Travelers to Peru at the moment might be a bit disappointed that the famed Nazca Lines are not looking quite the same as usual. These dramatic two-thousand-year-old drawings are a bit worse for wear because heavy rains have "changed" them a bit.

The rains have left a layer of white clay over several of the geoglyphs. This layer's hanging around despite this confident but obviously wrong sentence in the Wikipedia entry on the Nazca Lines:

The dry, windless, stable climate of the plateau has preserved the lines to this day.

Oops. Presumably someone'll edit that soon to say almost preserved the lines. The good news is that local archaeologists say the changes are reversible, so we might get the old Nazca Lines back sometime.

Related Stories:
· Heavy Rains Alter Peru's Famed Nazca Lines [Jaunted]
· Volunteer Travel: Experience the Real Peru [Jaunted]
· Peruvian Pyramid Discovered Using Satellite Data [Jaunted]

[Photo: Scubaben] ]]> amandak 2009-01-22T16:10:26-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/29/152823/81

Marriott is running an online contest right now that asks "How many major pyramids are located at Giza?" If you couldn't figure it out from the photo they show right next to the question, the answer is three.

The two previous questions in the game asked why they celebrate Carnival in Rio (to mark the beginning of Lent) and who officially opened the Sydney Opera House (Elizabeth II). Tomorrow's quiz is about Rome, and judging from the difficulty of the questions so far, we're throwing out these potential answers: The Forum, The Colosseum, Romulus, Julius Caesar, Trevi Fountain and Italy.

Related Stories:
· Marriott World of Rewards [Official Site]
· 3-D Models of the Pyramids for Google Earth [GEHacks]
· The Giza Pyramids World Heritage Site [UNESCO]
· Giza Pyramid Complex [Wikipedia]

[Photo of the famous Giza Pizza Hut: noaman]]]> pbb 2008-10-29T16:45:03-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/28/12241/128

Researchers in Jordan think they've uncovered the location of King Solomon's Mines, a copper-rich region that's inspired multiple films, including one starring Patrick Swayze and another featuring Sharon Stone and John Rhys-Davies.

The area, south of the Dead Sea in Jordan's Faynan district, is known in Arabic as Khirbat en-Nahas and includes roughly 100 ancient buildings. Artifacts recovered from the area as well as carbon dating helped researchers determine that the mines were used in the 10th century BC--and could prove the historical existence of King Solomon.

Lead researcher Thomas Levy says:

We can't believe everything ancient writings tell us. But this research represents a confluence between the archaeological and scientific data and the Bible.

Levy is now working with the government of Jordan to have the area declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a status the nearby ancient village of Petra already enjoys.

Related Stories:
· Copper Ruins in Jordan Bolster Biblical Record [LAT]
· King Solomon's (Copper) Mines? [UCSD]
· High-Precision Radiocarbon Dating and Biblical Archaeology [PNAS, warning science content!]
· World Heritage Sites in Jordan [Official Site]]]> pbb 2008-10-28T12:03:51-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/21/71030/763

On the list of people we're glad we're not--after Bristol Palin and Guy Ritchie, natch--comes Thai premier Somchai Wongsawat. The masochist voluntarily agreed to lead Thailand amid unprecedented government protests.

If the burning streets of Bangkok aren't enough to worry about, now the guy has to deal with a potential war with neighboring Cambodia. Last week, fighting erupted along the countries' border over this UNESCO World Heritage temple that both claim to own.

Now, Somchai will again sit down with Hun Sen, Cambodia's 20-plus-year strongman prime minister, for another attempt at a truce. Both men headed to Beijing today for the talks. Looks like hosting bilateral talks is China's way of reminding the world its post-Olympics city still exists.

Related Stories:
· Somchai and Hun Sen Meet in China [Bangkok Post]
· What Are Thailand and Cambodia Fighting About? [Jaunted]

[Photo: daylife.com]]]> ced138 2008-10-21T10:30:48-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/14/63846/390

It was back in July that we first mentioned the temple trouble between Thailand and Cambodia as they fought over the newly UNESCO Heritage-listed Preah Vihear temple on their disputed border. And we thought it'd all be over soon and we could put this place back on our want-to-visit list.

Not so. Since then, there have been more protests and even a short skirmish between Thai and Cambodian soldiers that left three people injured. Landmines have also caused a few injuries.

This week, the two sides finally sat down for a chat again. But the only result seems to be that Cambodia has told Thailand it has to get its troops out, and the Thais have said they're staying there to do more mine clearance work. Which means that planning a visit to the gorgeous Preah Vihear will have to stay on our "postponed" list.

Related Stories:
· Cambodia, Thailand Resume Talks on Border Spat [AFP, via Google]
· What Are Thailand and Cambodia Fighting About? [Jaunted]
· Cambodia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Mofaitsontdm]]]> amandak 2008-10-14T09:45:44-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/3/123748/490

Our Southern Africa embed Jill Nawrocki recently ducked out of Namibia for a field trip to South Africa.

Our final destination before crossing the border into rural Swaziland was the resort town of St. Lucia. Another volunteer had called it one of the most beautiful places on earth, and Coast to Coast said the village was seated at the heart of a World Heritage Site, amidst five different ecosystems. It sounded promising, and when we read that crocodiles, monkeys and even hippos roamed the streets, we knew it was a place that deserved a closer look.

While the "resort" part of the town was pretty desolate (again, we reasoned, because it was off season) Bib's International Backpackers (our hostel of choice) was busy with travelers from all over the world. In addition to your average dorm-style rooms and self-catering accommodations (all for about R100, or $12, a night), Bib's offers travelers a laundry list of tours, safaris and outdoor escapes to insure visitors experience all that St. Lucia has to offer.]]> Jaunted 2008-10-03T15:00:38-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/5/71325/06095

If you're headed to San Diego for one of two film festivals in the next few weeks, then there's something else to add to your itinerary. A new exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego features works from artists that have spent time in World Heritage Sites around the globe.

The exhibit, Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet, concentrates on the environment. For example, artist Mark Dion stalked reptiles in Komodo National Park in Indonesia. Other artists visited the Atlantic Forest South-East Reserves in Brazil and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador for inspiration.

If you're interested in a visit, the feature is running through early 2009. Admission into the museum will cost you $10, includes access to the museum's permanent collections as well.

Related Stories:
· Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego [Official Site]
· Human/Nature: Artists Respond to a Changing Planet [Official Site]
· Museums coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: tunachilli]]]> kjb 2008-09-05T13:30:22-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/