Not all tourists show respect for the world’s cultural and natural wonders (Picture: Viral Press/Weibo/Facebook)
There’s a fascinating array of manmade structures and natural wonders across the world – some thousands of years old – that offer us a unique glimpse into the past.
Although the majority of tourists will respect these sites, leaving them as they found them, there are sadly a fair few who don’t.
This week a fitness instructor from Bristol called Ivan Dimitrov, who goes by the name Ivan Hawkins, was caught on camera carving the words ‘Ivan and Hayley 23’ into Rome’s 2,000-year-old Colosseum.
Here, we take a look at a number of other incidents where tourists have decided to deface some of the world’s most incredible cultural landmarks and natural wonders.
Moai figure, Easter Island
A Finnish tourist snapped off an ear lobe of a maoi figure on Easter Island (Picture: Andia/ Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
In 2008, a Finnish 26-year-old tourist snapped an earlobe off an ancient moai on Chile’s Easter Island (Rapa Nui). The lobe broke into a dozen pieces as a result.
Authorities accused Marko Kulju of wanting a souvenir of the statues, which are centuries old and carved out of volcanic rock, the Independent reported.
The man’s actions caused uproar on the island, and the then mayor said he thought the Finn should get his ear clipped off too. Speaking on radio he reportedly said: ‘If an ear is cut off, then an ear gets cut’.
Mr Kulju apologised, but it’s reported he was kept under house arrest at his hotel for 13 days and fined.
The Goblins of Utah, US
Glen Taylor, pictured in the blue top, pushed over an ancient rock formation in Utah (Picture: Facebook)
Two US boy scout leaders were removed from their positions after toppling one of the ancient rock formations known as the Goblins of Utah.
Dave Hall filmed Glenn Taylor pushing over the 170 million-year-old sandstone boulder in Goblin Valley State Park in 2013.
The men said the rock was loose and they feared it could fall on a passer-by, the BBC reported.
Their actions led to an international outcry and the pair said they received death threats.
Luxor Temple, Egypt
The Chinese teenager’s graffiti at Luxor Temple (Picture: Weibo)
Luxor Temple in Egypt (Credits: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
A Chinese teenager carved ‘Ding Jihao was here’ over a 3,500 stone relief at Luxor Temple in Egypt in 2019.
Another Chinese tourist spotted the vandalism, took a photo and posted it on Chinese social media platform Weibo.
The boy was found and shamed online, prompting his parents to issue an apology to Egyptian authorities, NPR reported
Tikal Temple II, Guatemala
A pair of tourists were caught carving their initials on the Temple II in Guatemala (Picture: De Agostini via Getty Images)
A pair of tourists visiting the 1,300-year-old Tikal Temple II pyramid in the ancient Guatemalan city of Tikal in 2019 were caught on camera carving their initials onto the wall of the sacred structure.
The vandals, who etched ‘A + T’ into the wall, were spotted by local guide Vinicio Alba Ruiz, who wrote on Facebook: ‘When I asked what they were doing they got upset and seemed offended. If you come to this site you have to respect the rules.’
The Guatemalan Tourism Industry demanded the Public Ministry of Culture and Sport, which manages the world heritage monument, hold the tourists accountable for the damage. It’s not clear what action, if any, was taken.
Various national parks, US
One of Casey Nocket’s national park paintings (Picture: creepytings)
A graffiti artist was banned from all US national parks for drawing faces in acrylic paint in at least six national parks: Death Valley, Colorado National Monument, Canyonlands, Zion and Crater Lake.
Casey Nocket was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and fined for the vandalism, after Reddit users tracked her down on social media.
Under each picture, she left her tag ‘Creepytings’, which was also the name of her Instagram account and Tumblr blog, The Guardian reported.
The Pae Gate, Thailand
The graffiti left by Lee Furlong and Brittney Schneider on a 13th century wall in Thailand (Picture: Viral Press)
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Two tourists were arrested after spray-painting ‘Scouser Lee’ and the letter ‘B’ on the wall of the 13th century Tah Pae Gate in Chang Mai, Thailand.
Brit Lee Furlong, and Canadian Brittney Schneider, both 23 at the time, were caught on security cameras, reported the BBC.
Mr Furlong, from Liverpool, said he was ‘a little bit drunk’ at the time.
A judge warned them they could spend 10 years in jail but they were eventually fined 200,000 Thai baht (£4,700) each and allowed to go home.
The Great Wall, China
Three tourists were caught writing their names on the wall in 2021 (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
In 2021, three tourists caught scrawling their names on the Great Wall in China were detained and fined by authorities
The two men and one woman were found to have defaced a section within the Badaling zone, which is the most popular part of the wall, the Mail Online reported.
It’s not known how much they were fined, but under China’s law for protecting cultural relics the penalty for carving or scrawling on a historic building is less than 200 yuan (£22).
Offenders causing serious damage can be detained for up to 10 days and fined 500 yuan.
Rome Colosseum, Italy
A number of people have been caught defacing Rome’s Colosseum over the years (Picture: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Ivan Dimitrov caught on camera defacing Rome’s Collosseum with his girlfriend beside him(Picure: YouTube/@rytz5873)
Sadly Ivan, pictured above with his girlfriend, isn’t the first person to deface Rome’s Collosseum – it’s happened a number of times before.
In 2020, an Irish man was caught carving his initials in a pillar on the first floor of the 2,000-year-old Roman amphitheatre, CNN reported.
And in 2014, a Russian tourist was fined 20,000 euros (around £17,000) for carving a large ‘K’ on the wall of the Colosseum.
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Not everyone leaves these incredible places how they found them.
