Wonders of the World
Arup R Pal
What is a Wonder ?
A “wonder” is something that we find amazing.
We find these things amazing as these are mostly
Unique i.e. without a second piece on Earth.
These things are amazing because these things
were built at a time when the technology was not
as developed as today.
So we ask ourselves how could these things got
built in the first place ?
How many types of wonders are there ?
There can be two types of Wonders
Man Made Wonders and
Natural wonders
Also there can be wonders from different periods
in time e.g.
Wonders of the ancient world
Wonders from the Medieval world and
Wonders of the modern world
Types of Wonders
Man-made wonders
These wonders were
build by human
beings
Natural wonders
These are wonders
formed by Nature
Types of Wonders
Wonders of the Ancient World
Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Artemis at
Ephesus
Mausoleum of Maussollos at
Halicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Except for the Pyramid of Giza
none of the wonders of the ancient
world exist now.
Types of Wonders
Wonders of the Mediaval
World
Stonehenge
Colosseum
Catacombs of Kom el
Shoqafa
Great Wall of China
Porcelain Tower of
Nanjing
Hagia Sophia
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Wonders of the Ancient World
Why did they build the Wonders ?
Different wonders were built for different purpose.
But all the wonders show the amazing capabilities
in-terms of Knowledge of
Science , engineering
Architecture , astronomy
Use of technology
Mathematics, Geometry
Art etc.
Types of Wonders
Seven Wonders of The
World
Great Wall of China
Petra
Christ the Redeemer
Machu Picchu
Chichen Itza
Roman Colosseum
Taj Mahal
Great Pyramid ( Honorary
Candidate )
Wonders of the Modern World
What is the Great Wall of China ?
The Great Wall of China is a Man-made wall built over
many centuries along the earlier Chinese empire.
The Chinese were familiar with the techniques of wall-
building by the 8th century BC.
Major part of the wall was built during the Ming
Dynasty.
These walls were made mostly by stamping earth and
gravel between board frames. During later part bricks
and stone got used.
Why did they build the Great Wall of China ?
The Great wall of China was
built to protect the Chinese
empire from enemy attacks.
Comprehensive advanced
archaeological survey, has
concluded that the entire Great
Wall, with all of its branches,
stretches for 8,851.8 km.
What is Petra ?
• On the edge of the Arabian
Desert, Petra was the glittering
capital of the Nabataean empire
of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40
A.D.).
• Masters of water technology, the
Nabataeans provided their city
with great tunnel constructions
and water chambers.
What is Petra ?
• A theater, modelled on Greek-
Roman prototypes, had space
for an audience of 4,000.
• Today, the Palace Tombs of
Petra, with the 42-meter-high
Hellenistic temple facade on
the El-Deir Monastery, are
impressive examples of Middle
Eastern culture.
What is Christ the Redeemer ?
• Christ the Redeemer is a statue of
Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. It is considered the largest
art deco statue in the world
• The statue stands 39.6 metres
(130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 metre
(31 ft) pedestal, and 30 metres
(98 ft) wide.
• It weighs 635 tons (700 short tons).
Why was Christ the Redeemer built ?
• The statue of Christ the
Redeemer is a very important
symbol of Brazil's Catholicism.
• It is made of reinforced
concrete and soapstone.
• Construction took nine years,
from 1922 to 1931. The
monument was opened on
October 12, 1931
What is Machu Picchu ?
Machu Picchu (pronounced Machu
Pikchu, "Old Peak",) is a pre-
Columbian Inca site located
2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level.
It is situated on a mountain ridge
above the Urubamba Valley in Peru.
Often referred to as "The Lost City of
the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the
most familiar symbols of the Inca
Empire.
What is Machu Picchu ?
The Incas started building it
around AD 1430 but abandoned as
an official site for the Inca rulers a
hundred years later at the time of
the Spanish conquest of the Inca
Empire.
It was brought to international
attention in 1911 by Hiram
Bingham, an American historian.
What is Machu Picchu ?
Since it was not plundered by the
Spanish, it is especially important as a
cultural site and is considered a sacred
place.
Machu Picchu was built in the classical
Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls.
Its primary buildings are the
Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and
the Room of the Three Windows.
What is Chichen Itza?
Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian
archaeological site built by the Maya
civilization located in present-day
Mexico.
Chichen Itza was a major regional focal
point in the northern Maya lowlands.
Dominating the center of Chichén is the
Temple of Kukulkan (the Maya name
for Quetzalcoatl), often referred to as "El
Castillo" (the castle).
What is Chichen Itza?
The Mayans succeeded in an almost
impossible mission with the completion
of their structures at Chichén Itzá. A
poetic combination of form, style,
function, religion, philosophy,
mathematics and geometry.
A true symbiosis of all of their
intelligence and art in one location, to
be studied and admired by all that
visit.
What is the Roman Colosseum ?
The Colosseum is one of the greatest
works of Roman Architecture and
Engineering.
It could seat 50000 people and used for
Gladiatorial sports and public
spectacles.
It has been estimated that about
500,000 people and over a million wild
animals died in the Colosseum games
What is the Roman Colosseum ?
• The Colosseum was built
in such a manner that
people could come in and
vacate it very quickly.
• In the Gladiatorial
sports, captured enemies,
soldiers and slaves were
made to fight each other
and animals.
What is Taj Mahal ?
Taj Mahal was built by Mughal Emperor Shah
Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz
Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is considered the finest example
of Mughal architecture, a style that combines
elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic
architectural styles.
It took around 22 years to build Taj Mahal at
an estimated cost of about Rs. 32 million at that
time.
What is Taj Mahal ?
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials
from all over India and Asia . Over 1,000
elephants were used to transport building
materials.
The translucent white marble was brought from
Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and
crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet
and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan.
In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-
precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.
What is Taj Mahal ?
The Taj Mahal is decorated in line with the Islamic
tradition.
The decorative elements can be grouped into either
calligraphy, abstract forms or vegetative motifs.
Throughout the complex, passages from the Qur'an are
used as decorative elements.
The calligraphy was created by the Persian calligrapher
Abd ul-Haq, who came to India from Shiraz, Iran, in
1609.
Higher panels are written in slightly larger script so
that they don’t appear smaller when looked from below.
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