I’ve wanted to see the Nazca lines for quite a while, essentially since I first heard about them as a kid. Earlier this year, I finally had the opportunity to check off this long-standing item on my personal “bucket list.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Ruins
Neptune and Amphitrite
An impressive mosaic in the ruins of Herculaneum:
Most people are likely familiar with the ancient city of Pompeii that was buried by a series of eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius (near modern-day Naples, Italy) in 79 AD. Less commonly known is Herculaneum, another nearby city buried by the same eruptions.
The Philippeion
The ruins of a tholos (circular memorial) in Archaea Olympia, Greece.
The Philippeion originally had 18 columns supporting its roof, sheltering 8 half-columns holding 5 statues of the Macedonian royal family. Built to honor and on behalf of Philip, it was not completed before his death, and was likely finished by his son (and designated heir) Alexander.
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4.0 lens
14mm, f/11, ISO 200, 1/500 sec.
Unseen giants
The Temple of Poseidon (foreground) and Temple of Hera (background) in the too-seldom-visited site of Paestum, Italy.
Paestum is in Italy, and was once a Roman city, but it started out as the Greek colony of Poseidonia. The Temple of Poseidon (built around 460-450 BC) is the largest and best-preserved of Paestum’s temples. But in actually, nobody knows for sure which god / goddess it was originally dedicated to; given the city’s original name, it may well have been dedicated to the city’s namesake — but maybe not.
Temple of Apollo
One of the marquis attractions at the ancient ruins of Delphi in Greece:
According to tradition, this is actually the 5th temple built to honor Apollo at Delphi, being erected in 510 BC. Even then, it had to be reconstructed in 330 BC after an earthquake, and then partially restored after its destruction by Roman emperor Theodosius I in AD 390. The famous oracle at Delphi was centered on a subterranean chamber below this temple.
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4
f/11, 13mm, 1/80 sec, ISO 200
Ready for an audience
The Tholos of Delphi, an ancient structure in the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia in Delphi, Greece.
Originally domed, the Tholos (circular temple) of Delphi would have been seen by a visitor before they reached the Temple of Apollo (thus the sanctuary’s appellation Pronaia, “before” the temple). It originally had twenty Doric columns on its exterior diameter (three have been reconstructed for modern visitors), and ten Corinthian columns on its interior diameter.
The Tholos was built between 380 and 360 BC, and badly damaged in antiquity — first by earthquakes, and later by people salvaging its stonework for building material. Its original purpose is currently unknown.
EXIF:
Olympus E-M1III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4 Pro lens
ISO 200, 25mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec
Runkurakay
As I mentioned previously, day 3 of a 4-day Inca Trail trek is a scenery day. Leading off, not so far from the night 2 campsite, are the ruins of Runkurakay (about halfway up day 3’s climb to the next pass).
Runkurakay seen from the day 2 trail leg
Patallactapata
After a bit of hiking on day 1 of a 4-day Inca Trail trek, you’ll get to the Inca farm town of Patallacta, here seen from its similarly-named neighbor, Llactapata.
But before I prattle on for too long, I suppose I should talk a bit about names. Continue reading
Little house on the Urubamba
This is Salapunku, the first ruin you’ll see on the first day of a 4-day Inca Trail trek.
It was located next to a canal, so may have been involved in administering water from it. Otherwise, from what I can uncover, it was just a little Inca farm town.
It now overlooks the rail line to Aguas Calientes / Machu Picchu Pueblo — so any local ghosts don’t get much rest these days.
25 prohibitions
So I recently returned from a trip to Peru — including a hike along the Inca Trail, a good chunk of time spent in Machu Picchu, even more time spent in Cusco, all sorts of good things. I plan on writing up a number of blog posts on things I saw and experienced — but first thought this might be helpful to future Machu Picchu visitors (it’s a sign at the entrance, laying out 25 things you may not bring to / do in the site):
Bottom line — there’s lots of inaccurate information online w.r.t what is and isn’t allowed into / at the site of Machu Picchu. So, since the above text is a bit small, here’s the posted list of restrictions (as of May, 2018), along with my comments on them: Continue reading