Animals Zoo Park

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• The Colosseum Rome Italy Pictures and Wallpapers
• History of The Leaning Tower of Pisa Italy
• The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Pics and Info
• History The Hagia Sophia Pictures and information

The Colosseum Rome Italy Pictures and Wallpapers Posted: 18 Jan 2010 12:56 AM PST The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind : The Colosseum Rome Italy Pictures and Wallpapers at night and Inside. The Colosseum Rome Italy In Night The Colosseum Rome Italy In side The Colosseum Rome Italy at Early Morning The Colosseum Rome Italy The Colosseum Rome Italy Colosseum is one of the greatest architecture ever built in the history of Rome. The Colosseum was originally known as the Flavian Amphitheatre and is the largest amphitheater to have ever been built in the Roman Empire. It is a circular structure that occupies a site east of the Roman Forum. This Amphitheater was built to organize gladiator contests, dramas and games like hunting animals, constructing mock sea battle and the public could also view it in the open, and cheer their favorites. Built in the center of Rome itself, its construction began sometime between 70 and 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD when Titus was the ruling emperor. It has a seating capacity of 50,000 spectators. The Colosseum over the years has been broken by natural disasters like earthquake; even then, it is one of the hot spot of tourist visits in Rome. Very near to the Colosseum is the training school for the gladiators and it is worth the look. As compared to the oval shape of the Colosseum, it is triangular in shape. Other areas of attraction are places where the armor was built, then where the wounded gladiators were cured and not to forget the burial ground where the dead gladiators rested in peace. Today, the Colosseum is used for religious purposes. The Pope leads a procession on good Fridays called the station of the cross. Currently, the Amphitheater is very rich in Flora. There are more then hundreds of different kinds of Flora present on the ancient walls of the Colosseum. The Colosseum of Rome has been given great importance by the media and that is the reason why a lot of Hollywood movies have been shot in this amphitheater. The famous movie "Gladiator" is highly influenced by the Roman culture and the gladiator contests. Traveling to the Colosseum : The fascinating history that involves bloodbaths and battles associated with the structure is what draws visitors to this historical site. Getting to the Colosseum by taxi or bus from the airport is easy enough, but the line to get into the site itself can be excruciatingly long, especially during the very busy summer season. Aside from going there at any other time, there are other ways to get around these long lines. You can buy your ticket either at the Roman Forum or the Via de San Gregorio (these ticket counters are usually line-free), or you can even get them online. You can also buy a combo ticket that covers several of Rome's main attractions, or call the office to reserve your ticket in advance. Another good way to avoid long lines at the Colosseum entrance is by joining a tour group.

History of The Leaning Tower of Pisa Italy Posted: 18 Jan 2010 12:43 AM PST The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind Info : History of The Leaning Tower of Pisa Italy Pictures In Night and info The Leaning Tower of Pisa Pics The Leaning Tower of Pisa In Night Pics The Leaning Tower of Pisa at Night Sorry Camera Problem in Night The Leaning Tower of Pisa Picture Italy Tower Entrance Steps Picture 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. History : The Leaning Tower of Pisa is one of the wonders of the ancient world. It is located in Campo dei Miracoli (field of miracles) in the Italian city of Pisa and is 55.863 meters in height. It is a freestanding bell tower. It is not clear who the actual designer was. The Tower was designed to be vertical and started to incline during its construction. It leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees. It has fine mosaic pavements, elaborately carved columns and numerous bas-reliefs. It is made up of white marble. It is a famous tourist attraction and gives a panoramic view of the city. In 1172, a wealthy Italian widow named Berta di Bernardo left 60 cents in her will to purchase stones and construct a bell tower. The construction of the first floor began on August 9, 1173 AD. The tower began to sink after the construction reached the third floor in 1178. This was caused because the tower had only a three-meter foundation set in weak, unstable subsoil. Construction of the tower was halted for almost a hundred years since the Pisans were engaged in wars with Florence, Genoa and Lucca. In 1182, the 'Opera Campanilis petrarum Sancte Marie' (Stone Works of bell tower of Saint Mary) was established. In 1185, probably there was an interruption at the height of the fourth order. Giovanni di Simone restarted the construction in 1272. In 1292, Giovanni Pisano measured the inclination of the tower with a plumb line. The final two floors of the tower were added between 1319 and 1350. In 1360 Tommaso Pisano completed the construction, erecting the belfry and making the last important geometric correction of the structure. In 1372, the bell chamber was attached to the top. In 1838 a walkway was dug around the tower so that visitors could see its carefully crafted base, which increasingly began to lean. In 1934, an Italian engineer drilled three hundred sixty-one holes into the base and filled them with mortar which led to the tower leaning over some more. During the Second World War, the German Nazis used it as an observation post. In 1993, 650 tons of lead were hung from the North side of the building, which for a while stopped the leaning from increasing. In 1987, the tower was declared as part of the Piazza dei Miracoli UNESCO World Heritage. In 1995, an attempt was made to expand the foundations under the South side of the building. The ground was frozen using liquid nitrogen, to stop it from moving. Stones were removed from the tower in order to insert metal rods. It was not known that the removed stones were part of the original foundation of the building. In one night the towers leaning increased as much it normally would over 2 years. 250 tons of lead were quickly added. A British engineering professor came up with the idea of removing ground soil from under the high side of the tower instead of trying to strengthen the low side by adding to its foundatione. Work began in 1999 and was done extremely slowly so that the tower wouldn't get a sudden shock. The work was completed at the beginning of June 2001 and the tower had been straightened by about 16 inches, which was its position way back in 1838. In May 2008 after the removal of 70 tonnes of earth the tower had been stabilized. The engineers estimated that the tower would be stable for at least 200 years. No wonder, The Leaning Tower of Pisa has a prominent place in the "must-see" list of the tourists. So when are you going to visit the famed attraction? Happy sight seeing.

