Wonders of the World

Great Barrier Reef

2009-06-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world, roughly parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia, for almost 2,000km. Australia has almost 1/5th of the world's reef area and most is located in the GBR.

Washed by the warm waters of the South-West Pacific Ocean the perfect environment is created for the world's largest system of coral reefs. The Great Barrier Reef is of such pristine condition that it was listed by the World Heritage Trust as a protected site and is therefore managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Authority to ensure that its beauty is maintained for many generations to come.

Visitors in their thousands come to marvel at the spectacular sight seeing opportunities that is unique to our area. The Wet Tropics World Heritage listed Rainforest on one side and the Great Barrier Reef on the other. No other place in the world offers such diversity so close to each other.

Off the coastline are outer edge ribbon reefs which may be up to 25 kilometres long. This is the outer limits of the continental shoreline of prehistoric times. The ribbon reefs can be seen by taking one of the daily outer reef cruises offered by local operators. One of the best ways to view the reef is to take a low flying scenic flight over it, especially at low tide where you'll see the breadth and diversity of this great living wonder.

The waters of the Great Barrier Reef provide the world's busiest and most varied marine habitats. Marine life is in abundance. From the many species of coral to the sought after Black Marlin and all sizes and species of fish in-between. The varied colours of the reef's fish and other marine life will astound the visitor with colour combinations that artists haven't even dreamed of. It is the largest of the world’s 552 World Heritage Areas, covering 347,000 km There are more than 2800 catalogued reefs in the area.

Although stretching more than 2000 kilometres offshore from Queensland, it is only at Cape Tribulation, just north of Port Douglas that the reefs come right to the shore and meets the tropical rainforests of the Wet Tropics. With over 1000 islands which are easily accessible from North Queensland and coastal cities like Cairns and Port Douglas. The coral islands are very popular tourist attractions. Some even have varied vegetation including rainforest and are encircled by the coral reefs. Accommodation on the islands that are inhabited ranges from camping grounds to bungalows and luxurious resorts.

Angel Falls

2009-02-03T12:28:00.000-08:00

Angel Falls

Angel Falls

Angel Falls

Angel Falls

Angel Falls is located in the Guayana highlands,one of five topographical regions of Venezuela. It plunges off the edge of a "Tepuy", or table-top mountain, and free falls 2,421 feet to the river below, making it the tallest waterfalls on earth.

In total it is 15 times higher than Niagara Falls with a total of 2,937 feet.

The falls are named after Jimmy Angel, an adventurous bush pilot from Missouri (Used to fly with Lindbergh's Flying Circus), today a modern legend. Jimmy Angel first saw the falls in 1933 with McCracken while searching for a legendary Gold Ore.

Jimmy returned again in 1937 with his wife, Gustavo Henry, and Henry's gardener, they landed on top of the tepuy. Jimmy's Flamingo monoplane settled down into the marshy ground on top of the Auyantepuy and remained there for 33 years before being lifted out by a helicopter.

Jimmy Angel and his three companions managed to descend the tepuy and make their way back to civilization in 11 days.

Jimmy Angel's plane sits in the Aviation Museum in Maracay; the one you may be able to see on top of the Tepuy is a replica.

The fascinating world of the National park in Canaima, is a perfect combination of magic and reality, with their impressive table top mountains called Tepuys, their countless rivers, lagoons, and water falls, forests and savannas distributed as a green sea, this atmosphere calls for a unique visit at least once in a lifetime.

In this God's gift of the nature, you will find an interesting flora and fauna and endemic in many cases (unique in the World), likewise the natives of the Pemon Indians, ohabitant in this natural atmosphere, with their ancestral culture, craft, folklore, and gastronomy.

This natural mosaic shows us an interesting and alive testimony of our Geographical history.

The National Park Canaima is located to the end south west of Venezuela, to the south of the Orinoco River, municipality Gran Sabana of the Bolivar state, being decreed National park June 12, 1962 by the national executive.

The park, possesses 3 million Hectares, occupying this way the second protected natural area of more extension in Venezuela and the seventh of its size in the world.

The park is divided in two sectors: Western and Eastern.

The western area called Canaima, can be accessed by air with commercial Flights from Caracas, Margarita and Ciudad Bolivar.

Enjoying this privileged spot on earth, the tallest fall in the world, the incredible Angel Falls, from the Canaima Lagoon visualizes a spectacular scenario, with beautiful water falls inviting you for a refreshing swim or a sun bath on the beautiful white sand surrounding the Canaima Lagoon.

