Amazing Wonders of the World

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    AMAZING WONDERS OF THE WORLD

    Hanging Garden of Babylon: The Hanging Gardens of Babylon (also known as theHanging Gardens of Semiramis) (near present-day Al Hillah in Iraq, formerly Babylon)

    are considered one of the original Seven Wonders of the World. They were built byNebuchadnezzar II around 600 BC. He is reported to have constructed the gardens toplease his wife, Amytis of Media, who longed for the trees and fragrant plants of herhomeland.The gardens were destroyed by several earthquakes after the 2nd century BC. TheHanging Gardens probably did not really hang in the sense of being suspended fromcables or ropes. The name comes from an inexact translation of the Greekword kremastos or the Latin word pensilis, which mean not just hanging, but

    overhanging as in the case of a terrace or balcony.

    Statue of Jupiter at Olympia: In ancient Greece, however, it was staged in honour theking of the gods, Zeus (called Jupiter by the Romans). A special temple, the Olympieium,was built at Olympia. It was the home of a huge statue of Zeus. Ancient writers

    commented that the temple was too small for the statue, or the statue was too large forthe temple. Either way, poor old Zeus looked a bit cramped. The base of the statue wasapproximately 6.5 metres by 10 metres. It was probably over a metre high.The statue

    was 13 metres high thats about the height of a three-storey house in modern times.The statue was not made of stone. It was made of gold and ivory. Wow! Imagine howmagnificent it must have looked. It would have cost a lot, too. The temple and statuewere built around 460 BC. The statue was destroyed by the Romans in about 40 AD.Mausoleum of Mausolus (Ruler of Halicarnassus): The Tomb of Mausolus,Mausoleum of Mausolus or Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was a tomb built between 353

    and 350 BC at Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, a satrap in thePersian Empire, and Artemisia II of Caria, his wife and sister. The structure was designedby the Greek architects Satyrus and Pythius. It stood approximately 45 metres (135 ft)in height, and each of the four sides was adorned with sculptural reliefs created by eachone of four Greek sculptors Leochares, Bryaxis, Scopas of Paros and Timotheus. Thefinished structure was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidonidentified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In 377 B.C., the city ofHalicarnassus was the capitol of a small kingdom along the Mediterranean coast of AsiaMinor. It was in that year the ruler of this land, Hecatomnus of Mylasa, died and left

    control of the kingdom to his son, Mausolus. Hecatomnus, a local satrap to the Persians,had been ambitious and had taken control of several of the neighbouring cities anddistricts. Mausolus in his time, extended the territory even further so that it finally

    included most of southwestern Asia Minor.

    7 Wonders of AncientWorld 7 Wonders of MedievalWorldHanging Garden of BabylonColosseum of RomeTemple of Diana alElephant (Rome) Great wall of ChinaStatue of Jupiter atOlympia Porcelain Tower of Nanking(China)Mausoleum of Mausolus(Ruler of Halicarnassus) Stone henge of EnglandPyramids of Egypt Mosque at St. Sophia

    (Constantinople)Light House at Alexandria Catacombs of AlexandriaColossus of Rhodes Leaning Tower of Pisa Taj

    Mahal (India)

    http://ibpsexam.blogspot.com/2011/07/amazing-wonders-of-world.htmlhttp://ibpsexam.blogspot.com/2011/07/amazing-wonders-of-world.htmlhttp://ibpsexam.blogspot.com/2011/07/amazing-wonders-of-world.html
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    Pyramids of Egypt : The Egyptian pyramids are pyramid shaped structures located inEgypt. There are over 100 Egyptian pyramids, most of which were built during the Oldand Middle Kingdom periods. The first Egyptian pyramid was the Pyramid of Djozerwhich was built during the third dynasty under King Djozer. The pyramid was designedby Imhotep as a tomb for the King. The best known egyptian pyramids are the Gizapyramids which are recognized among the largest structures ever built and are the only

    remaining monuments of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. During Egypts OldKingdom (time line), the pharaohs established a stable central government in the fertileNile Valley. Perhaps the greatest testaments to their power were the pyramids and othertombs built to shelter them in the afterlife.Light House at Alexandria : The lighthouse of Alexandria was a tower built in the 3rdcentury BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt toserve as that ports landmark, and later, its lighthouse. The lighthouses designer was

    Sostrates of Knidos. The Lighthouse of Alexandria is one of the greatest architecturalfeats of antiquity. It was at least as tall as a 40 story modern building and stood for over16 centuries. Proud of his work, Sostrates, desired to have his name carved into thefoundation. Ptolemy II, the son who ruled Egypt after his father, refused this request

    wanting his own name to be the only one on the building.Colossus of Rhodes: The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek god Helios,erected on the Greek island of Rhodes by Chares of Lindos between 292 and 280 BC. It

    is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Before its destruction, theColossus of Rhodes stood over 30 meters (107 ft) high, making it one of the talleststatues of the ancient world. It was roughly the same size as the Statue of Liberty inNew York, although it stood on a lower platform. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the

    Ancient World.Colosseum of Rome: The Colosseum or Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatreis an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever builtin the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman

    engineering. The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it hadapproximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly. The

    plan is a vast ellipse, measuring externally 188 m x 156 m (615 ft x 510 ft), with thebase of the building covering about 6 acres. Vaults span between eighty radial walls tosupport tiers of seating and for passageways and stairs. The facade of three tiers ofarches and an attic story is about 48.5 m (158 ft) tall roughly equivalent to a 12-15story building.Great Wall of China: The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthenfortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire during the rule of

    successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were builtsince the 5th century BC. The most famous is the wall built between 220 BC and 200 BCby the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farthernorth than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty. The Great Wall is

    the worlds longest human-made structure, stretching over approximately 6,400 km(4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc thatroughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km(4,160 miles) in total. It is also the largest human-made structure ever built in terms of

    surface area and mass. At its peak the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one millionmen. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese diedas part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.Taj Mahal of Indiathe epitome of love, a monument of immeasurable beauty.The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words.The thoughts that come into the mind while watching the Taj Mahal of Agra is not just itsphenomenal beauty, but the immense love which was the reason behind its construction.Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of hisbeloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, with whom he fell in love at the first sight. The very first

    sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance leaves one mesmerized. TajMahal stands on the bank of River Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat

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    defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until theymoved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, ShahJahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess.She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush arebellion after giving birth to their 14th child.Other Seven Wonders of the World:

    1. The Sphinx, near Gizeh (Ghiza) in Egypt2. The Catacombs at Rome3. The Circus Maximus at Rome4. The Taj Mahal at Agra (India)5. Angkor vat temple in combodia6. The Alhambra at Granada in S.Spain7. Shew Dragon Pagoda or the Golden Pagoda at Yangon in Myanmar

    New Seven Wonder of the World:(as declared on July 7, 2007 by New Seven Wonders foundation of Switzerland,At a grand ceremony organised in Stadia da Lutz Benefica stadium in Lisban (Portugal)

    1. The Taj Mahal (Agra, India)2. The Great Wall of China (China)3. The Pink Ruins of Petra (Jordan)4. The Statue of Christ the Redeemer in Ris de Janerio (Brazil)5. Incan Ruins of Machu Pichu (Peru)6. The ancient Mayan City of Chichen ltza (Mexico)7. The Colosseum of Rome (Italy)