Sabratha in Libya

Sabratha is a World Heritage Site in the Az Zawiyah District in the northwestern corner of modern Libya, was the westernmost of the three cities of Tripolis. It is also called as Sabratah or Siburata. From 2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha Wa Surman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 65km or 40 miles west of Tripoli. The extant archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.
Sabratha port was established, perhaps about 500 BC, as a Phoenician trading post that served as a coastal outlet for the products of the African hinterland. Sabratha became part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The Emperor Septimus Severus was born nearby in Leptis Magna, and Sabratha reached its monumental peak during the rule of the Severans.

The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the 4th century, particularly the quake of AD 365. It was rebuilt on a more modest scale by Byzantine governors. Within a hundred years of the Arab conquest of the maghreb, trade had shifted to other ports and Sabratha dwindled to a village.

Besides its magnificent late 3rd century theatre that retains its three storey architectural backdrop, Sabratha has temples dedicated to Liber Pater, Serapis, Isis, and Ian Flom. There is a Christian basilica of the time of Justinian and also remnants of some of the mosaic floors that enriched elite dwellings of Roman North Africa for example, at the Villa Sileen, near Al-Khoms. However, these are most clearly preserved in the coloured patterns of the seaward baths, directly overlooking the shore, and in the black and white floors of the Theatre baths.
There is an adjacent museum containing some treasures from Sabratha, but others can be seen in the national museum in Tripoli. In 1943, during the Second World War, archaeologist Max Mallowan, husband of novelist Agatha Christie, was based at Sabratha as assistant to the Senior Civil Affairs Officer of the Western Province of Tripolitania. His main task was to oversee the allocation of grain rations, but it was, in the words of Christies biographer, a glorious attachment, during which Mallowan lived in an Italian villa with a patio overlooking the sea and dined on fresh tunny fish and olives.

Royal Exhibition Building

The Royal Exhibition Building is a World Heritage Site listed building in Melbourne, Australia, completed in 1880. It is located at 9 Nicholson Street in the Carlton Gardens, flanked by Victoria, Nicholson, Carlton and Rathdowne Streets, at the north-eastern edge of the central business district. It was built to host the Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880-1881 and later hosted the opening of the first Parliament of Australia in 1901. The details of Royal Exhibition Building are explained in world tour guides below. Throughout the 20th century smaller sections and wings of the building were subject to demolition and fire, however the main building, known as the Great Hall survived.

The Royal Exhibition Building received restoration throughout the 1990s and in 2004 became the first building in Australia to be awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, being one of the last remaining major 19th century exhibition buildings in the world. It sits adjacent to the Melbourne Museum and is the largest item in Museum Victorias collection. Today, the building hosts various exhibitions and other events and is closely tied with events at the Melbourne Museum.

The Royal Exhibition Building was designed by the architect Joseph Reed, who also designed the Melbourne Town Hall and the State Library of Victoria. According to Reed, the eclectic design was inspired by many sources. The dome was modeled on the Florence Cathedral, while the main pavilions were influenced by the style of Rundbogenstil and several buildings from Normandy, Caen and Paris. The foundation stone was laid by Victorian governor George Bowen on 19 February 1879 and it was completed in 1880, ready for the Melbourne International Exhibition. The building consisted of a Great Hall of over 12,000 square metres and many temporary annexes.

In 1880 the building hosted two major International Exhibitions; The Melbourne International Exhibition in 1880 and the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition in 1888 to celebrate a century of European settlement in Australia. The most significant event to occur in the Exhibition Building was the opening of the first Parliament of Australia on 9 May 1901, following the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January. After the official opening, the federal government moved to the Victorian State Parliament House, while the Victorian government moved to the Exhibition Building for the next 26 years.

The period after this time saw the building used for many purposes. It was a venue for the 1956 Summer Olympics, hosting the basketball, weightlifting and wrestling competitions. As it decayed, it became known derogatively by locals as the The White Elephant in the 1940s and by the 1950s, like many buildings in Melbourne of that time it was earmarked for replacement by office blocks. In 1948, members of the Melbourne City Council put this to the vote and it was narrowly decided not to demolish the building. The wing of the building which once housed Melbourne's aquarium burnt down in 1953. During the 1940s and 1950s, the building remained a venue for regular weekly dances.

During a visit to Victoria in 1984, Princess Alexandra bestowed the royal title on the building and it has been referred to as the Royal Exhibition Building ever since. This title, and the first conservation assessment of the building undertaken by Alan Willingham, sparked a restoration of the interiors of the building in the late 1980s and 1990s, and the construction of a mirror glass annexe. In 1996 the then Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett, proposed the location and construction of Melbournes State Museum on the adjacent site. Temporary annexes built in the 1960s were removed and in 1997 and 1998, the exterior of the building was progressively restored.

The location of the Melbourne Museum close to the Exhibition Building site was strongly opposed by the Victorian State Labor Party, the Melbourne City Council and the local community. It was as a result of the community campaign opposing the museum development that John Brumby, then State opposition leader, with the support of the Melbourne City Council, proposed the nomination of the Royal Exhibition Building for world heritage listing. The world heritage nomination did not progress until the election of the Victorian State Labor Party as the new government in 1999.

On 1 July 2004, the Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens was granted listing as a World Heritage Site, the first building in Australia to be granted this status. The heritage listing states that The Royal Exhibition Building is the only major extant nineteenth century exhibition building in Australia. It is one of the few major nineteenth century exhibition buildings to survive worldwide. In October 2009, Museum Victoria embarked upon a major project to restore the former German Garden of the Western Forecourt. The area had been covered by asphalt in the 1950s for car parking.

The Royal Exhibition Building is still in use as a commercial exhibition venue, hosting many events on a regular basis such as the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Regular tours are also offered by Melbourne Museum. The Royal Exhibition Building is used as an exam hall for the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne High School, Nossal High School and Mac.Robertson Girls High School. However, it is no longer Melbourne's largest commercial exhibition centre. The modern alternative to the Royal Exhibition Building is the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre, located in Southbank to the south of the central city area.

Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park

Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park is UNESCO World Heritage site in the Northern Territory of Australia. The details of Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park are explained in world tour guides below. It is located 1431 kilometres south of Darwin by road and 440 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lasseter Highways. The park covers 1398 square kilometres and includes the features it is named after Uluru Ayers Rock and, 40 kilometres to its west, Kata Tjuta or Mount Olga and is serviced by flights from most Australian capital cities.

