Varanasi, India
Varanasi or Banaras was settield around 1000 BCE. Located on the banks of the holy Ganges river, it’s an important holy city for both Hindus and Buddhists. According to Hindu legend, the city was founded after a fight between the deities Shiva and Brahma. The five-headed Brahma lost one of his heads to Lord Shiva during the battle, and afterwards Shiva carried the head with him. But when Shiva got to Varanasi, he lost Brahma’s head, and it disappeared, consecrating the ground.
Varanasi is so holy in fact that many Hindu worshippers travel here at the end of their lives because it’s believed that if the dead are cremated on the Ganges at Varanasi, they will be taken out of the cycle of rebirth and instead sent directly to heaven.
Varanasi is so holy in fact that many Hindu worshippers travel here at the end of their lives because it’s believed that if the dead are cremated on the Ganges at Varanasi, they will be taken out of the cycle of rebirth and instead sent directly to heaven.
Larnaca, Cyprus
Larnaca’s pristine beaches aren’t its only attrction. The Mycenaeans settled here around the 13th century BCE, then known as the city state of Citium. They were initially there to mine copper, but the deposits didn’t last long and the city fell into decline until the arrival of the Achaeans. The philosopher Zeno of Citium who taught in Athens around 300 BCE also called the city state home. Larnaca is peppered with archaeological sites worth taking a detour for.
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Argos, Greece
This is the presumed home of the Argead dynasty, the family of Alexander the Great, and it’s been continuously inhabited for 7,000 years, since about 6000 or 5000 BCE. It was a major Mycenaean stronghold around 1600 BCE, but today the city relies mostly on agriculture, with its own local variety of melon, the argetiko. A large number of ancient ruins are scattered in and around the city in various stages of renovation or disrepair.
Argos, Greece
This is the presumed home of the Argead dynasty, the family of Alexander the Great, and it’s been continuously inhabited for 7,000 years, since about 6000 or 5000 BCE. It was a major Mycenaean stronghold around 1600 BCE, but today the city relies mostly on agriculture, with its own local variety of melon, the argetiko. A large number of ancient ruins are scattered in and around the city in various stages of renovation or disrepair.
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Luxor, Egypt
The center of ancient Egypt is still a thriving city. Once known as the city of Waset, or Thebes to the Greeks, it was founded in 3200 BCE, the first capital of Upper Egypt. It was the religious center of ancient Egypt up until the arrival of the Greeks. It’s home to the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens, where the majority of ancient Egyptian royalty is buried. Looking out at the sunset over the Nile, it’s easy to see why the ancient Egyptians believed this place to be holy ground.
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Jerusalem, Israel and the Palestinian Territories
First settled in 2800 BCE, Jerusalem is an important religious center for three major world religions: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. It’s home to the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the al-Aqsa Mosque. Its role as a spiritual center has often been overshadowed by conflict, and both Palestine and Israel claim it as their capital city.
Beirut, Lebanon
Beirut is Lebanon’s capital and has a history stretching back over 5,000 years through Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Arab and Ottoman times. It’s first mentioned in letters to the pharaoh of Egypt as early as the 15th century BCE. Now a sprawling metropolis, it was once a Phoenician port, the remains of which lie beneath its modern buildings. Much of Beirut’s ancient architecture has been lost to time, but some Roman baths still remain, and the city is an eclectic mix of architectural styles from more recent eras.
Gaziantep, Turkey
Perched on the Euphrates River, the earliest inhabitants settled here in 3650 BCE. Gaziantep is full of beautiful architecture, from Roman mosaics to the Gaziantep Castle built by the Hittite Empire and expanded by the Romans in the 2nd century AD. Gaziantep was also a stop on the Silk Road and is one of Turkey’s most epicurean cities.
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
There is evidence that Bulgaria’s second largest city has been inhabited since 6000 BCE, meaning that it’s the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe. Before the city finally became part of the Bulgarian state in 1344 AD, its control passed between Bulgarian and Byzantine hands, and briefly those of the knights of the Fourth Crusade.
Sidon, Lebanon
Sidon was one of the most important and possibly one of the first Phoenician cities, but it was settled as early as 4000 BCE or 6800 BCE depending on the source. Many groups have taken control of the city throughout its history including the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Persians, the Greeks, and later the Ottomans.
