12 of the oldest cities on Earth that still exist

The ancient city-kingdom of Kition was established here in the 13th century BC. Around 1000 BC, it became the center of Phoenician culture. Church of Saint Lazarus, which is in the picture, was built in the 9th century.

Jericho is a Palestinian city located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. The famous protective wall of the city was build 8,000 years ago, and the earliest evidence of settlement here dates back to 10,000 BC.

In 1400 BC, Athens was the center of the Mycenaean civilization. It has been continuously populated for at least 5,000 years. As for the oldest known human presence in this area, it dates back to between the 11th and 7th millennia BC.

The first evidence of habitation in the territory of the modern culture capital of Bulgaria dates back to the 6th millennium BC. The city was conquered by Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century BC and was known by the name Philippopolis during most of its recorded history. Plovdiv Roman theatre, constructed in the 90s of the 1st century AD, is one of the world's best-preserved ancient theaters.

This ancient city is located between the Dead and the Mediterranean Sea. According to the researchers, first people started inhabiting this area around 2,800 BC. Jerusalem has been attacked many times and has been completely rebuilt twice.

This city located 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of Cairo was first inhabited in around 7,000 BC. Today, around 350,000 people live there.

This geographical location has been continuously populated for approximately 7,000 years.

As long as 4,000 years ago Luoyang was the capital of the Xia dynasty, the first dynasty in Chinese history. First Buddhist temple in China was founded here at the beginning of the 1st century AD. Today, more than 6 millions people live in this industrial city.

The territory of this city located in Newfoundland and Labrador province was first settled as long as 9,000 years ago. The Maritime Archaic peoples lived there from 7000 BC to 1500 BC. Later they were displaced by people of the Dorset culture and the Beothuks. Today, more than 400,000 live in St. Johns.

Damascus was first settled in the 2nd millennium BC and has been continuously populated since then. The evidence of the very first settlement in this area dates back to 9000 BC. Today, Damascus is the capital of Syria with the population of approximately 1,100,000 people.

Varanasi is also known as "the city of temples" and the religious capital of India. It's home to more than 1,000 beautiful temples. Varanasi was founded between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago by Lord Shiva. Many famous artists, musicians, writers and poet found inspiration in this city.

The modern capital of Lebanon is more than 5,000 years old. Unfortunately, most of its historical sites were destroyed in a 551 AD earthquake.