The orient generally refers to East Asia, but the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute is dedicated to the Middle East. It is one of the world's premier research institutions regarding the region's archaeology and history. The Institute was founded in 1919, and the art deco building it's housed in was completed in 1930. The collection is largely due to the efforts of ...
The Azraq Wetlands Reserve is part of what little remains of Azraq's wetlands. The wetlands originally covered more than 12,000 square km, larger than the entire country of Lebanon. In the 1960s, Jordan began channeling water from here to use in the cities of Amman and Irbid. By 1990 the wetlands had completely dried up. In 1994, Jordan's Water Authority and the United Natio...
The fifth and current iteration of St. Paul’s Cathedral was consecrated in 1708, but the diocese of St. Paul’s has been in existence since 604AD. After the Great Fire of 1666, the decision was made to rebuild the cathedral from scratch rather than trying to restore the severely damaged Gothic version. The new design, by architect Sir Christopher Wren, was a Greek cross in the Baroque R...
One of the most prominent natural wonders in the region, the Salt Lake district of Larnaca is made up of a network four salt lakes or different sizes, Aliki, Orphani, Soros and Spiro. The Larnaca Salt Lake forms the second largest salt lake in Cyprus, after the Limassol Salt Lake and covers an area of about 2.2 kilometer square. It is a popular tourist spot for birdwatchers and nature lovers, who ...