Zanarkand Ruins

The Zanarkand Ruins (ザナルカンド遺跡, Zanarukando Iseki?) are the desiccated remains of the once great city, Zanarkand. A war between Bevelle and Zanarkand 1,000 years before Final Fantasy X contributed to the latter's downfall. Once active and full of life, it was left dark, home only to dust and fiends. It was here that the unsent summoner Yunalesca awaited the arrival of the strongest of the summoners, so that she might bestow upon them the Final Summoning to defeat Sin. During the Eternal Calm, Rikku's father (Yuna's uncle) Cid established Zanarkand as a tourist attraction, and people from all over Spira sought to visit it, despite its previous status as a holy place. The place was later closed when the Gullwings mated the local monkeys, causing an infestation of monkeys which drove tourists away. Derived from Samarkand.