I made a list of the top 8 ruins I have visited. Only ruins are included and old temples and shrines are excluded. They are all listed in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_archaeological_sites_sorted_by_country.

8. Ollantaytambo

6枚岩 Ollantaytambo - オリャンタイタンボ遺跡

6枚岩 Ollantaytambo - オリャンタイタンボ遺跡

Ollantaytambo is the ruins of the ancient Inca located Cusco suburbs. I visited there on a package day tour from Cusco. It was a guided tour in English and I could not catch the details, but I remember steep stairs, terraced fields, rock work of six large stones, and stone chairs of the King and Queen.

7. Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion

Approaching Sounion

Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο - Akrotírio Soúnio; Latin: Sunium promonturium; Ancient Greek: Άκρον Σούνιον - Άkron Soúnion; Venetian: Capo Colonne) is a promontory located 69 km (43 mi, by road) SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece (Fig.2).  Cape Sounion is renowned for the ruins of the ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea . The ruins famously bear the deeply engraved name of English Romantic poet Lord Byron (1788 - 1824) .  The site is a popular day excursion for tourists from Athens, with sunset over the Aegean Sea viewed from the ruins a sought-after spectacle.
Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο - Akrotírio Soúnio; Latin: Sunium promonturium; Ancient Greek: Άκρον Σούνιον - Άkron Soúnion; Venetian: Capo Colonne) is a promontory located 69 km (43 mi, by road) SSE of Athens, at the southernmost tip of the Attica peninsula in Greece (Fig.2). Cape Sounion is renowned for the ruins of the ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea . The ruins famously bear the deeply engraved name of English Romantic poet Lord Byron (1788 - 1824) . The site is a popular day excursion for tourists from Athens, with sunset over the Aegean Sea viewed from the ruins a sought-after spectacle.

by Ava Babili

I visited when I went around Europe just after graduation. It’s many years ago. I don’t remember most of it. No photo because I did not have a camera. I took a bus from Athens to Cape Sounion. There is a temple at the cape. I remember that the sea looked on the way was very beautiful. Visitors were less than at the Acropolis in Athens city. It’s a calm and quiet place.

6. Acropolis

Athens - Acropolis: Parthenon (West Side)