In the Eastern area you will find the Gran Sabana where again, can be accessed either by air but also by land transport. Arriving to the city of Santa Elena of Uairen, the last town of the south of Venezuela, only 20 minutes by car from the frontier with Brazil.

The Tallest non permanent waterfall in the world is in fact La Catira close to the Angel Falls.

Taj Mahal

2009-02-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world, and some Western historians have noted that its architectural beauty has never been surpassed. The Taj is the most beautiful monument built by the Mughals, the Muslim rulers of India. Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of the full moon. On a foggy morning, the visitors experience the Taj as if suspended when viewed from across the Jamuna river.

Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim, Emperor Shah Jahan (died 1666 C.E.) in the memory of his dear wife and queen Mumtaz Mahal at Agra, India. It is an "elegy in marble" or some say an expression of a "dream." Taj Mahal (meaning Crown Palace) is a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal at the lower chamber. The grave of Shah Jahan was added to it later. The queen’s real name was Arjumand Banu. In the tradition of the Mughals, important ladies of the royal family were given another name at their marriage or at some other significant event in their lives, and that new name was commonly used by the public. Shah Jahan's real name was Shahab-ud-din, and he was known as Prince Khurram before ascending to the throne in 1628.

Great Wall of China

2009-02-03T12:16:00.000-08:00

Great Wall Of China

Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206 B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng" which means 10,000-Li Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km).

After subjugating and uniting China from seven Warring States, the emperor connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C. (over 2500 years ago). Armies were stationed along the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung Nu tribes north of China (the Huns). Signal fires from the Wall provided early warning of an attack.

The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over 5,000 km (=10,000 Li) long. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.

The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Jim Irwin.

Golden Gate Bridge

2009-01-09T11:12:00.000-08:00

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. The Golden Gate Bridge had been the longest suspension bridge span in the world when it was completed in 1937, and has become an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and California. 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. In 2007, it was ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects.

Potala Palace

2008-12-13T10:21:00.000-08:00

Perched upon Marpo Ri hill, 130 meters above the Lhasa valley, the Potala Palace rises a further 170 meters and is the greatest monumental structure in all of Tibet. Early legends concerning the rocky hill tell of a sacred cave, considered to be the dwelling place of the Bodhisattva Chenresi (Avilokiteshvara), that was used as a meditation retreat by Emperor Songtsen Gampo in the seventh century AD. In 637 Songtsen Gampo built a palace on the hill. This structure stood until the seventeenth century, when it was incorporated into the foundations of the greater buildings still standing today. Construction of the present palace began in 1645 during the reign of the fifth Dalai Lama and by 1648 the Potrang Karpo, or White Palace, was completed. The Potrang Marpo, or Red Palace, was added between 1690 and 1694; its construction required the labors of more than 7000 workers and 1500 artists and craftsman. In 1922 the 13th Dalai Lama renovated many chapels and assembly halls in the White Palace and added two stories to the Red Palace. The Potala Palace was only slightly damaged during the Tibetan uprising against the invading Chinese in 1959. Unlike most other Tibetan religious structures, it was not sacked by the Red Guards during the 1960s and 1970s, apparently through the personal intervention of Chou En Lai. As a result, all the chapels and their artifacts are very well preserved.

From as early as the eleventh century the palace was called Potala. This name probably derives from Mt. Potala, the mythological mountain abode of the Bodhisattva Chenresi (Avilokiteshvara / Kuan Yin) in southern India. The Emperor Songtsen Gampo had been regarded as an incarnation of Chenresi. Given that he founded the Potala, it seems likely that the hilltop palace of Lhasa took on the name of the Indian sacred mountain. The Potala Palace is an immense structure, its interior space being in excess of 130,000 square meters. Fulfilling numerous functions, the Potala was first and foremost the residence of the Dalai Lama and his large staff. In addition, it was the seat of Tibetan government, where all ceremonies of state were held; it housed a school for religious training of monks and administrators; and it was one of Tibet's major pilgrimage destinations because of the tombs of past Dalai Lamas. Within the White Palace are two small chapels, the Phakpa Lhakhang and the Chogyal Drubphuk; dating from the seventh century, these chapels are the oldest surviving structures on the hill and also the most sacred. The Potala's most venerated statue, the Arya Lokeshvara, is housed inside the Phapka Lhakhang, and it draws thousands of Tibetan pilgrims each day.

