8 historic caves in the world

1. Petra, Jordan

City of Petra in Jordan is known as the setting of the movie, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. It is also one of the seven new wonders of the world, and very easy to see why the architecture is one of the most advanced ever seen. Built on the slopes of Mount Hor developed, Petra in the Roman period but does not know, the Western world until 1812, when she discovered by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was. Over 800 individual monuments are located in Petra to see, including the cemetery, where the baths, temples, and the grave chamber.

2. Al-Hijr, Saudi Arabia

Among the most famous sites in Saudi Arabia's Al Hijra architecture, also known as Madain Saleh. The facade of a residence in Al Hijra was carved into the sandstone mountains are sometimes in the second millennium before Christ. Al Hijra - which literally means "rocky place" - is believed to have been inhabited by the Nabataeans and Thamud. It also has water, monumental tombs, inscriptions and petroglyphs.

3. Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia

The most amazing structure was carved into the stone churches of Lalibela, Ethiopia. 11 rock hewn churches, each from a single block of granite with a roof on the ground. 12th Century, under King Lalibela churches, a New Jerusalem for those who can not afford to make a pilgrimage to the city of origin. Each church was cut created by a wide gap on all four sides of the stone and then carefully cut the inside. The largest of them were as high as 40 meters.

4. Abu Simbel Nubian Monuments, Egypt

Four colossal statues of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II guarding the door of Abu Simbel, a temple cut from the sandstone cliffs above the river Nile. On behalf of Ramses himself, the temple faces east, so that twice a year the sun reaches the innermost sanctuary, illuminated the statues of Ptah, Amun-Re, Ramesses II and Re-Harakhti. Complex completely prevented by its original setting in 1960 floods, when Lake Nasser was removed.

5. Goa Gajah, Elephant Cave Temple, Bali

Gojah Goa, Goa Gajah is one of Bali's most important historic sites. Cave seems most devastated by natural disasters and the country of origin was not recognized for centuries, until a team of Dutch archaeologists discovered in 1923. A reflection in the 11th Century was built has influenced over the Statue of Goa Gojah by Hindu and Buddhist meditation and contains a secret chamber for priests or hermits. Two swimming pools with water outside the traditional cave have magical powers.

6. Cappadocia Cave Houses, Turkey

Cappadocia is one of the 73 provinces in the Republic of Turkey, and one of the weirdest and most interesting in the world. Soil, tufa rock formations dwarf properties "strange volcanic called" fairy chimneys and underground cities and complexes of buildings from the "tuff" soft cut. Many of them decorate the church with pillars and arches, the face of a natural stone are said Stein.

7. Ancient Rock City of Matera, Italy

In the town of Matera in ancient rocks in the southwest of Italy, the people in the house exactly the same thing they are not the ancestors 9,000 years ago. Matera was created by a rocky gorge, and many natural caves in the area - called "Sassi di Matera" - is the first house of the Neolithic inhabitants of the region. Cave has created a labyrinth of houses, and it is almost impossible to distinguish the natural rock formations of ancient architecture. The houses seem to grow out of the rock with an organic way, creating some of the attractions of what is in the middle of the 20th Century to a ghost town. Matera is basically the setting for Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ".

8. Yungang Grottoes, China

The Yungang Grottoes in Datong in Shanxi Province in China consists of 53 caves and 51,000 statues and is one of the best examples of cave art in China. Giant Buddha dominates the wind visitors through the cave to see many statues in it. Most works were ever in the caves in the early 20th Century wooden building temples and caves are stolen only when burned to the ground. So the site is now an urgent need for protection and has been a UNESCO world heritage site.