Roman ruins

Garni temple is a temple from the 1st century A.D. dedicated to the Roman God of Sun, Helios. Later, a summer palace and a Roman bath (with heating) were added for Armenian royalty leaving the temple untouched for novelty. In the 9th century, a church was built on the cramped sites right at the edge of the cliff. An earthquake in 1679 knocked the temple into rubble leaving it like that until 1970s when it got fully reconstructed. The only things left from the summer palace and the church, however, are the foundations but the Roman bath has been excavated.

A very well preserved ruin of an ancient Roman city with city walls, theatre, hammams (baths) and colonnaded streets. It was the rich surrounding farmland and the trade with the Nabataeans (The people from Petra) that made the city flourished during the Roman time, for it wasn't on the normal trading route. Various invasions and an earthquake in 747 laid the city deserted until nineteen century. Today it's one of the biggest Roman sites outside Italy and popular with tourists as well as locals.

The most impressive ruin in Lebanon. Besides being located in the middle of "modern" Baalbek town, the site can offer several magnificent Roman's temples. The one for Jupiter is the grandest, unequalled in the world, with columns soaring 23m into the air, where six still stands today. The foundation consists of some of biggest building block, some weighing about 800 tonnes. It is thought that it have taken more than 120 years to complete the temple complex, though different Roman Emperors still added to the complex centuries after. Another temple is the one of Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. Smaller than Jupiter's, but still bigger than Parthenon in Athens, it's one of the best preserved in the world with beautiful decorations, where you can still make out the fine details - along with semi-ancient graffiti.

An overgrown and tranquil set of Roman ruins, but nevertheless impressive. The truly remarkable cardo (main street) keeps going for 2 km and is actually longer than the one in Palmyra. Its population was once half a million and the city attracted prominent visitors like Cleopatra. Today, the grassy surroundings make the ruins even more splendid, with blue mountains in the distance, cereal fields all the way up to the stones and herdsmen leading their sheep across the site. With no fences and wild flowers growing on the crumbled stones the place has a refreshing messiness to it.

Bosra is an ancient city that became a major metropolis in the Roman Empire, acting as capital for the Province of Arabia. Caravan routes passed here, making it an important trading city during the Middle Ages. The main attraction is the huge and perfectly preserved Roman theatre which could seat 6000 spectators with an additional 3000 standing. Today, it looks even more enormous in the small town that Bosra has become. It's a surprisingly nice and friendly place, where people are still living among the Roman ruins. Come in the afternoon when the tour buses have left and you will get the whole place to yourself.

Even centuries after the fall of the Roman Empire, countless architectural symbols of it's magnificence still scatter the Mediterranean coastline. While everyone knows about the Colosseum in the centre of Rome, not so many know of the UNESCO listed Amphitheatre of El Jem. Built in the 3rd century for up to 60,000 spectators, the amphitheatre is the 3rd largest of it's kind in the world. Even today, the amphitheatre is the centre of town life. Surprisingly, the area is not a touristic as you might expect for such an great site. And being so big, it's easy to escape any of the few tour groups that make it here.

Throughout the Mediterranean region, the ancient Greek and Roman empires have certainly left their mark. Ruins are scattered throughout the area. But one place stands out above all others. Efes (or Ephesus) was, at a time, the largest city in the entire region. It was mentioned many times in the bible, and some say the Gospel of John was written here. But for the average traveller, simply strolling along the ancient paths is enough of a "religious" experience. Even with such architectural highlights as the Library of Celsus, estimates are that only 15% of the site has been excavated. One tip, try to get there as early as possible. When the cruise ships dock at nearby Kuşadası, Efes can become beyond overrun with tour groups.

Bath was first established by the Romans as a spa, built around hot springs, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Roman Baths are the major draw card of this large town, you will pay a bit to get in, however it is well worth it. Most locals come to Bath to shop, but for the traveller, there are numerous other things to see that are not too costly: Bath Abbey, Pulteney Bridge, The Royal Crescent, The Circus, The Pump Room and for all of you whose heart skips a beat for Mr Darcy, there is the Jane Austen Centre complete with costumes to try on. If you have a few hours and aching muscles, then find your way to the Thermae Spa, where you can soak in the naturally hot spring waters of the town. If you are lucky enough to be there on a Saturday, there are markets and buskers on Stall street, otherwise marvel at the Edwardian architecture and appreciate the wonders of the Roman Empire.