Around the World in 80 Treasures is a 10-episode art and travel documentary series by the BBC, presented by Dan Cruickshank, and originally aired in February, March, and April 2005. The title is a reference to Around the World in Eighty Days, the classic adventure novel by Jules Verne.
In this series, Cruickshank takes a five-month world tour visiting his choices of the eighty greatest man-made treasures, including buildings and artifacts. His tour takes him through 34 countries and 6 of the 7 continents (he does not visit Antarctica). He did not visit Iraq due to the dangerous state of the country at the time.
In addition to seeing some of the world's greatest treasures, Cruickshank tries many different kinds of food including testicle, brain, and insects. His means of transportation included airplanes, trains, camel, donkey, foot, hot air balloon, bicycle, scooter, Volkswagen Beetle, hang glider, and boats.
A tie-in book of the same title was also published, written as a journal during the trip and containing much behind-the-scenes detail on the making of the programme in addition to Cruikshank's reflections on the treasures themselves.
Cruickshank's fondness of architecture is evident, with many of his chosen treasures being buildings or other man-made structures.
The official BBC DVD of the series was released on 19 May 2008. Licenses for DVD releases have been sold to many countries around the world.
The UKTV channel Eden frequently repeats the series. However episodes are edited down to 46 minutes, to allow for adverts to be shown in the one-hour time slot.
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Andes, Peru | Machu Picchu | Widely recognized mountain city of the Inca Empire discovered in 1911. | |
| 2 | Maras, Peru | Incan salt pans | The Incans used giant pools on the side of the Andes to evaporate water from brine to leave salt. | |
| 3 | Nazca, Peru | Nazca Lines | Over 300 immense dirt drawings and lines preserved since the 6th to 3rd century BC by the extreme arid environment. | |
| 4 | Lambayeque, Peru | Spider necklace of Sipán | A necklace made up of 10 gold objects of the Spider God. | |
| 5 | Trujillo, Peru | Chan Chan | The world's largest mud city estimated to be home of 30,000 people and covers 20 square kilometres. | |
| 6 | Easter Island, Chile | Moai statues | Moai, large monolithic statues with oversized heads created by the Rapanui people between 1200 and 1700 CE. The picture shows a group of Moai buried to their shoulders on the outer slopes of Rano Raraku. | |
| 7 | Cuiabá, Brazil | Umahara Headdress of the Rikbaktsa people | Very colorful headdresses made of human hair and parrot feathers (red, yellow, blue). | |
| 8 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Christ the Redeemer |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Southern Mexico | Palenque | Mayan city showcasing some of their finest architecture, sculpture, and stucco reliefs. | ||
| 10 | Tollan Tula, Mexico | The Giants of Tula | 10th century stone sculptures/columns of Toltec warriors dressed in feathers and gods. | ||
| 11 | Mexico City, Mexico | Man, Controller of the Universe | Painting by Diego Rivera commissioned by Nelson Rockefeller embodying the struggle between capitalism and communism. A recreation of the destroyed original Man at the Crossroads. | ||
| 12 | Cortez, Colorado, United States | 1851 Navy Colt revolver | Mass-produced six-shot handgun used in the American Civil War and subsequently used in fulfilling the Manifest Destiny. | ||
| 13 | Colorado, United States | Mesa Verde National Park | A small community built under a rock shelf by the ancestors of the pueblo heirs. | ||
| 14 | Charlottesville, Virginia, United States | Monticello | Home designed and built in the late 18th century by Thomas Jefferson. | ||
| 15 | New York City, United States | Statue of Liberty | A 151-foot tall statue given by France to the United States to commemorate the centennial since the American Declaration of Independence. | ||
| 16 | New York City, United States | Seagram Building | A skyscraper that represents the quintessence of the skyscraper commercial design. |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Sydney | St James' Church | Masterpiece of convict architect Francis Greenway, and one of Australia's oldest church buildings. | ||
| 18 | Kakadu, Australia | Kakadu rock art | Aboriginal rock art from Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory. | ||
| 19 | Torajaland, Sulawesi, Indonesia | Spirit houses | These houses with a boat shaped roof symbolize the people's afterlife. | ||
| 20 | Torajaland, Sulawesi, Indonesia | Tau Tau | Wooden statues representing the ancestor, the members of the tribe that have died. | ||
