subject: The Top 5 Lost Cities Around the World [print this page] The Top 5 Lost Cities Around the World The Top 5 Lost Cities Around the World
There's nothing like staring at the ruins of an ancient, lost civilization to make you feel like Indiana Jones. Visiting the 5 ancient cities below, you can't help but reflect on the transient nature of even the most ambitious human efforts:
Pompeii
Located in sunny Southern Italy near Naples, Pompeii is probably the most famous "lost city." This old Roman town was a lively port city and a favorite vacation haunt of Roman notables. Before 79 AD, Pompeii bustled with shops, restaurants, a bar, bathhouses and even a public pool. Then, Mount Vesuvius, a nearby volcano, buried everything, including many of the inhabitants. Today, it's been excavated and is open to tourists, of course. Ironically, the volcanic ash that destroyed the city also did a strikingly good job of preserving a slice of the ancient Roman lifestyle for us to explore today.
Akrotiri
Akrotiri was a Minoan city located on the Greek island of Santorini. Much like Pompeii, it was also buried under layers of ash and pumice when a nearby volcano called Thera erupted. Fortunately, the people living in Akrotiri had enough warning to escape the eruption. They escaped, but left behind a city and some breathtaking frescoes that were preserved by the volcanic ash.
Unfortunately, you can't visit Akrotiri at the moment- it was closed for renovations after a roof built on top of the site collapsed.
Chichen Itza
Located in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, this former Mayan stronghold features impressive step-pyramid style temples and other monumental architecture. A reminder of the power of the ancient Mayan empire, the city was mostly abandoned by AD 1000 for reasons unknown.
L'Anse aux Meadows
Columbus wasn't even the first European discover the New World. The Vikings had him beat by about 5 centuries, when they discovered North America on expeditions from Greenland. They called the land they discovered "Vinland," and the small settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows in Canada is the only known remnant of their time here that mainstream scholars give any credence to.
Mohenjo-daro
Mohenjo-daro is a fascinating city that was once inhabited by the Indus Valley or Harappan civilization. The city dates back to 2600 BCE, and is amazingly advanced for the time, with "modern" conveniences like toilets and a sewer system. It's in Pakistan, so US citizens will find it difficult to visit under the present circumstances, but hopefully that will change in the future.
To visit any of these sites, you will need a passport. Make sure to plan ahead: regular passport processing takes about 6 weeks, while expedited processing takes about 3 weeks door-to-door. For faster processing, consider making an appointment at a regional passport agency office or using a private expediting company like RushMyPassport.