The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Pics and Info Posted: 18 Jan 2010 12:39 AM PST The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind Information : About The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Pics and Info. The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Pics The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Photo The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing Pics 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. Description : From an octagonal base about 97 feet in diameter, the tower's nine stories rose pyramidally to a height of about 260 feet. According to information obtained by an American missionary who journeyed to Nanjing in 1852, the original plan for the tower had called for 13 stories and a total height of about 330 feet. Although those ambitious dimensions were never realized, the smaller size made little difference, because size was not what made the structure so memorable for visitors. The brilliant white porcelain bricks that faced the tower were what made it so unforgettable. By day, the bricks glittered in the sun, and at night they were illuminated by perhaps as many as 140 lamps hanging around the exterior of the pagoda. Worked into the porcelain panels were colorful stoneware tiles with green, yellow, white, and brown glazes forming images of animals, landscapes, flowers, and bamboo.

History The Hagia Sophia Pictures and information Posted: 18 Jan 2010 12:33 AM PST The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind : History The Hagia Sophia Pictures and History The Hagia information. The Hagia Sophia Picture Dome of the The Hagia Sophia in Night Pics The Hagia Sophia Wonder Picture History Of 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...." In A.D. 326, Constantinople was laid out on the shores of the Bosporus by Emperor Constantine. Thirty years later, his successor built its first great church - eventually called Hagia Sophia - but it stood only 172 years before rioting crowds burned it to the ground. This event, in 532, was perhaps auspicious: It occurred during the reign of Justinian the Builder, who would give the world the sublime "tent of the heavens" that still stands and in whose creation "God has surely taken part." Reconstruction started just 39 days after the destruction of the original church. The gigantic structure was modeled loosely on the Roman Pantheon. Measuring 220 feet by 250 feet along its main floor, it was laid out as a rectangle, at whose center was a square. Soaring 180 feet above the square was a dome supported by four massive pendentives on equally massive piers. At the east and west ends of the dome square were two have domes serving as the apse and entrance bay. The engineering feat was even more incredible considering that only brick, mortar, and stone were used. Although the earlier Romans knew how to make concrete, these Eastern builders did not. Justinian embellished the interior with riches. Four acres of gold mosaics shimmered from the ceiling, and multicolored marble gleamed from the floors, columns, and wall panels. Less than six years after work on it began, Justinian's monument to Christendom was completed. In A.D. 558 much of it collapsed due to the many earthquakes in the region. Because the initial architects, Anthemius and Isodorus, were no longer living, the latter's nephew, Isidorus the Younger, was given the task of rebuilding. This time it lasted 400 more years before collapsing again, and being again rebuilt. In 1204, knoghts of the Fourth Crusade marched on the Byzantine Empire's capital city, stripping it and Hagia Sophia so remorselessly that a chronicler called it the most awesome plunder "since the creation of the world." When Rome's hegemony ended 57 years later, the Church of the Holy Wisdom was devoid of glittering wealth. Bulky buttresses were built to shore it up, but its days of glory, and those of Constantinople, were drawing to a close. In 1453, Sultan Mohammed II massed the Ottoman army in front of the city. After a 53-day siege, the Byzantine Empire's great capital capitulated, and the conqueror marched into town and directly to Hagia Sophia. His ulama recited a Muslim prayer, and the sultan declared Eastern Christianity's cornerstone a mosque. For almost 500 years it remained such, its mosaics whitewashed to hide the "idolatrous" figures of humans. Koranic inscriptions were placed in the four corners beneath the dome; four minarets were erected at the corners of the exterior perimeter; a gilded bronze crescent replaced the large metal cross crowning the basilica. While the changes offended Christians, the Mosque of Holy Wisdom enjoyed a place of high regard among devotees of Islam. In the 20th century, Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk viewed the structure as a unifying symbol for East and West. He closed the mosque in 1932, uncovered its medeival mosaics, and reopened Hagia Sophia as a museum in 1934. Nearly 15 centuries after Justinian, it stands as a monument to both human and divine wisdom.

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