Uluru is Australia most recognisable natural icon. The world renowned sandstone inselberg stands 348 metres high with most of its bulk below the ground. The aboriginals believe that the spirit that turned into Uluru was a turtle spirit. Kata Tjuta, meaning many heads, is a group of 36 rock domes that dates back 500 million years. Both Uluru and Kata Tjuta have great cultural significance for the Anangu traditional landowners, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush foods and the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area. Anangu are the traditional Aboriginal owners of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The Aboriginal Land Rights Act was passed in 1976, meaning that after many years Aboriginal law and land rights were finally recognised in Australian law. Nine years later in 1985 the Traditional Owners were presented with the Freehold Title deeds for the Park, who, in turn, leased the land back to the Australian Government through the Director of National Parks for 99 years. The Director is assisted by Parks Australia. Since hand-back, Anangu and Parks Australia staff have worked together to manage the Park. This process of working together is known as joint management. All management policy and programs aim to maintain Anangu culture and heritage conserve and protect the integrity of the ecological.

In 1987 Uluru National Park was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage natural property. In 1993 the official name of the Park changed to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park and the following year it was listed as a World Heritage cultural landscape. This dual World Heritage-listing means that it is one of the few properties in the world that is internationally recognised for both its natural and cultural values and represents years of work by Anangu to assert their role as custodians of their traditional lands. This international recognition is a significant victory for Anangu as it confirms the validity of Tjukurpa as being the primary tool for looking after country.

In 1995 Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park won the Picasso Gold Medal, the highest UNESCO award for outstanding efforts to preserve the landscape and Anangu culture and for setting new International standards for World Heritage management. It was awarded jointly to Parks Australia and the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Board of Management. The National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975 was replaced in July 2000 by the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The declaration of the Park was continued under the new Act.

On 24 May 1977 the Park became the first area declared under the Commonwealth National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1975, under the name Uluru National Park, to be managed by the Director of National Parks. The Park was declared over an area of 132,550 hectares and included the subsoil to a depth of 1,000 metres. The declaration was amended on 21 October 1985 to include an additional area of 16 hectares. In 1993, at the request of Anangu and the Park Board of Management, the name of the Park was changed to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The park receives an average rainfall of 307.7 millimeters per year. Temperature extremes in the park have been recorded at 45°C or 113°F during the summer and -5°C or 23°F during winter nights. UV readings on most extreme summer days reach between 11 and 15. While the Central Australian environment may at first seem stark - a barren landscape supporting spectacular rock formations - closer inspection reveals it as a complex ecosystem, full of life.

Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park flora represents a large portion of plants found in Central Australia. A number of these species are considered rare and restricted in the Park or the immediate region. In Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park 46 species of native mammal are known to have been living in the Uluru region; there are currently 21 according to recent surveys. Anangu acknowledge that a decrease in the number has implications for the condition and health of the landscape. Moves are supported for the reintroduction of locally extinct animals such as mallee fowl, brushtail possum, rufous hare wallaby, or mala, bilby, burrowing bettong and the black footed rock wallaby.


The listing of Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park ensures the Park remains a world class destination for both its cultural and natural heritage. Visitors will continue to have a unique cultural experience at the Park and leave knowing that the Park is managed according to cultural practices that date back tens of thousands of years. Since listing the Park as World Heritage annual visitor numbers have risen to over 400,000 visitors in the year 2000. Increased tourism provides regional and national economic benefits. It also presents an ongoing challenge to balance conservation of cultural values and visitor needs.

The Park is open year round from sunrise to sunset. These times will vary depending on the season. Occasionally parts of the Park may be temporarily closed for cultural reasons. The park entrance fee for Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park is $25 per person 16 years of age and over. This fee is valid for 3 consecutive days and helps to maintain the Park. One quarter goes back to Anangu, the traditional owners, to help them maintain their families and the Mutitjulu community. The Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park Cultural Centre, located inside the Park on the main road to Uluru, provides an introduction to Tjukurpa, Anangu art, Anangu way of life, history, languages, wildlife and joint management of the Park.

Buda Castle

Buda Castle is the historical castle complex of the Hungarian kings in Budapest, Hungary first completed in 1265. In the past, it was also called Royal Palace and Royal Castle. Buda Castle was built on the southern tip of Castle Hill, next to the old Castle District, which is famous for its medieval, Baroque and 19th century houses and public buildings. It is a famous tourist destination linked to Adam Clark Square and the Szechenyi Chain Bridge by the Castle Hill Funicular. Buda Castle is part of the Budapest World Heritage Site, declared in 1987.

The lavishly decorated interiors of the palace were all destroyed during WW2 and the post-war reconstruction. There is very little data about the interiors of the medieval and Baroque era. The Hauszmann palace was meticulously recorded with detailed descriptions, photographic documentation and ground plans. The royal apartments created a 200 m long series of rooms, longer than any similar royal apartments in continental Europe except Versailles.

The most important rooms in Buda castle are given here. The Ballroom on the first floor of the Baroque wing had several layers of Baroque decoration from the second half of the 18th and the 19th century. St. Sigismund Chapel or Castle Church is the palace chapel in the western end of this wing had no facades, only a door opening onto Lions Court. The church was consecrated in 1769. The Palatinal Crypt under the former palace chapel is now the only surviving room of the whole Royal Castle. The Great Ballroom in the middle part of the Northern Wing took over the function of the smaller old Ballroom. The monumental main staircase of the Krisztinavaros Wing with three flights was leading up from to the first floor in an airy, glass-roofed hall. The Habsburg Room was situated right in the middle of the long palace complex, under Hauszmanns dome.

A series of rooms from the medieval palace of the Hungarian kings were unearthed and reconstructed during the postwar rebuilding of Buda Castle in 1958-62. They are now part of the permanent exhibition of the Budapest History Museum in "Building E" of Buda Castle. Only a fragment of the medieval palace survived the destruction of 1686-1715 and the surviving rooms were not the most important ones of the original building. They were only saved by the chances of destruction and their geographical position, situated on a lower level then the newly created Baroque terrace.

The rib vaulted Gothic Hall is one of the most important surviving example of secular Gothic architecture in Central Europe. It was built by King Sigismund Luxemburg of Hungary in the early 15th century. The three interconnected, barrel-vaulted rooms belong to the oldest part of the palace, the Stephen Castle. A great underground cistern under the - now disappeared - northern zwinger, the Cisterna Regia, survived the centuries of destruction as a cellar. The the 7 m high basement section of the eastern facade with the lower part of a fine Gothic balcony survived inside the later King's Cellar.

The Royal Palace and its gardens were decorated with statues. The spectacular fountain is decorating the western forecourt of the palace. The equestrian statue of Prince Eugene of Savoy is standing on the Danube terrace, in a prominent position, high above Budapest. The statue of the Hortobagy horse wrangler taming a wild horse originally stood in front of the Riding School in the former Ujvilag terrace. The mythological Turul, high above the Danube, was made by Gyula Donath in 1905. The plinth and the ornate Neo Baroque rail were damaged during the siege of Buda but they were restored in 1981.

