tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45472165812253938032024-02-20T07:32:16.348-08:007 WONDERSINDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-60451656988703367912011-06-25T15:38:00.000-07:002011-06-25T15:38:33.880-07:00Amazing Buildings of the World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1EsejE8KEDH5uzATef5R55bgGDjyiASXKlDiTw782JlUTjGRe6Qo4gjb8CxBbCL3bd7mLCMowutSjQhWaGjSwPF3PQG-uNKiMs_qlPCJeSwU9qKALnY15oTICkVxzKfc_f9UtWXCq9I/s1600/31-gangsterhouse-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv1EsejE8KEDH5uzATef5R55bgGDjyiASXKlDiTw782JlUTjGRe6Qo4gjb8CxBbCL3bd7mLCMowutSjQhWaGjSwPF3PQG-uNKiMs_qlPCJeSwU9qKALnY15oTICkVxzKfc_f9UtWXCq9I/s320/31-gangsterhouse-thumb.jpg" width="220" /></a></div><br />
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</div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-60393322237812012132011-06-25T15:37:00.000-07:002011-06-25T15:37:12.674-07:00Amazing Buildings of the World<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IVS25Vq6b4vfhc22DSc9tShKJdQd9PQcYUjd2JBEF37sxLwn1v5PMAeB1GeBbo_SSVZ03Pdaktg48YDblHZWqFg33ODWqsjrzXVMOmbxukRkz8AQ82WfPl2GNLbXF1xYW2wBXzdiPnk/s1600/16-nakagincapsuletower-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7IVS25Vq6b4vfhc22DSc9tShKJdQd9PQcYUjd2JBEF37sxLwn1v5PMAeB1GeBbo_SSVZ03Pdaktg48YDblHZWqFg33ODWqsjrzXVMOmbxukRkz8AQ82WfPl2GNLbXF1xYW2wBXzdiPnk/s320/16-nakagincapsuletower-thumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-3148538844657247842011-06-25T15:35:00.000-07:002011-06-25T15:35:16.657-07:00amazing buildings in world<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBuQ4sPapwzyEas_L2TlYZPK6Ar7Vhx5shXTel23jGFtVyex2AaR-fa8tfijF2wLAkq3qrWD5U4kxjSm0bl_44oJ_2TeDXpLIsXnatfCENE5RTqKx8SSdk2W9Bx7Mrdu2SVlxt5Wz-Gc/s1600/01-thecrookedhouse-thumb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpBuQ4sPapwzyEas_L2TlYZPK6Ar7Vhx5shXTel23jGFtVyex2AaR-fa8tfijF2wLAkq3qrWD5U4kxjSm0bl_44oJ_2TeDXpLIsXnatfCENE5RTqKx8SSdk2W9Bx7Mrdu2SVlxt5Wz-Gc/s320/01-thecrookedhouse-thumb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-56722841906468025172010-11-22T10:26:00.000-08:002010-11-22T10:26:27.619-08:00Charminar: Cultural HubCharminar is always on the top of the mind of any tourist visiting Hyderabad.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5oVtEBiRhUywD6DmsFnzJsEmmASkWc1XfMnlnFfxxnnCyseR0spgr8X7IBJEnLILIOrMoY07O4qRUZ7qXzIQESUbtrM2G4ienfu8R2PyEENotHRvKk8bG2gc3h53RwBJiyKVFhwthZI/s1600/2327HyderabadCharminar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV5oVtEBiRhUywD6DmsFnzJsEmmASkWc1XfMnlnFfxxnnCyseR0spgr8X7IBJEnLILIOrMoY07O4qRUZ7qXzIQESUbtrM2G4ienfu8R2PyEENotHRvKk8bG2gc3h53RwBJiyKVFhwthZI/s320/2327HyderabadCharminar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>To say that Charminar is a major landmark in the city is to state the obvious, to repeat a cliché. The great monument is a synonym for Hyderabad and the pivot around which the glory and history of the city have developed. To imagine this 400-year-old city without Charminar is to imagine New York without the Statue of Liberty or Moscow without the Kremlin. Built by Mohammed Quli Qutub Shah in 1591, shortly after he had shifted his capital from Golkonda to what now is known as Hyderabad, this beautiful colossus in granite, lime, mortar and, some say, pulverised marble, was at one time the heart of the city. This great tribute to aesthetics looks sturdy and solid from a distance but as one moves closer, it emerges as an elegant and romantic edifice proclaiming its architectural eminence in all its detail and dignity. Apart from being the core of the city’s cultural milieu, it has become a brand name. <br />
<img align="left" alt="Charminar" border="0" height="199" hspace="5" src="http://7wondersofhyderabad.com/charminar/charminar-2.jpg" vspace="5" width="150" />Charminar is a squarish structure with four towers in the four corners of the square, each of whose sides is 20 metres in length. Every side opens into a plaza through giant arches, which overlook four major thoroughfares and dwarf other features of the building except the minarets. Each arch is 11 metres wide and rises 20 metres to the pinnacle from the plinth. The minarets soar skywards by 24 metres from the roof of Charminar. Each minaret has four storeys, each looking like a delicately carved ring around the minaret. Some Anglophiles call Charminar the Arc de Triomphe of the East. From the ground to the apex, the minarets cover a length of 48.7 metres. <br />
According to Mir Moazzam Husain, a long time official of the UNESCO and a keen student of this historic city, “these minarets may even symbolise the first four khalifs of Islam, but I cannot vouch for this interpretation with any degree of certainty.” At the western end of the roof of Charminar is a beautiful mosque; the oldest in Hyderabad, and the rest of the roof was used as a court in Qutub Shahi times. Atop the great monument are 45 prayer spaces for the devout where they can offer worship in an atmosphere unspoilt by the bustle of the city. East of this space is a spacious verandah with small and large arches in the middle. The first floor has beautiful balconies from where one has a fantastic view of the historic city and its later accretions.<br />
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These are technical details, of interest only to scholars and scribes. For the tourist, Charminar disgorges unlimited architectural wealth exuding from every pore of its masonry surface. The minarets taper off with a bulbous dome, embellished by petal-like motifs, and crowned by a brass spire. Though Charminar has a number of features answering to Hindu architectural usage, the minarets themselves are exclusively an Islamic architectural tradition. Unlike Taj Mahal, the fluted minarets of Charminar are built into the main structure. Inside the four-storeyed minarets are spiral stairways of 149 steps leading you to the top, the highest point one can reach, and providing a panoramic view of the sprawling and amorphous city. Each minaret has four arcaded balconies helping the tourist to imbibe the beauty of the city at various levels.<br />
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The essence of Islamic architecture rests in the deployment of arches, minarets and domes in a harmonic whole. This is very much true of Charminar, where apart from the main arches on the four sides; above each arch are horizontal arrays of arches. Not only the four balconies of each minaret have arches but also between the fourth balcony and the crowning dome, you can see arches playing merry-go-round. Even as the arches and minarets of Charminar reflect the influence of Islamic architectural schools, the structure as a whole embodies elements of South Indian temple architecture. Again, flanking each arch are four arched and trellised windows one above the other. The four main arches have thus 32 such windows. <br />
<img align="left" alt="Charminar" border="0" height="188" hspace="5" src="http://7wondersofhyderabad.com/charminar/charminar-4.jpg" vspace="5" width="250" />But Charminar actually is a galaxy of prominent landmarks in the city’s history. Its neighbourhood is as interesting a site of cultural heritage as Charminar itself. Around this architectural axis are colourful bazaars, bringing to mind the bazaars of ancient Baghdad and Istanbul, selling pearls, bangles, traditional Muslim gear and Mughlai delicacies. Architecturally significant are the Mecca masjid, Jamay masjid, Char Kamaan, and Miya Mishk mosque. The Nizams too had built a complex of palaces close to Charminar and beyond Lad Bazaar. Among them, more well-known are the Chow Mohalla palace (1750), Khilwat Mahal, the Malwala Palace (1845), the Salarjungs’ Dewan Devdi and Purani Haveli (1803). <br />
The Chow Mahalla palace was built by the first Nizam, Salabat Jah, in 1750 and is presumed to be a more refined version of the Shah of Iran’s palace in Teheran. This is now a heritage building, flood-lit in the night. “The main quadrangle (of the palace) has a beautiful garden surrounding a large marble cistern, the fountains and the splashing waters of which in moonlit nights have been compared by a visitor with one of the enchanting gardens described in the Arabian nights. To the north of the cistern is the grand Durbar Hall, where the Nizams used to hold state receptions and receive official nobles.”<br />
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</div>Chow Mohalla was built in several phases in the rule of different Nizams. The pavilion where the rulers held court was known as Khilwat, built in the regime of the second Nizam. Some consider its style extremely baroque. The complex includes Jilu Khana facing Lad bazaar and Daulat Khana-e-Ali, both built by the first Nizam. The four palaces comprising the Chow Mohalla complex are Afzal Mahal, Mahtab Mahal, Tahriyat Mahal and Aftab Mahal. Afzal Mahal is the most imposing of them all. <br />
Sandwiched between the Chatta bazaar and Dabirpura main road is Purani Haveli, the home of the first peshwa of Muhammed Quli Qutub Shah. This complex is in the shape of a horseshoe with a single storeyed building in European style separating two oblong wings of double-storeyed buildings tapering off into single storeyed structures with deep arched verandahs. Purani Haveli architecture combines European facades with Indian courtyards. The Haveli today houses a college for vocational training and religious education. Of the 11 buildings in the complex, only the Baradari is open to public. <br />
<img align="right" alt="Charminar" border="0" height="188" hspace="5" src="http://7wondersofhyderabad.com/charminar/charminar-5.jpg" vspace="5" width="250" />From the Charminar, it is impossible to miss the Char Kamaan built three years after the grand old edifice was built. The four arches of Char Kamaan envelop a vast plaza with a tank with an octagonal enclosure. This is now known as Gulzar Hauz, flanked by shops, which, in the times of the Qutub Shahis, were antechambers to their palaces. The Mughals destroyed them in 1687. <br />
Jamay masjid to the northeast of Charminar has the distinction of being the first mosque built in Hyderabad. Muhammad Quli Qutub Shah built it in 1598. The third Nizam, Sikander Jah, renovated it later, respecting the Qutub Shahi architectural norms combining the Indo-Persian and South Indian styles. Not far off from Charminar is the Lad bazaar, a shopping centre specialising in bridal ware, and bangles of great beauty and dazzle. This is now known as Choodi bazaar (Bangles Bazaar). <br />
Some recent buildings, whose architectural trends were inspired by Charminar and Golkonda, and built during the last of the Asaf Jahs’ times, are the Unani hospital, the High Court, and across the Musi the Osmania general hospital. All of them flaunt features of Indo-Islamic architectural styles. Charminar is very much a part of the vibrant life of everyone in the city and its cultural life.<br />
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</div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-71400830050585967352009-07-16T11:43:00.001-07:002010-04-22T03:00:06.690-07:00Victoria Falls, Zambia<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Victoria Falls</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/zambia" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Zambia</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/zambia/livingstone/livingstone.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Livingstone</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Victoria Falls is one of the best spectacular natural wonders of the world, also called “Mosi-oa-Tunya” constitutes the largest curtain of water in the world into the Zambezi Gorge with its 1708 meters wide. </div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/natural-wonders.aspx"><u>Natural Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">The Victoria Falls is called “Mosi-oa-Tunya” by the local people, the smoke that thunders, and constitutes one of the best spectacular natural wonders of the world. With its 1708 meters wide became it in the largest curtain of water in the world also by its remarkable falls. The waterfall is situated in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It boasts of being the largest waterfall in the world with the most unusual in form and having the most diverse and easily seen wildlife of any major waterfall site.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Mosi oa Tunya" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/9/PIC29.175655.2222.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">The Victoria Falls still inspires visitors as it did with David Livingstone in the 1860s. The falls and surrounding area of this remarkable preserved natural state have been declared National Parks and a World Heritage Site, thus preserving the area from excessive commercialization. </div><div align="justify">During the flood season from February to May is impossible to see the foot of the falls and most of its face, and the walks along the cliff opposite it are in a constant shower and shrouded in mist. The minimum flow occurs in November. </div><div align="justify">Two cities are part of Victoria Falls: at the eastern end of it, Victoria Falls town in Zimbabwe lies on the southern bank of the Zambezi River and at 18km south of town, Victoria Falls Airport has international services to Johannesburg and Namibia. The second city, Livingstone in Zambia is a historic colonial city and tourism centre for Victoria Falls lying 10km south on the Zambezi River. Its airport has connections to Lusaka and Johannesburg in South Africa. </div><div class="image_left"><a 768,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/zambia/livingstone/victoria-falls.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Victoria Falls - Livingstone" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/africa/zambia/victoria-falls/victoria-falls-small.jpg" title="Victoria Falls - Livingstone" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Victoria Falls - Livingstone side</div></div><div align="justify">Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park in Zambia is an UNESCO World Heritage site along is twinned to the Victoria Falls National Park in Zimbabwe. It covers 66km2 from below the falls in a north-west arc along about 20km of the Zambian river bank. </div><div align="justify">Both Parks contain abundant wildlife including sizable population of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, vervet monkeys, baboons and a variety of antelope. Lion and leopard are occasionally seen. The river above the falls contains large populations of hippopotamus and crocodile. Klipspringers and clawless otters can be glimpsed in the gorges, but they are mainly known for 35 species of raptors. The Taita Falcon, Black Eagle, Peregrine Falcon and Augur Buzzard breed there. Above the falls, herons, Fish Eagles and numerous kinds of waterfowl are common. The most notable aspect of the area's vegetation though is the rainforest nurtured by the spray from the falls, containing plants rare for the area such as pod mahogany, ebony, ivory palm, wild date palm and a number of creepers and lianas. </div><div align="justify">Some activities can be undertaken such as the “Flight of Angels” providing an superb vista of the falls, the upstream river and its many islands. For more adventurous the “Microlighting” with stunning views of Victoria Falls. Rafting is the most popular adventure. Visitor can also kayak, canoe, go on guided walking safaris, ride on horseback and lunch on Livingstone’s Island. </div><div align="justify">The Devil´s Swimming Pool is a famous feature naturally formed, near the edge of the falls, accessed via Livingstone Island. People can swim as close as possible to the edge of the falls without continuing over the edge and falling into the gorge due to a natural rock wall that stops their progress despite the current. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-14977167609900252002009-07-16T11:42:00.001-07:002010-04-22T03:00:18.076-07:00The Great Barrier Reef , Australia<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/oceania/australia/" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Australia</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/oceania/australia/queensland/queensland.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Queensland</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">It is the largest Corals Reef of the world and is the only collective organism that can be seen from the orbit of the Earth.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/natural-wonders.aspx"><u>Natural Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/underwater-wonders.aspx"><u>Underwater Wonder</u></a> </div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">This wonderful corals reef is the only live collective organism that can be seen from the orbit of the Earth. The Great Barrier Reef is an amazing site of extraordinaire beauty located in the northeastern coast of Australia, where it can find almost all corals species of the world. It is the largest corals ecosystem of the planet and without doubt one of the most beautiful places of the Earth.</div><div align="justify">This place is named thus; because is an outer reef located along the Australian coast, but with a channel between the continental coastline and the reef whose depth is around 60 meters. This Reef has over 1000 islands, most of them encircled by coral reefs; these islands are the home of a great number of animals and forests; therefore these islands are one of the main attractions of the Great Barrier Reef. The Barrier Reef is composed by around 9000 islands and 2800 individual reefs, it spreads along 2600 Kilometers, occupying almost 344 400 square kilometers. Each individual reef has a size between 1 and 10 000 hectares. Besides, this marvelous ecosystem hosts also around 400 coral species, 1500 fish species, 4000 kinds of mollusk and several mammals and reptiles endangered such as the large green turtle or the dugong (also known as sea cow). There is also a great population of birds in the islands. Because of this variety Australia owns one of the richest seas of the world; therefore the country receives every year around one billion dollars thanks to the fishing industry.</div><div align="justify">The great variety and number of corals in this site is due to the ideal conditions of temperature and light of this region of the planet. The shallow and warm waters (around 18 ºC and 30 meters depth) of the zone combined with the sunshine that illuminates these waters during the entire year provide a perfect environment for the development of corals, which created also an ideal ambient for the other species that inhabit the ecosystem.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="The Great Barrier Reef" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/9/PIC1.104037.9965.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most beautiful underwater spectacles of the world; therefore is a true paradise to do scuba diving. This activity is also the best way to know the Great Barrier Reef. Diving in this natural wonderful is the opportunity to enter into an amazing universe of color, created by the abundant marine life. The reef looks like an endless set of gardens in bloom under ocean.</div><div align="justify">Unfortunately like most underwater paradises of the world, the Great Barrier Reef has been affected by the human contamination, which comes mainly of the rivers of the northeastern Australia, which transport to the ocean the remains of the fertilizers and pesticides used by the farmers. These chemical residues cause the decreasing of the oxygen in the water killing many corals and other species. The over fishing is also a great threat for the balance of the ecosystem.</div><h2>History</h2><div align="justify">This natural wonder was born around 18 million years ago. In that time Australia had for first time a coastline with water temperatures that allowed a new range of live, including tropical reef building-corals. This environmental change was caused by the separation of the territory of Australia of the ancient Gondwanaland territory that was composed by Australia, Antarctica and South America. The modification in the ambient conditions generated also the evolution of the continental species that inhabited Australia before the continental separation; producing new tropical species.</div><div class="image_left"><a 736,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/oceania/australia/queensland/great-barrier-reef.