SINGAPORE - Above ground, or six feet under, "Lonely Planet’s
Best in Travel 2009" guide lists the world’s top 10 cemeteries, which are prime
spots for both the living and the dead.
1. Taj Mahal, India
The Taj Mahal in Agra is surely the world’s most beautiful
place in which to push up daisies. The 17th century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan
built the mausoleum in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, using white
marble from Rajathan, crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet and sapphire from
Sri Lanka.
2. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
These pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo may date back to
around 3,200 B.C. but they’re as space age as tombs get.
3. Dogon Tombs, Mali
A craggy mass rears up from the sun-bleached plan, one of
West Africa’s most stunning sights. The tombs are tiny buildings set into
cliffs, often halfway up, with no discernible method of approach.
4. The Non-Catholic Cemetery, Italy
This overgrown garden is a surprise in a busy corner of Rome.
Romantic poets Keats, who died at the unripe age of 26, and Shelley are burried
here.
5. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, United States
These immaculate lawns and stately memorials are the final
picture for much of Hollywood royalty. Buried here Rudolph Valentino, Douglas
Fairbanks and Mel Blancs, the voice of Bugs Bunny whose tombstone reads: "That’s
all folks".
6. The Catacombs of Rome, Italy
This underground death complex is Rome’s most haunting sight
- now empty of bodies but retaining early Christian frescoes, altars and icons.
7. Pere Lachaise Cemetery, France
The world’s most visited cemetery has a star-studded
afterlife gathering, with residents as diverse as Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust,
Oscar Wilde, Honore de Balzac and Isadora Duncan. It was founded in 1804, but
languished until the management had the bright marketing plan of moving here the
remains of famous people, such as Moliere, to attract business.
8. Tomb of Pacal, Mexico
In the foothills of the Chiapas mountains, lie the remains of
the ancient Mayan city of Palenque, The city’s most famous monument is the Tomb
of Pacal (Pacal was the city’s 7th century founder-king), which is located
within the glorious Temple of Inscriptions, a steep, stepped pyramid.
9. Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, United States
In 1896, Dr. Samuel Johnson, a vet, offered his apple orchard
to a bereaved friend as the burial place for his dog. Today, Hartsdale, in New
York, has 70,000 graves, including those of some famous war dogs,
10. The City of the Dead, Egypt
This is the most curious cemetery in the world: not only a city of the dead,
but of the living. Chronic housing shortages in Cairo have driven families to
live in tombs in the large cemeteries on the city’s outskirts.– Reuters