CN Tower

The CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing 553.3 metres or 1,815 ft tall. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975, becoming the tallest free-standing structure on land in the world for the next 31 years. On September 12, 2007 the CN Tower was surpassed in height by Burj Khalifa. It remains the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere, the signature icon of Toronto's skyline, and a symbol of Canada, attracting more than two million international visitors annually.

CN originally referred to Canadian National, the railway company that built the tower. Following the railway's decision to divest non-core freight railway assets, prior to the company's privatization in 1995 it transferred the tower to the Canada Lands Company, a federal Crown corporation responsible for real estate development. Since local residents wished to retain the name CN Tower, the abbreviation is now said to expand to Canada's National Tower rather than the original Canadian National Tower; however, neither of these names are commonly used.

In 1995, the CN Tower was declared one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. It also belongs to the World Federation of Great Towers, where it holds the 1st place ranking. Construction on the CN Tower began on February 6, 1973 with massive excavations at the tower base for the foundation. By the time the foundation was complete, 56,000 t of dirt and shale were removed to a depth of 15 metres or 49.2 ft in the centre, and a base incorporating 7,000 cubic metres or 9,156 cu yd of concrete with 450 tonnes of rebar and 36 tonnes of steel cable had been built to a thickness of 6.7 metres or 22.0 ft. This portion of the construction was fairly rapid, with only four months needed between the start and the foundation being ready for construction on top.

The CN Tower consists of several substructures. The main portion of the tower is a hollow concrete hexagonal pillar containing the six elevators, stairwells, and power and plumbing connections. On top of this is a 102-metre or 334.6 ft tall metal broadcast antenna, carrying TV and radio signals. There are two visitor areas: the main deck level located at 346 metres or 1,135 ft, and the higher Sky Pod at 446.5 metres or 1,465 ft, just below the metal antenna. The hexagonal shape can be seen between the two areas; however, below the main deck, three large supporting legs give the tower the appearance of a large tripod.

The main level is seven storeys, some of which are open to the public. Below the public areas at 338 metres or 1,108.9 ft is a large white donut-shaped radome containing the structure's microwave receivers. The glass floor and outdoor observation deck are at 342 metres or 1,122.0 ft. The glass floor has an area of 24 square metres or 258 sq ft and can withstand a pressure of 4,100 kilopascals or 595 psi. The floor's thermal glass units are 64 millimetres or 2.5 in thick, consisting of a pane of 25-millimetre or 1.0 in laminated glass, 25 millimetres or 1.0 in airspace and a pane of 13-millimetre or 0.5 in laminated glass. Some people experience acrophobia when standing on the glass floor and looking down at the ground 342 metres or 1,122.0 ft below.



In 2008, one elevator was upgraded to add a glass floor panel, believed to have the highest vertical rise of any elevator equipped with this feature. The Horizons Cafe and the lookout level are at 346 metres or 1,135.2 ft. The 360 Restaurant, a revolving restaurant that completes a full rotation once every 72 minutes, is at 351 metres or1,151.6 ft. When the tower first opened, it also featured a disco named Sparkles, billed as the highest disco and dance floor in the world. The Sky Pod is the second-highest public observation deck in the world, surpassed only by the Shanghai World Financial Center. On a clear day, it is possible to see 100 to 120 kilometres or 62–75 miles away, to the city of Rochester across Lake Ontario in the United States, the mist rising from Niagara Falls, or the shores of Lake Simcoe.

A metal staircase reaches the main deck level after 1,776 steps, and the Sky Pod 100 metres above after 2,579 steps. It is the tallest metal staircase on Earth. These stairs are intended for emergency use only and are not open to the public, except for two times per year for charity stair-climb events. In June 2007, the tower was outfitted with 1,330 super-bright LED lights inside the elevator shafts, shooting up over the bubbleand upward to the top of the tower's mast to light the tower from dusk until 2 a.m.

The official opening ceremony took place on June 28 before the Canada Day holiday weekend. The tower changes its lighting scheme on holidays and to commemorate major events. After the 95th Grey Cup in Toronto, the tower was lit up in green and white to represent the colours of the Grey Cup champion Saskatchewan Roughriders. Guinness World Records has called the CN Tower the world's tallest self-supporting tower and "the world's tallest free-standing tower Although Guinness did list this description of the CN Tower under the heading "tallest building at least once, it has also listed it under tallest tower, omitting it from its list of "tallest buildings.

Victoria Falls

The Victoria Falls or Mosi-oa-Tunya is one of the World heritage natural monument site. The Victoria Falls are some of the largest in the world. Mosi-oa-Tunya means the Smoke that Thunders. It is a waterfall located in southern Africa on the Zambezi River between the countries of Zambia and Zimbabwe. It The Victoria Falls are considered by some to be among the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, is believed to have been the first European recorded to view the Victoria Falls. While it is neither the highest nor the widest waterfall in the world, it is claimed to be the largest. This claim is based on a width of 1,708 metres or 5,604 ft and height of 108 meters or 360 ft, forming the largest sheet of falling water in the world.

The Zambezi flows over a level sheet of basalt, in a shallow valley bounded by low and distant sandstone hills. The rivers course is dotted with numerous tree-covered islands, which increase in number as the river approaches the falls. There are no mountains, escarpments, or deep valleys which might be expected to create a waterfall, only flat plateau extending hundreds of kilometres in all directions.

The falls are formed as the full width of the river plummets in a single vertical drop into a transverse chasm 1708 meters or 5604 ft wide, carved by its waters along a fracture zone in the basalt plateau. The depth of the chasm, called the First Gorge, varies from 80 metres or 262 ft at its western end to 108 metres or 360 ft in the centre. The only outlet to the First Gorge is a 110-metre-wide or 360 ft gap about two-thirds of the way across the width of the falls from the western end, through which the whole volume of the river pours into the Victoria Falls gorges.

There are two islands on the crest of the falls that are large enough to divide the curtain of water even at full flood Boaruka Island or Cataract Island near the western bank and Livingstone Island near the middle. At less than full flood, additional islets divide the curtain of water into separate parallel streams. Victoria Falls is roughly thrice the height of North America Niagara Falls and well over twice the width of its Horseshoe Falls. In height and width Victoria Falls is rivalled only by South America Iguazu Falls.

The whole volume of the Zambezi River pours through the First Gorges 110-meter-wide or 360 ft exit for a distance of about 150 meters or 500 ft, then enters a zigzagging series of gorges designated by the order in which the river reaches them. Water entering the Second Gorge makes a sharp right turn and has carved out a deep pool there called the Boiling Pot. Reached via a steep footpath from the Zambian side, it is about 150 metres or 500 ft across. The walls of the gorges are nearly vertical and generally about 120 metres or 400 feet high, but the level of the river in them varies by up to 20 meters 65 feet between wet and dry seasons.

