Every time I travel through California I'm reminded of how young the cities in my state are compared to cities like Boston and NYC, let alone when compared to ancient cities like Athens, Greece.
But even though cities like Los Angeles and San Diego are only a couple of hundred years old there's a city about 2000 miles south of California that has been around for over 2500 years- Cholula, Mexico.
Cholula was home to the Olmecs, Toltecs and Aztecs, and when the town was conquered by Hernán Cortés and his Conquistadors he called it "the most beautiful city outside Spain".
The small colonial town of 60,000 is best known for Tlachihualtepetl, the Great Pyramid of Cholula, which is the largest pyramid in the world and the largest archaeological pyramid site in the New World.
Cholula has definitely seen some epic battles in its day, but those battles cannot compare to the wars fought in and around Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Plovdiv dates back to at least 4000 BCE, and as one of the oldest cities in Europe it has seen its fair share of invaders, conflict and resurrection, traces of which can be seen in the city's 39-foot thick cultural layers.
The Romans, Greeks, Persians, Celts, Goths, Huns, Slavs, Turks and Ottomans have all invaded and/or conquered Plovdiv throughout its storied history, each one contributing to the city's history like a patch on a quilt.