27 September 2022 - REPLICAS OF WORLD WONDERS - CHINA

 

REPLICAS OF 

WORLD WONDERS 

IN CHINA

G'day folks,

Welcome to 130 replicas of world wonders squeezed into just 118 acres of space. 

At the bizarre Window of the World “global village” you will find a life-size Mount Rushmore, London’s Tower Bridge, the Great Pyramids of Giza, a miniature version of Myanmar’s Shwedagon Pagoda, and a scaled-down Taj Mahal replica—all without leaving China.

The Window of the World theme park packs 130 world wonders into just 118-acres in western Shenzhen, located in China’s Pearl River Delta, one of the largest metropolitan areas in the world. Visitors can walk under the Arc de Triomphe, take a gondola down the canals of Venice, navigate the Colorado River down the Grand Canyon, and explore St. Basil’s Cathedral in just one day, so long as their feet can handle it.  

 

True to its name, Window of the World features replicas of major attractions from every continent (save Antarctica), from Easter Island to Kenya to Italy. An oversized, disproportionately wide globe sits at the entrance, and visible from all directions is one of the largest Eiffel Tower replicas in the world, at one-third scale. 

The park also brings different environments to the subtropical climate of southeastern China, including a reproduction of Niagara falls and a massive, climate-controlled indoor ski center, reminiscent of that of Dubai. It also hosts a variety of festivals throughout the year, with a diverse range of themes such as India, Japan, beer, and Santa Claus.

Perhaps the most petrifying attraction at Window of the World is the “Experience of Death” 4D ride, which has been described as the “world’s most disturbing ride.” The experience includes an excruciating 105-degree simulation of being cremated, followed by the passenger emerging in a womb-like room to mimic rebirth.

 

2 June 2022 - ORIGINS OF THE TAJ MAHAL

 

ORIGINS OF 

THE TAJ MAHAL

G'day folks,

Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved wife of an emperor died in 1631, leaving her husband consumed with grief. So much so that he spent 22 years constructing an incredible monument on her burial ground – the magnificent Taj Mahal.

He was Shah Jahan who entered the world in 1592 at Lahore, then capital city of the Mughal Empire, as Prince Shihab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram.

He was the son of Jehangir, the fourth Mughal emperor of India and the grandson of Akbar the Great. The name Khurram, meaning "joyful", was given to the prince by Akbar.

He became an impressive military leader but also a renowned architect. Among the many titles that he received is one that seems today to be most appropriate: "The Builder of the Marvels”.

Shah Jahan’s life would change forever in 1607 when he was just fourteen years old. The annual Meena Bazaar was being held in the imperial city of Agra when the ladies of the palace, including Mughal princesses, would hold a mock market place and set up stalls to sell goods.

The Mughal princes and other royalty and noblemen would indulge in playful banter with the stallholders and perhaps buy a few articles.

According to legend, 14-year-old Shah Jahan was wandering through the bazaar when he spotted a girl selling silk and glass beads. It was love at first sight and the prince immediately went to his father and declared that he wanted to marry the girl.

She was Arjumand Banu Begum, a 15-year-old Muslim Persian princess. The couple began an intense relationship and were married five years later – the date chosen by court astrologers.

Shah Jahan’s father died in 1628 and the son then became Emperor. Immediately, the new ruler bestowed upon his wife the title of Mumtaz Mahal, roughly meaning the “Jewel of the Palace”.

Although Shah Jahan had other wives, his relationship with them, according to the official court chronicler Qazwini, "had nothing more than the status of marriage. The intimacy, deep affection, attention and favour which His Majesty had for the Cradle of Excellence (Mumtaz) exceeded by a thousand times what he felt for any other".

She was indeed his inseparable companion and even went with him on military campaigns.

Tragically, in 1631, complications set in while Mumtaz Mahal was giving birth to their 14th child, and she died. She was 38 years old.

Shah Jahan was so consumed with grief that he ordered the court into mourning for two years. Then he began the task of erecting the world's most beautiful monument in memory of his beloved.

Construction of the Taj Mahal over Mumtaz Mahal’s burial site at Agra took 22 years using the labour of about 20,000 men and cost Shah Jahan most of his royal treasury. The bill was estimated at the time to be about 32 million rupees, which today would be around 70 billion rupees (about U.S. $916 million).

