The Pyramids, Egypt
The Great Pyramids, near Cairo, are world-renowned icons that have been featured in numerous Hollywood movies. These massive tombs are the resting places of the mummified remains of Egypt’s dead pharaohs. Leaders throughout history are believed to receive prayers, food and other offerings in the afterlife at these sacred resting places. The Pharaoh Khufu (or Pharaoh Cheops) and the great Sphinx, the half-human half-lion monument, are the most recognizable tombs.
Accompong Maroon Village, Jamaica
Accompong is the mountaintop historic home of the Leeward Maroons. The Jamaican Maroons were runaway enslaved people who fought the British during the 18th century. When the British invaded Jamaica in 1655, the Spanish colonists fled, leaving a large number of Africans they had enslaved. However, they refused to be enslaved by the British. So they escaped into the hilly, mountainous regions of the island, joining those who had previously escaped from the Spanish to live with the Taínos. The Maroons were highly influential in the fight to obtain freedom from colonial enslavement. Every Jan. 6 (Maroon leader Cudjoe’s birthday) at Accompong, descendants and friends of the Maroons come together at a festival in celebration of the treaty signed between the Maroons and the British.
