Travel

Tsaparang, described possibly as the historical origin of the legendary Shangri-La by some historians is a ruined fortress city, perched on a pyramidal formation of rock that served as the capital of the Guge Kingdom in the Ngari Prefecture of Western Tibet.

Khara-Khoto, also called Khar khot (meaning “black city” in Mongolian) is a ruined fortified city near the Juyan Lake Basin in the far west of Inner Mongolia, China.

The Grianan of Aileach, also called Greenan Ely or Greenan Fort, is a stone ringfort located on the summit of Greenan Mountain in County Donegal, Ireland.

Alamut Castle is a mountain fortress in the Alamut region of the Qazvin province in present-day Iran, that during the Middle Ages served as the central base of the Nizari Ismaili.

Rochester Castle is an English castle on the banks of the River Medway in Rochester, England, that during the first Baron’s War was captured by baronial forces and stood against King John in a bloody siege.

Siq al-Barid, also called ‘Little Petra’ is a Nabataean site in the Ma'an Governorate of Jordan that features rock cut tombs, stone-built architecture, and a complex system of hydrological engineering.

The Hierapolis Ploutonion is a sacred sanctuary in the ancient Greco-Roman-Byzantine city of Hierapolis, located in classical Phrygia in the present-day province of Denizli, Turkey.

Uplistsikhe, meaning "the lord's fortress" is an ancient rock-hewn city located in the Shida Kartli region of present-day Georgia.

Claros was an ancient Greek sanctuary located near the present-day town of Ahmetbeyli in the Menderes district of Izmir Province, Turkey.

Hatra was the ancient capital of the small Kingdom of Hatra, located in the present-day eastern Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq.

Por-Bazhyn, meaning "Clay House" in the Tuvan language are the remains of an adobe monastery or a fortified palace, that was built on a small island in Lake Tere-Khol, located in the Sengelen mountains of southern Siberia, Russia.

The Limes Arabicus was a defensive line that formed part of the wider Roman limes system, demarcating the border of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea to the frontier lands of Arabia, known as Arabia Magna and Arabia Felix.