The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών) was a temple of Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/135116398/">Acropolis of Athens</a>.  An octostyle, peripteral Doric temple with Ionic architectural features, it is the most famous surviving building of ancient Greece, and has been praised as the finest achievement of Greek architecture and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments.  The Parthenon was built at the initiative of <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/135117025/">Pericles</a> under the general supervision of the sculptor Phidias, who also had charge of the sculptural decoration. The architects were Iktinos and Kallikrates. Construction began in 447 BC, and the building was substantially completed by 438 BC, when the chryselephantine gold and ivory statue of Athena Parthenos, from which the name is derived, was sculpted by Pheidias and dedicated and the decoration of the Doric metopes on the frieze above the exterior colonnade, and of the Ionic frieze around the upper portion of the walls of the cella were completed.  Modest construction continued until the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 432 BC.  Some of the financial accounts for the Parthenon survive and show that the largest single expense was transporting the stone from Mount Pentelicus, about 16 kilometers from Athens, to the Acropolis. The funds were partly drawn from the treasury of the Delian League, which was moved from the Panhellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Acropolis in 454 BC.  In the 6th century AD the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin; after the Turkish conquest, it was converted into a mosque. In 1687 AD, a Turkish ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by a Venetian cannonball; the resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. In the 19th century AD, Lord Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures and took them to England. These sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles or Parthenon Marbles, are on display in the British Museum. An ongoing dispute concerns whether the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece.  Measured at the top step, the dimensions of the base of the Parthenon are 69.5 meters by 30.9 meters (228.0 x 101.4 ft). The cella was 29.8 meters long by 19.2 meters wide (97.8 x 63.0 ft), with internal Doric colonnades in two tiers, structurally necessary to support the roof. On the exterior, the Doric columns measure 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in diameter and are 10.4 meters (34.1 ft) high. The corner columns are slightly larger in diameter. The stylobate, the platform on which the columns stand, has an upward curvature towards its center of 60 millimeters (2.36 in) on the east and west ends, and of 110 millimeters (4.33 in) on the sides. Entasis refers to the slight swelling of the columns as they rise, to counter the optical effect of looking up at the temple.   The effect of these subtle curves is to make the temple appear more symmetrical than it actually is.  Some of the dimensions form the golden rectangle expressing the golden ratio, praised by Pythagoras in the previous century.  The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as imbrices and tegulae.  The ninety-two metopes were carved in high relief, a practice employed until then only in treasuries. Their design is attributed to the sculptor Kalamis. The metopes of the east side of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, depict the Gigantomachy . The metopes of the west end show Amazonomachy. <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/288044415/">The metopes of the south side</a> (with the exception of the somewhat problematic metopes 13-20, now lost) show the Thessalian Centauromachy (battle of the Lapiths aided by Theseus against the half-man, half-horse Centaurs). On the north side of the Parthenon the metopes are poorly preserved, but the subject seems to be the sack of Troy.  The most characteristic feature in the architecture and decoration of the temple is the Ionic frieze running around the exterior walls of the cella. Carved in bas-relief, it most likely depicts an idealized version of the Panathenaic procession from the Dipylon Gate in the Kerameikos to the Acropolis. In this procession held every 4 years, Athenians and foreigners were participating to honour the goddess Athena offering sacrifices and a new peplos (dress woven by selected noble Athenian girls called ergastines). The entire frieze was carved in situ and it is dated in 442-438 BC.  The richness of the Parthenon's decoration is unique for a classical Greek temple. It is, however, in agreement with the function of the temple as a Treasury. In the opisthodomus (the back room of the cella) were stored the monetary contributions of the Delian Alliance of which Athens was the leading member.  Explore: April 26, 2006
The Parthenon (ancient Greek: Παρθενών) was a temple of Athena, built in the 5th century BC on the Acropolis of Athens. An octostyle, peripteral Doric temple with Ionic architectural features, it is the most famous surviving building of ancient Greece, and has been praised as the finest achievement of Greek architecture and one of the world's greatest cultural monuments. The Parthenon was built at the initiative of Pericles under the general supervision of the sculptor Phidias, who also had charge of the sculptural decoration. The architects were Iktinos and Kallikrates. Construction began in 447 BC, and the building was substantially completed by 438 BC, when the chryselephantine gold and ivory statue of Athena Parthenos, from which the name is derived, was sculpted by Pheidias and dedicated and the decoration of the Doric metopes on the frieze above the exterior colonnade, and of the Ionic frieze around the upper portion of the walls of the cella were completed. Modest construction continued until the beginning of the Peloponnesian War in 432 BC. Some of the financial accounts for the Parthenon survive and show that the largest single expense was transporting the stone from Mount Pentelicus, about 16 kilometers from Athens, to the Acropolis. The funds were partly drawn from the treasury of the Delian League, which was moved from the Panhellenic sanctuary at Delos to the Acropolis in 454 BC. In the 6th century AD the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin; after the Turkish conquest, it was converted into a mosque. In 1687 AD, a Turkish ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by a Venetian cannonball; the resulting explosion severely damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. In the 19th century AD, Lord Elgin removed some of the surviving sculptures and took them to England. These sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles or Parthenon Marbles, are on display in the British Museum. An ongoing dispute concerns whether the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece. Measured at the top step, the dimensions of the base of the Parthenon are 69.5 meters by 30.9 meters (228.0 x 101.4 ft). The cella was 29.8 meters long by 19.2 meters wide (97.8 x 63.0 ft), with internal Doric colonnades in two tiers, structurally necessary to support the roof. On the exterior, the Doric columns measure 1.9 meters (6.2 ft) in diameter and are 10.4 meters (34.1 ft) high. The corner columns are slightly larger in diameter. The stylobate, the platform on which the columns stand, has an upward curvature towards its center of 60 millimeters (2.36 in) on the east and west ends, and of 110 millimeters (4.33 in) on the sides. Entasis refers to the slight swelling of the columns as they rise, to counter the optical effect of looking up at the temple. The effect of these subtle curves is to make the temple appear more symmetrical than it actually is. Some of the dimensions form the golden rectangle expressing the golden ratio, praised by Pythagoras in the previous century. The roof was covered with large overlapping marble tiles known as imbrices and tegulae. The ninety-two metopes were carved in high relief, a practice employed until then only in treasuries. Their design is attributed to the sculptor Kalamis. The metopes of the east side of the Parthenon, above the main entrance, depict the Gigantomachy . The metopes of the west end show Amazonomachy. The metopes of the south side (with the exception of the somewhat problematic metopes 13-20, now lost) show the Thessalian Centauromachy (battle of the Lapiths aided by Theseus against the half-man, half-horse Centaurs). On the north side of the Parthenon the metopes are poorly preserved, but the subject seems to be the sack of Troy. The most characteristic feature in the architecture and decoration of the temple is the Ionic frieze running around the exterior walls of the cella. Carved in bas-relief, it most likely depicts an idealized version of the Panathenaic procession from the Dipylon Gate in the Kerameikos to the Acropolis. In this procession held every 4 years, Athenians and foreigners were participating to honour the goddess Athena offering sacrifices and a new peplos (dress woven by selected noble Athenian girls called ergastines). The entire frieze was carved in situ and it is dated in 442-438 BC. The richness of the Parthenon's decoration is unique for a classical Greek temple. It is, however, in agreement with the function of the temple as a Treasury. In the opisthodomus (the back room of the cella) were stored the monetary contributions of the Delian Alliance of which Athens was the leading member. Explore: April 26, 2006