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="The Great Barrier Reef" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/oceania/australia/great-barrier-reef/great-barrier-reef-small.jpg" title="The Great Barrier Reef" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">The Great Barrier Reef</div></div><div align="justify">The most important growing period of the corals reefs occurred two million years ago; since then the periodic glacial ages have lowered the sea level several times, this fact caused the exposition of the reef and the massive died of corals, leaving limestone hills instead of the colorful corals reefs. Nevertheless, once glacial period finished the sea level rises again and new corals polyps form new reefs, completing the life cycle. Many thousands of generations of dead corals, have constructed themselves with their skeletons, walls stones, which were covered by a great variety of new organisms. </div><div align="justify">The Australian aborigines that arrive to Australia around 40 000 years ago, were the first human that had contact with the Great Barrier Reef. They fished in this zone since ancient times. Nevertheless, the first historical registers about this natural wonder, dates from the XVI century, when a Portuguese expedition reached the eastern coast of Australia in 1522. Later, several expeditions of different Europeans countries, like the Dutch expedition led by Willem, explored during long time the Australia’s coasts. But, the Great Barrier was really known by Europeans only after June 1770 when the Bark Endeavour which was under rules of the captain James Cook, struck the Great Barrier Reef ; therefore the crew was forced to stay 6 weeks in the region where now is the modern city of Cooktown, to repair the ship. Thanks to this accident, the scientists that composed the Endeavour crew (Daniel Solander and Joseph Banks) had the opportunity to study the Reef. After this voyage, the international scientific community knew the existence of the Barrier Reef.</div><div align="justify">During the next decades the Barrier was extensively studied by several expeditions led by explorers such as William Bligh, Mathew Flinders or the Hydrographer Philip Parker King, who accurately charted most part of the northern Reef in 1820. Nevertheless, the studying of the Barrier was almost completely abandoned the rest the XIX century and many islands of the Barrier Reef were used as deposits of guano or to built lighthouses. Only in the XX century the scientific community began to study seriously this place. In 1922 was created the Great Barrier Reef Committee, which was the first association that studied detail the Great Barrier Reef, since then, several efforts to study and protect this place have been done.</div><div align="justify">In 1975 the Australian Government created the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, whose management is responsibility of the Queensland Government and the National Government. The authorities of the Park have established an administration program that includes management plans, education programs, permits and incentives to protect the Natural Reserve, etc. In 1981, the Great Barrier Reef was declared World Heritage by UNESCO, became the largest World Heritage area, covering 347 000 square kilometers. It is also considered by CEDAM one of the Wonders of the Underwater World.</div><div align="justify">In the last decades the Great Barrier Reef became an important tourist destination, mainly to the lovers of the scuba diving. Therefore, many tourist infrastructures has been built along the Queensland coastline to host the almost two million visitors that every year arrived to the zone, turning the tourism, the first economic activity of the region, generating around 5 billions dollars per year. The range of tourist services is very varied; there are boat tours, cruises, helicopter flights, underwater tours, etc.</div><div align="justify">Nevertheless, the management of the tourism in the Great Barrier Reef is very efficient and is oriented towards tourism ecologically sustainable; since, 20% of the incomes generated by visitors are used to the research and conservation of the Barrier Reef. However, the preservation of this natural paradise is a task that must be constant and it is a task for all people of the World.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-53930444098108032982009-07-16T11:40:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:00:27.980-07:00Parícutin Volcano, Mexico<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Parícutin Volcano</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/mexico" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Mexico</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/mexico/michoacan/michoacan.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Michoacán</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">Parícutin is a cinder cone volcano which from its birth of eruption between 1943 and 1952, it represented a dramatic period in the lives of Parícutin people, but like most cinder cones it will never erupt again.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/natural-wonders.aspx"><u>Natural Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Parícutin is a cinder cone volcano in the Mexican state of Michoacán, close to a lava-covered village of the same name. It is part of the Michoacán-Guanajuato Volcanic Field which covers much of west central Mexico. </div><div align="justify">Dioniso Pulido, a Tarascan farmer, along with his wife and their son witnessed the initial eruption of ash and stones first-hand as they plowed the field, that began as a fissure in his cornfield. Much of the volcano's growth occurred during its first year, while it was still in the explosive pyroclastic phase. Nearby villages Paricutín (after which the volcano was named) and San Juan Parangaricutiro were both buried in lava and ash; the residents relocated to vacant land nearby.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="View of Parícutin's crater" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/9/PIC29.173019.2573.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">After one year, the volcano had grown 336 meters tall, for the next eight years it would continue erupting, but the activity would slowly decline. In 1952 the eruption ended and Parícutin went quiet, attaining a final height of 424 meters above the cornfield from which it was born. Like most cinder cones, it is a monogenetic volcano which means that it will never erupt again. </div><div align="justify">Parícutin is the youngest of more than 1400 volcanic vents in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt and North America. Three people died as a result of lighting strikes caused by the eruptions, but no deaths were attributed to the lava or asphyxiation. </div><div align="justify">During the active phase of Parícutin volcano, shots were included in the film Captain from Castile by the 20th Century Fox’s, released in 1947. </div><div align="justify">Actually two different elevation are attributed to Paricutín: 3170 meters by the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program and SummitPost.org and 2774 meters by Peakbagger.com and Bartleby.com along with GPS measurements on Google Earth. </div><div align="justify">The most recent volcano formed on the Western Hemisphere, from its birth of the eruption between 1943 and 1952, it has represented a dramatic period in the lives of Parícutin people, who losing crops, livestock and suffered substantial property damage during the natural disaster. </div><h2>History </h2><div align="justify">On the afternoon of February 20,1943, the farmer Dionisio Pulido in the state of Michoacán was readying hid fields for spring sowing , when he felt a thunder and the ground nearby opened in a fissure about 150 feet long. He recalled later, “the trees trembled, and is was then I saw how, in the hole, the ground swelled and raised itself 2 or 21/2 meters high, and a kind of smoke or fine dust–gray, like ashes–began to rise, with a hiss or whistle, loud and continuous; and there was a smell of sulphur. I then became greatly frightened and tried to help unyoke one of the ox teams” </div><div class="image_left"><a 683,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/mexico/michoacan/paricutin-volcano.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Parícutin Volcano - Michoacán" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/mexico/paricutin-volcano/paricutin-volcano-small.jpg" title="Parícutin Volcano - Michoacán" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Parícutin Volcano - Michoacán</div></div><div align="justify">A volcano was being born under the farmer’s feet, Pulido and the other witnesses fled. The next morning when he returned, the cone had grown to a height of 30 feet, hurling out rocks with great violence, and during the day the cone grew another 120 feet. At night incandescent bombs blew more than 1000 feet up into the darkness, and slaglike mass of lava rolled over Pulido’s cornfields. </div><div align="justify">Around the world the volcanic eruptions are commonplace, but the birth of an entirely new volcano of a distinct vent from the magma chamber, is genuinely rare. In historic times only two new volcanoes have appeared in North America, one of them Jorullo to west of Mexico in 1759. And 183 years later Parícutin was the second. Both rose in an area called Mexican Volcanic Belt which stretches about 700 miles from east to west across southern Mexico. The eruptive activity created a high and fertile plateau due to a layer of volcanic rock was deposited on it, according to geologists. This belt is the most populous region in Mexico during summer months. </div><div align="justify">Some 300 earthquakes shook the ground, a day before the volcano began to erupt, on February 19. Three days later with the cone rising and fiery skyrockets, the first of many geologists who would monitor and map Parícutin’s behaviour over the next nine years arrived. During the first year of violent, explosive growth and change, the cone topped 1100 feet fourt to fifth of its final height and almost all vegetation was destroyed due to the ash snowed on the city. Finally the lava destroyed the nearby villages, the next year to the most violent period, but most villagers had seen their livelihoods disappear long before that. </div><div align="justify">Lava flows continued with little interruption over the next years, and almost exactly nine years after Parícutin was born, the volcano experienced its last major spasm of activity on February, 1952. By then, villages and farms had been relocated with government assistance. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-41747777999515843122009-07-16T11:39:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:00:37.299-07:00Mount Everest, Nepal<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Mount Everest</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/nepal/" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Nepal</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/nepal/sagarmatha/sagarmatha.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Sagarmatha</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Mount Everest is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia and with its 8.848 meters is the highest mountain on earth. It also called Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma. </div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/natural-wonders.aspx"><u>Natural Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">The Mount Everest, the highest mountain on earth with 8.848 meters above sea level, is part of the Himalaya range in High Asia and is located on the border between Sagarmatha Zone, Nepal and Tibet, China. It is called Sagarmatha, Chomolungma, Qomolangma or Zhumulangma. Name in Nepal is Sagarmantha which means “goddess of the sky” and the name in Tibet is Chomolungma which means “mother goddess of the universe”.</div><div align="justify">Around 1856 when the Great Trigonometric Survey of India established the height of Everest 8,840 m, the mount was known as Peak XV. In 1865 upon recommendation of Andrew Vaugh, the British Surveyor General of Indi, the English name was official “Everest”. He was unable to purpose a local name in common for Nepal and Tibet people however Chomolungma had been use by Tibetans for centuries.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Amazing Mount Everest" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/9/PIC9.154930.8731.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">The Mount Everest attracts climbers of all levels, from experienced to novice climbers which willing to pay substantial sums to professional mountain guides to complete a successful climb. The mountain still has many inherent dangers such as altitude sickness, weather and wind. In spite of that information by the end of the 2007 climbing season, there had been 3679 ascents to the summit by 2436 individuals, which this means climbers are a significant source of the Nepal tourism. The government requires to prospective climbers to obtain an expensive permit, coasting up to $25,000 per person. Everest has claimed 210 lives, including eight who perished during a 1996 storm high on the mountain. </div><h2>History </h2><div align="justify">The discovering occurs when the British began the Great Trigonometric Survey of India to determine the location and names of the highest mountains, using giant theodolites (500kg) around 1808. They reached the Himalayan foothills by the 1830s in spite of Nepal was unwilling to allow them to enter the country due to suspicious of political aggression and a possible annexation, so several requests by the surveyors to enter Nepal were turned down. They were forced to continue their observations from Terai a region south of Nepal, but the conditions were difficult due to torrential rains and malaria, three survey officers died from malaria and the two others had to retire due to health hazard. </div><div class="image_left"><a 523,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="800,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/nepal/sagarmatha/mount-everest.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Mount Everest" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/nepal/mount-everest/mount-everest-small.jpg" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Mount Everest</div></div><div align="justify">In 1847, Andrew Waugh made a number of observations from Sawajpore station at the time Kangchenjunga was considered the highest peak in the world. He noted a peak beyond it, some 230km away, but he doesn’t the only one John Armstrong, one of the officials saw the peak and called it peak “b”. However due to the great distance of the observations, closer observations were required for verification. The next year clouds thwarted all attempts to make closer observations of peak “b”. Finally then numerous calculations in March 1856 Waugh declared to Kangchenjunga with 8582m and Peak XV was given the height of 8840m and concluded that the mountain was most probably the highest in the world. </div><div align="justify">The next challenge was clearly name the peak, the survey was anxious to preserve local names (Kangchenjunga and Dhaulagiri where local names) but Waugh argued that he was unable to find any commonly used local name because it was hampered by Nepal and Tibet being closed to foreigners at the time. Chomolungma was the best known local name in Tiber for several centuries but many local names existed too. Waugh argued that would be difficult to favour one specific name over plethora of local names and he decided that Peak XV should be named George Everest such as his predecessor as Surveyor General of India. But George Everest opposed the name suggested and told the Royal Geographical Society in 1857 that Everest could not be written in Hindi nor pronounced by “the native of India”. However the name prevailed despite the objections and in 1865 the name was officially adopted “Mount Everest” for the highest mountain in the world by the Royal Geographical Society. </div><div align="justify">Actually there are two main climbing routes, the southeast ridge from Nepal and the northeast ridge from Tibet as well many others less frequently climbed routes. The first route is technically easier, more used by climbers and it was the route used by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, the first recognized of fifteen routes to the top by 1996.</div><div align="justify"></div><h3>Ascent history </h3><div align="justify">1885: Clinton Thomas Dent, president of Alpine Club suggested in his book Above the Snow Line that it was possible climbing Mount Everest.<br />
1921: The first expedition was exploratory not equipped for a serious attempt to climb the mountain; it was leaded by George Mallory. They will must to descend due to unprepared for the enormity of climbing.<br />
1922: The British returned. George Finch climbed using oxygen for the first time at a remarkable speed 290m per hour. Mallory and Col.Felix Norton made a second attempt where seven native porters were killed by an avalanche. Mallory was faulted for leading a group down. 1924: George Mallory and Andrew Irvine made and attempt on the summit via the North Col/Northeast Ridge route from which they never returned. In 1999 the Mallory and Irvine Research Expedition found Mallory’s body on the North Face in a snow basin below and to the west of the traditional site of Camp IV. The mountaineering community has raged as to whether or not one or both of them reached the summit 29 years before the confirmed ascent of Everest by Sir Edmund and Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. In an effort to deploy the British Union flag at the top, Lady Houston a British millionaire funded the Houston Everest Flight of 1933.<br />
1953: A ninth British expedition led by John Hunt returned to Nepal. Selecting two climbing pairs to attempt to reach the summit, Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans were the first pair and reach within 100m of the summit, but they turned back after becoming exhausted. Their caches of extra oxygen were a great aid to the following pair, the New Zealander Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay who two days later made its second and final assault on the summit. They reached the summit on 29 May 1953 at 11:30am via the South Col Route, pausing at the summit to take photographs and buried a few sweets and a small cross in the snow before descending.<br />
1980: Reinhold Messner climbed during three days entirely alone from his base camp at 6500 m to finally reach the mountain summit for the first time without supplementary oxygen or support on the more difficult Northwest route via the North Col to the North Face and the Great Couloir.<br />
1996: The deadliest year in Everest history, where fifteen people died trying to come down from the summit. 2005: The pilot Didier Delsalle of France landed a Eurocopter AS 350 B3 helicopter on the Mount Everest summit.<br />
2008: China paved a 130km dirt road from Tingri County to its Base Camp and will become the highest asphalt-paved road in the world. A China Telecom cellular tower near the Base Camp provides phone coverage all the way to the summit. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-72863433841529283562009-07-16T08:43:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:01:04.289-07:00Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Harbour of Rio de Janeiro</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/brazil" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Brazil</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/brazil/rio-janeiro/rio-janeiro.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Rio de Janeiro</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Harbour of Rio de Janeiro is a natural beauty surrounded by the city of Rio and formed by the Atlantic Ocean which wore out the soil and rocks along the coast. </div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/natural-wonders.aspx"><u>Natural Wonder</u></a> <u><a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx">National Wonder</a></u></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div align="justify">Rio de Janeiro Harbour is located on the south-western shore of Guanabara Bay, which is surrounded by the city of Rio along a strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the mountains: Sugar Loaf Mt, Corcovado Peak, and the hills of Tijuca. The harbour was formed by the Atlantic Ocean which wore out the soil and rocks along the coast.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Harbour of Rio de Janeiro at Night" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2009/3/PIC18.145240.8172.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">The naked and lopsided mountain called Pao de Acucar evoked the sugarloaves fashioned on the island of Madeira, guarding the entrance to the bay. The highest mountain was called Corcovado “the hunchback” due to its humped profile. Nowadays a statue of Christ the Redeemer crowns the 2,300 foot-high peak.</div><div align="justify"><br />
