Science and space, ancient worlds and beautiful things are all fascinating to me, so I was particularly taken by an online posting in the April 30 MailOnline, published by the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper.

Cambodia’s Angkor Wat, built as a Hindu temple, later refashioned as a Buddhist shrineThe few words in the article are scattered, repetitive, and badly in need of editing, but it’s the pictures that matter: a collection of satellite images taken by the IKONOS satellite, the first commercial satellite capable of taking incredible high-resolution photographs and making them available to the public.

The posting combines satellite images with ground level photos of ancient wonders ranging from Egypt’s pyramids and Saqqara temple complex to Mayan ruins like Chicken Itza, Britain’s Stonehenge, and Peru’s incomparable Macchu Picchu.

I’ve visited two of the wonders on display, the 12th century Angkor Wat temple complex near Siem Reap, Cambodia, and the pre-Columbian city and temple pyramids of Teotihuacan, northeast of Mexico City, parts of which go back to 100 B.C. I’ve visited sites near and similar to ancient Heliopolis, pictured from Lebanon. Perusing the IKONOS images leaves me adding even more wonders to the already crowded bucket list of places I want to go.

If you want to be impressed with the ingenuity and architectural accomplishments of peoples who worked with no access to power tools or even good steel, if you appreciate beauty and wonder, if you like the occasional excuse to say “oh wow,” then check out the photos, and let yourself dream awhile.

It’s good for you.

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