There are many alluring aspects to travel, but the chance to experience places much older than American cities falls near the top of the list. We fly to far-flung locations such as Macchu Picchu, the Acropolis, or the Pyramids, to fill our senses with the sands and stones of history. Often these monuments are the best-preserved records of how people lived millennia ago – speaking eloquently of a civilization’s highest aspirations and cultural identity. In recent years, Western culture has evinced a strong bias for “the latest and greatest”– and often an object is seen as outdated and irrelevant after a very short time. This attitude has also prevailed in art and architecture since the 20th century, when many emphasized a break with traditional forms and meaning. In contrast,…