Overview

Imagine walking among and learning about 130 ancient cities in 25 countries across the world: from the Mediterranean to the Middle East, from Asia to the Americas. Some are world heritage sites, accessible to tens of thousands of visitors each year, and some are remote and seldom seen. But each ancient city from the distant past conveys a special place in the history of human civilization, and each presents its own story and sense of place. In Unforgotten: Ancient Cities from a Distant Past, William Frej presents 200 duotone photographs of these ancient cities that are simply unforgettable, capturing as they do their allure, their beauty, their spirit and resonating sense of space. Anne Frej, in her elegant introduction, sets the table for the personal journey that awaits every reader—a journey into deep history and magical architecture and geographical splendor that speaks to us today. And Michael E. Smith, a noted scholar and author, writes about the lessons to be learned from these ancient cities, including his insights into the various urban traditions behind the building of the cities and why their histories remain poignant. As readers explore the ruins and remnants of these amazing ancient cities, a sense of awe and wonder is ever-present. Yet so is the knowledge that human civilization and life on Earth, no matter how grand, is tenuous and fragile. Even as these places reached their apogee and influence in the distant past, there are reasons why these places were abandoned and replaced. So let your curiosity wander as you turn each page, for you will see in words and pictures why they should not be forgotten.

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9781960521088

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Author Information

William Frej has an academic background and professional experience in architecture and city planning with degrees from the University of Arizona and U.C. Berkeley. In the mid-1980s he and his wife traveled extensively in the mountain regions of Nepal, Pakistan and northern India. He then served as a career diplomat with the US Agency for International Development (USAID), living and working in Indonesia, Poland, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan. His photographic work is represented in numerous public and private collections throughout the world and has been featured in a number of exhibitions at galleries and museums. Frej is the author of four multi-award-winning books: Maya Ruins Revisited: In the Footsteps of Teobert Maler (Peyton Wright/University of Oklahoma Press, 2020); Seasons of Ceremonies: Rites and Rituals in Guatemala and Mexico (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2021); Travels Across the Roof of the World: A Himalayan Memoir (George F. Thompson Publishing, 2022); and Blurred Boundaries: Perspectives on Rock Art of the Greater Southwest (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2023). The Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Competition awarded a Silver Medal to Travels Across the Roof of the World in 2023. Anne Frej is an urban planner and real estate consultant who focused on historic preservation, downtown revitalization plans, and market feasibility studies for commercial real estate developments in the U.S., Indonesia, Central Europe and Central Asia. At the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Washington, DC she was the project director and primary contributor to books published by ULI including Green Office Buildings: A Practical Guide to Development (2005). She was co-author of Travels Across the Roof of the World: A Himalayan Memoir and a contributor to Maya Ruins Revisited: In the Footsteps of Teobert Maler and Seasons of Ceremonies: Rites and Rituals in Guatemala and Mexico. Dr. Michael E. Smith is Professor of Archaeology in the School of Human Evolution & Social Change at Arizona State University (ASU) and affiliated faculty at ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. He has two major research themes: (1) Archaeological research: Smith is currently Director of the ASU Teotihuacan Research Laboratory in Mexico. He has excavated at numerous Aztec provincial sites in Mexico, addressing provincial life, economics, inequality, and urbanism. (2 ) Comparative urbanism: Smith participates in several innovative transdisciplinary research projects on topics of comparative urbanism, neighborhoods, and urban sustainability. Smith is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has published eleven books and more than 100 articles on his research. His book, At Home With the Aztecs: An Archaeologist Uncovers Their Daily Life (Routledge, 2016), won the Best Popular Book award from the Society for American Archaeology. His most recent book is Urban Life in the Distant Past: The Prehistory of Energized Crowding (Cambridge University Press, 2023).

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