Different types of marble were used and brought to the site from various regions and countries including Rajasthan, Punjab, China, Tibet, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Arabia. More than 1,000 elephants were procured for the marble’s transportation.

As many as 28 varieties of semi-precious and precious stones were used to adorn the Taj with exquisite inlay work. And the colour of the monument appears to change at different times of the day.

Now a Unesco World Heritage site, the Taj Mahal counts among the Seven Wonders of the World, attracting up to four million visitors a year. English poet Edwin Arnold described it as "not a piece of architecture, as other buildings are, but the proud passion of an emperor's love wrought in living stones.”

When Shah Jahan died in 1666, aged 74, his body was placed in a tomb next to that of Mumtaz Mahal inside the monument. Apart from the Taj Mahal, other noble structures associated with his name include the Red Fort of Delhi, Jama Masjid of Delhi, Section of Agra Fort, the Wazir Khan Mosque and the Moti Masjid in Lahore, Pakistan.

* The Taj Mahal hit international headlines in 1992 when it was visited by Diana, Princess of Wales. She and her husband, Prince Charles, were on an official tour of India and it was expected that the royal couple would visit the beautiful monument together. But amid rumours swirling about the state of their marriage, Diana turned up alone. Charles was said to be “at a business meeting”.

With 30 to 40 photographers gathered, Diana sat on a bench (now known as Lady Di’s Chair) while her picture was taken in front of the Taj Mahal. The irony was lost on no-one as the image of a princess, alone at a glorious monument to love, was flashed around the world.

Later that year Diana and Charles officially separated.

Clancy's comment: A famous monument for a famous princess.

I'm ...

 

24 January 2022 - PATUXAI WAR MONUMENT in VIENTIANE, LAOS

 

 PATUXAI WAR MONUMENT

 in VIENTIANE, LAOS

G'day folks,

This one of my favourite cities and countries in Asia. 

When the USA donated cement and funds to expand the airport in Laos, the Laotians built a massive monument instead.  

Patuxai is a massive war monument and triumphal arch in the center of Vientiane, Laos. It was completed in 1968, using funds donated by the United States – funds that were meant to be used for the construction of an airport.

Patuxai, meaning Victory Gate in English (and variously written as Patuxay, Patousai and Patusai), was built between 1957 and 1968 in memory of the Laotian soldiers who died during World War II and the war of independence from France in 1949.

It’s also known as the Arc de Triomphe of Vientiane due to its resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Patuxai, however, is slightly taller than its Parisian counterpart, has four gates rather than two, and is covered in distinctly Laotian designs.

The exterior of the monument is decorated with traditional Laotian motifs, including Buddhist symbols, Hindu deities and female spirits of the clouds and waters known as apsaras. The ceilings beneath the four arches are decorated with further depictions of Hindu gods, such as Brahma and Vishnu, and mythological creatures like the mythical bird-woman Kinnaree and the three-headed elephant Erawan.

On top of Patuxai, meanwhile, sit five towers, again built in the traditional Laotian style. Four of these are located on each corner of the monument, while a fifth rises up from the center, higher than the rest. These five towers are decorated with flower motifs and each is topped with a golden finial.

 Needless to say, the construction of the Patuxai monument was a costly project. The Laotian government, however, managed to fund the bulk of the effort with money donated from the United States – despite that money having been donated for an entirely different project.

In the 1950s, the United States provided Laos with funds and a huge amount of concrete for the expansion of the city’s airport, which could then serve as a base for US fighter jets during the Vietnam War. But the funds and concrete arrived before any contract had been signed, so the Royal Laotian Government decided to build a massive triumphal arch, rather than an airport serving foreign interests. For this reason, locals jokingly refer to Patuxai by another name: the Vertical Runway.

No mention of this is made on the sign attached to Patuxai. But the sign is strangely honest in other ways, stating that the monument was never actually completed due to the country’s turbulent history, and that “From a closer distance, it [Patuxai] appears even less impressive, like a monster of concrete.” Not a glowing appraisal, but refreshingly frank.

Clancy's comment. Wonderful city, wonderful people. Below, you'll find a snap of me some years back in Vientiane.

I'm ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12 January 2022 - KOPU LIGHTHOUSE - ESTONIA

 

KOPU LIGHTHOUSE 

- ESTONIA -

G'day folks,

One of the oldest lighthouses in the world has been in continuous use since it was first built in 1531. 

