There is no one in the world who doesn't like to travel. If we could, we'd all like to take the next plane to an exotic destination. But we can't really. So we read travelogues instead, enjoying every anecdote quite as much as the author. And whether we've travelled by foot or in an armchair, we've picked up bits and pieces of travel trivia. Here's a quiz testing your knowledge
Travel is an education in itself. What one can learn by travelling to new places and interacting with the people there cannot be found in any book. Also whatever one has read in books about the history or culture of a place comes alive and becomes more meaningful after visiting that place.
In school I had studied about the vast Roman Empire, but I have truly understood its influence only after actually seeing Roman ruins in places as far apart as Morocco and England.
Trips to Greece, Egypt and Rome have given me a deeper understanding of the contribution these ancient civilisations made to our world as it is today. It is only through travel that I have been able to understand the links between various cultures and historical eras.
The one city that gave me the strongest feeling of going back in time was Damascus. Syria is one of the cradles of human civilisation. Agriculture, copper and bronze manufacture and the first alphabet were developed here.
Archaeological studies suggest that Damascus was first settled in 6000 BC and it is recorded as the oldest continually inhabited city in the world.
It has been ruled by Assyrians, Babylonians, the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, the Omayyad dynasty, the Crusaders and the Ottomans.
The Omayyad Mosque here stands on the site of a pagan temple built in the ninth century. One can still see some pillars of the Roman temple that replaced it and the tomb of John the Baptist inside is evidence of its later conversion to a church.
Also visible are several features from the Abassid, Mameluke and Ottoman periods - a history lesson spanning several centuries in just one building!
Here is a quiz about some other historic tourist sites:
1. Tourists can climb into a model of the legendary Trojan horse that stands today at the place where the battle of Troy was fought. In which country can you visit this historic site?
2. In which country can tourists see the ancient Roman temples of Baalbek?
3. The pyramids at Gizeh are the most famous tourist attraction of Cairo. However King Djoser's step pyramid just a few kilometres away, is even older than these wonders of the world. Where is it located?
4. Which megalithic monument on the Salisbury plain, Wiltshire, England, dating from about 2000 BC, probably used for predicting astronomical events, attracts many tourists on the summer solstice?
5. In which country can you visit the ruins of the ancient Phoenician port of Carthage?
6. Where can you see the magnificent crown of the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne and his successors?
7. In which country can tourists view the excavated remains of the well-planned cities of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa, belonging to the Indus Valley civilisation?
8. Mexico City is built on the site of the former capital of the Aztecs. What was the name of that ancient city located on an island in lake Texcoco?
9. In which country are the ruins of the beautiful Inca city of Machu Pichu located?
10. Founded 2000 years ago, this city called Khanbaligh was the capital of Kublai Khan in the 13th century. What is the modern name of the city?
11. The stone tablet that helped archaeologists to decipher hieroglyphic script is displayed in the British Museum. What is it called?
