Subject: Historical cities

Subject: Historical cities
In the 12th century, the Khmer took their vast understanding of the known universe and sought to recreate it in miniature.
The result was Angkor Wat, a sprawling city designed to impress with meticulously arranged moats and towers, and walls covered in astonishingly detailed bas reliefs of Hindu deities.
The ancient Khmer took a broad view of scenes worth preserving.
While many are celestial or holy in theme, other murals detail mundane acts like preparing supper.
Angkor Wat stretches over 500 acres within the Angkor Archeological Park, a large area covering more than 150 square miles.
The main temple receives packs of tourists, but many lesser-known temples offer a chance to wander through old Khmer capitals, which were built from the 9th century onwards.
Rome, Italy
Visiting a city as beloved as Rome comes with particular hazards: the crowds, the cheesy souvenirs, the young men in full gladiator regalia waiting to pose for selfies with tourists.
And yet there are few places like it.
Take the Colosseum -- a nearly 2,000-year-old stadium in the middle of a modern city.
In the days of actual gladiators, 50,000 spectators would gather with the emperor for bloody contests to the death.
The Colosseum had the original retractable roof, a whizz-bang contraption called a velarium that used sail technology to rig canopies to shelter crowds from sun and rain.
And we've not even mentioned the Vatican, the catacombs or the Forum.
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Istanbul, Turkey
Istanbul loves to depict itself as the city straddling two continents.
What's most remarkable is the way the city straddles great periods of history that pile up and fold over themselves more naturally than anywhere else in the world.
Construction by successive empires from Byzantium to Constantinople to modern Turkey have bequeathed Istanbul an instantly recognizable skyline that merges elements from all those eras.
In the historic core around the iconic Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine-era Hippodrome circus sits a short stroll away from the Ottoman Empire's Topkapi Palace, which houses artifacts including Moses's staff.
Surrounding it all is a thriving modern city with top-notch dining, galleries and architecture that make Istanbul one of the world's most important cultural centers.
Bagan, Myanmar

Less crowded than Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, but just as magical.

Courtesy Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images
Long hidden from international view by Myanmar's military government, the treasures of Bagan returned to the spotlight after political reforms began opening up the country.
Here, over 2,000 Buddhist temples fill a plain along the Irrawaddy River, creating an ethereal landscape.
The crowds remain far smaller and more adventurous than the tour groups that fill Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu.
Myanmar is still finding itself after decades of civil war and international isolation. The current crisis over the country's treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority is also attracting global criticism.
None of which makes this 11th-century temple city anything less than more magical.
The kingdom that reigned here was destroyed by earthquakes and Kublai Khan's invaders, but the quiet temples retain a spiritual air that's impossible to ignore.