Friday, December 10, 2010

Leaning Tower of Pisa



 Leaning Tower of Pisa italically called as Tonve Pendente Di Pisa is a medieval structure immortalized by the settling of its foundation, causing it to lean 17 feet(5.2 meters) from the perpendicular. The bell tower, began in 1174 as the third and final structure of the cathedral complex, was designated to stand 185 feet high and was constructed of white marbles. Three of its eight stories were completed when the uneven Settling of the foundation in the soft ground became noticeable. Bonnano Pisano, the engineer in charge of construction of the present tower that leans in Pisa, sought to compensate for the lean by making the new stories slightly taller on the short side, but the extra masonry caused the structure to sink aside still further. Work was suspended several times as engineers sought solutions, but the tower was ultimately topped out in the 14th century and thus it stills leans.

Hagia Sophia

For centuries it stood at the heart of two of the world's great religions: To Christians it was Hagia Sophia, Church of the Holy Wisdom, mother church of the Orthodox faith and of the thousand-year-old Byzantine Empire. To Muslims, it became Ayasofya Camii, Mosque of Holy Wisdom and jewel of Istanbul. But to people of all faiths, it was, in the words of sixth-century historian Procopius, a "spectacle of marvellous beauty, overwhelming to those who know it by hearsay altogether incredible. For it soars to a height to match the sky...stands on high and looks down on the remainder of the city...."

The Porcelain Tower





Location of Porcelain Tower is Nanjing, China, out on the banks of the Yangtze.
History of Porcelain Tower:
The people of China called it Bao'ensi, the "Temple of Gratitude." European visitors who beheld the structure called it the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing and labeled it one of the wonders of the world. But warfare and subsequent destruction overtook it in the 19th century, and this remarkable structure was almost lost to history, virtually forgotten by the world.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

The Great Wall

The Great Wall started as earth works thrown up for protection by different States. The individual sections weren't connected until the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.). Qin Shihuangdi, First Emperor of Qin began conscripting peasants, enemies, and anyone else who wasn't tied to the land to go to work on the wall. He garrisoned armies at the Wall to stand guard over the workers as well as to defend the northern boundaries. The tradition lasted for centuries.

Friday, December 3, 2010

The Roman Colosseum


The Roman Colosseum in Rome is the most famous monument of Ancient Rome. Its original name is Flavian Amphitheatre. It was started by the Emperor Vespasian between 70 and 76 AD, and completed by his son Titus in 80 AD. The roman Colosseum was dedicated the year after Vespasian's death by Titus. They celebrated the opening by holding 100 days worth of games there. It was built on the site where Nero had had a huge villa for himself. Vespasian wanted to build something for the people rather than for himself.

The Catacombs




Alexandria, Egypt, represented a melding of cultures in the late first century A.D. Traditions of Greece and Rome overlay the city, the cult of Christianity was gaining ground, and memories of ancient Egypt's great kingdoms still lingered. It was a place where people seemed to have a talent for combining rather than destroying cultures.

The Stonehenge

Stonehenge
Stonehenge is surely Britain's greatest national icon, symbolizing mystery, power and endurance. its original purpose is unclear to us, but some have speculated that it was a temple made for the worship of ancient earth deities. It has been called an astronomical observatory for marking significant events on the prehistoric calendar. Others claim that it was a sacred site for the burial of high-ranking citizens from the societies of long ago.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The Golden Gate Bridge


The Golden Gate Bridge links San Francisco with Marin County in absolute splendor. The bridge is one of the architectural marvels of the Twentieth Century and a testament to human strife, as it was constructed during the years of the Great Depression. For years, the Golden Gate Bridge held the title as the longest suspension bridge in the world.

The North Sea Protection Works



For many, the image out of the Dutch fight against the North Sea rests in the figure of a young boy valiantly saving his town by using a finger to plug a hole in the dike. But this familiar hero is a fictional one, a creation of American author Mary Mapes Dodge in her book, Hans Brinker. In reality, heroism falls on all the Dutch, who for more than a millenium have been wresting precious agricultural lands from the sea and fighting to hold on to them. Their greatest achievement-a colossal fun in the dike-if the vast and one dress project known as

The Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel is considered one of the most amazing engineering feats of the 20th century.
Channel-Tunnel train

Channel-Tunnel train
The Channel Tunnel is a 50.45-km (31.4 miles) undersea rail tunnel linking Britain and France, under the Strait of Dover in the English Channel. The Channel Tunnel is also affectionately referred to as the Chunnel or Eurotunnel, and in French it is known as ‘Le Tunnel Sous la Manche. Travel through the Channel Tunnel on a high-speed train takes around 20 minutes, and bypasses the sometimes inclement weather of the English Channel to deposit passengers safely on the other side.