Wonders of the WorldArup R Pal

What is a Wonder ? A “wonder” is something that we find amazing.

We find these things amazing as these are mostly

Unique i.e. without a second piece on Earth.

These things are amazing because these things

were built at a time when the technology was not

as developed as today.

So we ask ourselves how could these things got

built in the first place ?

How many types of wonders are there ?

There can be two types of Wonders

Man Made Wonders and

Natural wonders

Also there can be wonders from different periods in time e.g.

Wonders of the ancient world

Wonders from the Medieval world and

Wonders of the modern world

Types of Wonders

Man-made wonders These wonders were

build by humanbeings

Natural wonders These are wonders

formed by Nature

Types of Wonders Wonders of the Ancient World

Great Pyramid of Giza Hanging Gardens of Babylon Statue of Zeus at Olympia Temple of Artemis at

Ephesus Mausoleum of Maussollos at

Halicarnassus Colossus of Rhodes Lighthouse of Alexandria

Except for the Pyramid of Gizanone of the wonders of the ancientworld exist now.

Types of Wonders

Wonders of the MediavalWorld

Stonehenge Colosseum Catacombs of Kom el

Shoqafa Great Wall of China Porcelain Tower of

NanjingHagia Sophia Leaning Tower of Pisa

Wonders of the Ancient World

Why did they build the Wonders ?

Different wonders were built for different purpose.

But all the wonders show the amazing capabilities

in-terms of Knowledge of

Science , engineering

Architecture , astronomy

Use of technology

Mathematics, Geometry

Art etc.

Types of Wonders

Seven Wonders of TheWorld Great Wall of China Petra Christ the RedeemerMachu Picchu Chichen Itza Roman Colosseum Taj Mahal

Great Pyramid ( Honorary Candidate )

Wonders of the Modern World

What is the Great Wall of China ?

The Great Wall of China is a Man-made wall built over

many centuries along the earlier Chinese empire.

The Chinese were familiar with the techniques of wall-

building by the 8th century BC.

Major part of the wall was built during the Ming

Dynasty.

These walls were made mostly by stamping earth and

gravel between board frames. During later part bricks

and stone got used.

Why did they build the Great Wall of China ?

The Great wall of China was

built to protect the Chinese

empire from enemy attacks.

Comprehensive advanced

archaeological survey, has

concluded that the entire Great

Wall, with all of its branches,

stretches for 8,851.8 km.

What is Petra ?

• On the edge of the Arabian

Desert, Petra was the glittering

capital of the Nabataean empire

of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40

A.D.).

• Masters of water technology, the

Nabataeans provided their city

with great tunnel constructions

and water chambers.

What is Petra ?

• A theater, modelled on Greek-

Roman prototypes, had space

for an audience of 4,000.

• Today, the Palace Tombs of

Petra, with the 42-meter-high

Hellenistic temple facade on

the El-Deir Monastery, are

impressive examples of Middle

Eastern culture.

What is Christ the Redeemer ?• Christ the Redeemer is a statue of

Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil. It is considered the largest

art deco statue in the world

• The statue stands 39.6 metres

(130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 metre

(31 ft) pedestal, and 30 metres

(98 ft) wide.

• It weighs 635 tons (700 short tons).

Why was Christ the Redeemer built ?

• The statue of Christ the

Redeemer is a very important

symbol of Brazil's Catholicism.

• It is made of reinforced

concrete and soapstone.

• Construction took nine years,

from 1922 to 1931. The

monument was opened on

October 12, 1931

What is Machu Picchu ? Machu Picchu (pronounced Machu

Pikchu, "Old Peak",) is a pre-

Columbian Inca site located

2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level.

It is situated on a mountain ridge

above the Urubamba Valley in Peru.

Often referred to as "The Lost City of

the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the

most familiar symbols of the Inca

Empire.

What is Machu Picchu ? The Incas started building it

around AD 1430 but abandoned as

an official site for the Inca rulers a

hundred years later at the time of

the Spanish conquest of the Inca

Empire.

It was brought to international

attention in 1911 by Hiram

Bingham, an American historian.

What is Machu Picchu ? Since it was not plundered by the

Spanish, it is especially important as a

cultural site and is considered a sacred

place.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical

Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls.

Its primary buildings are the

Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and

the Room of the Three Windows.

What is Chichen Itza? Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian

archaeological site built by the Maya

civilization located in present-day

Mexico.

Chichen Itza was a major regional focal

point in the northern Maya lowlands.

Dominating the center of Chichén is the

Temple of Kukulkan (the Maya name

for Quetzalcoatl), often referred to as "El

Castillo" (the castle).

What is Chichen Itza? The Mayans succeeded in an almost

impossible mission with the completion

of their structures at Chichén Itzá. A

poetic combination of form, style,

function, religion, philosophy,

mathematics and geometry.

A true symbiosis of all of their

intelligence and art in one location, to

be studied and admired by all that

visit.

What is the Roman Colosseum ? The Colosseum is one of the greatest

works of Roman Architecture and

Engineering.

It could seat 50000 people and used for

Gladiatorial sports and public

spectacles.

It has been estimated that about

500,000 people and over a million wild

animals died in the Colosseum games

What is the Roman Colosseum ?

• The Colosseum was built

in such a manner that

people could come in and

vacate it very quickly.

• In the Gladiatorial

sports, captured enemies,

soldiers and slaves were

made to fight each other

and animals.

What is Taj Mahal ? Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah

Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz

Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example

of Mughal architecture, a style that combines

elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic

architectural styles.

It took around 22 years to build Taj Mahal at

an estimated cost of about Rs. 32 million at that

time.

What is Taj Mahal ? The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials

from all over India and Asia . Over 1,000

elephants were used to transport building

materials.

The translucent white marble was brought from

Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and

crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet

and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan.

In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-

precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.

What is Taj Mahal ? The Taj Mahal is decorated in line with the Islamic

tradition.

The decorative elements can be grouped into either

calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.

Throughout the complex, passages from the Qur'an are

used as decorative elements.

The calligraphy was created by the Persian calligrapher

Abd ul-Haq, who came to India from Shiraz, Iran, in

1609.

Higher panels are written in slightly larger script so

that they don’t appear smaller when looked from below.

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