| 21 | Java, Indonesia | Borobudur Stupa | One of the greatest Buddhist stupas (giant, pyramidal Buddhist temple) in the world. It was built in the 8th century and has nine levels. | ||
| 22 | Ayutthaya, Thailand | Gold Elephant | Gold elephant kneeling with a howdah found in the crypt of Wat Ratchaburana, Ayutthaya. A beautifully finished masterpiece of the goldsmith's art. Studded and encrusted with gems. Made in about 1420, the same time as the tower in which it was found. National Museum, Ayutthaya, Thailand. | ||
| 23 | Siem Reap, Cambodia | Angkor Wat | The temple at Angkor Wat. It's man's vision of heaven, a Hindu image of the celestial city. Angkor Wat is a legacy of the mighty king Suryavarman the Second and dates back to the mid-12th century. | ||
| 24 | Angkor Thom, Cambodia | Stone Faces of Bayon | The walls adorned with huge and powerfully carved faces in the city of Angkor Thom built by Jayavarman VII a mile away from Angkor Wat. |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Tokyo, Japan | Katana/Samurai sword | The katana, also commonly referred to as a "samurai sword". | ||
| 26 | Himeji, Japan | Himeji Castle | Flatland-mountain Japanese castle complex located in Himeji in Hyōgo Prefecture and comprising 83 wooden buildings. It is occasionally known as ("White Heron Castle") because of its brilliant white exterior. It was rebuilt more than 400 years ago. | ||
| 27 | Kyoto, Japan | Ryōan-ji Zen Buddhist Garden | A Zen temple located in northwest Kyoto, Japan. Belonging to the Myoshin-ji school of the Rinzai branch of Zen Buddhism, the temple is one of the Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. | ||
| 28 | Beijing, China | Forbidden City | The Forbidden City is the largest palace in the world. It was built by the mighty Ming dynasty 600 years ago. | ||
| 29 | Beijing, China | The Summer Palace Park | The Summer Palace is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill (60 meters high) and the Kunming Lake. It covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three-quarters of which is water. | ||
| 30 | China | Great Wall of China | A series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built, rebuilt, and maintained to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during various successive dynasties. | ||
| 31 | Xi'an, China | Terracotta Army | The Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses of Qin Shi Huang the First Emperor of China. The terracotta figures were discovered in 1974 by some local farmers near Xi'an, Shaanxi province, China near the Mausouleum of the second Ming Emperor. | ||
| 32 | Shanghai, China | Ming dynasty porcelain | Shanghai Museum boasts one of the finest Ming porcelain collections in the world. |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Kolkata, India | Durga | In Hinduism, the Goddess Durga is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having ten arms, riding a lion or a tiger, carrying weapons (including a lotus flower), maintaining a meditative smile, and practicing mudras, or symbolic hand gestures. | ||
| 34 | Sri Lanka | Sigiriya | The city of Sigiriya was created by King Kasiyapa in the years around 470, 480 A.D. with a colossal rock on which was perched, the fortress and palace. | ||
| 35 | Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka | Giant Buddha | This giant Buddha was created in the 1180s and he measures about forty metres, carved in very hard granite out of the cliff face behind. With his robes wrapped round his body, his head reclining on a pillow. | ||
| 36 | Kandy, Sri Lanka | Buddha's Tooth | According to Sri Lankan legends, when the Buddha died, his body was cremated in a sandalwood pyre at Kusinara in India and his left canine tooth was retrieved from the funeral pyre by Arahat Khema. Khema then gave it to King Brahmadatte for veneration. It became a royal possession in Brahmadatte's country and was kept in the city of Dantapuri (present day Puri in Orissa). | ||
| 37 | Kochi, India | Spices of Cochin | Cochin was at the centre of the crossroads of the international spice trade, making it one of the most important places on Earth. | ||
| 38 | Madurai, India | Meenakshi temple | Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple Tamil: is a historic Hindu temple located in the holy city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva (in the form of Sundareswarar or Beautiful Lord) and his consort, Goddess Parvati (in the form of Meenakshi). | ||
| 39 | Jaipur, India | Jantar Mantar observatory | The Observatory was started in 1728. | ||
| 40 | Agra, India | Taj Mahal | The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Samarkand, Uzbekistan | Tiles of Samarkand | Samarkand is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The use of tiles unifies Samarkand's great buildings, gives them distinct and powerful architectural character. | ||