Nearly 300,000 people were visiting the falls annually, and this was expected to rise to over a million in the next decade. Unlike the game parks, Victoria Falls has more Zimbabwean and Zambian visitors than international tourists as they are accessible by bus and train and therefore comparatively inexpensive to reach. The two national parks at the falls are relatively small Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park is 66 square kilometres or 16,309 acres and Victoria Falls National Park is 23 square kilometres or 5,683 acres. However, next to the latter on the southern bank is the Zambezi National Park, extending 40 kilometers or 25 miles west along the river. Animals can move between the two Zimbabwean parks and can also reach Matetsi Safari Area, Kazuma Pan National Park and Hwange National Park to the south.

Mopane woodland savannah predominates in the area, with smaller areas of Miombo and Rhodesian Teak woodland and scrubland savannah. Riverine forest with palm trees lines the banks and islands above the falls. 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. Vegetation has suffered in recent droughts, and so have the animals that depend on it, particularly antelope.

The national parks contain abundant wildlife including sizable populations of elephant, buffalo, giraffe, zebra, and a variety of antelope. Lion and leopard are only occasionally seen. Vervet monkeys and baboons are common. The river above the falls contains large populations of hippopotamus and crocodile. Elephants cross the river in the dry season at particular crossing points.

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 river is home to 39 species of fish below the falls and 89 species above it, mostly black cod and slippery trout. This illustrates the effectiveness of the falls as a dividing barrier between the upper and lower Zambezi.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is a temple at Angkor, Cambodia, built for the king Suryavarman II in the early 12th century as his state temple and capital city. As the best preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have stayed an important religious centre since its foundation first Hindu, dedicated to god Vishnu, then Buddhist. The temple is epitome of high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag. Angkor Wat has become a major tourist destination. In 2004 and 2005, government figures suggest that, respectively, 561,000 and 677,000 foreign visitors arrived in Siem Reap province, approximately 50% of all foreign tourists in Cambodia.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early South Indian Hindu architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres or 2.2 miles long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "City Temple". Angkor is a vernacular form of the word nokor which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara meaning capital or city. Wat is the Khmer word for temple. Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok, after the title of its founder, Suryavarman II. Angkor Wat lies 5.5 km north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred on the Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor's main sites.

The initial design and construction of the temple took place in the first half of the 12th century, during the reign of Suryavarman II. Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built as the kings state temple and capital city. In 13th century, King Jayavarman VIII, who was Hindu, was deposed by his son in law, Srindravarman. Srindravarman had spent the previous 10 years in Sri Lanka becoming intended as a Buddhist monk. Hence, the new King decided to convert the official religion of the empire from Hindu to Buddhist

The first Western visitor to the temple was Antonio da Magdalena, a Portuguese monk who visited in 1586 and said that "It is of such extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all the refinements which the human genius can conceive of". However, the temple was popularised in the West only in the mid-19th century on the publication of Henri Mouhots travel notes. Mouhot, like other early Western visitors, was unable to believe that the Khmers could have built the temple, and mistakenly dated it to around the same era as Rome. The true history of Angkor Wat was pieced together only from stylistic and epigraphic evidence accumulated during the subsequent clearing and restoration work carried out across the whole Angkor site.


Angkor Wat, located at is a unique combination of the temple mountain, the standard design for the empire's state temples, the later plan of concentric galleries, and influences from Orissa and the Chola of Tamil Nadu, India. Angkor Wat is the prime example of the classical style of Khmer architecture the Angkor Wat style to which it has given its name. By the 12th century Khmer architects had become skilled and confident in the use of sandstone as the main building material.

The outer wall, 1024 by 802 m and 4.5 m high, is surrounded by a 30 m apron of open ground and a moat 190 m wide. Access to the temple is by an earth bank to the east and a sandstone causeway to the west; the latter, the main entrance, is a later addition, possibly replacing a wooden bridge. The outer wall encloses a space of 820,000 square metres or 203 acres, which besides the temple proper was originally occupied by the city and, to the north of the temple, the royal palace. The temple stands on a terrace raised higher than the city. It is made of three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower, each level higher than the last. Mannikka interprets these galleries as being dedicated to the king, Brahma, the moon, and Vishnu.

The Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple between 1986 and 1992. Since the 1990s, Angkor Wat has seen continued conservation efforts and a massive increase in tourism. The temple is part of the Angkor World Heritage Site, established in 1992, which has provided some funding and has encouraged the Cambodian government to protect the site. The German Apsara Conservation Project is working to protect the devatas and other bas reliefs which decorate the temple from damage. The survey found that 20% of devatas were in very poor condition, because of natural erosion and deterioration of stone. World Monuments Fund began work on the Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery in 2008.

The influx of tourists has so far caused relatively little damage, other than some graffiti ropes and wooden steps have been introduced to protect the bas-reliefs and floors, respectively. Tourism has also provided some additional funds for maintenance as of 2000 approximately 28% of ticket revenues across the whole Angkor site was spent on the temples although most work is carried out by foreign government-sponsored teams rather than by the Cambodian authorities.

Kiyomizu dera temple

Kiyomizu dera temple is a sovereign Buddhist temple and tourist attraction site in eastern Kyoto which is known more entirely as Otowa san Kiyomizu dera. The temple is division of the famous Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto the Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities. Kiyomizu dera temple is one of the UNESCO World Heritage site. It should not be mystified with Kiyomizu dera in Yasugi, Shimane, which is division of the 33 temple way of the Chugoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage through western Japan. The Kiyomizu dera temple is explained in world tour guides below.

Kiyomizu dera temple was established in the early Heian era. The temple dates back to 798, and its present buildings were constructed in 1633, during a renovation planned by the Tokugawa Iemitsu. The pin is not used in the entire temple. It obtains its name from the waterfall within the complex, which runs off the nearby hills. Kiyomizu means clear water or pure water.

It was originally associated with the old and significant Hosso division dating from Nara times. However, in 1965 it severed that affiliation, and its present custodians call themselves members of the Kitahosso sect. The major hall has a big veranda, holded by tall pillars, that extend out over the hillside and presents remarkable outlooks of the city. Big verandas and major halls were built at several popular sites throughout the Edo period to provide accommodation for large numbers of pilgrims.

The popular expression to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression to take the plunge. This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive a 13m jump from the stage, one's wish would be granted. Two hundred thirty-four jumps were recorded in the Edo period and, of those, 85.4% survived. The practice is now prohibited.

Below the major hall is the Otowa waterfall, where three channels of water drop into a pond. Visitors can hold and drink the waters which are believed to have remedial properties. Drinking the water of the three channels is said to present knowledge, strength, and long life. Though few Japanese trust that you must select only two channels if you are greedy and drink from all three channels you invite trouble upon yourself.

