Unforgotten
Ancient Cities from a Distant Past
Published on 15. June 2025
Book
Hardback
240 pages
978-1-960521-08-8 (ISBN)
Description
A journey through 130 ancient cities across 25 countries, exploring their history, beauty, and cultural significance.
Gold Medal in Fine Art--2025 Tokyo International Foto Awards
Bronze Medal--2025 Prix de la Photographie (PX3)
Honorable Mention in Fine Art--2025 International Photography Awards (IPA)
Winner for Scholarly/Technical & Finalist in Photography --2025 Southwest Book Design and Production Awards
Winner for Anthropology/Archaeology, Finalist in Arts, Finalist in Travel & Finalist in Coffee Table Book--2025 New Mexico Book Awards
Finalist, 2025 Foreword INDIES Best Coffee Table Book
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.
Gold Medal in Fine Art--2025 Tokyo International Foto Awards
Bronze Medal--2025 Prix de la Photographie (PX3)
Honorable Mention in Fine Art--2025 International Photography Awards (IPA)
Winner for Scholarly/Technical & Finalist in Photography --2025 Southwest Book Design and Production Awards
Winner for Anthropology/Archaeology, Finalist in Arts, Finalist in Travel & Finalist in Coffee Table Book--2025 New Mexico Book Awards
Finalist, 2025 Foreword INDIES Best Coffee Table Book
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.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Illustrations
200 duotone photographs by the author
Dimensions
Height: 317 mm
Width: 262 mm
Thickness: 36 mm
Weight
1974 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-960521-08-8 (9781960521088)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
William Frej has been photographing Indigenous people for more than forty years while living in Indonesia, Poland, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan as a career diplomat with the United States Agency for International Development and traveling in other remote, mountainous regions of Asia. His book of black-and-white photographs, Maya Ruins Revisited: In the Footsteps of Teobert Maler (2020), has won fourteen awards. His second book, Seasons of Ceremonies: Rites and Rituals in Guatemala and Mexico (2021), has won eight awards including four "photography book of the year" awards. Travels Across the Roof of the World: A Himalayan Memoir (2022) features color photographs by William Frej and text by Anne Frej.