The population has all but exploded since the early 20th century, and it’s grown from a humble fishing village to a city of almost 250,000. Due to unchecked urbanization and lack of oversight, much of the city’s infrastructure and environmental safety has been overlooked. It’s now in the process of reversing the damage.
The population has all but exploded since the early 20th century, and it’s grown from a humble fishing village to a city of almost 250,000. Due to unchecked urbanization and lack of oversight, much of the city’s infrastructure and environmental safety has been overlooked. It’s now in the process of reversing the damage.
Cholula, Mexico
Cholula is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the Americas. The village was settled by the Maya between 500 and 200 BCE. Now the city subsides mainly on agriculture and commerce, particularly tourism. It’s also home to the largest pyramid in the Americas, but you might not know it at first. The pyramid looks like a giant hill at first glance, with an imposing church on top. But in fact it’s a pyramid similar to those found in Teotihuacan, just covered in vegetation. It was built in layers over the course of six centuries.
Byblos, Lebanon
This Lebanese city was settled sometime during the Neolithic period, and has been continuously inhabited since 5000 BCE. The first example of the Phoenician alphabet was found here, inscribed on a sarcophagus, and the name “bible” comes from the same Greek root word, meaning papyrus. You’ll find the ruins of many civilizations here, including royal tombs from Phoenician kings who were contemporaries of the Pharaohs in Egypt.
Athens, Greece
The ancient home of philosophy and the birthplace of Western civilization, Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 7,000 years. Home to Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman monuments and remains, it’s hard not to be impressed by its vast Acropolis on the hill looking down at the modern city. It’s a hub for travelers heading elsewhere in Greece, but has plenty of wonders all on its own including the Theatre of Dionysus and the Temple of Hephaestus.
Flores, Guatemala
Early architectural finds date the earliest occupants of Flores between 900 and 600 BCE. The Itza people were the first to inhabit it, and Flores was the capital of the last Maya kingdom to fall to the Spanish invaders in 1697. Flores is one of the closest cities to Tikal, Guatemala’s most famous Mayan ruins, making it a popular jumping-off point for tourists. Although no Mayan buildings are still standing here, the city still holds great cultural significance.
Aleppo, Syria
The earliest inhabitants settled in 4300 BC. Aleppo was Syria’s most populous city before a the Battle of Aleppo from 2012 to 2016. About 30% of Aleppo’s historic old center was destroyed during the fighting, including the minaret of the Great Mosque and parts of the Al-Madina Souq. The city is slowly being rebuilt.
Jericho, Palestinian Territories
Archaeologists have discovered evidence of human settlements dating as far back as 9000 BCE. Fortifications unearthed in Jericho from 6800 BCE confirm that it is the earliest known walled city, and evidence of other habitation in the area dates back about 11,000 years. It’s also the lowest permanently inhabited site on Earth as it is well below sea level.
Luoyang, China
Founded in 1600 BCE, Luoyang was the capital city of 13 ancient dynasties beginning with the Xia Dynasty. It’s now a modern, bustling metropolis home to millions of people. Having been rebuilt several times up until 1944, the city has lost much of its original splendor, but it still houses many relics of ancient Chinese culture including the Longmen Grottoes, or Dragon’s Gate Grottoes, located north of the city. These caves are home to thousands of carved sculptures depicting Buddha and his disciples dating back to 493 CE.
Ray, Iran
Now absorbed into the greater metropolitan area of Tehran, Ray is the country’s oldest continuously inhabited settlement. Evidence of a settlement here date all the way back to 6000 BCE, and it’s even mentioned in the Apocrypha. It’s home to Gebri Castle, which is 3,000 years old, and Cheshmeh Hill Ali, an ancient recreational complex, which is 1000 years old.
Tyre, Lebanon
In 2750 BCE, this was an ancient Phoenician city. It’s the legendary birthplace of Europa and Dido and home to a Roman Hippodrome, which was declared UNESCO world heritage site 1979. The city consists of a town on the mainland that was later expanded onto a neighboring island by a causeway built by Alexander the Great.
Damascus, Syria
The earliest inhabitants of Damascus settled the area around 4300 BCE. It became an important settlement after the arrival of the Aramaeans, who established a network of canals, which still form the basis of the city’s modern water networks. The city’s old center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the World Monument fund warns that it’s one of the most threatened sites of cultural significance in the world due to both the ongoing civil war in Syria and the population decline of the ancient center since 1995. Damascus is currently the largest city in Syria following a mass exodus from Aleppo between 2012 and 2016.
Around The World Travel 