welcome to mojo travels and today we'll be counting down our picks for the top 10
ancient ruins to visit are you a fan of our videos
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for this list we're looking at the world's foremost ancient cities and monuments that
you can visit let us know which one you want to see the most in the comments below
number 10. easter island chile called rappanui by its indigenous people this island is famous for
its large number of distinct statues the statues are called moai but many simply call them easter
island heads the statues are hundreds of years old and are a cornerstone of rapa nui culture and the
oldest among them was carved over 700 years ago the moai are representations of important figures
in polynesian history like the tribe's leaders and can be extremely tall one of them is even over
thirty feet the ravanui people still live on the island and the statues are sacred number nine
tikal guatemala now at the heart of a national park tikal is one of the world's most important
and largest mayan ruins the maya weren't one unified kingdom the civilization was made
up of rival city-states with kalik mold being takal's sworn enemy for centuries the city was
occupied from at least the 4th century bce and may have been home to hundreds of thousands of people
making it a truly remarkable metropolitan hub after almost a millennium however tikal
was abandoned in mysterious circumstances it looks as though the city simply grew too large
much like the roman empire and collapsed you can now go see this astonishing city in person
number eight pompeii italy the eruption of mount vesuvius in 79 ce is one of the most destructive
and deadliest volcanic eruptions on record it ravaged the bay of naples destroying not only
pompeii but multiple other thriving roman towns too despite the eruption being well documented
the ruins of pompeii were not unearthed until the 18th and 19th centuries pompeii is famous for its
plaster-cast bodies which depicts people in their final few moments as vesuvius's fast-moving ash
cloud swallowed them up today you can visit the ruins but you have to be careful not to
damage anything and not all of the settlements are open to guests number 7. chichen itza mexico
another mayan ruin chichen itza is located in mexico's yucatan peninsula the ruins are
more recent than to call with early occupations dating back to the 6th century an ending in the
13th the site boasts the tallest mesoamerican pyramid on record in the form of the temple of
kukulkan which is close to 100 feet tall chichen itza was ultimately abandoned during the spanish
conquest in the 1500s though the city had already been in decline before that also on the site are
other stunning monuments like the vast temple of warriors and even an ancient observatory it's an
incredible place to visit for anyone interested in the history of the americas number six angkor wat
cambodia this stunning temple complex was once the capital city of the khmer empire which was
based primarily in modern cambodia but also stretches out into parts of vietnam myanmar
and china it was established around 900 years ago and stood as the society's center until it
was besieged and invaded in the early 15th century in the modern era angkor wat has
become a premier tourist destination for anyone visiting southeast asia it's full of many hindu
and buddhist monuments and at its peak was home to an enormous population of two million for a while
angkor wat was the biggest city in the world and is just as impressive today number five petra
jordan though petra is in the middle of a desert the ancient nabataeans who built it
never lacked for water their talent for collecting and storing rainwater meant that this city was
able to flourish despite its isolated and hostile location and it was home to around 20 000 people
until ultimately falling to the romans and being abandoned it's an elaborate locale famous on
film for its ornate treasury building that many will recognize as the location of the holy grail
in indiana jones and the last crusade it's amazing that petra has stood in jordan for so long
and still looks so beautiful it's an engineering marvel and very easy for tourists to reach today
number four great wall of china built primarily along china's northern border to protect the
country from mongolian invasions the great wall was largely constructed during the warring states
period of chinese history but it took around 2 000 years to build the entire structure as it
stands today there are multiple walls all built in different periods generally for protection
but also for commerce china has long been a trade hud since it was a major part of the silk
road thousands of miles of the walls still stand with the most accessible parts located close to
beijing it's visible from space but few things compare to seeing and walking along the wall
in person though walking the entire distance would take approximately a year and a half
number three the acropolis greece towering above athens you'll find the acropolis a large complex
of various buildings and temples with the most well-known being the huge ancient parthenon the
parthenon was built around 2500 years ago and is a monument to the power of classical greece but
also in the acropolis is the temple of athena nike and the acropolis historic entrance a large
sculpted gate called the propilia it's still the defining feature of athens's skyline and
one of the foremost greek ruins in the world the site is also home to a large museum
displaying many more relics and works of art from antiquity number 2. roman coliseum italy
the roman empire spread across much of europe western asia and northern africa at its height
meaning huge sections of the eurasian landmass are home to impressive roman ruins but none is
more famous than the great coliseum in rome itself which has remained the city's largest landmark for
thousands of years the coliseum most famously hosted gladiatorial combat but was also used
for executions and other public events today you definitely and thankfully won't see anybody get
executed here but the coliseum is open to visitors and is one of the most visited ruins anywhere on
the planet it still has many things to teach us about the ancient world number one great pyramids
of giza egypt built 5 000 years ago the great pyramids were the largest man-made structures in
the world for millennia the pyramid of khufu was only dethroned after the construction of england's
lincoln cathedral in the 11th century the pyramids are widely recognized as enormous tombs dedicated
to the pharaohs who ordered their construction and were once far taller than they are now
they also use the shine brilliantly white after being coated in limestone but this has been long
lost since their construction was finished soon the giza pyramid complex which also hosts the
grey sphinx will be home to the grand egyptian museum teaching visitors more than ever before
about these awe-inspiring ruins do you agree with our picks check out this other recent clip from
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