</div><div align="justify">The geology of this amazing place is admired by people who said: “God made the world in six days and on the seventh, he concentrated on Rio”. Its climate is wonderful and the beaches are free to everyone. </div><h2>History </h2><div class="image_left" style="height: 176px;"><a 683,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/brazil/rio-janeiro/harbour-rio-janeiro.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Rio de Janeiro Harbour" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/brazil/harbour-rio-janeiro/harbour-rio-janeiro-small.jpg" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Harbour of Rio de Janeiro </div></div><div align="justify">Portuguese explorers named the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro as “the River of the First of January” because they were convinced that they had reached the mouth of a great river, when they gliding toward a narrow opening in the coastline on the New Year’s Day, 1502. They found beyond this entrance lay a body of water stretching 20 miles inland. French established a colony in 1555, but were expelled, so the population increased and the city grew larger. In 1960, the capital was changed to Brazilia. </div><div align="justify">Tamoio people named Guanabara or the “arm of the sea” so nearly five centuries later, both the native and European names persist. The large waterway was not a river; it was an island-studded bay that holds a roaring metropolis. Times ago it was a tropical wilderness teeming with tapirs and jaguars. And now, instead of caravels and dugouts, super-tankers and yachts glide across the magnificent balloon-shaped harbour of Guanabara Bay. </div><div align="justify">Today, the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro and the beaches are crowded and in some instances are polluted, but the natural beauty of Brazil’s mountains by the bay is unquestionable. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-56598224105016165522009-07-16T08:41:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:01:16.960-07:00Grand Canyon, United States<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Grand Canyon</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">United States</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/arizona/arizona.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Arizona</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided gorge carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. Take time to enjoy its beauty and size, to sit and to watch the changing play of light and shadows over its vast spaces.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/natural-wonders.aspx"><u>Natural Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">The Grand Canyon more than an awe-inspiring view, is a colourful, steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River in northern Arizona, United States. The canyon is a great chasm carved over millennia through the rocks of the Colorado Plateau. It contains one of the first national parks in the US. President Theodore Roosevelt was a major proponent of preservation of the Grand Canyon area, visiting on numerous occasions to hunt mountain lion and enjoy the scenery. </div><div align="justify">The canyon was created by the Colorado River over a period of 17 million years according to the research released in 2008. With 446 km long, ranging in width from 6.4 to 29km and attaining a depth of more than 1.6 km. Six million years ago, the canyon started from the west, then another formed from the east, and the two broke through and met as a single majestic rent in the earth, it merger apparently occurred in the area known as the Kaibab Arch. </div><div align="justify">The area was inhabited by Native Americans who built settlements within the canyon and many caves. People considered it as a holy site. The first European, García López de Cárdenas arrived in 1540. In 1869, Major John Wesley Powell with a thirst for science and adventure, made the first recorded journey through the canyon as “leaves in a great story book”. </div><div align="justify">The Grand Canyon offers to visitors, amazing vistas on the rim which mean an unmatched throughout the world. In spite of not being the deepest canyon in the world, is known for its overwhelming size and its intricate and colourful landscape. These thick sequences of ancient rocks are beautifully preserved and exposed in the walls of the canyon. Also the Grand Canyon National Park is one of the world’s premier natural attractions with around five million visitors per year.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="View of Grand Canyon" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/9/PIC1.171957.1819.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Colorado Plateau has been created by the movements of sediments thousands of feet upward. The higher elevation has resulted in greater precipitation in the Colorado River drainage area, but still not enough to change the semi-arid characteristic. The uplift of the Colorado Plateau is uneven, and the north-south trending Kaibab Plateau that Grand Canyon bisects is over a thousand feet higher at the North Rim than at the South Rim. Colorado River flows in a curve around the higher North Rim part of the Kaibab Plateau and closer to the South Rim part of the plateau is also explained by this asymmetry. The result is deeper and longer tributary washes and canyons on the north side and shorter and steeper side canyons on the south side. In addition the best views of the expanse of the canyon are from the North Rim, so temperatures and lower because of the greater elevation, but heavy rains are common on both rims during the summer months. The uplift has steepened the stream gradient of the Colorado River and its tributaries which has increased their speed and thus their ability to cut through rock due to the great depth of the Grand Canyon. During the ice ages, weather conditions increased the amount of water in the Colorado River drainage system. Approximately 5.3 million years ago the Gulf of Californian changed the base level and course of the Colorado River when it opened and lowered the river’s base level. About one million years ago, volcanic activity deposited ash and lava over the area, which at times completely obstructed the river, but these volcanic rocks are the youngest in the canyon. </div><h2>History </h2><div align="justify">Searching the fable Seven Cities of Cibola a group of Spanish explorers under orders from the conqueror Francisco Vásquez de Coronado arrived to the Grand Canyon. The Captain Garcia Lopez de Cardenas along the Hopi guides and a small group of Spanish soldiers travelled to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon between Desert View and Moran Point. Some of them descended some one third of the way into the Canyon, but they were forced to return because of lack of water. It is speculated that their Hopi guides known routes to the canyon floor but they must have been reluctant to lead them to the river. Afterward, no Europeans visited the Canyon for over two hundred years. </div><div class="image_right"><a 768,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/arizona/grand-canyon.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Grand Canyon - Arizona" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/united-states/grand-canyon/grand-canyon-small.jpg" title="Grand Canyon - Arizona" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Grand Canyon - Arizona</div></div><div align="justify">In 1776 Francisco Atanasio and Silvestre Vélez, two Spanish Priest, with a group of Spanish soldiers, explored southern Utah and travelled along the North Rim of the Canyon searching a route from Santa Fe to California in Glen and Marble Canyons. So they eventually found a crossing at present-day Lees Ferry. At the same year Fray Francisco Garces tried to convert an Indian group and spent a week near Havasupai. </div><div align="justify">In the 1850s Brigham Young gets to make good relations with local Native Americans and white settlers, he discovered Lee’s Ferry then he acted as a diplomat between Powell and the local native tribes to ensure the safety of his party. In 1858, John Strong Newberry probably was the first geologist to visit the Grand Canyon. </div><div align="justify">There was an interest in the region by its promise of mineral resources, mainly copper and asbestos in the late 19th century. Early residents soon discovered that tourism was destined to be more than mining so many of the early tourist accommodations were not much different than the mining camps from which they development. </div><div align="justify">In 1901 the railroad was extended from Williams, Arizona to the South Rim, and the formal tourist facilities increased dramatically. By 1905, a world class hotel on the canyon's edge, the El Tovar Hotel stood where it does today. The Fred Harvey Company, known throughout the west for hospitality and fine food, continued to develop facilities at Grand Canyon, including Phantom Ranch, built in the Inner Canyon in 1922. </div><div align="justify">On March 5, 2008 the federal officials started a flood in the Grand Canyon in hopes of restoring its ecosystem, which was permanently changed after the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1963. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-21148624891612858412009-07-16T08:38:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:01:30.864-07:00Aurora, United States<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Aurora</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">United States</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/alaska/alaska.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Alaska</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">Natural colored light displays in the sky, usually observed in the polar zone at night. Often it appears as a greenish glow rising from an unusual direction extending in east-west.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/natural-wonders.aspx"><u>Natural Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Aurorae are natural colored light displays in the sky which are usually observed in the polar zone at night. They occur in the ionosphere in this way some scientists call them “polar auroras”. The effect is known as the aurora borealis in northern latitudes, “Aurora” is for Roman goddess of dawn and “boreas” is for Greek name for north wind. Also called the northern polar lights because it is only visible in the Northern sky from the Northern Hemisphere and it most often occurs from September to October and from March to April. The Cree call it the “Dance of the Spirits”. In southern parts is called aurora australis or southern polar lights with similar properties, “australis” is the latin word for “of the south”. </div><div align="justify">Often it appears as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sum was rising from an unusual direction, generally it extends east-west direction. So it appears as curtains and some times they form “quiet arcs” and active aurora evolving and changing constantly. Each curtain consists of many parallel rays, each lined up with the local direction of the magnetic field lines such as the aurora is shaped by Earth’s magnetic field.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Aurora at dawn" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/9/PIC29.151858.3536.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">Benjamin Franklin brought the attention to the “mystery of Northern lights” and theorized the shifting lights to a concentration of electrical charges in the Polar Regions intensified by the snow and other moisture. </div><div align="justify">The collision of charged particles from Earth’s magnetosphere, electrons, protons and heavier particles with atoms and molecules of Earth’s upper atmosphere produce the Auroras. The particles have energies of 1 to 100 keV, which originate from the sun and arrive so near to the Earth with a relatively low energy of the solar wind. Many factors influence in the color of the aurorae, most of them are green and red emission due to atomic oxygen, low level red and very high blue/violet aurorae are produced by molecular nitrogen and nitrogen ions. The ionic nitrogen produces light blue colors and the neutral nitrogen gives off the red and purple color with the rippled edges. In addition the interacting of gases, different compounds of oxygen and nitrogen with the upper atmosphere will produce different colors, and the level of solar wind activity from the sun can also influence in the color of aurorae. </div><div align="justify">Aurora frequency of occurrence is common in the Poles in temperate latitudes, when a strong magnetic storm temporarily expands the aurora oval. The most common large magnetic storms are during the peak of the eleven year sunspot cycle or during the three years after that peak. Actually the geomagnetic storms that ignite aurorae occur during the months around the equinoxes and are tied to Earth’s seasons while polar activity is not.</div><div align="justify">On August 28, 1859 and September 2, 1859 as a result of the “great geomagnetic storm” are produced the auroras, the most spectacular ever witnessed throughout recent recorded history. Probably the aurora was produced by one of the most intense coronal mass ejections in history, very near to the maximum intensity of the sun. Some telegraph lines seem to have been of the appropriate length and orientation which allowed a current to be induced in them and actually used for communication. The following conversation occurred between two operators around two hours using no battery power at all and working solely with the current induced by the aurora. </div><h2>History of aurora theories</h2><div align="justify">These theories are now obsolete, but some time ago has been proposed to explain the phenomenon. </div><div class="image_right"><a 768,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/alaska/aurora.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Aurora Boreal - Alaska" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/united-states/aurora/aurora-small.jpg" title="Aurora Boreal - Alaska" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Aurora Boreal - Alaska</div></div><div align="justify"></div><ul class="ulb" type="square"><li>Auroral electrons come from beams emitted by the sun, claimed by Kristian Birkeland around 1900; his experiments in a vacuum chamber with electron beams showed that such electrons would be guided towards the Polar Regions.</li>
<li>The aurora is the overflow of the radiation belt, “leaky bucket theory”. This was first disproved around 1962 by James Van Allen and co-workers.</li>
<li>The aurora is produced by solar wind particles guided by Earth’s field lines to the top of the atmosphere. Its true for the cusp aurora, but outside the cusp, the solar wind has no direct access.</li>
</ul><div align="justify">Some of the <b>best places to enjoy</b> of this amazing natural wonder are: </div><div align="justify"></div><ul class="ulb" type="square"><li>Greenland during the winter months occupies the first position. With certainty the first place where these natural wonders were seen, towards 13th century.</li>
<li>Bear Lake in Alaska offers unique colors when the aurora reflects on its waters or almost always on its ice.</li>
<li>Fairbanks in Alaska near to Polar Arctic Circle and along with Denali National Park is considered such as one of the best places, because it counts with highest mountains and icebergs.</li>
<li>Murmansk in Rusia, is a port city located on the Kola Peninsula, near to Finland and Norway that converts to aurorae in the main tourist attraction of the region.</li>
<li>Iceland is a unique country with a very wide range of landscapes where we can appreciate the superb aurorae.</li>
<li>Yellowknife, a small community in Canada is a perfect place to feel the nature when the multicolored lights dye the sky.</li>
<li>Scandinavian legend said that the boreal aurora was caused by big ships of herrings jumping in the sky. So the magic is still around of this phenomenon and Norway converts itself in a touristic destination with its nights of safaris to contemplate the aurora, like Estonia which offers the aurora as the main tourist attraction over all between U.S people.</li>
<li>Finland with its own myth that explain to a fox running between clouds, it’ll be the cause of the wide range of colors in the sky. In this way we could enjoy of this spectacle even from an igloo.</li>
<li>An exceptional experience can be propitious from a ship to enjoy of aurora in the Michigan Lake, U.S.</li>
</ul><div align="justify">But after seeing all these places on the Earth, we can consider that probably the best place where seeing an aurora boreal could be from the sky, flying near to Polar Circle. It will result an unusual and unforgettable view.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-16950940149260879812009-07-16T08:35:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:01:40.353-07:00Teotihuacan , Mexico<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Teotihuacan </span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/mexico" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Mexico</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/mexico/mexicodf/mexicodf.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Mexico DF</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">Teotihuacan is the most visited archeological complex of Mexico. It is famous by its pyramids, which are amongst the highest pre-Colombian constructions of America</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Teotihuacan is the most visited archeological complex of Mexico. It is located around 30 miles (48 Km) northeast Mexico City in the municipality of San Juan de Teotihuacan. Within this archeological complex are some of the largest pyramidal structures of America. The original name of the city was lost in the time as well as the name of the civilization that constructed the city. The current name “Teotihuacan” was given by the Aztecs and it has several interpretations, being the most accepted "place of the gods" or "place where one becomes a god".</div><div align="justify">The city is composed by many structures; burn there are five main elements: the Avenue of the Dead, the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, the Ciudadela and the Feathered Serpent Pyramid.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="View of Teotihuacan" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/8/PIC7.175914.1618.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">The Avenue of the Dead is the main avenue of the city; it leads from the Moon Square to the Ciudadela, from north to south for more than 2.5 Km, dividing the city into two zones. The avenue is flanked by wonderful ceremonial buildings such as the Pyramid of Sun and Pyramid of Moon. </div><div align="justify">The Ciudadela (Citadel, named thus by Spanish who believed that it was a fort) is a great square (about 160 000 square meters) surrounded by several temples. It believes, that the Ciudadela was the religious and political center of Teotihuacan. The Ciudadela contains the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, a stepped pyramid which is one of the most impressive structures of the complex. It is dedicated to the Feathered Serpent or Quetzalcoatl one of the most important gods of the Mesoamerican culture.</div>The largest and most impressive structure of the Teotihuacan complex is definitely the great Pyramid of the Sun. This great structure has a base of 215 by 215 meters and it is 63 meters height. It is at the east of the Avenue of Dead in the northern part of Teotihuacan. It was originally composed by four stepped platforms a terraced platform and a superimposed temple; unfortunately the upper-most portion of the structure was totally destroyed. The excavation and reconstruction of this monument began at the beginning of the XX century by Leopoldo Batres<br />