| 42 | Bukhara, Uzbekistan | The trading domes | The trading domes were constructed between 1570 and 1590. | ||
| 43 | Baku, Azerbaijan | Fire Temple and Monastery at Surkhany | The Baku Ateshgah or "Fire Temple" is a castle-like religious structure in Surakhani, a suburb of greater Baku, Azerbaijan. The pentagonal complex, which has a courtyard surrounded by cells for monks and a tetrapillar-altar in the middle, was built during the 17th and 18th centuries. | ||
| 44 | Isfahan, Iran | Imam mosque in Naghsh-i Jahan Square | The Imam Mosque or Shah Mosque is a mosque in Isfahan (Esfahān), Iran. Built during the Safavids period, it is an excellent example of Islamic architecture of Iran, and regarded as the masterpiece of Persian Architecture. | ||
| 45 | Shiraz, Iran | Persian rug | The Persian carpet is an essential part of Persian art and culture. Carpet-weaving is undoubtedly one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to ancient Persia. The Persian carpet was highly sought after in Europe from at least the Middle Ages. | ||
| 46 | Kermanshah Province, Iran | Behistun Inscription | The "Rosetta Stone" of cuneiform, with inscriptions in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian, deciphered in the 19th century. | ||
| 47 | Fars Province, Iran | Persepolis | The ruins of the ancient Persian capital | ||
| 48 | Damascus, Syria | Al-Hamidiyah Souk | A market place in the ancient quarter |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | Jordan | Petra | Ancient capital of the Nabataeans, rediscovered by Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. | ||
| 50 | Madaba, Jordan | Madaba Map | 6th century floor mosaic; the oldest surviving original cartographic depiction of the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem. | ||
| 51 | Jerusalem, Israel | Temple Mount | Also known as Mount Moriah – the holiest site in Judaism; site of the 1st & 2nd temples. Also revered in Islam as the location of Muhammad's journey to Jerusalem and ascent to heaven; location of the al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, oldest extant Islamic structure in the world. | ||
| 52 | Axum, Ethiopia | Axum stelae | One of over a hundred obelisks in the ancient town of Axum, built 1700 years ago. The tallest of the stelae measures 24 metres and weighs over 100 tonnes, making it the oldest erected obelisk in the ancient world. | ||
| 53 | Debre Damo, Ethiopia | The Miracle of Mary | An ancient Ethiopian manuscript describing the numerous miracles of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, in Ethiopia's ancient Ge'ez language. | ||
| 54 | Lalibela, Ethiopia | Lalibela | A complex of eleven rock-cut churches, believed to have been created in the 12th century. Ethiopian tradition states it was built with the help of angels. | ||
| 55 | Lalibela, Ethiopia | Lalibela cross | The Lalibela Cross is a large, elaborately decorated cross, considered one of Ethiopia's most precious religious and historical heirlooms. It is held by the Biete Medhane Alem, the House of the Redeemer of the World, a 12th-century rock-cut church in Lalibela. A priest may rub believers with the cross to bless them or heal them. |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56 | Djenné, Mali | Great Mosque of Djenné | The Great Mosque of Djenné is the largest mud brick or adobe building in the world and is considered by many architects to be the greatest achievement of the Sudano-Sahelian architectural style, albeit with definite Islamic influences. | ||
| 57 | Sanga, Mali | Dogon rock paintings | Some people say they date from the 13th century. Though, they are refreshed on a regular basis because the circumcision ceremony takes placeevery three years. | ||
| 58 | Sanga, Mali | Dogon mask | These masks are use during dance. They are sacred objects, too powerful for ordinary mortals to hold or even to know where they are kept. | ||
| 59 | Tripoli, Libya | Leptis Magna | Leptis Magna, also known as Lectis Magna (or Lepcis Magna as it is sometimes spelled), also called Lpqy or Neapolis, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Al Khums, Libya, 130 km east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea. | ||
| 60 | Gasr Al-Hajj, Libya | Berber granary Gasr Al-Hajj | It's a building created for storage and preservation of food. It's built from local materials like stone, gypsum, plaster. | ||
| 61 | Egypt | Great Pyramid of Giza | The Great Pyramid of Giza (also called the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt, and in a historical irony is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one that survives substantially intact. | ||
