Our Wonders of the World .... .... the Runners-up, that didn't quite make it into the top seven The unspoilt medieval walled town of Lo Manthang, high in the Nepal Himalayas. We had to walk for five days to get there, but now they are building a road so it may not remain so unspoiled for long. And another wonderful medieval town, Sighisoira in Transylvania, with a Dracula-style castle on top of the hill. Pagan or Bagon in Burma. Another huge complex of temple ruins, spread over a wide area. And while we're in Burma, the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon or Yangon. The water wheels (Arabic - norias) of Hama on the Orontes river in Syria, in 1981. Despite the troubles in Syria over the years, most of them are still there in 2024. And still in Syria, the old city of Damascus - the Omayyid mosque in 1981 and the souks in 1997. Medain Saleh, off the beaten track in Saudi Arabia. It was built in the 2nd century BC by the Nabateans, who moved on to Petra when they had practiced their building skills here. And nearby, the remains of the Turkish Hejaz railway. Put out of action by Lawrence in the First World War, anything too heavy to carry away has stood here gently rusting ever since. Cairo - the medieval Islamic City. Cairo has so many layers to it, but the most fascinating is the old Islamic walled City, with winding alleyways, mosques (such as Ibn Tulun below), and street traders (such as these outside Bab el Futuh). The 'fairy towers' in Cappadocia, central Turkey. The towers are geological formations with caps of hard rock on top of soft, the dwellings have been hollowed out by refugees from various persecutions over the years. On the silk road in Central Asia, we admired the ornate blue domes of the mosques of Bukhara in Uzbekistan. Pingyao in China. A town that was too poor to be knocked down and redeveloped, so today it has a complete city wall with watchtowers and lots of old-fashioned buildings. And another East Asian town that time has passed by, Hoi An in central Veitnam. And to go back to our top twelve wonders of the world, just click the Seven Wonders .... And for our favourite wonders of India, just click Ganesh .... If you would like to see more of our travels just click the map.