The Sacred Valley of the Incas (Valle Sagrado), is home to one of the the most famous archaeological sites in the world, Machu Picchu. To visit only Machu Picchu wouldn’t be enough! Valle Sagrado is full of Inca archaeological sites to keep one busy for a whole week or more. In this entry, I will give a brief overview of the day trips I took from Cusco to some of these sites.
On the hills just above the city of Cusco are the Inca ruins of Saqsayhuamán (pronounced by some tourists as “sexy woman”).
Near the mosque in Abanotubani, I found a stairway up to the Narikala Fortress and walked up along the walls to the entrance. If you don’t feel like walking up to the fortress, there IS a cable car that leaves from Avlabari. I didn’t take it because the walk up isn’t that bad.
I did it! I rode the Marmaray. In under 5 minutes, I crossed the Bosporus in a tunnel and avoided certain death. Seriously, at the other end I was expecting to get an “I Survived the Marmaray!” t-shirt. At the very least they could’ve given me a cookie.
The Roman Agora is an important archaeological site in Athens, Greece. It sits between Plaka and Monastiraki.
Hadrian’s Library is an important archaeological site in Athens, Greece. It’s located in Monastiraki just south of Monastiraki Square.
Hadrian’s Arch (Αψίδα του Αδριανού) is a monumental gateway in Athens, Greece. It once spanned an ancient road from the center to the eastern side of the city.
The Rotunda of Galerius, part of Thessaloniki’s UNESCO World Heritage listing of Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonika, was originally built in 306 AD as a Roman temple by Emperor Galerius. The structure may have been intended as his mausoleum.
What’s left of ancient Thessaloniki mostly dates back to Roman times and Emperor Galerius. The city center is home to a few interesting ancient sites.