by Wally Gobetz

Licensed by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/

The Parthenon of the Acropolis is one of the Greek symbols. Here is my first visit famous ruin. People may feel something by thinking there were lives of people here more than 2000 years ago. Looking at the various things at the museum and the ruins in Athens, I was very impressed. But later I visited the British Museum and found the greater collection of ancient Greek.

5. The Roman Forum

Foro Romano

Foro Romano
Foro Romano

by Edwin Lee
Licensed by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

It is a tourist destination and a super famous ruin in Rome. There is also well-known tourist destination such as Coliseum, Pantheon, etc. I visited Rome after Athens on my Europe tour. I didn’t research before visiting The Roman Forum, I just walked around inside.

4. Ephesus

Ancient City of Ephesus

Path to the Ancient Roman Theater of Ephesus. This facility could seat 24,000.
Path to the Ancient Roman Theater of Ephesus. This facility could seat 24,000.

by Mr G’s Travels

Licensed by https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

Ephesus is the ruins in Turkey but is the ruins of the ancient Greek era. I have a stronger impression of Rome. You can see many things in a small area and it’s easy to understand it was a city.

3. Easter Island

Ahu Ko Te Riku - Easter Island

Sun is setting behind Ahu Tahai, Easter Island
Sun is setting behind Ahu Tahai, Easter Island

I can see Moai very long time without boring. I feel like Moai has a heart and what they saw in the past and what they see now.

2. Machu Picchu

Machu Pichu

お約束の写真。みんなこの構図で写真を撮る。
お約束の写真。みんなこの構図で写真を撮る。

First, I was surprised it was located in a deep mountain. I was impressed it was very quiet because it is in the mountains. Many tourists visited there, but there were silent. It caused thinking of ancient people who lived here a long time ago. Some Americans said, “Spiritual”. I understand the feeling.

1. Angkor

Angkor Wat - アンコールワット

Angkor Wat - アンコールワット

I put it number one place because It is the most recently visited ruins. Angkor Wat is one the greatest buildings among others. It is the ruins, but It would be great if it were an existing temple.

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