This national museum houses objects from 5,000 years of local history. Artefacts from prehistory, Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom periods, Intermediate periods, and the Greco-Roman period. On display are enormous statues and opulent burial items of ancient kings such as the Amenhoteps (including the heretic Akhenaten), the Ramesses and the Setis; objects found at the ancient capitals of Memphis and Thebes and much, much more!
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Pyrgi is a medieval village on the island of Chios. It’s often called the Painted Village after the unique geometric designs, xystra, covering many buildings. This type of decoration is found nowhere else in the country. It may be of Italian origin, a cultural remnant of Genoese control of the island from the 14th to 16th centuries. Pyrgi is a fortified village, with narrow lanes and buildings connected to form impassable walls.
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This gorgeous tile work is inside the Topkapi Palace, the residence and governing hub of the Ottoman Empire from the middle 15th century until the Empire’s demise in the early 19th century. The palace sprawls along the waterfront of a peninsula in the heart of the city once known as Constantinople.1924, Topkapi Palace became a museum open to the public and is among the most visited sites in our mystery country.
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The lovely blue dome and minaret pictured belong to the Al Lawati Mosque in Muscat, the capital city of our mystery country. The mosque is a landmark in the Mutrah district of the city along the waterfront promenade or corniche. The Hajar Mountains provide a dramatic backdrop.
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The Argentinian Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara was a hero of our mystery country’s revolution, which claimed victory on January 1, 1959. In this picture, Che watches over Revolution Square from the Ministry of the Interior in the capital city. Other government buildings are on or near the square. At 72,000 square meters, Revolution Square is one of the world’s largest city squares. Most of the city’s major public events take place here. Also memorialized in the square are Jose Marti, a leader of the fight for independence from Spain in the 19th century, and Camilo Cienfuegos, a leader of the revolution in the 1950s.
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The so-called Monastery is just one of the monuments to be seen at the most visited (and most famous) attraction in our mystery country, a fabulously wealthy Nabatean trading city, which flourished from about 200 BCE to 200 CE. It’s well worth the climb to see this rock-cut temple up close, not to mention the gorgeous views.
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This local gentleman, helping a Ya’lla traveler scale a sand dune, wears the traditional blue robe and scarf of indigenous Saharan groups. They are commonly called “blue men” because the natural indigo dye rubs off, leaving them with permanently blue tinted skin.
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As the cradle and world center of the mystical Kabbalah tradition, Safed (also spelled Tsfat, Tzfat, and a number of other ways) is one of four holy cities in our mystery country. Located at and elevation of 3,000 feet in the far north of the country, the town’s sweet air, crystalline light and mountain views attract many artists as well as spiritual scholars and pilgrims.
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Known as the Colossi of Memnon, these two statues of Amenhotep III have stood on this spot for well over 3,000 years. They were dubbed Memnon by ancient Greek tourists after their mythological hero. Memnon was the son of Eos, the goddess of dawn and it was said that sounds came from one of the statues (the one on the right in this picture) at or near dawn.The statues are 60ft tall and weigh over 700 tons, each.
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Ancient Corinth was an important city in our mystery country. Located on a sliver of land connecting the mainland with the Peloponnesian peninsula, it was a thriving center of trade and maintained a large navy. The Apostle Paul spent time in Corinth and two of his letters, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, are addressed to the church there.
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