Oaxaca and Monte Alban - The White Mountain, Mexico (158/418)

Inhabited over a period of 1500 years by a succession of peoples - Olmecs, Zapotecs and Mixtecs - the terraces, dams, canals, pyramids and artificial mounds of Monte Alban were literally carved out of the mountain and are the symbols of a sacred topography. Nearby, the checkerboard design of Oaxaca is a good example of the Spanish colonial architecture.