<div align="justify">The Pyramid of the Moon is a beautiful building smaller than the Pyramid of the sun, located at the northern extreme of the Avenue of the dead. This Pyramid dates from 200 AD. This pyramid has a platform at top, which was used to do ceremonies in honor to Chalchiutlicue, goddess of the water and the moon.</div><h2>History</h2><div align="justify">The origin of this place and the civilization that built it is very mysterious; many archeologists think that it was a Toltec work. Nevertheless, the Toltec civilization reached its apogee long time after the Teotihuacan’s creation. Another theory proposes that the eruption of the Xitle volcano caused a massive emigration from the central valley to the Teotihuacan valley creating a new multiethnic culture; therefore; it believes that the city was inhabited by several different ethnic groups amongst them Otomi, Totonac, Nahua, Zapotec, Mixtec and Maya people. The evidence of this theory is the variety of architectural influences that it can see in the different areas of Teotihuacán.</div><div class="image_left"><a 640,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="1,locationbar=" auto,width="1211,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/mexico/mexicodf/teotihuacan.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="View of Teotihuacan" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/mexico/teotihuacan/teotihuacan-small.jpg" title="View of Teotihuacan" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">View of Teotihuacan</div></div><div align="justify">The oldest building of Teotihuacan dates from the 200 BC while the great Pyramid of the Sun was finished around 100 AD. Teotihuacan reached its apogee from 150 to 450 AD being the largest city of America and the sixth of the world during its peak in the five century. The city hosted 150 000 inhabitants in its greatest splendor. There are evidences of cultural interchange between Teotihuacan and the centers Mayas during this period, like the architectural style of Teotihuacan (known as “talud-tablero”) which can be found dispersed in all Mesoamerica.</div><div align="justify">Teotihuacan was an industry center which produced pottery and jewelry; many tools of obsidian found in the city are evidences of this fact. There are not texts in Teotihuacan because apparently the inhabitants of this city did not know the writing. Nevertheless, Maya inscriptions found in Honduras and Guatemala refer to a great King that ruled over Tikal and Uaxactun who reigned in a city whose description fits very well with Teotihuacan’s description, which is another evidence of the great power and influence reached by Teotihuacan.</div><div align="justify">The collapse of the Teotihuacan’s civilizations occurred between the VII and VIII centuries. Initially scientists thought, Teotihuacan was invaded and destroyed by other civilizations like the Toltecs. Nevertheless, today there are evidences of a great internal rebellion against the high social class of the city. The decline of Teotihuacan would has been caused by climates changes which produced an agricultural disaster that caused hunger and despair among the population, weakening the power of the ruling class.</div><div align="justify">Then other cultural centers such as Cacaxtla, Xochicalco or Cholula took the power vacuum left by Teotihuacan. However, Teotihuacan was still a respected site, when Aztecs occupied the zone, they built a new city over the remains of Teotihuacan, but they considered Teotihuacan an important religious and ceremonial center. Aztecs were who created most mythical stories about the origin of Teotihuacan and its creators.</div><div align="justify">During the colonial period Teotihuacan was forgotten, like most pre-Colombian centers of the New World. But, the interest for this archeological center was reborn in the XX century, when the first archeological excavations began. Today, Teotihuacan is the largest and most famous pre-Colombian complex of Mexico and one of the most wonderful places of the world.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-46568146892481500212009-07-16T08:33:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:01:50.630-07:00Temples of Bali, Indonesia<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Temples of Bali</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/indonesia" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Indonesia</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/indonesia/bali/bali.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Bali</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">Bali is known as the Island of the Gods. This paradisiacal Islands has and endless number of Hindu temples, each one more beautiful than the other</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">Bali is a beautiful Island in Indonesia known as the “Island of the Thousand Temples” or the “Island of the Gods”, because of the great number of wonderful Hindu temples there are in the Island. It says that Bali has more temples than houses. Each village of Bali has several temples. Besides, each home in the Island has its own small temple. All Bali temples have a special orientation from the mountains and the sea.</div><div align="justify">Usually the temples of Bali are ornamented with an impressive and intricate set of carvings, mainly on the gateways. Besides, almost always a couple of magnificent stone statues are always saving the temples.</div><div align="justify">According to the Balinese tradition, the temples are the point of meeting amongst the humans and the gods. The temples are specially considered during some festival days or in the “odalan” (temple anniversaries). In these dates the temples are decorated to praise the gods. The word in Sanskrit for temple is “Pura”, which means “space surrounded by walls”. </div>In Bali each thing or activity has its own temple, there are village temples, family temples, rice fields temples, temples for animals, etc. Nevertheless the bigger Hindu temples on Bali are used only in special occasions. Most temples of Bali can be classified into these categories: Pura Puseh (origin temples), which are the most important and are reserved to the founders of villages (Balinese are worshipers of their ancestors). Pura Desa dedicated to protector spirits that guard the villagers. Pura Dalem (dead temple), where is venerate Durga the Shiva’s wife and deity of the dark and destruction. Besides, there are several temples dedicated to the spirits that protect the agriculture, these temples are known as Pura Subak<br />
<div align="justify">However, there are around 50 largest temples and only some of them are considered the most important of Bali, amongst them are:</div><div align="justify">• <b>Pura Tanah Lot</b>, it is an impressive temple near the village of Beraban to 13 Km of Tabanan. The temple is suspended on a huge black volcanic rock in middle of the sea. The temple has only one tower and it is decorated by foliage spilling over the cliffs. The image of this temple remembers a beautiful Japanese bonsai. Tanah Lot like most sea temples of Bali is dedicated to the guardian spirits of the sea. According to the chronicles this wonderful temple was constructed by the priest Nirartha in the XIV century. It can walk to the temple only when the tide is low. This temple is opened only to Hindus and is closed for tourists.<br />
</div><img alt="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/indonesia/bali-temples/bali-temples-th.jpg" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/indonesia/bali-temples/bali-temples-th.jpg" /><br />
<div align="justify">• <b>Pura Besakih</b>, it is the most important and holiest temple of Bali. It was originally dedicated to the god Gunung Agun (the mountain) since pre historical times. Currently the temple is a religious complex composed by around thirty sanctuaries; most of them were constructed between XIV and XVII centuries. An important feature of the temple is the great number of Merus (wooden buildings with pagodas as roofs). This temple was also a center of political power, between I and V centuries, the temple was the palace of the Geigel- Kiungkung dynasty. Now this temple is considered the “Mother Temple” of Bali and is very respected by all Bali citizens. The paramount sanctuary of the temple is the Pura Panataran Agung. The main inside patio hosts the Trisakti shrine, which is dedicated to the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Visnu and Siwa , which is very honored during the festivals that is also the most amazing time to visit the temple . </div><div align="justify">• <b>Pura Kehen</b>, it is located at the south slope of Bangli hill, is one of the oldest temples of Bali. The temple saves some ancient manuscripts made on bronze. This sanctuary is the second largest temple of Bali. There are three patios in the temple, which are decorated with statues, wonderful carvings and are connected by stairs. Pura Kehen was founded in the XI century by Cri Brahma Kenuti Ketu. One of the most representative elements of the temple is old Banyan tree that is in the second courtyard. </div><div align="justify">• <b>Pura Ulun Danu Batur</b>, it is located in the Batur village in the Kintamani district. It is the second most important temple of Bali after Pura Besakih. The temple is situated in a beautiful location at the Batur Lake at the foot of the Gunung Batur Volcano. The religious complex is composed by nine sanctuaries dedicated to Hindu gods like the goddess of the Batur lake, Dewei Danu or the God of the mountain Batu. The original temple was built in the XI century; unfortunately it was destroyed by a volcanic eruption in 1926. The current temple was reconstructed by the local people and has a notorious Chinese influence in its architectonic style. </div><div align="justify">• <b>Pura Uluwatu</b>, it is another wonderful temple that combines perfectly the human art with the beauty of the nature. It is located at the western of the Bukit Peninsula. The temple is constructed at the top of a cliff 90 meters over the sea. There are not accurate registers about the age of this temple, but it is one of the most ancient of Bali. Pura Uluwatu like Tanah Lot is dedicated to the sea deities. The access to the temple is only allowed one at a time. Pura Ulawatu has three inner courts which are surrounded by coral stone. Besides, both the front and the inside halls are ornamented with stylized birds. </div>There are many other temples in Bali such as Lempuyang, Goa Lawah, Makori, Watukaru, Jagadnahata, Maospahit, Tirta Empul, Pengerebogan, Andakasa, Masceti, Sakenan, Dalem, Ubud's Pura Taman Saraswati,etc. All of them are great architectural gems and each one has something unique to offer. Therefore the countless and amazing temples of Bali are considered all together, one of the great man-made wonders.<br />
<h2>History</h2><div align="justify">The Island of Bali was initially inhabited for people from the Maritime Southeast Asia. But the greatest cultural influence arrived from India since the first century AD. Oldest temples of Bali were constructed from 913 AD such as Pura Ulun Danu Batur, Pura Kehen, Gunungkawi, amongst other.</div><div class="image_left"><a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/indonesia/bali/bali-temples.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" resizable="yes" scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" toolbar="no,menubar=" width="1024,height="> <img alt="Temple of Tanah Lot in Bali" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/indonesia/bali-temples/bali-tanah-lot-small.jpg" title="Temple of Tanah Lot in Bali" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Temple of Tanah Lot in Bali</div></div><div align="justify">The Hindu influence in Bali was major between 1293 and 1520 when the Hindu Majapahit Empire founded a colony in Java; but when this colony declined; the intellectual and political elite migrate to Bali, further consolidate the Hindu influence in the region. Temples like Tanah Lot were built in this historical period, during which, many Hindu priests arrived to Bali. </div><div align="justify">At the beginning of the XVI century began a period of cultural independence in Bali because of the Migration of the Majapahit Empire towards east. During this time several other temples were constructed in Bali, but with an style some different. Several parts of the Besakih temple, were built in this period as well as the Sangeh Monkey Sanctuary.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Bali Ricefield " src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/8/PIC7.175610.8634.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">Now, the temples of Bali are still important places of worship. Most temples of the Island are scenario every year of colorful religious festivals. Usually people carry offerings to the temple to honoring the three gods of the Hindu trilogy. These offerings consist of palm leafs, flowers and foodstuffs. All these offerings represent in the Hindu cosmology to Siwa (Shiva), whereas the holy water represents to Wisnu and the incense represents to Brahama. The temples of Bali have still a very important role in the historical development of the region.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-67411711415545953562009-07-16T08:32:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:02:02.793-07:00Temples of Bagan, Burma<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Temples of Bagan</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/burma" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Burma</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/burma/mandalay/mandalay.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Mandalay</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The temples of Bagan or Pagan (as anciently was known this place) are an extraordinary set of ancient Buddhist sanctuaries, which were built mainly between the X and XII centuries in the actual territory of Myanmar (Burma)</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">The temples of Bagan or Pagan (as anciently was known this place) are an extraordinary set of ancient Buddhist sanctuaries, which were built mainly between X century and XII century in the actual territory of Myanmar (Burma) on the eastern bank of the Ayerwady River to 145 Kilometers (90 miles) of Mandalay city.</div><div align="justify">The impressive religious complex of Bagan is composed by around 2200 temples and pagodas and covered an area of almost 26 square miles. These temples are a compendium of the architectural styles developed in the region during the historical period, they were constructed such as "Stupa with a relic-shaped dome", "Stupa with tomb-shaped dome", "Sinhalese-styled stupa", "North Indian model", "Central Indian Model", "South Indian model", "Mon model". Nevertheless, most structures were built using two kinds of buildings: the pagoda and the temple.</div><div align="justify">Both types of structures have their own goals. The pagoda was a symbol of adoration, whereas the temple served for worship and meditation. To build the structures the constructors used mainly bricks, sandstone and large-sized timber. Some metals like iron and bronze also were used but not extensively. The pagodas were constructed using a structural framing system, which consists of a systematically framed outer wall brick, strengthened with sandstone at intervals and a central hard core consolidated with brickbats and earth. </div><div align="justify">Some of the most important and beautiful temples that remain standing in Bagan are:</div><div align="justify">• <b>Dhammayangyi</b>, it was constructed by the king Narathu from 1167 to 1170 and is the largest temple of the complex. </div><div align="justify">• <b>Shwesandaw</b>, this was one of the first temples built in Bagan. It was constructed by Anawahta and its stupa enshrines hairs of Buddha. This temple is known also as the Ganesh Temple because of images of this Hindu god were in the corners of the temple’s terraces. </div><div align="justify">• <b>Mahabodi</b> is an exact replica in smaller scale of the famous temple of Bodhi in India. Mahabodhi was constructed by the king Nataungmya and it is totally covered with niches which contain images of Budha. </div><div align="justify">• <b>Amnada Temple</b>, it is one of the most beautiful temples and in 1990 received a golden gilding in its 900th anniversary of construction. The temple hosts also four great golden statues of Buddhas.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Bagan" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/7/PIC30.164532.6869.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">• <b>Shwe Zi Khon</b>, it is perhaps the most beautiful and important temple of Bagan. It host several hairs and bones of Buddha. The construction of the temple was initiated by the king Anawrata and was finished by its successor the king Kyanzittha. This temple is scenery of a great religious festival every year and is still today an important pilgrimage center. </div><div align="justify">• <b>Thatbynnyu</b> is the highest structure of Bagan with 61 meters height (around 201 feet).</div><h2>History</h2><div align="justify">The archeological and religious Bagan complex covers about 16 square miles. Most structures in this complex were constructed from the 1000 to 1200 AD. During this time Bagan was the capital of the Burmese Empire for second time. The golden age of Bagan began in 1057 AD when the King Anawrahta conquest Thaton. Anawrahta was Buddhist; therefore he brought back to Bagan the scriptures of Theravada Buddhism and with the help of a monk from Lower Burma, he converted the people of the country to the Buddhism. </div><div align="justify">Anawrata initiated the massive construction of temples and other religious buildings in Bagan which we can see still. But his successors were who continued the tradition started by Anawrata by 290 years, since they constructed over 10000 temples and pagodas in Bagan.</div><div class="image_left"><a 670,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/burma/mandalay/bagan.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Shwe Zi Khon Pagoda " src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/burma/bagan/bagan-small.jpg" title="Shwe Zi Khon Pagoda " /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Shwe Zi Khon Pagoda in Bagan</div></div><div align="justify">During its apogee Bagan was one of the most important religious and cultural centers of Asia, it reached a population 300 000 people and around 10 00 temples and pagodas existed in Bagan. Unfortunately the attacks of enemies and several earthquakes destroyed most buildings of the ancient capital of Burma. </div><div align="justify">The golden age of Bagan finished in 1287 when the region was invaded by Mongols, who sacked the city and the temples. Nevertheless, the city was still an important Buddhist center, but its political importance was lost forever. Little by little the city was abandoned and nowadays only the temples and some archeological remains survive of which was one of the most important capitals of Asia.</div><div align="justify">The Burmese government has tried to restore the temples of Bagan. Unfortunately, these restorations have been made without respect for the original materials and architectural styles of the building. Therefore UNESCO never declared Bagan as World Heritage. But, Bagan is definitely one of the sites of the planet that worth visiting before die.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-11366057964782944652009-07-16T08:31:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:02:11.955-07:00Machupicchu, Peru<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Machupicchu</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/peru/" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Peru</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/peru/cusco/cusco.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Cusco</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">One of the new seven wonders, the most beautiful Inca city and the main archeological site of America.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/new-seven-wonders.aspx"><u>New Seven Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Machu Picchu is located on a remote secondary road in nearly impassable terrain high above the Urubamba River, Machu Picchu sits nearly 2438 meters (8000 feet) above sea level, on top of a ridge between two peaks of different size. The name "Machu Picchu" comes simply from its geography. It literally means "old peak", just as "Huaynapicchu" is "young peak". The more accurate translation relates, however, to the concept of size, with Machupicchu as the "bigger peak" and Huaynapicchu, the "smaller peak". </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Machu Picchu, the most famous citadel of the Incas, is accessible by train from Cusco or traveling along the Camino Inca. The city was never discovered by the conquerors Spanish and remained lost for centuries. Machu Picchu is an architectural jewel, which combine perfectly the architectural style with the beautiful natural environment that surrounded it. The Beauty and the Mystery of its walled ruins that once was the palace the thinnest Inca of stone surrounded by the virginal landscapes, the flora and green jungle bathes its abrupt topography. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The citadel is divided into two sectors: the agricultural and the urban, where there are main squares, temples, palaces, storehouses, workshops, stairways, cables and water fountains which run through both sectors, which measure 20 and 10 hectares respectively. Machu Picchu was built according to its natural surroundings, with its constructions following the natural curves and dips and rises in the land. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sector is surrounded by a series of terraces of different types and sizes which had two main functions: to grow crops and halt the erosion caused by the rains. The most eye catching terraces lie at the entrance to the citadel. They begin at the cluster of rooms located at the entrance and climb up to the top of the mountain until they stop at a large rectangular room. There are no canals as they were not necessary, as the constant rains and ever-present humidity allowed the plants to grow without irrigation. The only water channel that flows through the urban sector crosses through the central terrace. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The control gate is made up of a three walled room with a view with several windows, which can be found in front of the main gateway. There is a good panorama from here of the agricultural and urban sectors and the surrounding landscape. In the upper part, they also found sculpted stones that belong to the area, which indicated the Incas used the stones to make offerings to their gods. On this same piece of ground lies a granite boulder sculpted with steps. But the most striking feature is that it is pierced with a ring, the purpose of which is unknown. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">One can see a long stairway that leads to the front gate. This sector houses the most important constructions of any Inca city, where one can appreciate the talent, effort and quality of the pre Hispanic builders, as the constructions are entirely made of granite, a very hard rock that is different from that used in Cusco. The city is U-shaped and containing the temples, houses and workshops on platform terraces that the american scientist Bingham, called the Military Group. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Temple of Sun is shaped like a semi-circle and built on solid rock, an existing granite block shaped to blend with the natural curves, with a diameter of 10.50 meters. The Intiwatana is located on a hill made up of several terraces, it is a granite rock sculpted into three steps. In the central part one can see a rectangular prism that is 36cm high and which is pointing from North-West to South-East. Its four corners are directed to the four cardinal points. The Intiwatana had specific functions: it measured time (the solstice and the equinox) by using sunlight and shadow, and also served as an altar. In Quechua, "Inti" means "sun" and "Wata" means "year", thereby giving us the meaning of a solar year observatory. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sacred rock, located in a four-sided spot flanked by two three-sided rooms, features a monolithic rock sculpture. The pedestal, which is approximately 30cm high, resembles a feline. From another angle, it looks like the profile of a mountain near Machupicchu. The Temple of Three Windows is located west of the main square, has a large rectangular floor. The enormous polyhedrons have been carved and joined with millimetric precision. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Main Temple is located north of the Sacred Square, very near the Temple of Three Windows. Doors are a common sight in Machupicchu and especially in this sector. They vary in texture, size and architectural style that set them apart from each other, although all have the same trapezoid shape. To the South of the complex, between the Temple of the Sun and the Royal Palace, the area houses a series of water fountains, the only sources of the vital element for the residents of Machu Picchu. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are four main squares at different levels, but share the characteristic of being rectangular in the classic Inca style, interconnected by sunken stairways in the parameters of the terraces. The main square is the largest, which just like the main squares in all Inca cities had religious and social functions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">History</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">Machu Picchu was done constructed and used by Inka Pachakuteq, that was the greatest statesman of the Tawantinsuyo, Pachakuteq ruled from 1438 for 1471, called the great age of the Inca empire; unfortunately it lasted less than 100 years, because the empire collapsed under the Spanish invasion. Although the citadel is located only about 50 miles from Cusco, Machupicchu, it was never found and destroyed by the Spanish, as were many other Inca sites.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Machupicchu" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/6/PIC27.85849.9132.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the XIX century explorers like Eugenie de Sartiges, George Ephraim Squire, Antonio Raimondi and Castelnau never reached Machu Picchu, although most of them crossed the Andes to the almost inaccessible ruins of Choquekirau, built high above the Apurimac River. In fact, the outside world simply stumbled upon Machupicchu, for it had never been lost to those who lived around it. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In December 1908, Bingham attended the First Panamerican Scientific Congress in Santiago, Chile. It was there that he decided to follow the old Spanish trade route from Buenos Aires to Lima, and it was to that end that he traveled to Lima and hence to Cusco. In Cusco Bingham made the acquaintance of one J.J. Nunez, then prefect of the Apurimac region, who invited him on the arduous trip to the ruins of Choquekirau. </div><div class="image_left"><a 820,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="1,locationbar=" auto,width="1020,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/peru/cusco/machupicchu.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Machupicchu" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/peru/machupicchu/mapi1-small.jpg" title="Machupicchu" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Machupicchu </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On his return to the USA, Bingham decided to organize another expedition to Peru. Bingham returned to Cusco from where he journeyed on foot and by mule through the Urubamba Valley, past Ollantaytambo, and on into the Urubamba gorge. On July 23, Bingham and his party camped by the river at a place called Mandor Pampa, where they aroused the curiosity of Melchor Arteaga, a local farmer who leased the land there. Bingham learned from Arteaga that there were extensive ruins on top of the ridge opposite the camp, which Arteaga, in his native Quechua, called Machu Picchu, or "Old Mountain". Bingham offered to pay Arteaga well if he showed the ruins. He demurred and said it was too hard a climb for such a wet day, accompanied only by Seargeant Carrasco and Arteaga, Bingham left the camp. From the river they climbed a precipitous slope until they reached the ridge at around midday. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here Bingham rested at a small hut where they enjoyed the hospitality of a group of peasants. They told him that they had been living there for about four years and explained that they had found an extensive system of terraces on whose fertile soil they had decided to grow their crops. Bingham was then told that the ruins he sought were close by and he was given a guide, the 11-year old Pablito Alvarez, to lead him there. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Almost immediately, he was greeted by the sight of a broad sweep of ancient terraces. They numbered more than a hundred and had recently been cleared of forest and reactivated. Here young Pablito began to reveal to Bingham a series of white granite walls which the historian immediately judged to be the finest examples of masonry that he had ever seen.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="First Light at Machu Picchu on the Winter Solstice" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/7/PIC23.83741.9784.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">According to Bingham, "I had entered the marvellous canyon of the Urubamba below the Inca fortress. Here the river escapes from the cold plateau by tearing its way through gigantic mountains of granite. The road runs through a land of matchless charm. It has the majestic grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, as well as the startling beauty of the Nuuanu Pali near Honolulu, and the enchanting views of the Koolau Ditch Trail on Maui, in my native land…..” </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Machupicchu, the ancient Inca City was named to be part of the new list of the Seven Wonders. The global vote that began in 1999, accumulated near 20 million votes in its initial phase. And the final decision on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal to name to Machupicchu one of the New Seven Wonders of the Contemporary World for satisfaction of the Cusqueño town (Cusco's people). Machu Picchu is today the main archeological site of Peru and America, and probably the most beautiful place of the world. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-79641302073592589472009-07-16T08:21:00.001-07:002010-04-22T03:02:25.466-07:00Karnak Temple, Egypt<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Karnak Temple</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/egypt/" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Egypt</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/egypt/luxor/luxor.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Luxor</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The religious complex of Karnak at Luxor was the most important religious center in Egypt while Thebes was the capital of the Empire, its wonderful temples and sculptures are one of the greatest wonders of the planet </div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">The religious complex of Karnak on the northern edge of Luxor was the largest religious site of the ancient world, covering around 100 hectares. Its original name was Ipet-isut that means “The Most Select of Places” The complex is located on the banks of the Nile River and is after pyramids the most famous archeological place of Egypt. Karnak is an impressive set of temples which were part of the Thebes city, the capital of the Egyptian Empire during the middle Kingdom and the new Kingdom.</div><div align="justify">The Karnak complex is composed by 4 main parts. The most famous and largest of them is the Precinct of Amun-Ra; since it is the only that is accessible for tourists. The other three parts are the Precinct of Mut, the Precinct of Montu and the Temple of Amenhotep.</div><div align="justify">The main deity that was adored in Karnak was the Egyptian God Amun whose temple is situated in the center of the complex. The Temple of Montu is located at the north and the Temple of Mut is at the south. In addition to the main temples, there are also several small temples and chapels in the entire complex, such as the Temple of Khonsu, the Temple of Osiris Hek-Djet or the Temple of Opet. </div><div align="justify">An avenue of ram-headed sphinxes (symbols of the Amun god) leads to the front of the giant first pylon where there is a great statue of the king Ramesses II. The first pylon was never finished and there are near this pylon, some remains of a mud brick ramp, which is the only example that shows how the pylon was constructed.</div><div align="justify">One of the most impressive parts of Karnak is the Hypostyle Hall, which is located passing through the Second Pylon. This hall is considered one of the most important works of architecture in the world. The construction of this wonderful hall started during the reign of Amenhotep III and was finished by its grandson the King Ramesses II. All walls, ceilings and columns are painted with the natural earth tones. The roof of the hall is 82 feet (25 meters) high and is supported by 12 papyrus columns set in two rows of six, which are made of sandstone. Besides, each row of main columns is flanked also by seven rows of 9 columns of 42 feet (12.8 meters) high each one. In total 134 columns compose this wonderful place. The hall is ornamented with reliefs that represent scenes of the Egyptian mythology of the creation. Whereas the outer walls of the Hypostyle Hall are adorned with battle scenes of the reigns of Seti I and Ramesses II.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Hypostyle Hall in Karnak" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/8/PIC7.174827.9366.jpg" /> </div>The third Pylon was constructed by Amenhotep III, in this zone there are also several impressive obelisks such as the obelisk of Tuthmosis I which is 70 feet (21 meters) height and 143 tons weight or the obelisk of Hatsheput (one of the few female pharaoh) that is 97 feet (30 meters) high, weights 320 tons and was dedicated to Amun. The fourth and fifth pylons were built by Thutmose I and they are smaller than the third pylon.<br />
Karnak is a marvelous place that you can visit from 6:30 am to 5:30 pm. Admission costs LE 20 for foreigners and LE 10 for foreign students. There are guided tours available in several languages.<br />
<h2>History</h2><div align="justify">The construction of the complex of Karnak began with the 12th Dynasty (1991 – 1785 BC). The first temple was dedicated to the early god of Thebes, the god Montu. Nevertheless, the construction of the temple was a work that lasted around 900 years, since many pharaohs of several dynasties added several constructions (temples, shrines or pylons) in Karnak.</div><div class="image_left"><a 684,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="1,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/egypt/luxor/karnak.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Entrance to Karnak" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/africa/egypt/karnak/karnak-small.jpg" title="Entrance to Karnak" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Entrance to Karnak</div></div><div align="justify">Karnak was part of the ancient city of Thebes which was the capital and the cultural center of the Egyptian Empire. The complex of Karnak was during a long and continuous time the main religious site of Egypt. Nevertheless, the temple was abandoned during short time when the pharaoh Akhenaton took the power and decided to abandon the worship to Amun and replace it for the worship to the Sun God Aten; then he constructed a new capital and new temples. But, after Akhenaton’s death, the worship to Aten was forgotten and the Theban priests destroyed all the signals of the Aknhenaton reign and the Sun’s worship. Then, Karnak became again the religious center of Egypt.</div><div align="justify">In the IV century BC when the Greeks conquered Egypt, they moved the capital of the Kingdom to Alexandria marking the beginning of the end to the religious center. However, the site was even respected even in the Ptolemy Dynasty and in the early Roman time. But, in 323 AD Constantine the Great recognized the Christian religion and in 346 AD the Emperor ordered to close all the pagan temples. Then the Karnak complex was abandoned and four Christian churches were established within the enclosure of the complex. </div><div align="justify">During the Medieval Age, the ancient Egyptian culture was forgotten and even the location of Thebes was unknown. Only in the XVI century a Venetian traveler described the complex of Karnak. Later several travelers wrote chronicles about Karnak and other important sites of the ancient Egypt during the XVII and XVIII centuries, until 1798 when Vivant Denon a scientist member of the Napoleon’s expedition described the complex with detail.</div><div align="justify">Today Karnak is after the pyramids the most famous and visited place of Egypt. One of the most impressive examples of the greatness of the ancient country of the pharaohs and a great source of information for archeologists from all the world, who search answers about the still mysterious history of the great Egyptian civilization.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-25458097409755930602009-07-16T08:19:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:02:35.662-07:00Great Wall of China, China<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Great Wall of China</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/china" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">China</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/china/beijing/beijing.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Beijing</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">One of the most famous structures of the world and unique human structure that can be seen from the space.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/new-seven-wonders.aspx"><u>New Seven Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/middle-ages-wonders.aspx"><u>Middle Ages Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of successive dynasties. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The steps that form the Great Wall of China are very steep and tall in some areas. Tourists often become exhausted climbing the wall and walk no more than a kilometre or two (around a mile). In some areas the blocks were cemented with a mixture of glutinous rice and egg white. In the extreme western desert locations, where good materials are scarce, the wall was constructed from dirt rammed between rough wood tied together with woven mats. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Wall is included in lists of the "Seven Medieval Wonders of the World" but was of course not one of the classical Seven Wonders of the World recognized by the ancient Greeks.It is the world's longest human made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km in total. It is also the largest human made structure ever built in terms of surface area and mass.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Great Wall of China" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/7/PIC1.16545.7957.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Three sections are in Beijing municipality, which was renovated and which is regularly visited by modern tourists. One of the most striking sections of the Ming Great Wall is where it climbs extremely steep slopes. It runs 11 kilometres long, ranges from 5 to 8 meters in height, and 6 meters across the bottom, narrowing up to 5 meters across the top. Wangjinglou is one of Jinshanling's 67 watchtowers, 980 meters above sea level. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">South East of Jinshanling, is the Mutianyu Great Wall which winds along lofty, cragged mountains from the southeast to the northwest for approximately 2.25 kilometers. It is connected with Juyongguan Pass to the west and Gubeikou to the east. Another notable section lies near the eastern extremity of the wall, where the first pass of the Great Wall was built on the Shanhaiguan, the first mountain the Great Wall climbs. Jia Shan is also here, as is the Jiumenkou, which is the only portion of the wall that was built as a bridge. </div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">History</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">The construction of the Great Wall China began in the 7th century B.C., under the Dynasty Zhou. This wall was constructed along many hundreds of years. The first version of the wall was constructed to support invaders far from the villages that cultivate the land for the Chinese border. These walls were constructed in weak points in the natural landscape or where the threat was perceived like the major one. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some of these walls eventually became of greater strategic importance when the localised defences were gradually joined to form the Great Wall of China. At those times that the Chinese territory expanded northward, earlier walls became secondary defences when a more northerly wall was built. The Great Wall of China was built by soldiers, civilians, farmers and prisoners, primarily during three dynasties: the Qin, the Han and the Ming, although the Sui Dynasty and the Ten Kingdoms period also played a part. The building styles of each dynasty added their own flavour and advanced the techniques learned from the previous. </div><div class="image_left"><a 650,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1000,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/china/beijing/greatwallchina.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Great Wall of China" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/china/great-wall/great-wall-small.jpg" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">The Great Wall of China</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first dynasty of China was the short lived Qin Dynasty. The first emperor, Qin ShiHuang, was a tyrannical emperor who unified China by force and set about constructing one Great Wall by joining. He even sent scholars to work on the Great Wall, anyone who was deemed unproductive. These workers faced arduous labor, and the constant danger of being attacked by bandits. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Most of early Great Wall was composed of weak stone, but when the natural stone in an area was not sufficient did that the engineers were turning to another method, there had to be used a rectangular frame that was filled with loose soil. This soil was trampled for several hours by a team of workers until this was solid. This process of landfill and to trample would be repeated again and again until the wall was reaching the wished height. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second dynasty to add to the Great Wall was the Han Dynasty. The most notable contribution of the Han Dynasty is that they extended the Great Wall westwards through the Gobi Desert. Despite a lack of building materials, ingenious Chinese engineers found a solution. This method involved first laying down a layer of willow reeds, possibly woven. Then a layer of gravel and a little water was applied and trampled solid. After the trampling, a new layer of reeds and gravel was added. This process would be repeated until the desired height was reached. Amazingly, some portions of this Great Wall are still standing, partly due to the dry conditions of the Gobi. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The last dynasty to build a northern wall was the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). This dynasty built the biggest, longest, strongest and most ornate Great Wall ever. These are the walls that we are familiar with today. Their methods of Great Wall building fused all that was learned by the two previous dynasties. First, a center of trampled earth was created. Then, around the firm center was applied a shell of stone and bricks. The bricks that were created by the Ming are so strong that they compare well with the ones we use today. The strong Ming wall was built across some of the most dangerous terrains in China, including steep mountains, sometimes on 75 degree inclines. It has been said that every foot of the construction of this Great Wall cost one human life. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Ming Dynasty Great Wall starts on the eastern end at ShanHai Pass, near QinHuangDao, in Hebei Province, next to Bohai Sea. It once spanned 9 provinces and 100 counties, but the final 500 kilometers of the Great Wall to the west have all but turned to rubble. Along the Ming Great Wall of China there are many watchtowers, spaced from less than a kilometer to several kilometers or more apart. These were partly used to transmit military messages. Fire and smoke were the most efficient means for communication; fire was used at night and smoke during the day. Straw and dung was used for this. In 1468, a series of regulations set specific meanings to these signals: a single shot and a single fire or smoke signal implied about 100 enemies, two signals warned of 500, three warned of over a 1000 and so on. In this way, a message could be transmitted over more than 500 km of the Great Wall within a few hours. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-81287653838809898812009-07-16T08:18:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:02:46.746-07:00Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Great Pyramid of Giza</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/egypt/" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Egypt</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/egypt/giza/giza.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Giza</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Great Pyramid of Giza , also called Khufu's Pyramid or the Pyramid of Khufu, and Pyramid of Cheops, is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/ancient-world-wonders.aspx"><u>Ancient World Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">It is also known as the Great Pyramid of Khufu or the Great Pyramid of the pharaoh Cheops as was called by Greeks; who listed this pyramid as the first wonder of the world. It is the only one of the seven ancient wonders still remaining to our days and one of the most famous tourist attractions in the modern world. The Pyramid is located in the Giza Necropolis very near Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The total mass of the great pyramid is estimated around 5.9 million tons and its volume is approximately 2.6 million cubic meters. The great pyramid was surfaced by white casing stones and blocks of highly polished white limestone; therefore the original monument shine brightly with the sun as a jewel. It is a great testimony of perfection in design and construction that reached ancient Egyptian. Many people consider still Giza as a spiritual and energetic place; therefore several privates groups visit Giza all the time attracted by the mystical aspect of the Great Pyramid.</div><h2>History</h2><br />
<div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Pyramides" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/6/PIC26.15031.5131.jpg" /> </div><br />
<div align="justify">Historians believe that the great pyramid was constructed in the fourth Egyptian dynasty by order of Pharaoh Cheops (2560 BC approximately) and its construction lasted around 20 years. It was the tallest monument of the world during 3800 years with 146 meters height. The great pyramid was constructed using an impressive number of workers. Herodotus, the Greek historian who made the first list of wonders, estimated that around 100 00 workers were used to built this colossal monument. Nevertheless, modern calculations estimate that at least 300 000 men would have been required for this monumental work. Previously, it was believed that workers were slaves, but now there are modern theories that say they were skilled workers who camped near Giza for a salary; proof of this fact are workers' cemeteries found by archeologists in the vicinity of Giza . It is believed also that around 2 millions blocks (each block weights between 2 and 15 tons) of limestone, basalt and granite were used in the pyramid</div><div class="image_left"><a 800,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/africa/egypt/giza/pyramid.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Great Pyramid of Giza" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/africa/egypt/pyramids-of-giza/pyramid-giza-small.jpg" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">The Great Pyramid of Giza</div></div><div align="justify">It is the only Egyptian pyramid that has both descending and ascending passages. The most popular theory about the goal of the pyramids says, they were used as tombs for pharaohs. But, we know that airshafts were built into the King's and Queen's chambers; nevertheless we don’t know the purpose of airshafts; since pharaoh’s mummies don’t need air. Besides, no mummy or remains of any kind have been found inside the great pyramid. These are some of the reasons why many Egyptologists and other academicians believe that pyramids were also ceremonial and religious centers, but the construction, date and possible symbolism of these amazing monuments are not still completely understood. There are several theories about the construction of the pyramids. The most accepted of them say that the pyramid was built moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place.</div><div align="justify">Another important detail about the pyramids is their orientation, they are oriented 4’ west of north; some experts believe that this peculiar orientation is due to the position of the stars b-Ursae Minoris and z-Ursae Majoris about 3,000 years ago, thanks to this feature; some scientists date the start of the pyramid’s construction around 2467 BC.</div><div align="justify">There are three main chambers inside the pyramid, which are arranged centrally, through the vertical axis of the pyramid; being the largest the lowest chamber also known as “unfinished chamber”, which was cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was constructed. The middle chamber is known as the “Queen’s Chamber” and it is the smallest of the three with around 25 square meters of area and 4.5 meters in height. A peculiar detail about this chamber is that was explored using a robot created by the German engineer “Rudolf Gantenbrink”. The Egyptologist “Mark Lehner” believes that this chamber was designed as a “serdab” a structure used in other pyramids in Egypt. </div><div align="justify">The third chamber is the main, the King’s Chamber. It is located at end of the lengthy series of entrance ways into the pyramid structure. Its original measurements were 10x20x11.2 cubits (5.25x10.5x6 meters). These dimensions are consistent with the geometric methods that used the ancient Egyptians to determine the Golden Ratio phi. Inside the great pyramid, there had a great number of sarcophagus and a large gallery, which is 49x3x11 meters. This chamber contains also 2 “air shafts”, which ascend out of the pyramid, directly to the “Thuban” star and the “Alnitak” star in the “Orion” constellation. It believes that, these airshafts were used with ceremonial purposes; since they allowed to the pharaoh’s spirit to reach the stars.</div><div align="justify">The King’s sarcophagus is located in the King’s chamber and it was hollowed out of a single piece of red Aswan granite. A peculiar detail about this sarcophagus is that it is too short to accommodate a medium height person without the bending of the knees, but this burial technique was not used in the ancient Egypt. Therefore, several scientists believe that the sarcophagus was not designed to host a human body.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-69327019594946183862009-07-16T08:17:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:02:58.034-07:00Forbidden City, China<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Forbidden City</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/china" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">China</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/china/beijing/beijing.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Beijing</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">It is the largest and best preserved imperial palace in China and it is together with the Great Wall the most representative Chinese national symbol. </div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">The Forbidden City is known also as the Palace Museum, the Gugong (in Chinese) Museum or the Purple Forbidden City. It is the largest and best preserved imperial palace in China. This awesome palace is located in Beijing city to the north of Tiananmen Square (the ceremonial center of current Republic of China) and it was the official residence of the Chinese Emperor from the mid Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) until the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911). In total the Palace was the home of 24 Chinese emperors.</div><div align="justify">The Forbidden City is one of the five most famous palaces of the world together with the Palace of Versailles, the Buckingham Palace, the White House and the Kremlin. The Forbidden City was constructed as a replica of the Purple Palace where God lived according to the Chinese mythology therefore the palace was a sacred place, and so it was forbidden to the ordinary people.</div><div align="justify">The Forbidden City is the largest palace of the World. It occupied an area of 74 hectares. It is surrounded by a great moat of 6 meters deep and 10 meters high. The Palace is a giant rectangle of 961 meters long for 753 meters wide. The walls are 8.62 meters wide at the base and 6.66 meters at the top; they were designed as defensive walls and were made using rammed earth. The complex is composed by 980 buildings and around 8707 rooms. </div><div align="justify">The four corners of the great rectangle have each one an intricate tower with complex roofs that represents the Pavilion of Prince Teng and the Yellow Crane Pavilion. These towers are the elements most prominent from outside palace. The main entrance to the Forbidden City is through the Tiananmen gate. Behind the Tiananmen gate is the great courtyard of the palace. Here the complex is divided into two parts: the inner court and the outer court (also called working area or front court). The courtyard contains some of the most representative elements of the palace: the “stream of golden water” and 5 beautiful bridges ornamented with carved torches.</div><div align="justify">The outer court was used mainly with ceremonial purposes and to host the imperial affaires. It is composed by all the buildings of the southern zone.</div><div align="justify">One of the most important rooms of the complex is the “Hall of Supreme Harmony” which is the largest in the palace and is 30 meters above the level of the surrounding square. This hall was the heart of the power in the country and is the largest wooden structure in China. The roof of this magnificent hall was decorated with a caisson with a coiled dragon. There had two other important halls: the Hall of the Central Harmony and the Hall of Preserving Harmony. The three salons had imperial thrones and were used to host the Imperial activities and ceremonies. Behind the Hall of Preserving Harmony is the greatest stone carving of China, an impressive stone piece that weights around 200 tons.</div><div align="justify">The residence of the Emperor, his concubines and the Eunuchs of the palace was located in the inner court at the northern section of the complex in the central north-south axis of the complex, which was the most important axis of the three that compose the Forbidden City. In the inner are the main buildings that served as home for the imperial family such as the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly or the Hall of Union. All these palaces have an extraordinaire architectural style and were luxury decorated</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Forbidden City" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/7/PIC30.163821.8169.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">All the elements from the architectural shapes to the colors used in the Forbidden City were designed to symbolize religious and philosophical principles of the Chinese cosmology. This Palace is the abstract of several millenniums of culture.</div><div align="justify">It can visit the Forbidden City from 08:30 to 17:00 between April 1 and October 31 for 60 yuan and from 08:30 to 16:30 between October 16 and April 15 for 40 yuan. There are also many services to guide visitors available. There is an audio guide (40 yuan) device available in several languages like Chinese, Cantonese, English, French, Japanese, German, Spanish, Russian, Thai , Arabic and Italian. There are also multilingual guides, a tourist service center, bag check services, tourist souvenirs, books, post office and several restaurants where it can enjoy a good food or drink.</div><h2>History</h2><div align="justify">The construction of the palace was initiated in 1406 by the Yongle Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The construction of the Forbidden City lasted around 15 years and almost one million workers were required to do this monumental work. The main materials used to build the palace were the Phoebe Zhenan (a fine Chinese wood) and marble blocks. The floors of the main halls were paved using golden bricks.</div><div class="image_left"><a 780,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="1,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/china/beijing/forbidden-city.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="The Forbidden City" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/china/forbidden-city/forbidden-city-small.jpg" title="The Forbidden City" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">The Forbidden City</div></div><div align="justify">The palace was during over two centuries (1420- 1644) the residence of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. In 1644 a rebellion leaded by Li Zeching captured the Forbidden City and proclaimed Li Zeching emperor. But the rebels fled when an army leaded by the general Wu Sangui arrived with Manchu forces, during this fact some parts of the complex were burned. Some months later the Manchu forces took the power in China and they proclaimed Shunzi Emperor starting the Qing Dinasty. The new dynasty made some changes in the palaces and renamed some buildings. Besides, the new Manchu Emperors introduce the Manchu language in Beijing. </div><div align="justify">The Forbidden City was captured again in 1860 when the Anglo-Forces occupied the palace during the Opium War II. The final episode to the Forbidden City as Imperial Palace occurred in 1912 when the last Emperor Puyi abdicated. Nevertheless Puyi remained in the inner Palace until 1924 because of an accord with the Chinese government. During this time many treasures of the Palace were sold by Puyi or were stole.</div><div align="justify">From 1924 the Forbidden City became museum. But during the World War II because of the Japanese invasion, many of the treasures of the palace were evacuated by order of Chiang Kai-Sek to Taiwan. In 1961 the Forbidden city was listed by the Chinese government as one of the most important historical monuments under special preservation. </div><div align="justify">In 1987 the Forbidden City was declared World Heritage by UNESCO. Currently the Forbidden City is managed by an organism of the Chinese government “The Palace Museum”, which is executing a restoration project. Nevertheless, this administration has also taken controversial decisions, like to allow the presence of commercial enterprises such as Starbucks inside the Forbidden City.</div><div align="justify">This wonderful palace is without doubt today, the greatest symbol of the Imperial China in the capital of the country and it is together with the Great Wall the most representative Chinese national symbol.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-58691879553429537972009-07-16T08:16:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:03:08.655-07:00Angkor Wat, Cambodia<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Angkor Wat</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/cambodia" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Cambodia</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/cambodia/siemreap/siemreap.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Siem Reap</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">It is a wonderful temple in Cambodia constructed by the Khmer dinasty </div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/man-made-wonders.aspx"><u>Man-made Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div align="justify">This complex of ancient temples (geographically as large as Paris) is probably the most important archeological site in South East Asia. It is located at Angkor in Cambodia to 5.5 kilometers of the modern town of Siem Reap. It dates from XII century (although the construction lasted almost 4 centuries) and the main temple is very well conserved and it is still today a religious center. The temple was constructed in the jungle by order from the king Suryavarman as the main temple of the country and its capital city.</div><div align="justify">This temple is one of the most beautiful and suggestive places on the planet. It is a true feat of the architecture. The temple is a representation of Mount Meru (the house of gods of the Hinduism). The temple has several towers; there are many courtyards and an endless number of bas-reliefs ornament the walls of its rooms. The architectural style of the temple is known as Khmer Architecture, this style used sandstone and bricks to create the intricate designs that adorn this wonderful temple.</div><div align="justify">The temple is composed by concentric galleries; Angkor Wat (wat means temple) has three main features: the outer enclosure that surrounded the complex, which is composed by a great outer wall of 1024 x 802 meters and 4.5 meters height and a moat of 190 meters wide, which symbolizes the ranges of mountains and the ocean respectively. </div><div align="justify">The central structure is composed by several rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, which is over a terrace higher than the city. The temple itself has quincunx (arrangement of five units) towers which represents the peaks of the mountains. This part of the temple has many statues of Buddha and inscriptions of old pilgrims.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="View of Angkor Wat" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/7/PIC30.163132.4641.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">The decoration is the other and perhaps the most representative characteristic of the temple. It is composed mainly by bas-reliefs friezes, which represent episodes from the Hindu epics the Ramyana and the Mahabharata; bas-reliefs show also battle scenes like the Battle of Kurukshetra amongst the Kaurava and Pandava clans as well as the “Churning of the Sea of Milk”, the “37 heavens” and many other pictures of the Hindu mythology.