Stonehenge

2008-10-29T17:41:00.000-07:00

The megalithic ruin known as Stonehenge stands on the open downland of Salisbury Plain two miles (three kilometres) west of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, in Southern England. It is not a single structure but consists of a series of earth, timber, and stone structures that were revised and re-modelled over a period of more than 1400 years. In the 1940s and 1950s, Richard Atkinson proposed that construction occurred in three phases, which he labelled Stonehenge I, II, IIIa, IIIb, and IIIc. This sequence has recently been revised in Archaeological Report (10) published by English Heritage.
In its day, the construction of Stonehenge was an impressive engineering feat, requiring commitment, time and vast amounts of manual labor. In its first phase, Stonehenge was a large earthwork; a bank and ditch arrangement called a henge, constructed approximately 5,000 years ago. It is believed that the ditch was dug with tools made from the antlers of red deer and, possibly, wood. The underlying chalk was loosened with picks and shoveled with the shoulderblades of cattle. It was then loaded into baskets and carried away. Modern experiments have shown that these tools were more than equal to the great task of earth digging and moving.
New archaeological evidence found by the Stonehenge Riverside Project indicates that Stonehenge served as a burial ground from its earliest beginnings.^[4] The dating of cremated remains found that burials took place as early as 3000 B.C, when the first ditches were being built around the monument. Burials continued at Stonehenge for at least another 500 years when the giant stones which mark the landmark were put up. According to Professor Mike Parker Pearson, head of Stonehenge Riverside Project:^[5]

Chichen Itza in Mexico

2008-10-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

The sacred city of the Itza, called Chichen-Itza (chee-chehn eet-sah) in Maya, is located 75 miles east of Merida, the Capital of the State of Yucatan, Mexico. This archaeological site is rated among the most important of the Maya culture and covers an area of approximately six square miles where hundreds of buildings once stood. Now most are mounds, but about thirty may still be seen by tourists.
The ruins are divided into two groups. One group belongs to the classic Maya Period and was built between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D., at which time the city became a prominent ceremonial center. The other group corresponds to the Maya-Toltec Period, from the later part of the 10th century to the beginning of the 13th century A.D. This area includes the Sacred Well and most of the outstanding ruins.
round 1000 A.D. the Itza allied themselves with two powerful tribes, Xio and Cocom, both claiming to be descendants of the Mexicans. This alliance was favorable to the Itza for about two centuries. During this time, the people of Chichen-Itza added to the site by constructing magnificent buildings bearing the touch of Toltec art: porches, galleries, colonnades and carvings depicting serpents, birds and Mexican gods.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

2008-10-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

The ancient city of Babylon, under King Nebuchadnezzar II, must have been a wonder to the traveler's eyes. "In addition to its size," wrote Herodotus, a historian in 450 BC, "Babylon surpasses in splendor any city in the known world."
Herodotus claimed the outer walls were 56 miles in length, 80 feet thick and 320 feet high. Wide enough, he said, to allow a four-horse chariot to turn. The inner walls were "not so thick as the first, but hardly less strong." Inside the walls were fortresses and temples containing immense statues of solid gold. Rising above the city was the famous Tower of Babel, a temple to the god Marduk, that seemed to reach to the heavens.

While archaeological examination has disputed some of Herodotus's claims (the outer walls seem to be only 10 miles long and not nearly as high) his narrative does give us a sense of how awesome the features of the city appeared to those that visited it. Interestingly enough, though, one of the city's most spectacular sites is not even mentioned by Herodotus: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

The Great Pyramid of Giza

2008-10-29T17:24:00.001-07:00

The Great Pyramid at Giza is an awesome sight, thirty times larger than the Empire State Building(in mass), the Pyramid's features are so large they can be seen from the Moon. The oldest structure in existence, having been started 4,617 years ago, it is the sole remnant of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The Great Pyramid is the most comprehensively studied building in the world. It sited at the northern edge of the Giza plateau. It was estimated that 2,300,000 blocks of stone, weighing between 2-70 tons each, were used in its construction, but recent computer calculations

estimated the total number of slabs to be 590,712. The mortar used is of an unknown origin. It has been analyzed and it's chemical composition is known but even using today techniques it can't be reproduced.
The great pyramid was built during the reign of Khufu (Cheops in Greek), 2nd king of the fourth dynasty ± 2,720-2,560 BC

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 bordering what is now Cairo, Egypt and is the only remaining member of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world.