The temple complex contains numerous other holy places, among them the Jishu Shrine, devoted to Okuninushi, a god of love and good matches. Jishu Shrine acquires a couple of love stones located 18 meters away from each other, which lonely tourists can try to walk between with their eyes closed. Triumph in reaching the other stone with their eyes closed involves that the pilgrim will find love, or true love. One can be helped in the passage, but this is taken to denote that a go between will be needed. The persons idealistic concern can help them as well.

The complex also offers a variety of talismans, enrage, and omikuji. The location is mainly popular during festivals particularly at New Years and during obon in the summer when extra booths fill the grounds selling conventional holiday foodstuffs and souvenirs to crowd of visitors. In 2007, Kiyomizu-dera was one of 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World but it was not selected as one of the seven Wonders of the World.

Alhambra

The Alhambra is one of the UNESCO World heritage site which is called as Calat Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex constructed during the mid 14th century by the Moorish rulers of the Emirate of Granada in Al-Andalus, occupying a hilly terrace on the southeastern border of the city of Granada, now in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Some of the details of Alhambra are explained in world tour guides below. The residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, the site became a Christian palace. Within the Alhambra, the Palace of Charles V was erected by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, in 1527. After being allowed to fall into disrepair, the Alhambra was "rediscovered" in the 19th century. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions and exhibits the country's most famous Islamic architecture, together with Christian 16th-century and later interventions in buildings and gardens.

The Alhambra has no overall design and its layout is disorganised, with some rooms at odd angles to each other – a result of the site's many construction phases from the original 9th century citadel to the 16th century palace of Charles V. The terrace or plateau where the Alhambra sits measures about 740 metres or 2,430 ft in length by 205 metres or 670 ft at its greatest width. It extends from west-north-west to east-south-east and covers an area of about 142,000 square metres or 1,530,000 sq ft. The Alhambra's most westerly feature is the alcazaba or citadel, a strongly fortified position. The rest of the plateau comprises a number of palaces, enclosed by a relatively weak fortified wall, with thirteen towers, some defensive and some providing vistas for the inhabitants. The river Darro passes through a ravine on the north and divides the plateau from the Albaicin district of Granada. Similarly, the Assabica valley, containing the Alhambra Park on the west and south, and, beyond this valley, the almost parallel.

The Alhambra resembles many medieval Christian strongholds in its threefold arrangement as a castle, a palace and a residential annex for subordinates. The alcazaba or citadel, its oldest part, is built on the isolated and precipitous foreland which terminates the plateau on the northwest. That is all massive outer walls, towers and ramparts are left. On its watchtower, the Torre de la Vela, 25 m or 85 ft high, the flag of Ferdinand and Isabella was first raised, in token of the Spanish conquest of Granada on January 2, 1492. A turret containing a large bell was added in the 18th century and restored after being damaged by lightning in 1881. Beyond the Alcazaba is the palace of the Moorish rulers, or Alhambra properly so-called; and beyond this, again, is the Alhambra Alta or Upper Alhambra, originally tenanted by officials and courtiers.

Access from the city to the Alhambra Park is afforded by the Puerta de las Granadas the Gate of Pomegranates, a triumphal arch dating from the 15th century. A steep ascent leads past the Pillar of Charles V, a fountain erected in 1554, to the main entrance of the Alhambra. This is the Puerta de la Justicia Gate of Judgment, a massive horseshoe archway surmounted by a square tower and used by the Moors as an informal court of justice. The hand of Fatima, with fingers outstretched as a talisman against the evil eye, is carved above this gate on the exterior; a key, the symbol of authority, occupies the corresponding place on the interior. A narrow passage leads inward to the Plaza de los Aljibes Place of the Cisterns, a broad open space which divides the Alcazaba from the Moorish palace. To the left of the passage rises the Torre del Vino Wine Tower, built in 1345 and used in the 16th century as a cellar. On the right is the palace of Charles V, a smaller Renaissance building.

The Royal Complex consists of three main parts: Mexuar, Serallo, and the Harem. The Mexuar is modest in decor and houses the functional areas for conducting business and administration. Strapwork is used to decorate the surfaces in Mexuar. The ceilings, floors, and trim are made of dark wood and are in sharp contrast to white, plaster walls. Serallo, built during the reign of Yusef I in the 14th century, contains the Patio de los Arrayanes. Brightly colored interiors featured dado panels, yeseria, azulejo, cedar, and artesonado. The Harem also features representations of human forms, which is forbidden under Islamic law. The Christian artisans were most likely commissioned to design artwork that would be placed in the palace and the tolerant Muslim rulers allowed the work to stay.

The present entrance to the Palacio Arabe, or Moorish palace, is by a small door from which a corridor connects to the Patio de los Arrayanes also called the Patio de la Alberca from the Arabic birka, "pool". The birka helped to cool the palace and acted as a symbol of power. The aim of the pools was to give the impression that the pool had mystical powers because it never evaporated, making them form a good opinion of their leader. This court is 42 m or 140 ft long by 22 m or 74 ft broad and in the centre, there is a large pond set in the marble pavement, full of goldfish, and with myrtles growing along its sides. There are galleries on the north and south sides; that on the south is 7 m or 23 ft high and supported by a marble colonnade. Underneath it, to the right, was the principal entrance, and over it are three windows with arches and miniature pillars.

The Patio de los Leones or Court of the lions is an oblong court, 116 ft or 35 m in length by 66 ft or 20 m in width, surrounded by a low gallery supported on 124 white marble columns. A pavilion projects into the court at each extremity, with filigree walls and light domed roof. The square is paved with coloured tiles, and the colonnade with white marble; while the walls are covered 5 ft or 1.5 m up from the ground with blue and yellow tiles, with a border above and below enamelled blue and gold.

The outlying buildings in connection with the Alhambra, the foremost in interest is the Palacio de Generalife or Gineralife. This villa probably dates from the end of the 13th century but has been restored several times. The Villa de los Martires, on the summit of Monte Mauror, commemorates by its name the Christian slaves who were forced to build the Alhambra and confined here in subterranean cells. The Torres Bermejas or Vermilion Towers, also on Monte Mauror, are a well-preserved Moorish fortification, with underground cisterns, stables, and accommodation for a garrison of 200 men. Several Roman tombs were discovered in 1829 and 1857 at the base of Monte Mauror.

Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a tourist attraction prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3.2 kilometres or 2.0 miles west of Amesbury and 13 kilometres or 8.1 miles north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones. It is at the centre of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, including several hundred burial mounds.

Archaeologists had believed that the iconic stone monument was erected around 2500 BC, as described in the chronology below. One recent theory, however, has suggested that the first stones were not erected until 2400-2200 BC, whilst another suggests that bluestones may have been erected at the site as early as 3000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. The site and its surroundings were added to the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1986 in a co-listing with Avebury Henge monument. It is a national legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, while the surrounding land is owned by the National Trust.

Archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project in 2008 indicates that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. The dating of cremated remains found on the site indicate burials from as early as 3000 BC, when the initial ditch and bank were first dug. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years.Stonehenge was a place of burial from its beginning to its zenith in the mid third millennium B.C. The cremation burial dating to Stonehenge sarsen stones phase is likely just one of many from this later period of the monument's use and demonstrates that it was still very much a domain of the dead. Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of large-scale construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscape's time frame to 6500 years.

Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large Mesolithic postholes, which date to around 8000 BC, beneath the nearby modern tourist car-park. These held pine posts around 0.75 metres or 2 ft 6 inches in diameter which were erected and eventually rotted in situ. Three of the posts were in an east-west alignment which may have had ritual significance; no parallels are known from Britain at the time but similar sites have been found in Scandinavia. Salisbury Plain was then still wooded but four thousand years later, during the earlier Neolithic, people built a causewayed enclosure at Robin Hood's Ball and long barrow tombs in the surrounding landscape. In approximately 3500 BC, a large cursus monument was built 700 metres or 2,300 ft north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the trees and develop the area.

Stonehenge was produced by a culture that left no written records. Many aspects of Stonehenge remain subject to debate. This multiplicity of theories, some of them very colourful, is often called the mystery of Stonehenge. There is little or no direct evidence for the construction techniques used by the Stonehenge builders. Over the years, various authors have suggested that supernatural or anachronistic methods were used, usually asserting that the stones were impossible to move otherwise. However, conventional techniques using Neolithic technology have been demonstrably effective at moving and placing stones of a similar size. Proposed functions for the site include usage as an astronomical observatory, or as a religious site. Other theories have advanced supernatural or symbolic explanations for the construction.

All the way through recorded history Stonehenge and its surrounding monuments have attracted attention from antiquarians and archaeologists. John Aubrey was one of the first to examine the site with a scientific eye in 1666, and recorded in his plan of the monument the pits that now bear his name.

A new landscape investigation was conducted in April 2009. A shallow mound, rising to about 40 cm or 16 inches was identified between stones 54 inner circle and 10 outer circle, clearly separated from the natural slope. It has not been dated but speculation that it represents careless backfilling following earlier excavations seems disproved by its representation in 18th and 19th century illustrations. A shallow bank, little more than 10 cm or 4 inches high, was found between the Y and Z hole circles, with a further bank lying inside the Z circle. These are interpreted as the spread of spoil from the original Y and Z holes, or more speculatively as hedge banks from vegetation deliberately planted to screen the activities.

Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House is a famous tourist attraction with a multi venue performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jorn Utzon, who, in 2003, received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest honour. There is no doubt that the Sydney Opera House is his masterpiece. It is one of the great iconic buildings of the 20th century, an image of great beauty that has become known throughout the world a symbol for not only a city, but a whole country and continent.

Sydney Opera House was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June 2007. Currently, it is the most recently constructed World Heritage Site to be designated as such, sharing this distinction with such ancient landmarks as Stonehenge and the Giza Necropolis. It is one of the 20th century most distinctive buildings and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world. Sydney Opera House is situated on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour, close to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It sits at the northeastern tip of the Sydney central business district, surrounded on three sides by the harbour and neighboured by the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Contrary to its name, the building houses six venues. The two largest venues, the Opera Theatre and Concert Hall, are housed in the two larger sets of shells. Three smaller theatres, the Drama Theatre, Playhouse and Studio are situated on the western side of the building, and the Utzon Room on the eastern side. The award winning Guillaume at Bennelong restaurant occupies the smaller set of shells. A seventh performance space, The Forecourt, is regularly used for free community events and large scale outdoor performances.

As one of the busiest performing arts centres in the world, providing over 1,500 performances each year attended by some 1.2 million people, Sydney Opera House promotes and supports many performing arts companies including the four key resident companies Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, Sydney Theatre Company and Sydney Symphony. Sydney Opera House also presents more than 700 of its own performances annually that offer an eclectic mix of artistic and cultural activities for all ages from the educational to the experimental. It is also one of the most popular visitor attractions in Australia, with more than 7 million people visiting the site each year. The Sydney Opera House has been a featured Santa Cam location, since the start of Santa Cam use with the 1998 NORAD Tracks Santa tracking season. Sydney Opera House is administered by the Sydney Opera House Trust, under the New South Wales Ministry of the Arts.

Sydney Opera House is a modern expressionist design, with a series of large precast concrete shells each composed of sections of a hemisphere of the same radius, forming the roofs of the structure, set on a monumental podium. The building covers 1.8 hectares or 4.5 acres of land and is 183 metres or 605 ft long and 120 metres or 388 ft wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 metres below sea level. The roofs of the House are covered in a subtle chevron pattern with 1,056,006 glossy white- and matte-cream-colored Swedish-made tiles from Hoganas AB, though, from a distance, the shells appear a uniform white.

The Opera House was formally completed in 1973, having cost $102 million. H.R. Sam Hoare, the Hornibrook director in charge of the project, provided the following approximations in 1973: Stage I: podium Civil & Civic Pty Ltd approximately $5.5m. Stage II: roof shells M.R. Hornibrook Pty Ltd approximately $12.5m. Stage III: completion The Hornibrook Group $56.5m. Separate contracts: stage equipment, stage lighting and organ $9.0m. Fees and other costs $16.5m.

The original cost estimate in 1957 was £3,500,000 or $7 million. The original completion date set by the government was 26 January 1963 Australia Day. Thus, the project was completed ten years late and over-budget by more than fourteen times. The Opera House was formally opened by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on 20 October 1973, with a large crowd of audience.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship between the two countries established during the American Revolution. It represents a woman wearing a stola, a radiant crown and sandals, trampling a broken chain, carrying a torch in her raised right hand and a tabula ansata, where the date of the Declaration of Independence JULY IV MDCCLXXVI is inscribed, in her left arm.

Standing on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, it welcomes visitors, immigrants, and returning Americans traveling by ship. Frederic Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue and obtained a U.S. patent for its structure. Maurice Koechlin chief engineer of Gustave Eiffel's engineering company and designer of the Eiffel Tower engineered the internal structure. The pedestal was designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt. Eugene Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for the choice of copper in the statue's construction, and for the adoption of the repousse technique, where a malleable metal is hammered on the reverse side.

The statue is made of a sheathing of pure copper, hung on a framework of steel with the exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf. It stands atop a rectangular stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-pointed star. The statue is 151 ft or 46 m tall, but with the pedestal and foundation, it is 305 ft or 93 m tall. Worldwide, the Statue of Liberty is one of the most recognizable icons of the United States. For many years it was one of the first glimpses of the United States for millions of immigrants and visitors after ocean voyages from around the world.