</div><div align="justify">Angkor Wat is dedicated to Vishnu (the supreme god of the Hinduism). According to archeologists like Charles Higham, the sanctuary was built also to serve as a funerary temple for the remains of Suryavarman. The evidence that support this theory is in the bas-reliefs and a funerary jar which was found in the central tower.</div><h2>History</h2><div align="justify">The construction of the temple was started in the XII century when the king Suryavarman (1113 - 1150) ruled in the region. The complex was constructed as the state temple as well as the capital of the country. Current theories say that the location of the temple was chosen because of its important strategic military position; but there are other theories that explain the location of the temple because of a planet-spanning sacred geography. It believes that its original name was Vrah Vishnulok, because of the main deity that was adored here. </div><div align="justify">The status of the temple did not last long time; since in 1177 Angkor was sacked by the main enemies of the Khmer, the Chams. Some time later the empire was rebuilt by the king Jayavarman VII who moved the capital and the main temple of the country to another location a short distance to the north.</div><div class="image_left"><a 600,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/asia/cambodia/siemreap/angkor-wat.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="View of Angkor Wat" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/asia/cambodia/angkorwat/angkor-wat-small.jpg" title="View of Angkor Wat" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">View of Angkor Wat</div></div><div align="justify">Angkor Wat became a Theravada Buddhist during XIV and XV centuries. From the XVI century the temple lost its importance; nevertheless, it was never totally abandoned. </div><div align="justify">In 1861 the French scientist Henri Mouhot rediscovered accidentally the remains of the temple and he popularized the temple in the Western Hemisphere when published its travel notes. The French traveler described the temple using these words: “One of these temples a rival to that of Solomon, and erected by some ancient Michenlangelo might take an honorable place beside our most beautiful buildings. It is grander than anything left to us by Greece or Rome, and presents a sad contrast to the state of barbarism in which the nation is now plunged”.</div><div align="justify">In 1908 thanks to the popularity that the temple reached in Europe mainly in France; French people funded and managed a great plan of restoration. This restoration is made still today, but it was interrupted during 1980s and 1990s when the Khmer Rouge took the control of the country during a civil war. Fortunately, this violent war did not cause great damage to the remains of the temple.</div><div align="justify">Today Angkor Wat is probably the greatest symbol of Cambodia , this temple is so very important to Cambodia that its image is part of the country’s flag since 1863. Since 1990 Angkor Wat has experienced a great flood of tourism; mainly after UNESCO declared in 1992 the temple as World Heritage Site. In 2006 this place received around 675 000 foreign visitors. The money contributed by tourists has served to provide additional funds for the maintenance of the temple and support the economy of the region of Siem Reap in Cambodia.</div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-40698828612477775742009-07-16T06:05:00.001-07:002010-04-22T03:03:19.060-07:00The Golden Gate Bridge, United States<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">The Golden Gate Bridge</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">United States</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/san-francisco/san-francisco.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">San Francisco</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the longest suspension bridges in the world and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/civil-engineering-wonders.aspx"><u>Civil Engineering Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="image_right" style="height: 269px;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay onto the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and State Route 1, it connects the city of San Francisco on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Golden Gate Bridge had the longest suspension bridge span in the world (4,200 foot) when it was completed in 1937 and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite its red appearance, the colour of the bridge is officially an orange vermilion called international orange. The colour was selected by consulting architect Irving Morrow because it blends well with the natural surroundings yet enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bridge's two towers rise 746 feet making them 191 feet taller than the Washington Monument. The five lane bridge crosses Golden Gate Strait which is about 400 feet, or 130 meters, deep. The bridge consists of two towers of 746 feet this makes it 191 feet higher than the Washington Monument. The five lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge are about 400 feet or 130 meters deep. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The towers that support the Golden Gate Bridge's suspension cables are smaller at the top than at the base, emphasizing the tower height of 500 feet above the roadway Coit Tower is another San Francisco landmark with an Art Deco design. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Linking San Francisco with Marin County the Golden Gate Bridge is a 1.7 mile-long suspension bridge that can be crossed by car, on bicycles or on foot. On an average day 118,000 vehicles cross the bridge. The bridge has six total lanes of vehicle traffic, and walkways on both sides of the bridge. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The speed limit on the Golden Gate Bridge was reduced from 55 mph (89 km/h) to 45 mph (72 km/h) on 1 October 1983. The eastern walkway is for pedestrians and bicycles during the weekdays and during daylight hours only, and the western walkway is open to bicyclists on weekday afternoons, weekends, and holidays.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="The Golden Gate Bridge" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/10/PIC20.17346.5330.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It united three Boroughs of New York: Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens. It remains the largest vertical-lift bridge in the world. It joins three giant bridges into one and consists of 13,500 feet of elevated viaduct and fourteen miles of roadway, all travelling over Randall's and Ward's Islands. Since its completion, the span length has been surpassed by eight other bridges. It still has the second longest suspension bridge main span in the United States, after the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York City. </div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">History</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">The idea to cross the Golden Gate strait was originated as early as 1872 by a railroad magnate. Not until 1916 was a serious attempt made to make the crossing. Bridge designer Joseph Strauss felt he could cross the Gate with a huge suspension bridge and do it for under $30 million dollars. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1921, Strauss finalized a plan and set out to convince San Francisco citizens and leaders that it could, and should, be done. In 1919 the visionary engineer, Joseph B. Strauss, came to San Francisco to inspect the bridge site. He was convinced he could build a bridge spanning the Golden Gate. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In November 1930, a major hurdle was overcome; six Northern California counties, including Marin and San Francisco, voted in favour of a $35 million bond measure to finance the construction of the bridge. To celebrate this important victory, every store in Marin County closed at 3 p.m. on November 12, so that the entire community could attend a football game in San Rafael and watch an air circus. The evening culminated with a parade, illuminated floats & fireworks. </div><div class="image_left" style="height: 176px;"><a 683,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/san-francisco/golden-gate.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="The Golden Gate Bridge" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/united-states/golden-gate/golden-gate-small.jpg" title="The Golden Gate Bridge" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">The Golden Gate Bridge </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Golden Gate Bridge construction commenced on January 5, 1933 and lasted four and a half years. The resulting structure, renowned for the simplicity and elegance of its design, has become emblematic of the San Francisco Bay Area and has achieved fame worldwide. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On May 27, 1937, the bridge opened to pedestrians with much fanfare. Enthusiastic crowds picnicked on the middle of bridge and there was a great procession at mid-day with 20,000 marchers and floats representing every county in the bridge district. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The GGB opened to vehicular traffic on May 28, 1937 at twelve o'clock noon, ahead of schedule and under budget, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt pressed a telegraph key in the White House announcing the event The Marin Headlands side of San Francisco's GGB is a great place to take pictures such as this July 4th fireworks photo and watch freighters and sailboats cruise under the bridge. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The bridge required so much concrete that cement factories throughout the Eastern United States that closed as a result of the Great Depression were re-opened just to make the concrete for the bridge. To make the wood for the forms that held the concrete, whole forests were cut down in Oregon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">5,000 men at a time worked directly on the bridge. These men were only the ones actually put the bridge together; tens of thousands more worked to prepare the materials that made up the bridge. Completing the bridge took 31 million work-hours, in 134 cities, across 20 states. In the middle of the Depression this project was so huge that it alone buoyed the economy of the whole country. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The year 2007 marks the 70th birthday of possibly the most beautiful, and certainly the most photographed, bridge in the world. San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, named for the strait leading from the Pacific Ocean to the San Francisco Bay, spans tidal currents, ocean waves, and battering winds to connect The City by the Bay with the Redwood Empire to the north. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Millions of visitors come to the bridge each year. The speed limit of the bridge is now only 45 miles per hour and traffic fines have been doubled for the bridge. A $3 fee is collected for southbound traffic and tourists who want to ride their bikes across the bridge can take advantage of the 10-foot wide sidewalks. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-86215703052633093942009-07-16T06:00:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:03:30.977-07:00Panama Canal, Panama<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Panama Canal</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/panama/" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Panama</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/panama/panama-city/panama-city.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Panama City</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Panama Canal is a major ship canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans is also one of the biggest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken before.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/civil-engineering-wonders.aspx"><u>Civil Engineering Wonder</u></a> <u><a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx">National Wonder</a></u></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Panama Canal is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Construction of the canal was one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. It has had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 50 miles long (80 km) international waterway known as the Panama Canal allows ships to pass between the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, saving about 8000 miles (12,875 km) from a journey around the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn. The Canal itself is made up of the Gaillard Cut channel and the artificial Gatun Lake. The lake was formed by the damming of the Chagres River. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The chambers of the locks are wide and 33.53 meters from 304.8 meters long. The water to get on and off the ships in each set of locks is obtained by gravity from Lake Gatun. The water enters the locks through a main sewer system, which extends below the chambers of the locks from the side walls and the central wall. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The narrowest part of the Canal is the Culebra Cut, which extends from the far north of the Pedro Miguel Locks to the southern tip of Lake Gatun in Gamboa. This segment, approximately 13.7 km long, was dug through rock and limestone of the Cordillera Central. The maximum size of vessel that can use the canal is known as Panamax; an increasing number of modern ships exceed this limit, and are known as post-Panamax or super-Panamax vessels. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since opening, the canal has been enormously successful, and continues to be a key conduit for international maritime trade. The canal can accommodate vessels from small private yachts up to large commercial vessels. For every ship that passes the canal is used about 197 million litres of fresh water, which flows by gravity through the locks and dumped into the ocean. The Canal operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing transit service to ships of all nations without discrimination. </div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">History</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">The earliest mention of a canal across the Isthmus of Panama dates back to 1534, when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, ordered a survey for a route through Panama that would ease the voyage for ships travelling to and from Spain and Peru. During his expedition of 1788–1793 Alessandro Malaspina demonstrated the feasibility of a canal and outlined plans for its construction. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">An all-water route between the oceans was still seen as the ideal solution, and the idea of a canal was enhanced by the success of the Suez Canal. The French, under Ferdinand de Lesseps, began construction on a sea level canal through what was then Colombia's province of Panama, on January 1, 1880. The French began work in a rush with insufficient prior study of the geology and hydrology of the region. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1885, due to the tremendous problems encountered in trying to excavate a sea-level canal, the plan was changed to include a single, temporary lock and other adjustments in order to speed up the availability of the canal for traffic. Still, it was of no use. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Among other problems, sea level on the Caribbean side of Panama is lower than on the Pacific side. In addition, disease, particularly malaria and yellow fever, sickened and killed vast numbers of employees, ranging from labourers to top directors of the French company. These conditions made it impossible to maintain an experienced work force as fearful technical employees quickly returned to France. </div><div class="image_left" style="height: 165px;"><a 600,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="800,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/panama/panama-city/panama-canal.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Panama Canal" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/panama/panama-canal/panama-canal-small.jpg" title="Panama Canal" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Panama Canal </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The appraisal of the company's belongings including equipment, maps, and the value of the land already excavated was very high, and in 1894, a new company, the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama, was created in France to attempt to finish the canal. All involved thought of this as an impossible feat by the French, and ideas ran strong to sell the Canal Zone possibly to the United States. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1899 the US Congress created an Isthmian Canal Commission to examine the possibilities of a Central American canal and to recommend a route. The commission first decided on a route through Nicaragua, but later reversed its decision. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In November 1903, Phillipe Bunau-Varilla, Panama's ambassador to the United States, signed the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty, granting rights to the United States to build and indefinitely administer the Panama Canal. Bunau-Varilla, although serving as Panama's ambassador, was a French citizen, and was not authorized to sign treaties on behalf of Panama without the review of the Panamanians. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The United States, under President Theodore Roosevelt bought out the French equipment and excavations for US$40 million, and began work on May 4, 1904, after helping Panama achieve the separation from Colombia by deploying troops and naval forces to stop Colombia from stopping the rebellion against Colombian governance, created by the United States of America. The United States paid Colombia $25,000,000 in 1921; seven years after completion of the canal, for redress of President Roosevelt's role in the creation of Panama, and Colombia recognized Panama under the terms of the Thomson-Urrutia Treaty. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chief Engineer (1905–1907), John Frank Stevens', primary achievement in Panama was in building the infrastructure necessary to complete the canal. He rebuilt the Panama Railway and devised a system for disposing of soil from the excavations by rail. He also built proper housing for canal workers and oversaw extensive sanitation and mosquito control programmes that eliminated yellow fever and other diseases from the Isthmus. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the diseases under control, and after significant work on preparing the infrastructure, construction of an elevated canal with locks began in earnest and was finally possible. The Americans also gradually replaced the old French equipment with machinery designed for a larger scale of work, quickening the pace of construction, President Roosevelt delivered medals for all workers who spent at least two years in the building to commemorate their contributions to the construction of the canal. These medals featured Roosevelt's likeness on the front, the name of the recipient on one side, and the worker's years of service, as well as a picture of the Culebra Cut on the back.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Panama Canal" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/10/PIC20.171143.3695.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The building of the canal was completed in 1914, two years ahead of the target date of June 1, 1916. The canal was formally opened on August 15, 1914 with the passage of the cargo ship Ancon. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">By the 1930s it was seen that water supply would be an issue for the canal; this prompted the building of the Madden Dam across the Chagres River above Gatun Lake. The dam, completed in 1935, created Madden (later Alajuela) Lake, which acts as additional water storage for the canal. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the war, United States' control of the canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it became contentious as relations between Panama and the U.S. became increasingly tense. Many Panamanians believed that the Canal Zone rightfully belonged to Panama; protests as well as the increased military presence. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Negotiations toward a new settlement began in 1974, and resulted in the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. Signed by President of the United States Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos of Panama on September 7, 1977, this set in motion the process of handing the canal over to Panamanian control for free as long as Panama signed a treaty guaranteeing the permanent neutrality of the canal (Neutrality Treaty) and allowed the U.S. to come back anytime. Though controversial within the U.S., the treaty led to full Panamanian control effective at noon on December 31, 1999, and control of the canal was handed over to the Panama Canal Authority (ACP). </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-76079212666210629932009-07-16T05:57:00.002-07:002010-04-22T03:03:44.549-07:00Itaipu Dam, Brazil<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Itaipu Dam</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/brazil" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Brazil</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/brazil/foz-do-iguacu/foz-do-iguacu.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Foz do Iguaçu</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Itaipu Dam is one of the largest operational hydroelectric power plant output of any dam in the world.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/civil-engineering-wonders.aspx"><u>Civil Engineering Wonder</u></a> <u><a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx">National Wonder</a></u></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div align="justify">The Itaipu Hydroelectric Power Plant is located on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay. The Paraná River is the seventh largest river in the world and the second largest in South America. Itaipu Dam is the world’s largest hydroelectric power facility and it is a joint effort of the governments of Brazil and Paraguay. <br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Itaipu Dam, the Hydroelectric" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2009/3/PIC18.144556.4165.jpg" /> </div><div align="justify">The project ranges from Foz do Iguaçu, in Brazil, and Ciudad Del Este in Paraguay, in the south to Guaíra and Salto Del Guaíra in the north. The name Itaipu was taken from an isle that existed near the construction site. In the Guarani language, “Itaipu” means "the sound of a stone". </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Itaipu Reservoir is 170 km long with an area of 1.35 km2 and has a volume at maximum normal level of 29 billion tons of water. It consists of a series of various types of dams the height of the dam reaches 196 m, its length 7.76 km. The Powerhouse is located at the toe of the main Dam, most of it on the river bed and the rest on the Diversion Channel.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Itaipu Dam at Night" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2009/3/PIC18.144345.9643.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The main structure, a hollow, concrete gravity dam, has a powerhouse capable of generating 14,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity. The main powerhouse has 18 Francis turbines each with a rated power of 715 MW. The Spillway is located on the right bank, and it has 14 segmented sluice gates with a total discharge rate of 62,200 cubic meters per second. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The volumes of construction in Itaipu are also impressive. The volume of iron and steel utilized in the Dam structure would be enough to build 380 Eiffel Towers, and the volume of concrete used in Itaipu represents 15 times the volume utilized to build the Channel Tunnel between France and England.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Itaipu Dam, Brazil" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2009/3/PIC18.144148.7248.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The power plant is a major tourist attraction in the Foz do Iguacu area. More than nine million visitors from 162 countries have visited the structure since it was completed in 1991. </div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">History</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">On June 22, 1966, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Juracy Magalhaes, and of Paraguay, Sapena Pastor, signed the "Act of Iguaçu ". A study was carried out under this Act that assessed the potential hydraulic resources of the Paraná River, which is jointly occupied by the two countries. In 1967, the Brazilian-Paraguayan Joint Technical Commission was established to carry out the study and the development of the Paraná River. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">On April, 26, 1973, the two governments of the states signed a treaty "for the development of the hydroelectric resources of the Paraná River" and founded ITAIPU Binacional (cooperation with the legal, administrative and financial capacities and technical responsibility to plan set up and operate the plant) in May, 17, 1974. </div><div class="image_left" style="height: 166px;"><a auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024," height="768,resizable=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/brazil/foz-do-iguacu/itaipu-dam.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar=" yes"=""> <img alt="Itaipu Dam" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/brazil/itaipu-dam/itaipu-dam-small.jpg" title="Itaipu Dam" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Itapu Dam </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The construction work started in 1975, reaching its peak in 1978 with 30 000 people at work. Monthly on-site concrete production reached 338 000 m³. In total, 15 times the mass of concrete used for the "Euro Tunnel" was supplied. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It took almost three years for workers to carve a 1.3 mile long, 300 foot deep, 490 foot wide diversion channel for the river. Fifty million tons of earth and rock were removed in the process. Engineers chose a hollow gravity dam because it required 35 percent less concrete than a solid gravity dam. The hollow dam is still heavy and sturdy enough to resist the thrust of water entirely by its own weight. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sometimes the dam can get blocked with mud and silt. It is expensive to clean the dam out. The mud and silt can cause diseases in the water in the reservoir. Unless the water in the reservoir is cleaned, people can get these diseases. The land behind the dam and reservoir had to be flooded. Much of this land was rainforest and the trees had to be cut down. Many parrots died because their homes in the trees were destroyed.</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Itaipu Dam" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/10/PIC20.164831.7339.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1982 the land behind the dam was flooded and within 14 days the reservoir was created. Unit 1 started to operate in December 1983. Electrical grid connection to Paraguay was established in March 1984, Brazil was connected 5 months later. In March 1991 the last Unit (No.18) was put into operation. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The magnitude of the project also can be demonstrated by the fact that in 1995 Itaipu alone provided 25% of the energy supply in Brazil and 78% in Paraguay. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-82007421273613342522009-07-16T05:57:00.001-07:002010-04-22T03:03:56.362-07:00Empire State Building, United States<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Empire State Building</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">United States</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/new-york/new-york.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">New York</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Empire State Building in New York City is one of the most famous skyscrapers in the world known over for its history, architecture, and as a symbol of American industry.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/civil-engineering-wonders.aspx"><u>Civil Engineering Wonder</u></a> <u><a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx">National Wonder</a></u></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The Empire State Building located at Fifth Avenue at 34th Street in Manhattan. Ever since it was built, the Empire State Building has captured the attention of young and old alike, every year, millions of tourists flock to the Empire State Building to get a glimpse from its 86th and 102nd floor observatories; the image of the Empire State Building has appeared in hundreds of ads and movies. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Building Materials on the exterior is Indiana limestone and granite, trimmed with aluminium and chrome nickel steel from the 6th floor to the top, the interior the lobby was made by Ceiling high marble, imported from France, Italy, Belgium and Germany. The facade is composed of more than 200,000 cubic feet of Indiana limestone and granite, and utilizes several setbacks to offset the optical distortion.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Empire State Building" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/10/PIC20.163330.8283.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It has height 448 meters to top of antenna, 391 meters to 102nd floor observatory, 320 meters to 86th floor observatory. And cover an area of 83,860 square feet. The top of the Empire State Building is lit up at night in different colours to celebrate various holidays. For a long time after Sept. 11, 2001, it was continuously lit red, white, and blue. The height of the antenna has been increased from 443.2 meters to 448.7 meters. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Empire State Building Observatory on the 86th and 102nd floors provides incredible views of Manhattan. It's one of the most popular tourist destinations in New York City on a clear day you can see up to 80 miles in any direction. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The observatory is open daily from 9:30am to midnight. All visitors must enter through the Fifth Avenue entrance and security is strict so expect a wait. You'll want to bring some quarters for the coin operated telephoto viewers on the observation deck. </div><h2 style="text-align: justify;">History</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">The construction began on March 17, 1930, built in the midst of the Depression, it was, and still remains a testament to American fortitude and ingenuity, the building was the center of a competition between Walter Chrysler (Chrysler Corp.) and John Jakob Raskob (creator of General Motors) to see who could build the tallest building. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Designed by architectural practice Shreve, Lamb and Harmon Associates, construction of the building superstructure began on the site of the old Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on 17 March, 1930; although excavation for the foundations had commenced on 22 January, 1930. One of the enduring achievements of the Empire State Building was the speed of its construction. </div><div class="image_left" style="height: 167px;"><a 768,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/america/united-states/new-york/empire-state.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Empire State Building" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/america/united-states/empire-state/empire-state-small.jpg" title="Empire State Building" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Empire State Building </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By October 3, 1930, there were 88 floors finished and only 14 to go. These top floors took the form of a distinctive tower of glass, steel, and aluminium. The tower is about 200 ft. high and topped with a dome. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Construction of the building requiring 7 million man hours, 60,000 tons of steel and 10 million bricks proceeded at a record pace even though the stock market crash of 1928 happened just a few weeks after the massive project was begun. It was built in just 18 months and was one of the first to employ the then new fast track construction technique. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1985 a 22 story television antenna was attached to the top of the building and serves a lightning rod protecting surrounding buildings. The rod absorbs around 100 lightning strikes each year. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">For 40 years after it was constructed, it held the record for being the largest skyscraper in the world. The building has starred in over 90 movies, and it remains one of New York City's most popular tourist attractions. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Although the Empire State Building is no longer the world's tallest building, it is still visited by millions of tourists each year and has been featured in over 90 famous movies like King Kong or Sleepless in Seattle. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was official opening in May 1, 1931, by President Herbert Hoover, who pressed a button in Washington, D.C. to turn on the building's lights. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Empire State Building is a legend. An international icon, it has been visited by more than 117 million people, who come to marvel at the 80 mile view into New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. </div></div>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4547216581225393803.post-49568296528241485202009-07-16T05:55:00.000-07:002010-04-22T03:04:06.294-07:00Delta Works, Netherlands<div id="content_header"><b>Wonder:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_name">Delta Works</span> <br />
<b>Country:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/europe/netherlands/" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_country">Netherlands</a> <br />
<b>Region:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/europe/netherlands/rotterdam/rotterdam.aspx" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_region">Rotterdam</a> <br />
<b>Visitable:</b> <span id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_visitable">Yes</span> <br />
<b>About:</b> <br />
<div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_short_desc">The Delta Works is one of the most impressive structures in the world with its hydraulic system improves water balance which protects Netherlands from storms and high sea levels.</div><div class="wtype" id="ctl00_main_content_wonder_type"><b>Wonder type:</b> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/civil-engineering-wonders.aspx"><u>Civil Engineering Wonder</u></a> <a href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/national-wonders.aspx"><u>National Wonder</u></a> </div></div><div><div class="image_right"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The flooding in 1953 made it very clear how vulnerable the land and the people living there were. Therefore a huge effort the Delta Works project was made to create a new and better protection to make sure this would not happen again. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Delta Works protects a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea. Delta Works is a very complicated collection of locks, sluices, channels, bridges, slides, dams, dikes, storm surge barriers and gates working together. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The aim of the dams, sluices, and storm surge barriers was to shorten the Dutch coastline, thus reducing the number of dikes that had to be raised. This dam consists of several strings of gates and their massive supporting pylons which, in normal weather, allow tidal sea waters to ebb and flow in the Eastern Schelde estuary, thus benefiting the fish, bird life and the local fisheries. The four great estuaries in the south-western Netherlands should be closed with dams. These closures should be done in a special order because of tidal movements of shipping and fishing, this guarantees for the economy of the country. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The piers and their mechanisms had to be lifted into precise positions in the estuary. But the type of equipment needed for such gargantuan and specialized tasks did not exist anywhere in the world; it had to be invented. The piers support 300- to 500-ton steel gates and their hydraulic machinery, as well as a roadway above and load-bearing beams below. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Oosterscheldedam is on one of the two artificial islands situated in Zeeland, just an hour and a half driving distance from Amsterdam and half an hour from Dordrecht where the structure is located; it is a recommend for those interested in water management. Three kilometres long, this anti-tempest dam is constituted of 65 pillars between which one can slide 62 iron flood-gates. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The height of one pillar is 38 meter and its weight 18.000 tons. When the sea becomes dangerous, one hour is enough to lower the flood gates. This system affords to keep 75% of the tide amplitude as well as the fishing industry, the breed of mussels and oysters and above all, the unique eco-system of The Biesbosch.<br />
</div><div id="video_holder" style="margin-top: 10px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Delta Works" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/community/2008/10/PIC20.162238.6559.jpg" /> </div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the latest improvements of the Delta plan was the storm surge barrier in the New Waterway near Hoek van Holland built in 1997. It consists of two enormous doors mounted on swing arms that can be used to close the estuary if storm and high water requires in order protecting the country. </div><h2>History</h2><div style="text-align: justify;">During the night of January 31, 1953, to force 12 north westerly windstorm pounded the coast of Zeeland. The weakened dikes, drenched with water, ultimately gave way, flooding the islands of Goeree-Overflakkee, Tholen and Schouwen-Duiveland. The result was disastrous 1835 fatalities, 100000 evacuees, and 200000 hectares of land under water. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">After that a commission was installed which had to come up with a plan to research the causes and seek measures to prevent such disasters in future. They revised some of the old plans; the plans were made to connect the South Holland and Zeeland islands by dams. The combination of these plans and dams was called the Delta Plan. The Dutch government unanimously accepted the Delta Act in 1958, thus laying the foundation for the Delta Works. In 1959, the Delta Law was passed, in order to organise the construction of the dams. </div><div class="image_left"><a 768,resizable="yes" auto,scrollbars="auto,locationbar=" auto,width="1024,height=" href="http://www.7wonders.org/wonders/europe/netherlands/rotterdam/delta-works.aspx#" onclick="'window.open(" toolbar="no,menubar="> <img alt="Delta Works" src="http://www.7wonders.org/images/europe/netherlands/delta-works/delta-works-small.jpg" title="Delta Works" /> </a> <br />
<div class="image_desc">Delta Works </div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The plan consisted of blocking the estuary-mouths of the Oosterschelde, the Haringvliet and the Grevelingen. This reduced the length of the dikes exposed to the sea by approximately 400 miles (640 km). </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dikes along these waterways were to be heightened and strengthened. The works would be combined with road and waterway infrastructure to stimulate the economy of the province of Zeeland and improve the connection between the port of Rotterdam and Antwerp. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Delta Works consist of more than dams and dikes alone; locks are also needed for transporting high water to the Rhine. Therefore drainage locks have been built in the Haringvliet. These locks began operating in 1971 and have 17 openings, each 56.5 meters wide. The Brouwers Dam in the Brouwershaven Gat was completed in 1972. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">Oosterschelde Flood Barrier was created to prevent the creation of too many freshwater areas in Holland, the flood barrier locks are usually kept open and only close during times of extremely high storm tides. This structure, one of the largest in the world, cost 5.5 billion guilders to build and was opened on October 4, 1986. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">This project led to dangerous tides causing dangerous floods have been reduced, now are lovely areas to explore by boat. Some of the uncovered shores have become recreation parks. Many sandbars and shores, however, especially in the Oosterschelde, are part of an important nature reserve. It was the largest project of its kind anywhere in the world and took 30 years to build. It is known as the Delta Project. </div></div><h3><br />
</h3>INDIANhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02147559245739343827noreply@blogger.com0