| 62 | Cairo, Egypt | Tutankhamun's burial mask | An incredible piece of work. Beautiful in detail and in form. On the front there is the image of the vulture and the cobra. | ||
| 63 | Edfu, Egypt | Edfu temple | The Temple of Edfu is an ancient Egyptian temple located on the west bank of the Nile in the city of Edfu which was known in Greco-Roman times as Apollonopolis Magna, after the chief god Horus-Apollo. It is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. The temple, dedicated to the falcon god Horus, was built in the Ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BCE. | ||
| 64 | Luxor, Egypt | Nefertari's tomb | Nefertari's tomb is closed to the public. Inside it are the most beautiful and best preserved wall paintings ever discovered in Egypt. The images here tell the story of Nefertari's journey after death, to the Underworld and then to rebirth. |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | Cappadocia, Turkey | Derinkuyu Underground City | Derinkuyu Underground City is located in the homonymous Derinkuyu district in Nevşehir Province, Turkey. It is on the road between Nevşehir and Niğde, at a distance of 29 km from Nevşehir. It was opened for visitors as of 1969 and to date, only ten percent of the underground city is accessible for tourists. Its eight floors extend at a depth of approximately 85 m. | ||
| 66 | Istanbul, Turkey | Hagia Sophia | Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and to have "changed the history of architecture." | ||
| 67 | Moscow, Russia | Moscow Metro | The Moscow Metro, which spans almost the entire Russian capital, is the world's second most heavily used metro system. Opened in 1935, it is well known for the ornate design of many of its stations, which contain outstanding examples of socialist realist art. | ||
| 68 | Saint Petersburg, Russia | Cabin of Peter the Great | The cabin of Peter the Great is a small wooden house which was the first St Petersburg "palace" of Tsar Peter the Great. The log cabin was constructed in three days in May 1703, by soldiers of the Semyonovskiy Regiment. | ||
| 69 | Solovki, Russia | Solovetsky Monastery | Solovetsky Monastery was the greatest citadel of Christianity in the Russian North before being turned into a special Soviet prison and labor camp (1926–1939), which served as a prototype for the Gulag system. | ||
| 70 | Wieliczka, Poland | Wieliczka Salt Mine carvings | The Wieliczka Salt Mine, located in the town of Wieliczka in southern Poland, lies within the Kraków metropolitan area. The mine had been in continuous operation, producing table salt since the 13th century until 2007 as one of the world's oldest operating salt mines (the oldest being in Bochnia, Poland, some 20 kilometers away from Wieliczka). | ||
| 71 | Berlin, Germany | Volkswagen Beetle | The Volkswagen Beetle, also known as the Volkswagen Type 1, was an economy car produced by the German auto maker Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. It used an air cooled rear engined rear wheel drive (RR layout). | ||
| 72 | Dessau, Germany | The Brno Chair at the Bauhaus | The Brno chair (model number MR50) is a modernist cantilever chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929–1930 for the bedroom of the Tugendhat House in Brno, Czech Republic. |
| Location | Treasure | Image | Brief description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Stari most | Reconstructed 16th Century bridge in the Bosnian city of Mostar. It was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and was the height of technical achievement when it was built. | ||
| 74 | Athens, Greece | Parthenon | 5th century BC Temple to Athena is the main building on the Acropolis in Athens. Its ruinous state had a huge impact on the Romantic movement. | ||
| 75 | Rome, Italy | Pantheon | Temple to all the Gods in central Rome. Its dome is one of the largest and oldest in the world. | ||
| 76 | Florence, Italy | Medici Chapels | Chapel designed by Michelangelo for the Medici family who were the most powerful Florentine family during the Renaissance | ||
| 77 | Venice, Italy | Grand Canal | The most important canal in Venice, lined by many of the city's most beautiful buildings | ||
| 78 | Madrid, Spain | Guernica | Painting by Pablo Picasso; a reaction to Nationalist troops and their allies bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War | ||
| 79 | Granada, Spain | Alhambra | A palace in the Spanish city of Granada, regarded as one of the finest pieces of Islamic architecture | ||
| 80 | Chartres, France | Cathedral of Chartres | One of the finest Gothic cathedrals, especially noted for its Stained glass |