The statue is the central part of Statue of Liberty National Monument, administered by the National Park Service. The National Monument also includes Ellis Island. In 1984, the Statue of Liberty was added to the list of World Heritage Sites. In 2007, the Statue of Liberty was one of 20 finalists in a competition to name the New Seven Wonders of the World.The climb to the top is 146 stairs on the double-helix stair case. Inside the copper statue it is approximately 15 to 20ºF warmer than it is outside. The NPS allows 10 people at a time with 3 groups an hour up into the crown. This provides a view of New York Harbor the orientation of the statue faces Brooklyn through 25 windows, the largest approximately 18" or 46 cm high. The view does not, therefore, include the skyline of Manhattan, except through the smallest windows on the left side of the crown.

There are 354 steps inside the statue and its pedestal, with 25 windows in the crown which comprise the jewels beneath the seven rays of the diadem. The keystone which the statue holds in her left hand reads, in Roman numerals, July 4, 1776 the day of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. The Statue of Liberty was engineered to withstand heavy winds. Winds of 50 miles per hour or 80 km/h cause the Statue to sway 3 inches or 76 mm and the torch to sway 5 inches or 130 mm. This allows the Statue to move rather than break in high wind load conditions.

The Statue of Liberty quickly became a popular icon, featured in scores of posters, pictures, motion pictures, and books. A 1911 O. Henry story relates a fanciful conversation between Mrs. Liberty and another statue it figured in 1918 Liberty Loan posters. During the 1940s and 1950s, pulp Science Fiction magazines featured Lady Liberty surrounded by ruins or by the sediments of the ages. It has been in dozens of motion pictures.

Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is an earlier Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. It is also called as Ayasofya in Turkish which means Holy Wisdom. It is famous in particular for its massive dome which is considered as epitome of Byzantine architecture and changed the history of architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520.

The current building was originally constructed as a church between 532 and 537 A.D. on the orders of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian. In fact the third Church of the Holy Wisdom to occupy the site. The previous two had both been destroyed by riots. It was designed by Isidore of Miletus, a physicist, and Anthemius of Tralles, a mathematician. The church contained a large collection of holy relics and featured, among other things, a 15 metre 49 foot silver iconostasis. It was the seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople and the religious focal point of the Eastern Orthodox Church for nearly one thousand years. It was the church in which Cardinal Humbert in 1054 marched up to the altar and excommunicated Michael I Cerularius, which is commonly considered the start of the Great Schism.

In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and Sultan Mehmed II ordered the building to be converted into a mosque. The bells, altar, iconostasis, and sacrificial vessels were removed, and many mosaics were finally plastered over. The Islamic features such as mihrab, minbar, and four minarets outside were added over the course of its history under the Ottomans. It remained as a mosque until 1935, when it was converted into a museum by the Republic of Turkey. For almost 500 years the principal mosque of Istanbul, Hagia Sophia served as a model for many of the Ottoman mosques such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the Sehzade Mosque, the Suleymaniye Mosque, the Rustem Pasha Mosque, and the Kilic Ali Pasa Mosque. Although it is sometimes referred to as Sancta Sophia, as though it were named after a saint named Sophia which in Latin of the Greek word for wisdom. The church is dedicated to Jesus Christ, in Eastern Orthodox theology, the Holy Wisdom of God.

Hagia Sophia is one of the greatest surviving examples of Byzantine architecture. Of great artistic value was its decorated interior with mosaics and marble pillars and coverings. The temple itself was so richly and artistically decorated that Justinian proclaimed, Solomon, I have outdone thee! Justinian himself had overseen the completion of the greatest cathedral ever built up to that time, and it was to remain the largest cathedral for 1,000 years up until the completion of the cathedral in Seville in Spain.

Justinian's basilica was at once the culminating architectural achievement of late antiquity and the first masterpiece of Byzantine architecture. Its influence, both architecturally and liturgically, was widespread and enduring in the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Muslim worlds alike. The largest columns are about 19 or 20 metres tall. They are at least 1.5 metres diameter. They are made out of granite, the largest weighing well over 70 tons. Under Justinian's orders, eight Corinthian columns were disassembled from Baalbek, Lebanon and shipped to Constantinople for the construction of Hagia Sophia.

The vast interior has a complex structure. The nave is covered by a central dome which has a maximum diameter of 31.24 metres or 102 ft 6 in and a height from floor level of 55.6 metres 182 ft 5 in, about one fourth smaller and greater, respectively, than the dome of the Pantheon. The dome seems rendered weightless by the unbroken arcade of 40 arched windows under it, which help flood the colourful interior with light. Due to consecutive repairs in the course of its history, the dome has lost its perfect circular base and has become somewhat elliptical with a diameter varying between 31.24 m 102 ft 6 in and 30.86 m 101 ft 3 in.

The dome is carried on pendentives four concave triangular sections of masonry which solve the problem of setting the circular base of a dome on a rectangular base. At Hagia Sophia the weight of the dome passes through the pendentives to four massive piers at the corners. Between them the dome seems to float upon four great arches. These were reinforced with buttresses during Ottoman times, under the guidance of the architect Sinan. At the western and eastern ends, the arched openings are extended by half domes carried on smaller semi-domed exedras.

All interior surfaces are sheathed with polychrome marbles, green and white with purple porphyry and gold mosaics, encrusted upon the brick. This sheathing camouflaged the large pillars, giving them, at the same time, a brighter aspect. On the exterior, simple stuccoed walls reveal the clarity of massed vaults and domes. The yellow and red colour of the exterior was added by the architect Fossati during the restorations in the 19th century.

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire. Since the 5th century BC, several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains the majority of the existing wall were built during the Ming Dynasty.

The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has recently concluded that the entire Great Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km or 5,500.3 miles. This is made up of 6,259.6 km or 3,889.5 miles of sections of actual wall, 359.7 km or 223.5 miles of trenches and 2,232.5 km or 1,387.2 miles of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

The Chinese were already familiar with the techniques of wall-building by the time of the spring and Autumn Period, which began around the 8th century BC. During the Warring States Period from the 5th century BC to 221 BC, the states of Qi, Yan and Zhao all constructed extensive fortifications to defend their own borders. Built to withstand the attack of small arms such as swords and spears, these walls were made mostly by stamping earth and gravel between board frames. Qin Shi Huang conquered all opposing states and unified China in 221 BC, establishing the Qin Dynasty.

The Great Wall concept was revived again during the Ming Dynasty following the Ming army's defeat by the Oirats in the Battle of Tumu in 1449. The Ming had failed to gain a clear upper-hand over the Manchurian and Mongolian tribes after successive battles, and the long-drawn conflict was taking a toll on the empire. The Ming adopted a new strategy to keep the nomadic tribes out by constructing walls along the northern border of China. The Ming construction was stronger and more elaborate due to the use of bricks and stone instead of rammed earth. As Mongol raids continued periodically over the years, the Ming devoted considerable resources to repair and reinforce the walls. Sections near the Ming capital of Beijing were especially strong.

