Christ The Redeemer-Icon of Brazil
Christ the Redeemer, the world famous statue standing with in the Rio de Janerio, is considered to be the greatest of art deco statue of all times. The Redeemer Christ Statue is one of the new Seven Wonders of the World and turns out to be the national pride of Brazil. Weighing about 650 tons, the statue stands out with a height of 40 meters and a width of 30 meters.
The statue is placed over the pedestal of height of 10 meters. Redeemer Christ with open arms was an amazing splendor on the backdrop of the underlying city of Janerio. Heitor de Silva Costa, the designer and Paul Landowski, the sculptor are two important men responsible for the creation of the Statue. Mostly made of reinforced concrete, the work started in the year 1922 and finished in 1931.
The unique feature about the Redeemer Christ statue was that it was situated over 700 meters in the Corcovado Mountain overlooking the city. The outer layer of the statue is made of soapstone, an insulator, which prevents the statue from the lightening and harsh weather conditions. Also it gives a furnished and prefect shape to the statue. A chapel in the honor of patron saint of Brazil was built near the base of the statue in 2006.
Burj Khalifa-Symbol of Grandeur
Burj Khalifa, the tallest building ever built in the earth, was officially opened recently in the year 2010. The tower was surrounded by the developmental area, Downtown Burj Khalifa. Adrian Smith and Bill Baker were the chief designers and structural engineers for the construction of Burj Khalifa. The South Korean giant, Samsung C&T undertook the project of the Burj Khalifa costing over 1.5 billion dollars. Further the Downtown area costs the huge amount of about 20 billion dollars. The whole tower and developmental area was located in the main business district. The actual height of the Burj Khalifa was an amazing height of 828 meters.
The tower was influenced by the Islamic architecture with massive spires at the top. The huge collection of art works like paintings, bronze and brass artifacts decorate the interior of the Burj Khalifa. The tower is expected to house a population of 35 thousand people supported by 57 lifts and 8 escalators. With 160 floors and 7 terraces, the Burj Khalifa created a revolution in the skyscrapers history. The exterior of the tower is well furnished with cladding works of glass, textured aluminum and steel panels. In order to withstand high temperatures, the cooling system was installed at the basement of the tower.
Colosseum- The Roman’s Pride
The Colosseum, the elliptical shaped public theatre, built in the center of ancient Roman capital of Rome. It was the greatest buildings in Europe for many centuries. The technology advancement of Romans can be understood by the Colosseum, which has seen many raids and ruins, but it stands still till now.
The Colosseum is estimated to have the capacity of about fifty thousand spectators and animal fights, executions and epic dramas. The southern side of the wall has been the prey for the earthquakes but northern wall stands erect and strong. Though many of the stones are taken away from the Colosseum for various building purposes, the various restoration programs initiated by the Vatican City in past two centuries has restored the beauty and good condition of the building. The massive theatre has eighty entrances of which seventy six are for common people, northern entrance for Emperor and remaining three for the nobles.
The seating in the Colosseum were divided into many sectors for nobles, senators, wealthy people and middle class common people. The arena has wooden floor with lot of underground openings used for bringing up the animals, performers or the gladiators. Further the theatre is built in such a way that even a huge crowd can be evacuated very quickly.
Goa-Land of Beaches
Goa, the tourist capital of India, is well known for the classic beaches, churches and some of the rare architecture. For almost five hundred years, the region was under the rule of Portuguese, who imparted their culture and lifestyle into the minds of Goa people. The Portuguese can also be reason for Goa turning out to be a massive tourist center. The climate in Goa is very hot and humid throughout the year. Also the heavy monsoon rains lashes out Goa along with strong winds. The major cities of Goa are Vasco da Gama and Panji, state’s capital. The rich biodiversity of flora and fauna can be observed on the Western Ghats of the interior Goa.
The tourism in Goa is mainly limited to the coastal regions mainly beaches, restaurants and bars. The Bom Jesus Basilica, the world heritage site, is also a major tourist attraction. The forts like Chapora, Tiracol, Cabo de Rama are some of the notable locations to visit. The beaches like Anjuna, Patolem, Vagator and Colva stretch unbroken coastline favoring the tourism. The scenic beauty of the nearby villages and enchanting blue seas of Indian Ocean adds further essence to the attracting sandy beaches. There were number of museums like Goa State Museum, Xavier Centre and Christian Art gallery depicts the art heritage of the Goa.
Death Valley – Epitome Of Beauty
Death Valley National Park, one of the hottest tourist spots in the world, is situated east of the Sierra Nevada, a branch of Andes Mountains. The park has a very harsh climate with little availability of water and low moisture. But aquifers would come live in springs providing a pleasant weather. The prominent mountain ranges found in the Death Valley are Sierra Nevada, Argus range and Panamint Range. The twin valleys of Death Valley and Panamint Valley along with Badwater basin and Lake Manly support vegetation and wildlife in the park. The salt pans in the valley and hills, which are the rich source of minerals like borax, tin, etc. forms the lucrative business of the mining in early twentieth century.
From the year 1976, mining was banned inside the park. The Telescope Peak is another interesting and wonderful tourist location situated about 11,000 feet above the sea level. Scotty’s castle is the luxurious paradise of oasis of Grapevine Canyon in Northern Death Valley. The plants like creosote bush, desert holly and mesquite and trees like blackbrush, shadscale and varieties pines form the vegetation of the park. Fauna like coyotes, bobcats, kit fox, cougars and pupfish are commonly found in this region. The nearest city is Pahrump and Las Vegas which are well linked with the park.