In the 16th century, the construction of a warning marker for risky and shallow waters around the island of Hiiumaa was ordered by the Hanseatic League in order to secure the important trade routes along the Baltic Sea. The structure was built about 40 years after the request and the lighthouse was completed in 1531. Initially, the building was just a stone tower without any rooms and was used as a daymark. For more than 100 years the tower was not lighted and could only be seen during daylight.

The light was introduced in 1649, when outside stairs were added and a fire was ignited every night. The most accessible material for burning was wood but soon nearby forests were exhausted. Live fire was also troublesome since it was often extinguished by storms and needed an entire team of workers to keep it alive.

In 1810, the tower was modernized. An inner stairway and windows were cut in the tower with some adjacent rooms for maintenance. A lantern room was added to the top and three oil lamps now provided the light. The system was replaced in 1860 with a rotating lantern. A new, more technologically advanced lantern was installed in 1901.

 The tower was bombed during World War II, but only the lantern and optical systems were damaged. In 1963 the tower was fully automated and an experimental light system with a magnetic rotation mechanism was added.

Through all these changes, the outer view of the tower has remained largely unchanged. The general form is a square prism with heavy buttresses that are arranged by the compass directions. Major outer repairments were done in the 1970s. The building was covered with reinforced concrete and painted yellow. As later turned out the paint actually blocked humidity that was detrimental to the tower, so in 1989-90 some emergent restoration works were needed. It has been better maintained and overpainted many times after that.

The tower itself is 37.7 meters (124 feet) high and it is built on the highest point on the island, making the focal height 103.6 meters (340 feet). Although the building is not close to the sea, its elevated location makes it visible to 26 nautical miles. In 2020 the lights were changed for a new LED system that now makes Kõpu lighthouse one of the most powerful LED light sources in the world. It remains one of the best-known symbols on the Estonian island.

Clancy's comment: What an extraordinary construction.

I'm ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

21 June 2021 - THE SEVEN SISTERS, ENGLAND

 

THE SEVEN SISTERS, ENGLAND

 

G'day folks,

We all want a break and get away from the constant bad news. What could help is to be is a place where we can just get some "me-time", where we would be surrounded by some pleasant sights and can just calm down and not think about anything. This might be a good spot. 

 

Located on the coast of England's East Sussex between Seaford and Eastbourne, the Seven Sisters – named so because of the seven hilltops that encompass the silhouette of the cliffs – are one of England's great natural wonders. These majestically beautiful chalk cliffs are so serene to look at and are easily one of the most peaceful places you can imagine yourself to be in. Apart from being so incredibly gorgeous, the stark white cliffs have a distinct purity about them that you are unlikely to find in many places. 

The rolling paths along all the seven cliffs end at a wonderful café, where you can treat yourself to some nice goodies while admiring the breathtaking landscape.

 

Clancy's comment: I've been to this area, and found it amazing on wild, windy days.

I'm ....

 

6 October 2020 - NEWS ABOUT STONEHENGE

NEWS ABOUT

 STONEHENGE

G'day folks,

The question of how Stonehenge came into being is one that has baffled archeologists for centuries, and monuments like this have always fascinated me. 

The prehistoric monument is located on Southern UK’s Salisbury Plain and is comprised of roughly 100 upright stones placed in a circular layout. While the complete story remains a mystery, exciting recent findings allowed archeologists to add a piece to the puzzle. According to the study published in the journal Science Advances Stonehenge's builders dragged most of the 50,000-pound (22,700-kilogram), 20 feet (9 meters) tall sandstone boulders, called sarsens, from a woodland area in Wiltshire. The area, called West Woods, is located more than 15 miles (25 kilometers) from the monument.

"Our results suggest that most of the sarsens at Stonehenge share a common chemistry, which is why we're saying they come from the same area," David Nash, the lead author of the study, said in a statement to Business Insider. The new findings don’t reveal what Stonehenge was used for, but speculations include burial and cremating grounds and a place of ancient healing. However, knowing where the sarsens came from could at least help experts figure out how the monument's builders erected it and the route they took to transport their building materials. 

The new study also supports the idea that the sarsens were carved and put into standing position by the builders at the same time, about 2,500 BC. The work was done in Stonehenge's location after the rocks were transported en masse. 

Clancy's comment: Fascinating stuff. I visited Stonehenge many years ago on a cold and miserable day, and spent hours there  wondering how it got there. Plus, how did they drag these massive things that far?

I'm ...