From 1440 –1460 the Ming also built Liaodong Wall. Similar in function to the Great Wall but more basic in construction, the Liaodong Wall enclosed the agricultural heartland of the Liaodong province, protecting it against potential incursions by Jurched-Mongol Oriyanghan from the northwest and the Jianzhou Jurchens from the north. While stones and tiles were used in some parts of the Liaodong Wall, most of it was in fact simply an earth dike with moats on both sides.

Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Great Wall helped defend the empire against the Manchu invasions that began around 1600. Under the military command of Yuan Chonghuan, the Ming army held off the Manchus at the heavily fortified Shanhaiguan pass, preventing the Manchus from entering the Chinese heartland. The Manchus were finally able to cross the Great Wall in 1644, when the gates at Shanhaiguan were opened by Wu Sangui, a Ming border general who disliked the activities of rulers of the Shun Dynasty. The Manchus quickly seized Beijing, and defeated the newly founded Shun Dynasty and remaining Ming resistance, to establish the Qing Dynasty.

In 2009, an additional 290 kilometres or 180 miles of previously undetected portions of the wall, built during the Ming Dynasty, were discovered. The newly discovered sections range from the Hushan mountains in the northern Liaoning province to Jiayuguan in western Gansu province. The sections had been submerged over time by sandstorms that moved across the arid region. Under Qing rule, China's borders extended beyond the walls and Mongolia was annexed into the empire, so construction and repairs on the Great Wall were discontinued.

Some portions north of Beijing and near tourist centers have been preserved and even extensively renovated, in many locations the Wall are in disrepair. Those parts might serve as a village playground or a source of stones to rebuild houses and roads. Sections of the Wall are also prone to graffiti and vandalism. Parts have been destroyed because the Wall is in the way of construction. More than 60 kilometres or 37 miles of the wall in Gansu province may disappear in the next 20 years, due to erosion from sandstorms. In places, the height of the wall has been reduced from more than five meters or 16.4 ft to less than two meters. The square lookout towers that characterize the most famous images of the wall have disappeared completely. Many western sections of the wall are constructed from mud, rather than brick and stone, and thus are more susceptible to erosion.

Pisa Tower

The Pisa Tower or Leaning Tower of Pisa or simply the Tower of Pisa is the campanile, or freestanding bell tower, of the cathedral of the Italian city of Pisa. It is also called as Torre pendente di Pisa in Italian language. It is situated behind the Cathedral and is the third oldest structure in Pisa's Cathedral Square after the Cathedral and the Baptistry. Although planned to stand vertically, the tower began leaning to the southeast after the onset of construction in 1173 due to a badly laid foundation and loose substrate that has allowed the foundation to shift direction. The tower currently leans to the southwest.

The height of the tower is 55.86 m or 183.27 ft from the ground on the lowest side and 56.70 m or 186.02 ft on the highest side. The width of the walls at the base is 4.09 m or 13.42 ft and at the top 2.48 m or 8.14 ft. Its weight is estimated at 14,500 metric tons or 16,000 short tons. The tower has 296 or 294 steps; the seventh floor has two fewer steps on the north-facing staircase. Prior to restoration work performed between 1990 and 2001, the tower leaned at an angle of 5.5 degrees, but the tower now leans at about 3.99 degrees. This means that the top of the tower is 3.9 metres or 12 ft 10 in from where it would stand if the tower were perfectly vertical.

The Tower of Pisa was a work of art, performed in three stages over a period of about 177 years. Construction of the first floor of the white marble campanile began on August 9, 1173, a period of military success and prosperity. The tower began to sink after construction had progressed to the third floor in 1178. This was due to a mere three-meter foundation, set in weak, unstable subsoil, a design that was flawed from the beginning. Construction was subsequently halted for almost a century, because the Pisans were almost continually engaged in battles with Genoa, Lucca and Florence. In 1198, clocks were temporarily installed on the third floor of the unfinished construction.

In 1272, construction resumed under Giovanni di Simone, architect of the Camposanto. In an effort to compensate for the tilt, the engineers built upper floors with one side taller than the other. This made the tower begin to lean in the other direction. Because of this, the tower is actually curved. Construction was halted again in 1284, when the Pisans were defeated by the Genoans in the Battle of Meloria.The seventh floor was completed in 1319. The bell-chamber was not finally added until 1372. It was built by Tommaso di Andrea Pisano, who succeeded in harmonizing the Gothic elements of the bell-chamber with the Romanesque style of the tower. There are seven bells, one for each note of the musical major scale. The largest one was installed in 1655.

Galileo Galilei is said to have dropped two cannon balls of different masses from the tower to demonstrate that their speed of descent was independent of their mass. This is considered an apocryphal tale, its only source being however Galileo's secretary. During World War II, the Allies discovered that the Nazis were using it as an observation post. A U.S. Army sergeant was briefly entrusted with the fate of the tower and his decision not to call in an artillery strike saved the tower from destruction.

On February 27, 1964, the government of Italy requested aid in preventing the tower from toppling. It was, however, considered important to retain the current tilt, due to the vital role that this element played in promoting the tourism industry of Pisa. A multinational task force of engineers, mathematicians and historians was assigned and met on the Azores islands to discuss stabilization methods. It was found that the tilt was increasing in combination with the softer foundations on the lower side. Many methods were proposed to stabilize the tower, including the addition of 800 metric tonnes of lead counterweights to the raised end of the base.

In 1987, the tower was declared as part of the Piazza del Duomo UNESCO World Heritage Site along with the neighbouring cathedral, baptistery and cemetery. On January 7, 1990, after over two decades of work on the subject, the tower was closed to the public. While the tower was closed, the bells were removed to relieve some weight, and cables were cinched around the third level and anchored several hundred meters away. The final solution to prevent the collapse of the tower was to slightly straighten the tower to a safer angle, by removing 38 cubic metres 50 cu yd of soil from underneath the raised end. The tower was straightened by 18 inches or 45 centimetres, returning to position that it occupied in 1838. The tower was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001, and has been declared stable for at least another 300 years.

In May 2008, after the removal of another 70 metric tons or 77 short tons of earth, engineers announced that the Tower had been stabilized such that it had stopped moving for the first time in its history. They stated it would be stable for at least 200 years. Two German churches have challenged the towers status as the world's most lop sided building the 15th century square Leaning Tower of Suurhusen and the 14th century bell tower in the town of Bad Frankenhausen. Guinness World Records measured the Pisa and Suurhusen towers, finding the former's tilt to be 3.97 degrees.