Ye Olde - An Historic Step into the Past
Oldest Country
San Marino has been in existence since AD 301. The 61sq km state is land locked by Italy. While other nations have been busy invading themselves, changing names and involved in revolutions, this tiny republic has stood by and watch untroubled. It has no airport or railway station. Shopping is the main attraction for the three million tourists who visit each year. Goods are not taxed at 20% like its next-door neighbour, Italy. Coins and stamps are big earners. However, it has other attractions besides shopping. Three mountain fortresses overlooking the Adriatic coast provide views to incur the envy of far larger nations. Rimini in Italy is the closest airport.
Oldest City
Since about 3000 BC Damascus, the capital of Syria has been continuously lived in. It has been the Middle East focus point since time of beginning and is drenched in Arab Culture as well as history. Highlights include, the National Museum and the Umayyad Mosque. Amid all the ancient buildings, monuments and archaeological sites, Damascus is a modern city with many interesting sights.
Oldest Holiday Destination
Thomas Cook arranged the first packaged holiday in 1841. Some of today’s packaged tours are often given a hard drinking reputation. The tourists on Cook’s 1841 trip were all temperance campaigners travelling from Leicester in the English Midlands to nearby Loughborough for a rally against the perils of alcohol. This 18 km journey can still be accomplished in the same fashion by steam train on the Great Central Railway. Loughborough is a market town; its main claim to fame is the largest bell foundry. The John Taylor foundry has a museum on site (www.taylorbells.co.uk).
Oldest Hotel
Shrouded in ancient mysticism, Hoshi Ryokan (www.ho-shi.co.jp) in the Japanese Village of Awazu about a two-hour train ride from Asaka. The story is told that a Buddhist monk Taicho Daishi was ordered to the area to find a Divine Spring and reveal it to the local inhabitants. He successfully located a thermal spring and to this day the hot baths are a central feature of this world’s oldest hotel. The hotel, itself, has passed through 46 generations of hosts, all from the same family.
Oldest Restaurant
It is recorded that the Casa Botin Restaurant (www.casabotin.com), in Madrid, tucked away in Calle de Cuilleros near the main square of the Spanish capital. The restaurant has been opened since 1725 and in recent times it’s house speciality of roast suckling pig is a draw for both locals and tourists.
Oldest Pub
Judging the world’s oldest pub is a nigh-impossible task. However, Guinness World Records rates Sean’s Bar in Athlone as the most ancient establishment, claiming to date back to AD 900. Athlone is in the centre of Ireland, about a two-hour drive from Dublin airport. Tradition tells us to make sure to have a pinch of salt to place in your pint of stout.
Oldest Museum
Unsurprisingly, just about every ancient museum building containing dusty relics will claim to be the oldest but the most convincing argument comes from the Musei Capitolini (www.museicapitolini.org) in Rome. Its history goes back to 1471, with some bronze statues donated by Pope Sixtus IV. It was opened to the public in 1734 and today it is home of a wealth of artefacts from the Roman Empire, as well as various impressive sculptures.
Oldest Nature
Stromatolites have been on this planet for over 3.5 million years. Surviving examples can be found in Shark Bay Western Australia, which is about a days drive north of Perth. They look like rocks, but the cyanobacteria they contain is arguably responsible for us being on this planet: they turn carbon dioxide into oxygen.
The world oldest caves are in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney Australia. The Jenolan Caves (www.jenolancaves.org.au) are believed to be 340 million years old.
Yellowstone, Wyoming, USA was the first in the world to be designated a national park, given protection status in 1872.
The oldest Botanic Gardens in the world, is a title that is contested between the Italian cities of Pisa and Padua. The World Heritage listed by UNESCO has named the Padua Botanic Gardens as the first of its type being founded in 1545. The Pisa Botanical Gardens were founded in 1544 and initially were in the grounds of its University but has moved the location since.
Oldest Theme Park
Founded in Klampenborg, Denmark in 1583 (www.bakken.dk) has expanded gracefully over the years, not getting anywhere near the standards of Walt Disney Worlds, but still packing in enough thrills and spills on wooden coasters and log flumes to keep children entertained. Klampenborg is 30 minutes by train from Copenhagen.
Oldest Golf Course
Golfers have been “fluffing their putts” on the Musselburgh Links in Scotland for longer than anywhere else in the world. It may not be the most challenging of adversaries, as it is only nine holes long, and a par 34. 
Documentary evidence shows that golf was played on Musselburgh Links in 1672, although Legend has it that Mary Queen of Scots, turned up for a quick round as early as 1567. The metal plate on the “brassie” wooden club was invented here in 1885.Green fees are reasonable should you wish to swing your way through history. Musselburgh is in East Lothian, just a short car ride from Edinburgh.
(www.musselburgholdlinks.co.uk).
I would be interested to know if any of our readers have visited any of these ancient places and taken photographs.