Explore remarkable coastal ruins around the globe that showcase history and culture beyond the beach.
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For centuries, conquering armies, explorers, and travelers have braved oceans to discover new lands. Islands and peninsulas have offered solitude and strategic positions to monks, merchants, and imprisoners, resulting in an intriguing assortment of wind-swept structures along the world’s coastlines.
Do you believe seaside vacations lack historical richness and cultural depth? These coastal remnants—enigmatic, ancient, and rugged—challenge that misconception significantly.
Essaouira, Morocco
Essaouira has consistently captivated artists, filmmakers, and travelers, tracing the routes of camel caravans that once transported gold and salt from Timbuktu. Orson Welles’ Othello (1951) prominently featured the UNESCO-listed walled medina, as did Game of Thrones.
Although the local narrative suggests that the fort’s subsidence inspired Jimi Hendrix’s Castles Made of Sand, it remains a charming intersection of Moroccan and European architecture, highlighted by its whitewashed medina and dramatic coastal fortifications.
Skellig Michael, Ireland
Access to Skellig Michael, the larger of the two Skellig Islands, necessitates a boat journey from Portmagee in County Kerry between April and October. The journey allows for viewing wild birds soaring above Little Skellig, which hosts the world’s second-largest gannet colony. Upon landing, visitors can ascend the steep staircase leading to Skellig Michael’s stone beehive cells, constructed by monks who inhabited the island from the 6th to the 12th centuries AD.
A palpable aura of the extreme dedication exhibited by ancient clerics remains present within the island’s historic landscape, likened to the remote and wind-swept structures of Normandy’s Mont St Michel and Cornwall’s St Michael’s Mount. This site garnered additional fame by appearing as Luke Skywalker’s Jedi temple in recent installments of the Star Wars franchise. Eco tours complement expeditions to the island, alongside a visit to the Skellig Experience on the gentler terrain of Valentia Island.
Kaleköy, Turkey
This Mediterranean fishing koy (village), reachable only by boat or along the Lycian Way footpath, gets its name from the crusader kale (castle) that overlooks its dilapidated cottages, which house the smallest theatre of the ancient world.
However, to encounter a Turkish Atlantis, venture to the harbor, where two Lycian house tombs rise dramatically from the stunning azure shallows. These remnants of ancient Simena, the batık şehir (sunken city), submerged by notable earthquakes in the 2nd century AD, can be appreciated further by taking a boat or kayak to observe building foundations, staircases, and shattered amphorae submerged in the crystalline waters alongside Kekova island. Tour options are available from Kaş.
Acropolis of Lindos, Greece
This historical site represents one of two prominent classical acropolises—fortified upper cities—traceable back over 2000 years on Rhodes, the largest island among the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean. Ascend the steep path to the elevated site, overlooking Lindos’ cubic houses and azure bay, evocative of a medieval fortress due to battlements erected by the Knights of St John, who captured the island from the Byzantine Empire in the 14th century.
Key ruins include the Temple to Athena Lindia (the ‘Athena of Lindos’), reflecting its followers’ distinct method of worship, and a Hellenistic stoa showcasing 20 immaculate white columns. From this vantage point, visitors can enjoy stirring views of the maritime landscapes that lured adventurers such as Odysseus and Alexander the Great.
Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland
Positioned at the convergence of three sea lochs, Eilean Donan has appeared in various films, including Highlander (1986) and the Pierce Brosnan-led Bond film, The World Is Not Enough (1999). The site endured a 3-day siege by English frigates before being demolished by an explosion set off by 343 barrels of gunpowder due to the presence of Spanish troops supporting the Jacobite uprising of 1719.
Fortunately, the resilient structure was not entirely obliterated and underwent restoration in the early 20th century. Visitors can cross the stone-arched bridge to explore this dramatic castle, recently designated as Scotland’s ‘Best Heritage Tourism Experience’, and view artifacts, including a sword that saw combat during the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
Port Arthur, Australia
At the southern end of the peninsulas and islands clustered southeast of Hobart, Port Arthur—an abandoned 19th-century penitentiary—sits at the last sheltered bay before surmounting the Tasman Sea towards New Zealand’s distant South Island. This facility housed hardened criminals who reoffended upon arriving in Australia, imprisoned within thick Victorian walls accessible from mainland Tasmania via Eaglehawk Neck, a narrow strip of land monitored by guard dogs and sharks lurking in the surrounding waters.
During its zenith in the 1840s, over 3500 convicts labored in logging and shipbuilding operations. Visitors can learn about their narratives through lantern-lit ghost tours that explore the somber premises. More than 1000 individuals perished here during Port Arthur’s half-century operation, enriching the guides with numerous accounts of unexplained occurrences and eerie events that have astonished everyone from colonial soldiers to modern-day visitors.
Ostia Antica, Italy
Ostia (‘mouth’) originally served as the harbor for Ancient Rome, strategically located at the mouth of the Tiber River. Established circa the 4th century BC, it withstood destruction from pirates and civil strife to evolve into a significant port hosting a population of 100,000, before succumbing further to decay with the decline of the Roman Empire.
Due to river silting, the site now lies on the Tiber’s final alluvial bend prior to merging with the Tyrrhenian Sea, a circumstance that preserved many ruins by submerging them in sediment. Substantial excavations occurred under Mussolini, designated for a world fair that ultimately did not come to fruition. The expansive site now provides an excellent option for a day trip from Rome, featuring highlights such as the Terme di Nettuno (Baths of Neptune) and the amphitheater. Notable features include the mosaics displayed in the Piazzale delle Corporazioni, which represented Ostia’s merchant guilds, alongside the fresco menu in the thermopolium (café).
Tulum, Mexico
This fortified Mayan port city overlooking the Caribbean reached its zenith of prosperity just as the Spanish conquistadors sailed past in 1518, recording their observations of its multicolored buildings and ceremonial fires. Thanks to its substantial, 3m to 5m-high walls, Tulum (a name meaning ‘wall’ in Yucatán Mayan) managed to resist Spanish colonization for nearly a century and has retained its allure among pilgrims and travelers.
Iguanas scuttle across the weathered stones of various ruined temples and structures, with the most impressive being El Castillo (the Castle), featuring a grand staircase and plumed serpent carvings. Additionally, the two-story Templo de las Pinturas showcases columns, relief carvings, and vibrant murals, alongside the Templo del Dios del Viento (Temple of the Wind God).
Chersonesus, Crimea
Often referred to as the ‘Ukrainian Pompeii’, Chersonesus (meaning ‘peninsula’) was an ancient Greek colony founded approximately 2500 years ago on the Crimean Peninsula. It boasts Roman, Byzantine, and Greek ruins, including a basilica featured on Ukrainian currency—all distinctly underscored by the presence of a Russian Orthodox cathedral looming above.
In light of Russia’s internationally criticized annexation of this section of Ukrainian territory in 2014, visiting this disputed peninsula presents various logistical challenges and ethical dilemmas. Nevertheless, opportunities to explore this ancient locale on the Black Sea remain, offering insights into the way people lived two millennia ago.