The Carthage – Jewel Of Mediterranean
The Carthage was originally located in the gulf of Tunis and it is a busy center of trade and commerce before it was brought down by Romans. Again the Romans had rebuilt the city of Carthage with Roman’s classical style and ruled it for many centuries. Still, the Carthage city remains standstill in the fringes of the Tunisian capital city of Tunis. The Antonin bath, one of the largest baths, is the common bathing place for most of the Romans who lived at those times.
The Carthage museum is known to hold some of the rare sculptures and artifacts belonging to the Roman and Phoenician periods. The Carthage’s Ampitheatre is a large oval ground with two openings and it served to be the slaughter place for early Christians. There exists a well planned city of Punic Carthage along the sloping side Byrsa Hill. Those houses, which are two or three storied with mosaic floors, indoor wells and furnished walls, are perfectly aligned resembling Roman culture. North Africa American Cemetery is 27 acre monument which was built in the memory of the soldiers fought for the liberation of the North Africa. The cathedral of St. Louis is an exciting site, which it was devoted to the Louis IX who died in Crusader wars.
Machu Picchu – Lost City Of Inca
Machu Picchu, the city of Inca has rich cultural and traditional artifacts. One of the interesting facts about the Machu Picchu is the location of 2430 meters above the sea level and went unnoticed for centuries. Only at the beginning of twentieth century, it came to the limelight of the world’s eye. Many of the artifacts stolen from it were returned back in order to preserve its heritage. The high attitude yet well planned city is being just situated between two mountains of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu and scores the enchanting view of underlying gorgeous hills and valleys.
The city has a wall to divide agricultural and living regions. The agriculture is done along terraces of the hillsides. The living or urban regions is further divided into three districts. The lower district holds the houses of common people and working class. Another one has the well decorated and furnished home usually for kings and nobles. Third district contains the worship places of the Intihuatana, the Room of Three Windows and the Sun Temple. There are number of springs, parks, temples and residencies which usually carved out of stone. The carved statue Monumental Mausoleum, which is well decorated, is known to hold the traditional rites and sacrifices.
Petronas Tower-Symbol of Mastery
The Petronas Twin Towers, one of the tallest buildings in the world, was completed in the year 1998 after the seven years of tyrant effort. It was designed by Cesar Pelli, an argentine architect. The Petronas tower has the deepest foundations of 120 meters on the base of bed rock. The tower consists of eighty eight floors apart from the spires. The tower was built on the Islamic fashion with reinforced concrete and steel. The first tower was constructed by the Japanese firm Hazama while the second tower was built by the South Korean firms of Samsung and Kukdong.
Mostly the reinforced concrete was used in the construction making the tower heavier. The advanced structure of the tower with the concrete core and wide spaced super columns has a large area for rents as well as stability of the towers. The first tower was wholly occupied by Petronas firm while second tower by many multinational companies for rental use. The two towers were interconnected by the two skybridge, which is open to all travelers. Lots of safety features are also ensured while travelling through skybridge. All the floors of the tower were well connected with the lifts. The tower has a large concert hall and the art gallery.
Angkor Wat-Temple City
Angkor Wat, the twelfth century temple, is the national pride for Cambodia. The temple has rich cultural heritage and fine architecture. The Angkor Wat reflects the classic style and grand culture of the Khmer empire. The Angkor Wat has some of the resemblance features with the temples found in the South India. The Temple was built mostly with the sandstones along with some resins like lime. The Angkor Wat predominantly has many Hindu statues and paintings as well as some Buddha carvings.
The Angkor Wat walls have the famous paintings of the scenes of the Hindu mythology. There were towers at four cardinal locations around the central shrine. The galleries with square pillars will be located between those towers. The outer wall of the temple encloses a vast area to accommodate the government buildings. But the buildings other than Angkor Wat became prey to the ruins and are now covered with the forests. The Central shrine is slightly higher with three galleries and lots of inscriptions in the walls. There were four courtyards in the central part of the Angkor Wat. The Preah Poan, the Buddhist religious hall, is located between the outer gallery and second gallery before leading to the main shrine.
Mauritius Islands-Gems of Indian Ocean
Mauritius Islands, the famous tourist attraction located in the Indian Ocean near the African continent. For many centuries the island was under the colonialism of many countries such as Britain, France and Dutch. Hence there exists a multicultural environment in the islands. From the olden days, the Port Louis, the country’s capital, is been a center of trade and commerce in the Indian Ocean route. The dense forests and sandy beaches of the islands are the major tourist attraction sources in the islands.
The Grand Bay, famous for discos, parties and restaurants is the popular tourist site in the islands. The other tourist attractions near the Northern part of the islands were Balaclava ruins, Maheswarnath Temple, Labourdonnais farms and Louis market. The water sports are the main attractions for tourists in the coast areas of Water park village, lie aux Cerfs and Pereybere. The Blue Bay nearer to the Port Louis is one of the beautiful beaches with blue seas and green palms. Also the interior of the islands have splendid forests with magnificent landscapes. The Safari trips inside the protected reserves like Yemen Park can really be wonderful and enchanting natural scenes. The Mauritius Islands is also known for leisure sports like trekking, mountaineering and ski diving.