House with Christmas Lights

"The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind"

The medieval mind, just like the classical mind before it, was captivated by the wondrous things people had made. For much of the thousand-year period known as the Middle Ages, most Europeans lived in small, isolated communities; travel was difficult and often dangerous; and knowledge was confined to, and often controlled by men of the church. The great civilizations of Greece and Rome were long gone, but even so, some of their glory was still remembered. Travelers brought back tales of an incredible civilization in the East which sparked the European imagination.

Following the third century B.C. when lists of wonders were compiled, many scholars and philosophers modified these lists to reflect their own opinions. At some point around the Middle Ages, another list appeared - the medieval world's seven wonders.

The surviving list holds a particular fascination because only some of its marvels actually date from the Middle Ages. The list represents almost 4,500 years of human endeavor.

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.

While we can't say with any degree of certainty what it was for, we can say that it wasn't constructed for any casual purpose. Only something very important to the ancients would have been worth the effort and investment that it took to construct Stonehenge.

The stones we see today represent Stonehenge in ruin. Many of the original stones have fallen or been removed by previous generations for home construction or road repair. There has been serious damage to some of the smaller bluestones resulting from close visitor contact (prohibited since 1978) and the prehistoric carvings on the larger sarsen stones show signs of significant wear.

The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing

 

Location:
Nanjing, China, out on the banks of the Yangtze.

History:
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.

Still, for many people who had known the tower firsthand, it was a sublimely elegant example of a Buddhist pagoda. "The best contrived and noblest structure of all the East," wrote Le Comte, the French mathematician who had made a visit to China in the early 19th century

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

So this is the famous leaning tower of Pisa. When I first saw it I was impressed by its inclination. Looking around I realised that I was standing at one of the most beautiful squares in the world. This square is considered to be the most ambitious monument of the Tuscan Romanesque.

If you ever happen to be close to Pisa in winter or early spring you have to visit this square, the 'Piazza dei Miracoli' as they call it here. Go there early in the morning and taste this 'Miracolo'!

It's a pity that it's not possible anymore to climb the tower. It was closed some years ago because they feared that it could collapse. I never understood why there are problems in finding a solution for stabilizing the tower. Why don't they take the tower apart and reconstruct it again, but then on a solid foundation. Maybe even reconstructing it as the architect probably intented it to be.

The 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 Great Wall of China

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. Each dynasty added to the height, breadth, length, and elaborated the design mostly through forced labor.

It was during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) that the Wall took on its present form. The brick and granite work was enlarged and sophisticated designs were added. The watch towers were redesigned and modern canon were mounted in strategic areas. The Portuguese had found a ready market for guns and canon in China, one of the few items of trade that China didn't already have in abundance. The Ming Emperors, having overthrown the Hun dominance and expelled their Mongol rulers of the North devoted large portions of available material and manpower to making sure that they didn't return.

The Colosseum

The Colosseum 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 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. It got its popular name, the Colosseum, because it was built near where Nero had erected a huge statue, or colossus of himself. It showed him as the god of the sun. It was 100 feet high, and it was the largest gilded bronze statue in antiquity. It was later moved away. It took 24 elephants to move it!

The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa

Location:
Alexandria, Egypt.

History:
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.

Little of that "Paris of Antiquity" has survived above the ground. Below it, however, are haunting reminders of a culture that existed 1,900 years ago: the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, "Mound of Shards." Carved out of solid rock, three levels burrow into the ground near the sites of the ancient stadium, and the long- vanished temple to Serapis, a Greek and Egyptian god. Many such catacombs once filigreed Alexandria's underground, but earthquakes and construction projects destroyed or obscured them. Only in 1900 was Kom el Shoqafa rediscovered after centuries - by a donkey that fell through a hole in the ground and into its access well. The animal, it soon became clear, had made an extraordinary archeological find.

