Warsaw Old Town, Poland

WARSAW OLD TOWN (Poland)

The oldest part of Warsaw, capital of Poland, sits on the bank of the Vistula river, and is one of the most prominent tourist attractions in the city. At its heart is the Old Town Market Place, home to restaurants, cafés, and shops. The streets feature medieval architecture such as the city walls; St. John's Cathedral; and the Barbican, a historic fortification.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Silk Roads: Chang'an-Tianshan - China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan

SILK ROAD: CHANG'AN-TIANSHAN (China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)

The "Silk Road" was actually a network of roads and sea-routes that linked SE Asia and China to (ultimately) Europe from c. 200 BCE to 1450 CE. This "site" is the 3,000 miles between China's capital, Chang'an (Xi'an) and Central Asia. It links capital cities and palaces of various empires as well as trading settlements, Buddhist cave temples, beacon towers, and more.

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The Tower of London

THE TOWER OF LONDON (London, England, UK)

Dating to the Norman Conquest (1066) the castle, inflicted by the ruling French, was resented as a symbol of oppression. It contains several buildings within two rings of walls and a moat. Sometimes a royal residence, armory, treasury, menagerie, and home of the Crown Jewels of England, it was also famously used as a prison from 1100 to 1952. Today it's a popular tourist attraction.

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Yosemite National Park

YOSEMITE (California, USA)

This U.S. national park in California features granite cliffs, waterfalls, sequoia groves, meadows, glaciers, and biological diversity. The sculpted domes of the main valley (the most visited part) are the most recognizable scenes. It was first set aside by Lincoln in 1864 and expanded thanks to John Muir in 1890. Roughly 4,000,000 visit its scenic grandeur every year.

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Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur

SOMAPURA MAHAVIHARA (Paharpur, northwest Bangladesh)

This ruins complex (8th-13th century CE) in NW Bangladesh was one of the five great Buddhist universities in the Indian subcontinent. The Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang stayed here; Atisha launched his mission to Tibet from here. Today it is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country.

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Mount Fuji

MOUNT FUJI (southwest of Tokyo, Japan)

At 12,389.2 feet the highest mountain in Japan (and 7th-highest island peak on earth), this active volcano last erupted 1707-1708. A cultural icon of Japan, it is also a sacred peak which has "inspired artists and poets and been the object of pilgrimage for centuries" (UNESCO). It's climbed by around 300,000 hikers and pilgrims yearly.

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The Brooklyn Bridge

THE BROOKLYN BRIDGE (Brooklyn, New York, USA)

A wonder in its day and an icon of NYC today, this 1883 hybrid cable-stayed/suspension bridge was the longest such bridge in the world at the time; it was also the first structure to span the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Renovated several times since, it now carries only foot and bicycle traffic and passenger vehicles.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Ha Long Bay

HA LONG BAY (Vietnam)

Meaning "descending dragon," this bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various shapes and sizes, the result of 20 million years of geological evolution. A famous Vietnamese poet called it "rock wonder in the sky." During the Vietnam War, the US Navy placed mines between some islands, some of which continue to pose a threat to shipping.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

The Eiffel Tower

THE EIFFEL TOWER

Locally nicknamed "The Iron Lady," this 1,063-foot-tall iron lattice tower is the tallest structure in Paris. It was built 1887-1889 for the 1889 World's Fair--and some leading artists and intellectuals hated it. Today it's a global icon of France and one of the world's most recognizable and popular structures--nearly 7 million people went up in 2015!

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Mount Kilimanjaro

MOUNT KILIMANJARO (Tanzania, Africa)

This dormant volcano in Tanzania is Africa's highest, and the highest single free-standing mountain (i.e. not part of a range) in the world: the peak is 19,341 feet above sea level and rises 16,100 feet above its base. About 25,000 people try to climb it every year; around 2/3 succeed, and the rest turn back due to altitude sickness.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Hoover Dam

HOOVER DAM (between Arizona and Nevada, USA)

Stretching 1,244 feet across the Colorado River from Arizona to Nevada, it stands 726.4 feet high; its Lake Mead impounds up to 3,250,000 cubic yards of water. Once known as Boulder Dam, its name honors the president who got it started. Thousands built it 1931-1936; over 100 died doing so. It provides power for parts of three states; a million tourists visit each year.

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Jeju Island

JEJU ISLAND (South Korea)

The largest island in South Korea lies below the Korean Peninsula in the Korea Strait. Formed 2,000,000 years ago by an underwater volcanic eruption, its Hallasan volcano at 6,400 feet is the highest mountain in South Korea. Lava tube caves and other such attractions make it a popular holiday destination and a UNESCO natural world heritage site.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

The Grand Canyon

THE GRAND CANYON (Arizona, USA)

Arizona's Grand Canyon of the Colorado River is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide, and in places over a mile deep, allowing geologists to "read" nearly two billion years of Earth's geological history. It is considered sacred by native peoples of the area; it has been the favorite of Presidents; and the river may have run there for up to 6 million years.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

Mayan Ruins, Belize

MAYAN RUINS (Belize)

Thousands of pre-Columbian structures--including temples and pyramids--were used by over two million Maya for roughly 2000 years, until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century in what is now the English-speaking Caribbean country of Belize. Many have been destroyed recently for materials used in road construction; many more are threatened.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)

The Galapagos Islands

THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS (600 miles west of Ecuador in the Pacific)

Few would have heard of this archipelago 563 miles west of Ecuador were it not for Charles Darwin's 1835 visit aboard the HMS Beagle, when he was able to observe differences between isolated populations of animals (notably finches), contributing to the ideas expounded in his 1859 book, On the Origin of Species.

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(Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons; CTTO)