What can be more exciting than visiting cities, which are vanishing and no longer be there in the near future? These cities are the perfect examples of “nothing lasts forever”.
Check out the list of five vanishing cities of the world.
1. Angkor, Cambodia
Angkor Wat is one of the most fascinating places on earth. The temples at Angkor Wat were built between 802 A.D and 1220 A.D by the Khmer civilization. It is one of the most inspiring architectural structures that could be built during that period. It is the world’s largest religious building; there are 100 stone temples in total. The archaeological research has been suggested that the city of the great temples was covered in 3000 sq. km, those we can see today is only the surviving remains of this great empire. It has also been said that because of the drastic climate change in this region the city was evacuated around 500 years ago. The town of Angkor is located just 20 minutes north of Siem Reap. There are many guided tours available.
2. Babylon, Iraq
Babylon is world famous for its beautiful “Hanging Gardens”. It is one of the ancient cities of the world, which are rich in its historical and archeological importance. The city was established in around 2500 BC. It had become a major center when it was made capital by the first Babylonian King named “Hammurabi”. The empire was destroyed by the Assyrians in the 6th century BC and it was transformed in to ruins in 2nd century BC. Even today, it depicted the images of its glorious past. One can still admire the hanging gardens of Babylon, the great Tower of Babel, Ishtar Gate, and the Lion of Babylon. The Babel Tours is a famous tour operator in the area.
3. Skara Brae, Scotland
It is the village from the prehistoric time located on the Orkney mainland in Scotland. It was battered back from the sea thousands of years back but wan in disguised under the sand dunes. It has come in to picture very recently in 1850 when a huge sand storm unearthed this Neolithic period settlement. The excavation showed that the residents of the Skara Brae have evacuated this site in a hurry for reasons not known to us. However, the archaeologists is assuming that the village has brought very near to the sea because of the erosion, and that might be the reason for the evacuation. It has been found that there are eight stone cottages, which has beds, shelves and hearths. The Orkney can be visited by flights and ferries from the British mainland.
4. Taxila, Pakistan
Taxila(also called as Takshashila in sanskrit) is an ancient city in northwest Pakistan. It was one of the prosperous towns of the ancient period as it was located at the junction of the three major trade routes starting from eastern India, western Asia and the third one from Kashmir and Central Asia. It was later destroyed by the Huns dynasty in the 5th century BC. It is now the UNESCO world heritage site. The town of Taxila was founded by an ancient Indian king in around 7th century BC. It is located about 30 km northwest of present day Islamabad. Good time to visit this place is March or in November.
5. Dunwich, England
The small village of Dunwich was the capital of East Anglia in the medieval period. From past few centuries, the place is suffering from the coastal erosion. There are many historic towns, which were in the area and are now beneath the sea. It was once a flourishing seaport town with a population around 3000, which was destructed by huge storms and erosions in between 1286 and 1347. Most of the town area is disappeared and what remains are the remnants of few buildings. The coastal erosion is a continuous process and very soon that will also going to disappear. The museum in Dunwich is a must see destination as it demonstrates the scale replica of what the city looked like in the past.
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