Amazing Buildings

The Crooked House (Sopot, Poland)

Forest Spiral – Hundertwasser Building (Darmstadt, Germany)

The Torre Galatea Figueras (Spain)

Ferdinand Cheval Palace a.k.a Ideal Palace (France)

 The Basket Building (Ohio, United States)

 Kansas City Public Library (Missouri, United States)

 Wonderworks (Pigeon Forge, TN, United States)

 Habitat 67 (Montreal, Canada)

Cubic Houses (Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Hang Nga Guesthouse a.k.a Crazy House (Vietnam)

Chapel in the Rock (Arizona, United States)

Dancing Building (Prague, Czech Republic)

 Calakmul building a.k.a La Lavadora a.k.a The Washing Mashine (Mexico, Mexico)

 Kettle House (Texas, United States)

Manchester Civil Justice Centre (Manchester, UK)

Island Covered with Clouds

Luytla-Duymun – the smallest of the 18 Faroe Islands, located between Scotland and Iceland. The island – 0.8 sq km, the highest point – Mount Ravan height 414 meters. The island is uninhabited, except for those frequent cases where it encircled the clouds or deposited from above, in the form of caps.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

The Great Pyramid of Giza

It is the one and only Wonder which does not require a description by early historians and poets. It is the one and only Wonder that does not need speculations concerning its appearance, size, and shape. It is the oldest, yet it is the only surviving of the Seven Ancient Wonders. It is the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Location:
At the city of Giza, a necropolis of ancient Memphis, and today part of Greater Cairo, Egypt.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Fruits and flowers... Waterfalls... Gardens hanging from the palace terraces... Exotic animals... This is the picture of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon in most people's minds. It may be surprising to know that they might have never existed except in Greek poets and historians imagination!

Location
On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.

The Temple of Artemis at Epheseus

Is it simply a temple? How could it take its place among other unique structures such as the Pyramid, the Hanging Gardens, and the Colossus of Rhodes? For the people who actually visited it, the answer was simple. It was not just a temple... It was the most beautiful structure on earth... It was built in honor of the Greek goddess of hunting and wild nature. That was the Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus.

Location
The ancient city of Ephesus near the modern town of Selcuk, about 50 km south of Izmir (Smyrna) in Turkey.

The Statue of Zeus at Olympia

This is the statue of the god in whose honor the Ancient Olympic games were held. It was located on the land that gave its very name to the Olympics. At the time of the games, wars stopped, and athletes came from Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, and Sicily to celebrate the Olympics and to worship their king of gods: Zeus.

Location
At the ancient town of Olympia, on the west coast of modern Greece, about 150 km west of Athens.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Similar to the Great Pyramid, we are now visiting the burial place of an ancient king. Yet the Mausoleum is different - so different from the Pyramid that it earned its reputation - and a spot within the list - for other reasons. Geographically, it is closer to the Temple of Artemis... And it was the beauty of the tomb rather than its size that fascinated its visitors for years.

Location
In the city of Bodrum (f.k.a. Halicarnassus) on the Aegean Sea, in south-west Turkey.

The Colossus of Rhodes

From its building to its destruction lies a time span of merely 56 years. Yet the colossus earned a place in the famous list of Wonders. "But even lying on the ground, it is a marvel", said Pliny the Elder. The Colossus of Rhodes was not only a gigantic statue. It was rather a symbol of unity of the people who inhabited that beautiful Mediterranean island -- Rhodes.

Location
At the entrance of the harbor of the Mediterranean island of Rhodes in Greece.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria

Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one had a practical use in addition to its architectural elegance: The Lighthouse of Alexandria. For sailors, it ensured a safe return to the Great Harbor. For architects, it meant even more: it was the tallest building on Earth. And for scientists, it was the mysterious mirror that fascinated them most... The mirror's reflection could be seen more than 50 km (35 miles) off-shore.

Location
On the ancient island of Pharos, now a promontory within the city of Alexandria in Egypt.