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Mrs Joyce’s Goal is to visit these Wonders of the World.
The problem is Mrs Joyce doesn’t know much about them. She can tick off the Great Wall of China, visiting the wall last year.
Please help by finding out why these places are classed as Wonders of The World? What makes them so special?
Hello Everyone I have researched “Easter Island” and found this…
Easter Island is over 2,000 miles from the nearest population center, (Tahiti and Chile), making it one of the most isolated places on Earth. A triangle of volcanic rock in the South Pacific – it is best known for the giant stone monoliths, known as Moai, that dot the coastline. The early settlers called the island “Te Pito O Te Henua” (Navel of The World). Admiral Roggeveen, who came upon the island on Easter Day in 1722, named it Easter Island. Today, the land, people and language are all referred to locally as Rapa Nui.
There has been much controversy and confusion concerning the origins of the Easter Islanders. Thor Heyerdahl proposed that the people who built the statues were of Peruvian descent, due to a similarity between Rapa Nui and Incan stonework. Some have suggested that Easter Island is the remnant of a lost continent, or the result of an extra-terrestrial influence . Archaeological evidence, however, indicates discovery of the island by Polynesians at about 400 AD – led, according to legend, by Hotu Matua. Upon their arrival, an impressive and enigmatic culture began to develop. In addition to the statues, the islanders possessed the Rongorongo script; the only written language in Oceania. The island is also home to many petroglyphs (rock carvings), as well as traditional wood carvings, tapa (barkcloth) crafts, tattooing, string figures, dance and music
Ben
I think I could go to the place Ben. It sounds very quiet and tranquil, just what I need to have a rest.
Enjoy!!
Mrs Joyce this is some of the info I found out and I found tourism info and found some info about what threats the Taj Mahal had.
Height: 65 m
Architectural style: Mughal architecture
Architect: Ustad Ahmad Lahouri
Tourism
The Taj Mahal attracts a large number of tourists. UNESCO documented more than 2 million visitors in 2001, including more than 200,000 from overseas. A two tier pricing system is in place, with a significantly lower entrance fee for Indian citizens and a more expensive one for foreigners. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from parking lots or catch an electric bus. The Khawasspuras (northern courtyards) are currently being restored for use as a new visitor center.
The small town to the south of the Taj, known as Taj Ganji or Mumtazabad, was originally constructed with caravanserais, bazaars and markets to serve the needs of visitors and workmen. Lists of recommended travel destinations often feature the Taj Mahal, which also appears in several listings of seven wonders of the modern world, including the recently announced New Seven Wonders of the World, a recent poll with 100 million votes.
The grounds are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, except for Friday when the complex is open for prayers at the mosque between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The complex is open for night viewing on the day of the full moon and two days before and after, excluding Fridays and the month of Ramadan. For security reasons only five items—water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies’ purses—are allowed inside the Taj Mahal.
Threats
In 1942, the government erected a scaffolding in anticipation of an air attack by German Luftwaffe and later by Japanese Air Force[citation needed]. During the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971, scaffoldings were again erected to mislead bomber pilots.
More recent threats have come from environmental pollution on the banks of Yamuna River including acid rain due to the Mathura Oil Refinery, which was opposed by Supreme Court of India directives. The pollution has been turning the Taj Mahal yellow. To help control the pollution, the Indian government has set up the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ), a 10,400-square-kilometre (4,000 sq mi) area around the monument where strict emissions standards are in place.
Concerns for the tomb’s structural integrity have recently been raised because of a decline in the water level of the Yamuna river which is decreasing at a rate of 5 feet a year. In 2010, cracks appeared in parts of the tomb, and the minarets which surround the monument were showing signs of tilting, as the wooden foundation of the tomb may be rotting due to lack of water. Some persons predict that the tomb may collapse within 5 years.
Vatican City
Vatican City is an enclave of Italy surrounded by the city of Rome and is the smallest country in the world at 0.44 km²[5]. It was created as country on 11 February 1929, with the “Patti Lateranensi” (Lateran Agreement or Treaty), was signed by Benito Mussolini and Pope Pius XI and is the headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church.
The Head of State is the Pope, now Pope Francis, former cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, elected on 13 March 2013, after Pope Benedict XVI withdrew after 8 years of Papacy. It is also important for its culture and art. The Vatican’s masterpieces are very well known in the world: St. Peter’s Square, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museums and the Apostolic Palace, where the Pope lives. There are also hundreds of other sculptures and pictures.
The Pope used to rule the Papal States. This used to cover all of Central Italy. Popes had always tried to stop Italy becoming one country because they might lose their control of the Papal States. In 1861 Italy was unified under the King of Savoy, but Rome and Latium remained unconquered. Only on 20 September 1870 the Italian troops invaded and beat the Papal troops. Rome became capital of the new kingdom.
The Pope said he was a prisoner of the Italian state and excommunicated all the people who helped invade his state. This stopped Catholics from taking part in public life.
In 1929 Benito Mussolini decided to sign an agreement with the Holy See, called the Lateran Treaty, which created the Vatican State. Another treaty gave the Vatican money each year to compensate for the lost territories.
The government structure is a theocracy with the Pontifical leader being the highest authority.
The state religion of the city is the Christian branch with largest membership, Roman Catholic Church.
Ben
Vatican City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3Aqx937YV0
Easter Island
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hO-vCPuuQQ
Ben
PS. I know they are boring to watch but even watching a little bit is interesting!
Ancient Pyramids: The ancient Egyptians built pyramids as tombs for the pharaohs and their queens. The pharaohs were buried in pyramids of many different shapes and sizes from before the beginning of the Old Kingdom to the end of the Middle Kingdom.
There are about eighty pyramids known today from ancient Egypt. The three largest and best-preserved of these were built at Giza at the beginning of the Old Kingdom. The most well-known of these pyramids was built for the pharaoh Khufu. It is known as the ‘Great Pyramid’.
There are no more famous ancient sites within Egypt, or for that matter elsewhere in the world, than the Great Pyramids at Giza. They are, without question, the icon most associated with the Egypt. They have been both the main destination for tourists, and a source of imaginative thought to the world for over three thousand years.
However, there are actually over 100 pyramids in Egypt, many of which are relatively unknown to anyone who is not an ancient Egypt enthusiast. All but a very few are grouped around and near the City of Cairo, just south of the Nile Delta. Otherwise, only one royal pyramid is known in southern Egypt (at Abydos), that being the one built by Ahmose, founder of the 18th Dynasty and Egypt’s New Kingdom.It may have also been the last royal pyramid built in Egypt.
However, smaller pyramids were constructed, for example in the Deir el-Medina necropolis, by private individuals. The Late Period Nubians who ruled Egypt also built relatively small pyramids with much steeper sides, though these were in fact constructed in Nubia itself. This tradition was carried on in Nubia after these southern rulers lost control of Egypt, and eventually, more pyramids were actually built in Nubia than Egypt, though on a much smaller scale.
Read more: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pyramids.htm#ixzz2PMSvfrZh
P.S: I am scared for you travelling because I was watching air crash investigations and I really freaked out. I am never going on an aeroplane in my life. If you do go, make sure you are flying with high quality pilots that have much experience, OK??