War, Time & Disaster: 20 Beautiful Places Lost to History

Remains of the Old Summer Palace — Wikimedia

One of the most beautiful things about travel is that it allows you to see the world in a unique way in the exact moment you see it. While some things last for centuries, others only survive for a few years. Here is a look at 20 beautiful places lost to history, through war, time, and disaster.

Library of Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria, Egypt, 21 February 2018: Library of Alexandria, wall, statue, cars and people — Adobe Stock

This is truly one of the greatest losses of human knowledge in history. Some of the history and information lost when the great Library of Alexandria burned will never be recovered. Once the greatest collection of human knowledge in the ancient world, we have nothing left but the depictions of it.

Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan

Buddhas of Bamiyan, where there were two 6th-century monumental statues carved into the side of a cliff, in the Bamyan valley of central Afghanistan. Now only holes remain. — Adobe Stock

Much to the dismay of the entire modern world, the Buddhas of Bamiyan were blown up in 2001 by the Taliban. The twin statues stood more than one hundred feet tall each and had looked out over the landscape for more than 1,000 but were left as nothing more than rubble.

Palmyra’s Temples, Syria

Palmyra’s Temples were a temple complex in Syria around the first century C.E. They were distinct because of their shared Mesopotamian and Mediterranean style. War and time have mostly doomed them to ruins, but a few parts of the temples remain incorporated into other structures.

Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong

bonsai garden Kowloon Walled City Park Hong Kong — Adobe Stock

Built as a Chinese military fort in the late 1800s, Kowloon Walled City transformed into a densely populated, lawless enclave, with neither Britain nor China claiming the territory for decades. The area was depopulated, cleaned up, and made into a modern city park.