Dan Cruickshank's - Around the World in 80 Treasures

Around the World in 80 Treasures
was a BBC Documentary Series originally in 10 episodes on BBC2 between 21st February and 25th April 2005

The title Around the World in 80 Treasures is a reference to Around the World in Eighty Days, the classic adventure novel by Jules Verne.

In his series, Dan Cruickshank takes a five month trip around the world visiting his personal choices of the eighty greatest man-made treasures. This list includes buildings, objects and artifacts. The trip takes Cruickshank across 6 of the 7 continents, missing out Antarctica, and through some 34 countries.

In addition to seeing some of the world's greatest treasures, Cruickshank's means of transportation included aeroplanes, bicycle, boats, camel, car, donkey, foot, hang glider, scooter and trains. He also manages to try many different kinds of food including brain, insects, and testicle.

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 May 19th 2008.

Episode 1: Peru to Brazil - Episode 2: Mexico to Central North America - Episode 3: Australia to Cambodia - Episode 4: Japan to China - Episode 5: India to Sri Lanka - Episode 6: Uzbekistan to Syria - Episode 7: Jordan to Ethiopia - Episode 8: Mali to Egypt - Episode 9: Turkey to Germany - Episode 10: Bosnia to France and Home

1 Andes, Peru - Machu Picchu - 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 3rd to 6th 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 - Moai statues - Moai, large monolithic statues with oversized heads created by the Rapanui people between 1200 and 1700 CE.

7 Cuiabá, Brazil - Umahara headdress - Very colourful headdresses made of human hair and red, yellow and blue parrot feathers.

8 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Christ the Redeemer - A 38 meter tall statue of Christ and the tallest Art Deco statue in the world.

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 and 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.

12 Cortez, Colorado - 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 - Mesa Verde National Park - A small community built under a rock shelf by a mysterious people.

14 Charlottesville, Virginia - Monticello - Home designed and built in the late 18th century by Thomas Jefferson.

15 New York, New York - Statue of Liberty - A 151 feet tall statue given by France to the United States to commemorate the centennial since the American Declaration of Independence.

16 Manhattan, New York - Seagram Building - Dan's quintessence of the skyscraper commercial design.

17 Sydney, Australia - St. James Church

18 Kakadu, Australia - Kakadu rock art

19 Torajaland, Sulawesi, Indonesia - Spirit houses

20 Torajaland, Sulawesi, Indonesia - Tau Tau

21 Java, Indonesia - Borobudur Stupa

22 Ayutthaya, Thailand - Gold Elephant

23 Siem Reap, Cambodia - Angkor Wat

24 Angkor Thom, Cambodia - Stone Faces of Bayon

25 Tokyo, Japan - Katana Samurai sword

26 Himeji, Japan - Himeji Castle

27 Kyoto, Japan - Ryōan-ji - Zen Buddhist Garden

28 Beijing, China - Forbidden City

29 Beijing, China - The Summer Palace Park

30 China - Great Wall of China

31 Xi'an, China - Terracotta Army

32 Shanghai, China - Ming Dynasty porcelain

33 Kolkata, India - Durga

34 Sri Lanka - Sigiriya Rock

35 Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka - Giant Buddha

36 Kandy, Sri Lanka - Buddha's Tooth

37 Kochi, India Spices of Cochin

38 Madurai, India - Meenakshi temple

39 Jaipur, India - Jantar Mantar observatory

40 Agra, India - Taj Mahal

41 Samarkand, Uzbekistan - Tiles of Samarkand

42 Bukhara, Uzbekistan - The trading domes

43 Baku, Azerbaijan - Fire Temple and Monastery at Surkhany

44 Isfahan, Iran - Imam mosque in Naghsh-i Jahan Square

45 Shiraz, Iran - Persian rug

46 Kermanshah Province, Iran - Behistun Inscription

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

49 Jordan - Petra - also visits Mount Nebo

50 Madaba, Jordan - Madaba Map - Holy Land Mosaic Map

51 Jerusalem, Israel - Temple Mount

52 Axum, Ethiopia - Axum stelae One of over a hundred obelisks in the ancient town of Axum, built 1700 years ago, the tallest one 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 The miracles of Mary is an ancient Ethiopian manuscript kept in the church of Debre Damo. It describes the numerous miracles of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, in Ethiopia's ancient Ge'ez language.

54 Lalibela, Ethiopia - Lalibela - The term primarily refers to the complex of eleven rock cut churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia 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

56 Djenné, Mali - Great Mosque of Djenné

57 Sanga, Mali - Dogon rock paintings

58 Sanga, Mali - Dogon mask

59 Tripoli, Libya - Leptis Magna

60 Gasr Al-Hajj, Libya - Berber granary

61 Egypt - Great Pyramid of Giza

62 Cairo, Egypt - Tutankhamen's burial mask

63 Luxor, Egypt - Nefertari's tomb

64 Edfu, Egypt - Edfu temple

65 Cappadocia, Turkey - Derinkuyu underground city

66 Istanbul, Turkey - Hagia Sophia

67 Moscow, Russia - Moscow Metro

68 Saint Petersburg, Russia - Peter the Great's cabin

69 Solovki, Russia - Solovetsky Monastery

70 Wieliczka, Poland - Wieliczka Salt Mine carvings

71 Berlin, Germany - Volkswagen Beetle

72 Dessau, Germany - The Brno Chair at the Bauhaus N/A

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 German 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. It has been a holy site for thousands of years predating Christian worship on the site

The companion book to the series by Cruickshank, Dan - Feb 17, 2005. Around the World in Eighty Treasures. Weidenfeld & Nicolson (hardback). ISBN 978-0297843993.

Cruickshank, Dan (Oct 6, 2005). Around the World in Eighty Treasures. Phoenix Press (paperback). ISBN 978-0753819470.