the future! not feckin' fairy rings and hunted graveyards.

**worldwidemike** · 03-13-2006, 03:48 AM

As Goy says, Petra is amazing...

I would have to say my top three are:
1. Bagan, Myanmar

2. Petra, Jordan

3. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

worldwidemike

**expatben** · 03-13-2006, 05:10 AM

Nuragic ruins in Sardinia is pretty cool. Not to mention the old castles I have seen in England

**tumblezweedz** · 03-13-2006, 07:06 AM

I love the romance of those ancient ruins, but I'm also fascinated by more modern ones, as my list indicates:

Harlech Castle - Wales
Arbroath Abbey - Scotland
a wonderful, broken down seawall/breakwater - Auchmithie, Scotland
Vimy Ridge - France (not really ruins, but actually walking through the trenches - incredible)
kivas and cliff dwellings - Bandelier Nat'l Monument, New Mexico
castle walls - Morioka, Japan
Yomitan - Okinawa
the Acropolis - Athens
an abandoned 18th c. stable, northern Lithuania
Epidavros (both the extant theatre and the remains of the temples, etc) - Greece
asst'd Roman ruins - Trier, Germany

I also love the hollow shells and crumbling buildings in the Old Town and Uzupis areas of Vilnius. The incredible stories those structures have to tell...and the hulking, abandoned bulk of the decrepit collective farms throughout Lithuania. I love seeing the bones of the old buildings, and run my hands along the old bricks.

Probably the ones that affected me most were the trenches of Vimy Ridge and the crumbling buildings in Vilnius. Maybe because the reason for their presence (and absence) is more immediate to me, and therefore more tragic. I am in awe of structures that have survived many thousands of years, but I feel the stories of the more recent ones far more intensely.

It also blew me away to see the bullet holes in the buildings at Pearl Harbor.

I love shipwrecks, too.

**omisan** · 03-13-2006, 10:46 AM

usually, the only ruins I encounter on my travel are my liver and kidneys.

**aliz** · 03-14-2006, 12:46 AM

I have been to ruins in rome and pompeii, and pompeii was awesome. I never think of myself as a big ruin enthusiast, but i always enjoy exploring and picturing life thousands of years ago.
I'm not sure if Borobudur, Indonesia counts as a ruin, but its really cool. we used to live a couple of hours away from it and I've done a lot of exploring around that place. Actually my mum fell from one of the top levels of the temple and broke both her wrists when i was a little kid. so we have a nice family memory of borobudur

**zylah** · 03-14-2006, 02:59 AM

rome- italy
pompei -italy
scarae brae - scotland (they had flushing toilets 5000 years ago)

**worldwidemike** · 03-14-2006, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by aliz@Mar 14 2006, 08:46 AM
I'm not sure if Borobudur, Indonesia counts as a ruin, but its really cool. we used to live a couple of hours away from it and I've done a lot of exploring around that place.
[snapback]106660[/snapback]

Damn, aliz, you've been to Borobudur! Heck, yes, it counts as ruins. That's on my short list of ruins in SE Asia to see next! How was it? Any tips?

worldwidemike

**bluepea** · 03-14-2006, 02:37 PM

I don't really know the names, only the locations.

Turin (Torino), Italy - there was some Roman ruins around the town center.
Trier, Germany - Porta Negra
Lyon, France - they have an old ampitheater on top of a huge hill - sooooo cool.
Tarragona, Spain - my favorite. Nothing like the Med. sea and a huge ampitheater.

Various castles and stuff, but nothing famous.

mark-0 · 03-14-2006, 07:41 PM

I forgot to add that I've seen a small ancient site in the heart of Paris. It's ancient Roman and the entrance to the underground site is in the square right in front of the Notre-Dame cathedral.

**tumblezweedz** · 03-15-2006, 06:03 AM

Jamie, that's gorgeous.

Just checked out a local site today - an old Roman villa. There's not a lot left - some portions of the bathhouse, a few columns mostly, but there are several mosaic tiled floors which are quite impressive. The place is called Villa Otrang, it's outside the podunk little village of Fliessem, Germany. You'd never expect such a thing. For fans of ancient Rome, there's a cool museum in Koln (Cologne) that is dedicated to artifacts of the Roman sites in Germany. It's right across the square from the Dom (cathedral - which is well worth a look itself!) so it's easy to find and check out, even if you only have a day in the city - the central train station is immediately outside the Dom, you couldn't possibly miss it.