The Roman Herod's theater at Caesarea is also used for shows and is 2000 years old
The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
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Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#12My Wife surprised me with the Pantheon. We were walking through Rome and she steered me to this rather ugly building (at least on the outside). When we got in I was flabbergasted. It is an astonishing space, surpassed only by Saint Peters in Rome to me anyway. I had studied it as a kid but only in books, and never paid much attention to the outside, so the surprise was magnificent. One of the great experiences of my…
I loved it, but I went there for the ancient Roman aspect and was kind of sad that that has been overlaid with the Roman Catholic stuff.
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#13Another remarkable building that is not quite so old (a mere ~1500 years) is the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia
Too bad Turkey decided to convert it back from a museum to a mosque [1]. Guess I won't be visiting Istanbul, then...
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#14Another remarkable building that is not quite so old (a mere ~1500 years) is the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia
Too bad Turkey decided to convert it back from a museum to a mosque [1]. Guess I won't be visiting Istanbul, then... [1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53366307
I'm sure you can still visit it even though it is a mosque - I've certainly visited many mosques in Turkey and other countries.
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#15I'm not sure it counts as a 'building', but Stone Henge in the UK has been in use for more than 4000 years. It's also well worth a visit if you're at all interested in weird ancient stuff.
It's a little swamped with tourists and tour buses, though. If you want a place less overwhelmed with queues and cameras I suggest Avebury.
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#16Building the Pantheon today would be a demanding feat, imagine building it 2000 years ago and even imagining the dome would hold up when you started the work, much less for 2000 years. Whoever the architect/engineer was, they were unbelievably bold.
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#17The Roman Herod's theater at Caesarea is also used for shows and is 2000 years old
The Roman Theatre in Mérida is also 2000 years old, and it's used regularly every year for a very popular classical theatre festival.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Theatre_(M%C3%A9rida)
Visiting those super old buildings is really fascinating.
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#18I have been in Rome many times but I always pay a visit whenever I go back since it's my favourite monument there (never been a fan of St Peter, too much stuff in there).
The setting is amazing since it's hidden inside the city and the structure itself it's a beautiful and impressive testament to the architectural prowess of the romans. There is truly nothing like it.
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#19The Roman Herod's theater at Caesarea is also used for shows and is 2000 years old
And the Ancient Theatre of Philippi, which is from mid-4th century BC.
Re: The Pantheon: The ancient building still being used after 2,000 years
#20I have been in Rome many times but I always pay a visit whenever I go back since it's my favourite monument there (never been a fan of St Peter, too much stuff in there). The setting is amazing since it's hidden inside the city and the structure itself it's a beautiful and impressive testament to the architectural prowess of the romans. There is truly nothing like it.
Ditto. Walking in to the Pantheon, especially off season when there aren't as many tourists, is like traveling back in time. I can't help but think about all the things that may (or may not) have happened in that space, and my imagination immediately runs wild. Whenever I find myself in Rome I have to go there, it's like a calling almost.
I have much the same feelings when walking around Forum Romanum, my imagination runs wild there also. There's something about seeing those ruins that make my mind just rebuild them and I imagine their former glory so vividly it's almost like I can see it right in front of me.
Rome is a very nice place to visit off season, I very much enjoy it.