27/05/2026
As we prepare to leave our winter berth in Monastir for the summer we’re taking a moment to reflect that our travels on (and off) Times Like These following our recent trip to Egypt (see our personal pages for photos) have now taken us to the sites and/or remains of 6 of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World… and we are not currently planning to visit the 7th in modern day Iraq!
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were remarkable engineering and artistic feats from the Mediterranean and Near East, finalized as a "must-see" list by Greek travelers. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza still stands; the others (Hanging Gardens, Zeus Statue, Artemis Temple, Mausoleum, Colossus, Lighthouse) were destroyed by earthquakes or fire.
The Seven Ancient Wonders:
Great Pyramid of Giza (Egypt): The oldest wonder, constructed around 2600 B.C. as a tomb for Pharaoh Khufu, and the only one still in existence.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon (Iraq): A legendary, likely mythical, terraced garden paradise reportedly built by King Nebuchadnezzar II.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia (Greece): A 40-foot ivory and gold statue created by Phidias in the 5th century B.C. to honor the king of the gods.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (Turkey): A massive 6th-century B.C. temple dedicated to the goddess of the hunt, renowned for its size and art.
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (Turkey): An elaborate, structurally magnificent tomb built for King Mausolus in the 4th century B.C..
Colossus of Rhodes (Greece): A gigantic bronze statue of the sun god Helios, standing for less than 60 years before collapsing in an earthquake.
Lighthouse of Alexandria (Egypt): A functional, 300-foot-tall beacon built in the 3rd century B.C., which survived for 1,500 years.
We’re planning to head off from Monastir in the next couple of days to continue our travels in the eastern Mediterranean.
