The Magic of Asia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Indonesia

Located in the center of the island of Java, the Borobudur Temple Compounds date back to the 8th or 9th centuries C.E. The Buddhist temple was abandoned sometime before the 16th century and not officially rediscovered until the 19th century and restored in the 20th century. Laid out in a lotus pattern, the complex consists of three monuments which are said to represent the phases of attainment of nirvana.

The main and largest of the monuments is the Borobudur Temple, which consists of multiple platforms containing over 2500 relief panels and 500 Buddha statues. UNESCO recognized the site as an "outstanding example of Indonesia's art and architecture from between the early 8th and late 9th centuries that exerted considerable influence on an architectural revival between the mid-13th and early 16th centuries".

The Borobudur Temple Compounds were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1991.

Answer: Japan

Located in the Seto inland sea which separates the Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu islands, the island of Itsukushima has Shinto shrines that date back to the thirteenth century but earlier shrines were estimated to have been established there as far back as the sixth century.

The World Heritage Site includes the buildings and the natural elements surrounding them "for demonstrating the harmonious building arrangement and the integrated scenic beauty". The buffer area around the shrine extends over the entire island into a section of the sea to prevent future development of the area.

The fifty-foot-tall wooden Torii Gate is located offshore of the island and is accessible during low tides. The site was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1996.

Answer: Lebanon

Located near the Syrian border and about 55 miles/90 kilometers northeast of Beirut, the temple complex at Baalbek is believed to have originally been the site of a Phoenician temple to their Sun god Baal-Hadad. Excavations at the site indicate that construction at the location dates back 5,000 years, but it was around 15 B.C.E. that construction began on the massive Roman Temple of Jupiter. Over the next two centuries, several temples were built which UNESCO listed as "the amalgamation of Phoenician beliefs with the gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon through an amazing stylistic metamorphosis".

The pictured Temple of Bacchus gets its name from the ornate carvings of the wine god, grapes, and vines that are found throughout the structure, but the building is also called the Temple of the Sun.

The City and District of Baalbek was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1984.

Answer: China

In "The Far Side" cartoon, a couple of guards were standing on the wall, scanning the view: "NOW we'll see if that dog can get in here!" In reality, the Great Wall of China was more likely to have been built as a defense against Mongols (or other various marauding nomadic groups) rather than mongrels. Dates of construction vary according to the source, but since we're looking at UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Sites, we'll use their dates of the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 17th century C.E. (although the official UNESCO webpage for the Great Wall also mentions that the wall is "the only work built by human hands on this planet that can be seen from the moon", so maybe it's not the best source for data).

In any case, The Great Wall consists of over 13,000 miles/20,000 kilometers of stone and makes for an impressive site. It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1987.

Answer: Turkey

The name Pamukkale means cotton castle and somewhat describes the appearance of the petrified waterfalls created by the calcium-laden waters that are fed from a spring emerging from a cliff. Located in southwestern Turkey about a three-hour drive from the Aegean coastal resort of Kusadasi, the site is believed to have been populated since the second century B.C.E.

In modern times, hotels were built around the basins and tourists frolicked on the terraces, but the hotels have been removed and the tourists, now banned from the terraces, are instead permitted to experience the hot springs in purpose-built pools. UNESCO recognized the location "as an exceptional example of a Greco-Roman thermal installation established on an extraordinary natural site". Hierapolis-Pamukkale was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1988.

Answer: India

Located in Delhi, the Red Fort was the palace of Shah Jahan's capital Shahjahanabad, and it was built next to the Salimgarh Fort which was constructed in the previous century. Shah Jahan was a Mughal emperor perhaps better known for another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Taj Mahal.

The Red Fort Complex was touted by UNESCO for its "fusion of traditions: Islamic, Persian, Timurid, and Hindu" and for being "a symbol of power [which has witnessed] the change in Indian history to British rule, and was the place where Indian independence was first celebrated".

The Red Fort Complex was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2007.

Answer: Cambodia

Located in the Cambodia's northern province of Siem Reap, Angkor Wat was originally built as a temple to Vishnu in the early 12th century, although it gradually was transformed into a Buddhist temple as the Khmer people adopted Buddhism. Built mainly of sandstone, the temple features carvings of Hindu historical and religious scenes, and unfortunately also bears the scars of warfare.

The full Angkor Archaeological Park includes ruins dating back to the 9th century and covers more than 400 square miles/1,000 square kilometers.

It was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1992.

Answer: Pakistan

Two more sites that are credited to Shah Jahan, the Shalimar (or Shalamar) Gardens and Lahore Fort are located within a few miles/kilometers of each other in the city of Lahore located in the Punjab. The fort occupies a site where previous forts had been built and destroyed multiple times since the 11th century.

The current Lahore Fort has existed since the 1600s and consists of 21 monuments including ornately decorated marble palaces and mosques. The Shalimar Gardens were constructed in the mid-1600s with Mughal and Persian influences and consist of three terraces with waterfalls and large ponds.

The sites were honored by UNESCO as "outstanding examples of Mughal artistic expression at its height, as it evolved during the 16th and 17th centuries".

The Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1981.

Answer: Thailand

Ayutthaya is located about 50 miles/80 kilometers from Bangkok. Founded in the 1300s, the city was razed by the Burmese in 1767 and left to the jungle until the mid-twentieth century. Numerous archaeological sites in the area were consolidated as an historical park in 1976 including Wat Mahathat which was the site of a Buddhist temple built in the 1400s. Legend has it that invading Burmese lopped off the heads of the Buddha statues, and one of the heads landed near a tree which has now absorbed the head into its roots. UNESCO recognized that "the Historic City of Ayutthaya bears excellent witness to the period of development of a true national Thai art" and that "the large palaces and the Buddhist monasteries constructed in the capital, for example at Wat Mahathat and Wat Phra Si Sanphet, are testimony to both the economic vitality and technological prowess of their builders." Only a portion of the Ayutthaya Historical Park was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1991, but UNESCO has indicated that the area could be extended as various criteria are met.

Answer: The Philippines

The Spanish name of the mountains might have helped you identify the country. Located in remote areas on the island of Luzon, the age of the Rice Terraces of the Cordilleras is up for debate although the UNESCO website states that they date back over 2,000 years ago and were created by the Ifugao ethnic group that inhabits the area.

The five clusters of terraces that were included in UNESCO recognition are the Nagacadan, Hungduan, Mayoyao, Bangaan, and the pictured Batad clusters. These clusters were selected not only for their "blending of the physical, socio-cultural, economic, religious, and political environment" of the area, but because they are located at "a higher altitude and built on steeper slopes than many other terraces".

The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1995 and was among the first sites to be included in the cultural landscape category.