What do recollect on hearing the words, Great Sphinx? Probably a lion with a human head in Egypt! Yes, the Great Sphinx of Giza refers to a statue whose head is of female, the body is of a sitting lion, and the wings are of an eagle. Located on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile, this sphinx is the largest monolith structure on the planet. Built in 2555 BC to 2532 B.C by the ancient Egyptians of Old Kingdom, the Great Sphinx of Giza is the oldest known historic piece. The body is 200 feet long and 65 feet tall with the face being 13 feet wide with eyes 6 feet high. Significance This huge statue is so old that the Egyptian Pharaohs revered it as God without knowing anything about it and built a small temple in its facade. Facing east, the Sphinx is associated with the rising sun and so the later Egyptian kings revered  [...]

The Temple of Luxor, a great Ancient Egyptian complex, is sprinkled on the east bank of the  Nile in the Luxor city that was once the ancient Thebes. Discovered in 1400 B.C.E and regarded as ipet resyt (the southern sanctuary), the temple is devoted to the Theban Triad of Amun, Mut, and Chons. Made at the reign of the New Kingdom, the earliest structures are yet surviving that include the barque chapels behind the first pylon (monumental gateway) constructed  by Hatshepsut and then by Tuthmosis III. Ramses II constructed the pylon (the large wall), two obelisks (only one is seen), and six self statues. Prime Attractions Avenue of Sphinxes Nectanebo built the sphinxes and reinstated the ram-headed sphinxes of Amenhotep III. This path covers 2 miles linking the Temple of Luxor and the Karnak Temple and forms the entrance to the temple  [...]

Chichen Itza, meaning at the mouth of the well of the Itza, is a big pre-Columbian site belonging to the Maya civilization. Spreading in the northern center of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, it exhibited multiple architectural styles and was once the major hub in the northern Maya lowlands. On spring equinox, many visitors used to throng this site to see the Temple of Kukulcan wherein the feathered serpent god was seen to descend downwards to the side of the pyramid seen through the light-and-shadow effect. The site is full of superb stone buildings out of which many are restored and all of them are linked by a dense system of 100 paved roads called sacbeob. Based on the archaeological styles, the buildings are grouped in architectonic sets wherein each set is separated via low walls. Some of these grouped complexes include the  [...]

Located in southern Egypt on the west bank of Lake Nasser at 290 km from Aswan, the temples of Abu Simbel are the twin giant rock shrines in Nubia. Regarded as the Nubian Monuments, they are designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site. These temples were initially built out of the mountainous outcrop during Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 13th century B.C. as a tribute to himself and his queen Nefertari for marking the victory at the Battle of Kadesh. However, they were displaced in the 1960s on a simulated hill above the Aswan High Dam reservoir so that they could not be immersed while creating Lake Nasser. No doubt, even today despite its shifted location, the temples of Abu Simbel are still visited by thousands of tourists each year. The larger temple, the Great Temple, is dedicated to Ra-Harakhty, Ptah, and Amun, the three Egyptian  [...]

Mountain Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan with an altitude of 3,776 metres. Located just west of the capital, Tokyo, Mount Fuji is one of Japan’s three Holy Mountains, the other two being Mount Tate and Mount Haku. A perfect symmetrical volcanic cone, Mt Fuji is a familiar symbol of Japan and is a top attraction for tourists, climbers as well as photographers and artists. Let’s have a look on the various exciting facts about Mt Fuji. It is surrounded by the small cities of Gotemba to the south, Fujiyoshida to the north and Fujinomiya to the southwest as well as by five lakes. The mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Given a clear weather, the mountain is visible from Yokohama, Tokyo, and sometimes even from Chiba, Saitama and Lake Hamana. The climate is very cold at the summit and is covered by snow for  [...]

Sun Temple Konark is a 13th century located at Konark in the state of Orissa in India. The temple was built by King Narasimhadeva I (1263-64 CE) of Eastern Ganga dynasty. Konark temple has found a place in the World Heritage Site list. Architecture: The architecture of the Sun Temple is modeled on huge chariot of Surya, the Sun God, drawn by seven horses and has twenty-four gigantic wheels made of stone carving. The entrance has statues of two giant lions, each crushing upon a war elephant. There is a Nata Mandir (where dancers performed dance to pay homage to the Sun God). Part of the temple now lies in ruins and some of the sculptures from the temple have been preserved in Sun Temple Museum. Sun Temple Konarkbelongs to the Kalinga School of Indian temples featuring curvilinear towers mounted by cupolas. About Konark: The name Konark  [...]

The Western Wall (HaKotel HaMa’aravi in Hibrew and Ḥā’iṭ Al-Burāq in Arabic) is a Jewish religious site located in the Old City of Jerusalem. The wall is also referred to as Wailing Wall or simply the Kotel. Just over half the wall, including its 17 courses located below street level, dates back to the end of the Second Temple period. It was being constructed around 19 BC by Herod the Great. The remaining layers of the wall were added from the 7th century onwards by the Umayyads and the Ottoman kings. Western Wall is 488 metre long and is the biggest Jewish pilgrimage in the world. It draws thousands of devout Jews every year who come to pray and stick prayer notes and goodwill messages into the cracks of the wall. Even the foreign head of states during their visit to Israel pay a visit to the wall. Western Wall  [...]

Easter Island (or Rapa Nui in Rapa Nui language which is an Eastern Polynesian language) is a distant volcanic island (164 square kilometres in area) located at the southeastern limit of Polynesia in South Pacific Ocean. Easter Island was earlier called Te-Pito – Te-Henua (Land’s end). Easter Island today is inhabited by about 2,000 Rapa Nuis, mostly in and around Hanga Roa, the capital of Easter Island and its only town. Cooks Bay is the only port of Easter Island. The Spanish name of Easter Island is Isla de Pascua. Spanish and Rapa Nui are the main official languages spoken at Easter Island. Easter Island is a special territory of Chile annexed under an agreement of September 1888.  Today, Easter Island is a World Heritage Site and much of its area remains protected under the Rapa Nui National Park. Dutch explorer  [...]

Borobudur is a ninth century Mahayana Buddhist monument located in Borobudur district south of Magelang in the Central Java province of Indonesia. Borobudur is the biggest tourist attraction in Indonesia. Borobudur is said to be built by architect Gunadharma around 800 AD (during the reign of the Sailendra dynasty). Architecture: The non-monastic Buddhist temple clearly has an architectural influence of the Guptas of India. It comprises six square platforms capped by three circular platforms and is adorned with 2,672 relief panels and over 500 Buddha statues. A main dome, located at the middle of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 seated statues of Buddha inside perforated stupa. Borobudur is famous for Buddhist pilgrimage. The temple is built above a bedrock hill, about 265 metres above the sea level. Divine pilgrimage: Here,  [...]

Angkor Wat or Angkor Vat (meaning ‘City Temple’) is a famous temple located at Angkor in Cambodia. The temple was built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II (ruled from 1113-1150), one of the greatest rulers of the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia that flourished from 9th to 15th century AD. The temple was originally dedicated to Hindu God Vishnu by its builder. The temple, which epitomizes classical Khmer architecture, has also been represented in the national flag of Cambodia and it is one of the main tourist attractions in the country. Angkor Wat temple is a part of the Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site. History: Angkor Wat temple was built as king Suryavarman II’s state temple and capital city. Construction work of the temple concluded shortly after the king expired. In 1177, Angkor was vandalized by the Chams, the  [...]