12 heritage sites 世界遺產
資料提供者:Sidddney Chen
21 June 2013
There
are many historical sites and places in the world that provide us with
important insight and evidence of glorious civilizations of the past. These
sites help us learn about our ancestors, their living and culture. They can
easily be called a common or universal heritage of humankind and our world
heritage, and are amazing places to see and explore.
Angkor,
Cambodia
Angkor
(holy city) is a region of Cambodia that served as the seat of the Khmer
Empire, which flourished from approximately the 9th to 15th centuries. The
ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great
Lake (Tonlé Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern-day Siem Reap city,
in Siem Reap Province.
The
temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from
nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the
magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious
monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together, they
comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers
approach two million annually, and the entire expanse, including Angkor Wat and
Angkor Thom is collectively protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Bagan,Myanmar
Bagan
is an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Burma (Myanmar). From the
9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the
first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar.
During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000
Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains
alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the
present day.
Rock
Sites of Cappadocia, Turkey
Cappadocia
is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province, in
Turkey. In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying
the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine (Black Sea).
Cappadocia, in this sense, was bounded in the south by the chain of the Taurus
Mountains that separate it from Cilicia, to the east by the upper Euphrates and
the Armenian Highland, to the north by Pontus, and to the west by Lycaonia and
eastern Galatia.
The
name was traditionally used in Christian sources throughout history and is
still widely used as an international tourism concept to define a region of
exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys and
a unique historical and cultural heritage.
Hampi,
India
Hampi
is a village in northern Karnataka state, India. It is located within the ruins
of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the
city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing
the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old
city. The ruins are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Machu
Picchu, Peru
Machu
Picchu ("Old Peak") is a 15th-century Inca site located 2,430 metres
(7,970 ft) above sea level. Machu Picchu is located in the Cusco Region of
Peru, South America. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba
Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cusco and through
which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu
was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often
referred to as the "Lost City of the Incas", it is perhaps the most
familiar icon of Inca civilization.
The
Incas built the estate around 1450, but abandoned it as an official site for
the Inca rulers a century later at the time of the Spanish Conquest. Although
known locally, it was unknown to the outside world before being brought to
international attention in 1911 by the American historian Hiram Bingham. Since
then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. Most of the
outlying buildings have been reconstructed in order to give tourists a better
idea of what the structures originally looked like. By 1976, thirty percent of
Machu Picchu had been restored.The restoration work continues to this day.
Mont-Saint-Michel,
France
Mont
Saint-Michel is a rocky tidal island 247 acres (100 ha) in size, and is a
commune in Normandy, France. It is located approximately one kilometre (just
over half a mile) off the country's northwestern coast, at the mouth of the
Couesnon River near Avranches. The island's highest point is 92 metres (301
feet) above sea level. The population of the island is 44, as of 2009. The
island has held strategic fortifications since ancient times, and since the
eighth century AD has been the seat of the monastery from which it draws its
name.
The
structural composition of the town exemplifies the feudal society that constructed
it. On top God, the abbey and monastery, below this the Great halls, then
stores and housing, and at the bottom, outside the walls, fishermen and farmers
housing. One of France's most recognisable landmarks, Mont Saint-Michel and its
bay are part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites and more than 3 million
people visit it each year.
Petra,
Jordan
Petra
(Greek Πέτρα Petra, meaning "stone"; Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ) is a
historical and archaeological city in the southern Jordanian governorate of
Ma'an, that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system.
Another name for Petra is the Rose City due to the color of the stone out of
which it is carved.
CLICK HERE for our detailed photo series about the beautiful city of
Petra.
Pyramids
of Giza, Egypt
The
Giza Necropolis ("pyramids of Giza") is an archaeological site on the
Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient
monuments includes the three pyramid complexes known as the Great Pyramids, the
massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx, several cemeteries, a workers'
village and an industrial complex. It is located some 9 km (5 mi) inland into
the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 25 km (15 mi) southwest
of Cairo city centre.
The
pyramids, which have historically loomed large as emblems of ancient Egypt in
the Western imagination, were popularised in Hellenistic times, when the Great
Pyramid was listed by Antipater of Sidon as one of the Seven Wonders of the
World. It is by far the oldest of the ancient Wonders and the only one still in
existence.
Acropolis,
Greece
The
Acropolis of Athens (Greek: Ακρόπολη Αθηνών) is an ancient citadel located on a
high rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and containing the remains of
several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the
most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis comes from the Greek words ἄκρον
(akron, "edge, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").
Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the
Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The
Acropolis" without qualification.
While
there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth
millennium BC. The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged
during the 1687 siege by the Venetians in the Morean War when the Parthenon was
being used for gunpowder storage and was hit by a cannonball. The Acropolis was
formally proclaimed as the preeminent monument on the European Cultural
Heritage list of monuments on 26 March 2007.
Rapa
Nui, Chile
Easter
Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the
southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle. Easter Island is famous for
its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui
people. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with much of the island protected
within Rapa Nui National Park. Polynesian people settled on Easter Island in
the first millennium CE, and created a thriving culture, as evidenced by the
moai and other artifacts. However, human activity and overpopulation led to
gradual deforestation and extinction of natural resources, which caused the
demise of the Rapa Nui civilization.
By
the time of European arrival in 1722, the island's population had dropped to
2,000–3,000 from a high of approximately 15,000 just a century earlier. In
recent times the island has served as a warning of the cultural and
environmental dangers of exploitation. Diseases carried by European sailors and
Peruvian slave raiding of the 1860s further reduced the Rapa Nui population,
down to 111 in 1877.
Sigiriya,
Sri Lanka
Sigiriya
("Lion Rock") is located in the central Matale District of the
Central Province, Sri Lanka in an area dominated by a massive column of rock
nearly 200 meters high. According to the ancient Sri Lankan chronicle the
Culavamsa the site was selected by King Kasyapa (477 – 495 AD) for his new
capital. He built his palace on the top of this rock and decorated its sides
with colourful frescoes.
On
a small plateau about halfway up the side of this rock he built a gateway in
the form of an enormous lion. The name of this place is derived from this
structure —Sīhāgiri, the Lion Rock. The capital and the royal palace were
abandoned after the king's death. It was used as a Buddhist monastery until the
14th century. Sigiriya today is a UNESCO listed World Heritage Site. It is one
of the best preserved examples of ancient urban planning. It is the most
visited historic site in Sri Lanka.
Tulum,
Mexico
Tulum
is the site of a Pre-Columbian Maya walled city serving as a major port for
Cobá. The ruins are situated on 12-meter (39 ft) tall cliffs, along the east
coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana
Roo, Mexico. Tulum was one of the last cities inhabited and built by the
Mayans; it was at its height between the 13th and 15th centuries and managed to
survive about 70 years after the Spanish began occupying Mexico. Old World
diseases brought by the Spanish settlers appear to have been the cause of its
demise. One of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites, Tulum is today a popular
site for tourists.