Historical Tourism

CHAPTER – I INTRODUCTION TO HISTORICAL TOURISM HISTORICAL TOURISM CONCEPT AND MEANING: Historical tourism refers to a kind of tourism, where the tour or tour group focuses on the history; history of some place, people, thing, or events. [1] They go, see, study, discuss and experience places where historical things occurred. The places will be a portrayal of history of that country or the region and tells about the past happenings. Tourists usually visit those places of historical importance to know about the culture, tradition, past happenings etc and get to know about the evolution and development in culture.

This is an attempt to understand, the living environments and life – styles of ordinary people of the past, and present and interpret these in an interesting manner to the tourists. Places of important historical events, such as battlefields or sites where discovers and explorers landed, are also being promoted as tourist attractions. USE OF HISTORY IN TOURISM: History figures prominently in promotional literature. Many destinations have always been promoted through their historicity, like Bangalore as The Garden City, Jaipur as Pink City – City of Palaces, Fatehpur Sikhri – a City of Mughal Splendour etc.

In travel writing, history is a popular theme to write upon and it can be the history of many things – destination, fort, palace, art, craft, people, airline, railways etc. However, a major problem with such write ups is that most of them do not differentiate between history, mythology and legends. FAMOUS HISTORICAL TOURISM DESTINATIONS IN INDIA AND ABROAD: There are places all over the world which are famous for their history. Places like Greece, Rome, India etc have a strong historical background which dates back to centuries.

They receive tourists in large number from all over the world because of their historical connection with rest of the world. Here are some of the historical tourism destinations in India and abroad. HISTORICAL DESTINATIONS IN INDIA: India, a platform of rich culture and tradition amidst a huge range of diversity and equality, is home to some of the excellent manifestations of art and architecture in various forms and shapes. Long and strong stretches of history have resulted in the creation of several artistic illustrations and cultural depictions.

The heritage destinations in India basically calls for a closer look as the following options are some of the greatest landmarks in the world of culture and ethnicity of the country of ancient glory and grandeur. Some of the historical destinations in India are: • Agra Fort. • Ajanta Caves. • Ellora Caves. • Taj Mahal. • Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram. • Sun Temple, Konarak. • Churches and Convents of Goa. • Fatehpur Sikri. • Group of Monuments at Hampi. • Khajuraho Group of Monuments. • Elephanta Caves. • Great Living Chola Temples. • Group of Monuments at Pattadakal. Buddhist Monuments at Sanchi. • Humayun’s Tomb, Delhi. • Qutb Minar and its Monuments, Delhi. • Mahabodhi Temple Complex at Bodh Gaya. • Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka. • Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park. • Red Fort Complex. • Nalanda. • Mahabaleshwar. Some of the world famous historical destinations are: • Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan. • Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens in Australia. • Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg in Austria. • Historic Centre of Vienna in Austria. Ruins of the Buddhist Vihara at Paharpur in Bangladesh. • Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta (Brussels) in Belgium. • Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang in china. • The Great Wall in China. • Historic Centre of Macao in China. • Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom in China. • Historic Centre of Santa Cruz de Mompox in Colombia. • Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur in Egypt. • Fortress of Suomenlinna in Finland. • Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vezere Valley in France. Historic Site of Lyons in France. • Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier in Germany. • Museumsinsel (Museum Island), Berlin in Germany. • Wartburg Castle in Germany • Temple of Apollo Epicurus at Bassae, Greece. • Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessalonica Greece. • Archaeological Site of Olympia Greece. • Monasteries of Daphni, Hosios Loukas and NEA Moni of Chios Greece. • Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua Guatemala. • Bam and its Cultural Landscape in Iran. • Samarra Archaeological City in Iraq. Rock Drawings in Valcamonica in Italy. • Historic Centre of Rome. • Historic Centre of Naples in Italy. • Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area in Japan. • Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls in Jerusalem. • Melaka and George Town, Historic Cities of the Straits of Malacca in Malaysia. • Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha in Nepal. • Archaeological Ruins at Mohenjo-Daro in Pakistan. • Taxila in Pakistan. • Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu in Peru. ———————– [1] Page – 2 , Directory of Museums, Galleries & Memorials in Tamil Nadu by Dr. V. Jeyaraj