Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Lighthouse

Stonehenge in Great Britain

Monumental circular arrangement of standing stones built in prehistoric times and located near Salisbury, Wiltshire, Eng. The stones are believed to have been put in place in three main phases c. 3100–c. 1550 BC. The reasons for the building of Stonehenge are unknown, but it is believed to have been a place of worship and ritual. Many theories have been advanced as to its specific purpose (e.g., for the prediction of eclipses), but none has been proved. Stones erected during the second phase of construction (c. 2100 BC) were aligned with the sunrise at the summer solstice, suggesting some ritual connection with that event.

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Big Ben in Great Britain

Clock housed in the tower at the eastern end of Britain’s Houses of Parliament. Designed by Sir Edmund Beckett (1816–1905), Big Ben is famous for its accuracy and its 13-ton bell. The name (for Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of works at the time of its installation in 1859) originally applied only to the bell but eventually came to include the clock itself.

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Chichén Itzá in Mexico

Ancient ruined Mayan city in Mexico’s Yucatán state. Chichén Itzá was founded by the Maya about the 6th century AD in an arid region where water was obtained from natural wells called cenotes. The city was invaded in the 10th century—probably by a Mayan-speaking group under strong Toltec influence—and the invaders constructed another series of buildings, including the famous stepped pyramid known as El Castillo and a ball court. The site, though largely abandoned by the time the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, remained sacred to the Maya people. It was designated a World Heritage site in 1988.

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Tower Bridge in Great Britain

Tower Bridge, movable bridge of the double-leaf bascule (drawbridge) type that spans the River Thames between the Greater London boroughs of Tower Hamlets and Southwark. It is a distinct landmark that aesthetically complements the Tower of London, which it adjoins.

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The bridge was completed in 1894. It is about 240 metres (800 feet) in length and provides an opening 76 metres (250 feet) wide. Its twin towers rise 61 metres (200 feet) above the Thames. Between the towers stretch a pair of glass-covered walkways that are popular among tourists. The walkways were originally designed to allow pedestrians to cross even while the bridge was raised, but they became hangouts for prostitutes and thieves and so were closed from 1909 to 1982. The Tower Bridge was operated by hydraulic pumps driven by steam until 1976, when electric motors were put into operation; the steam power system is still kept (in good repair) as a tourist display. Because of the reduction in shipping at the London Docklands, however, the leaves are now seldom raised.

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Taj Mahal in India

Mausoleum complex on the southern bank of the Yamuna River, outside Agra, India. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahān in memory of his wife, Mumtāz Maḥal, who died in 1631. The Taj complex, begun c. 1632, took 22 years to complete. At its centre lies a square garden area bounded by two smaller, oblong sections, one comprising the mausoleum and the other an entrance gateway. The mausoleum, of pure-white marble inlaid with semiprecious stones, is flanked by two red sandstone buildings, a mosque on one side and an identical building for aesthetic balance on the other. It stands on a high marble plinth with a minaret at each corner. It has four identical facades, each with a massive central arch 108 ft (33 m) high, and is surmounted by a bulbous double dome and four domed kiosks. Its interior, with fine, restrained stone decoration, centres on an octagonal chamber containing the marble tombs, enclosed by a perforated marble screen, with sarcophagi below. Regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1983. Steps have been taken since the late 1990s to reduce air pollution that has damaged the facade of the building.

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Angkor Wat in Cambodia

Temple complex in Angkor (now in northwestern Cambodia), the crowning work of Khmer architecture. About 1,700 yards (1,550 m) long by 1,500 yards (1,400 m) wide, it is the world’s largest religious structure. Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built in the 12th century by Suryavarman II. The Wat, an artificial mountain originally surrounded by a vast external wall and moat, rises in three enclosures toward a flat summit. The five remaining towers (shrines) at the summit are composed of the repetitive diminishing tiers typical of Asian architecture.

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Easter Island Statues (Maoi) in Chile

Easter Island, Spanish Isla de Pascua native Rapa Nui, Island (pop., 2002: 3,791), eastern Pacific Ocean. Located 2,200 mi (3,600 km) west of Chile, it has an area of 63 sq mi (163 sq km). Initially inhabited c. AD 400 by Polynesians from the Marquesas, Easter Island has long been famous for its monolithic stone statues in human form. They are some 10–40 ft (3–12 m) high, the heaviest weighing about 82 tons. They were probably erected c. AD 1000–1600. War and disease decimated the island’s population over the succeeding centuries, and the statues’ origins were forgotten. Annexed by Chile in 1888, the island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995.

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Tower of Hercules in Spain

Probably the only ancient Roman lighthouse still in use. The tower stands at the entrance of A Coruña harbour in the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. A Phoenician tower may have occupied the site originally, but the present structure, 185 feet (56.8 metres) tall, is considered a Roman work dating from or at least remodeled during the reign of Trajan (98–117 CE). It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2009.

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Wat Phra Si Sanphet in Thailand

The Wat Phra Si Sanphet, a monastery on the grounds of the so-called Wang Luang (Ancient Palace), served as the royal chapel and once contained an image of the Buddha covered in some 375 pounds (170 kg) of gold.

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Sucevița Monastery in Romania

Eastern Orthodox convent, built in 1585, situated in the Northeastern part of Romania. It is situated near the Suceviţa River, in the village Sucevița. It is located in the southern part of the historical region of Bukovina (northwestern Moldavia).

The architecture of the church contains both Byzantine and Gothic elements, and some elements typical to other painted churches of northern Moldavia. Both interior and exterior walls are covered by mural paintings, which are of great artistic value and depict biblical episodes from the Old and New Testament. The paintings date from around 1601, which makes Sucevița one of the last monasteries to be decorated in the famous Moldavian style of exterior paintings.

There are several other defensive structures within the ensemble, including four towers. Sucevița was a princely residence as well as a fortified monastery. Sucevița’s was important first as a manuscript workshop, then as a printing center.

In 2010, the monastery has been inscribed by UNESCO on its list of World Heritage Sites, as one of the Painted churches of Moldavia.

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Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italian Torre Pendente di Pisa, medieval structure in Pisa, Italy, that is famous for the settling of its foundations, which caused it to lean 5.5 degrees (about 15 feet [4.5 metres]) from the perpendicular in the late 20th century. Extensive work was subsequently done to straighten the tower, and its lean was ultimately reduced to less than 4.0 degrees.

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Eiffel Tower in France

Eiffel Tower, French Tour Eiffel, Parisian landmark that is also a technological masterpiece in building-construction history. When the French government was organizing the International Exposition of 1889 to celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution, a competition was held for designs for a suitable monument. More than 100 plans were submitted, and the Centennial Committee accepted that of the noted bridge engineer Gustave Eiffel. Eiffel’s concept of a 300-metre (984-foot) tower built almost entirely of open-lattice wrought iron aroused amazement, skepticism, and no little opposition on aesthetic grounds. When completed, the tower served as the entrance gateway to the exposition.

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