Waitomo Cave Tourism Places

Stonehenge Tourist Place 

Stonehenge is Britain's most famous and impressive prehistoric site. It is a massive circle of stones, on
the Salisbury plains in Wiltshire. 

There are several myths attached to it. One story says that the wizard Merlin transported it from Ireland to England. Another says that is a druid temple where human sacrifice was offered. 

Archeologically, stonehenge was built in the late Neolithic and early Bronze age periods. The earliest
construction was an outer circle 322 feet in diameter, surrounded by a ditch. Just inside the bank 56 pits were dug up, but holes. In the northeast a gap forms the entrance. A large flat stone is known as the slaughter stone or sacrificial altar. Along the pathway called the 'Avenue' is another large stone called heel stone. In about 2400 BC, the Beaker folk or the early Bronze age people added two circles of blue stones in the centre of the site. 

Later in about 2100 BC the bluestones were replaced by the massive sarcen sand stone blocks. Some of these stones were more than 30 feet long and weighed 49 tons. These were placed in a perfect circle, of 30 uprights capped with horizontal or lintel pieces. The lintels are dove tailed into each other and held in position by mortice and tenon joints. The blue stones were again added just around the altar stone. 

It is likely that it was a place of Sun worship but it might have also functioned as an observatory, proving that the bronze age people had advanced knowledge of geometry and astronomy. 

Waitomo Caves Tourism Place 

Waitomo caves, is a national reserve in New Zealand lying 120 miles south of Auckland in the North Island. 

The remarkable feature of these limestone cave systems that makes them a natural wonder is the famous "Glow Worm Grotto". 

In the Maori language 'Waitomo' means 'Water in going' because of the underground river. 

Today, visitors enter through a small door in the hillside, about 59 feet above the water. There are many
caves, galleries with shining stalactite and stalagmite formations. The path slopes down to a sub terranean lake. Visitors go in, by boat silently and in darkness. Countless points of green blue light appear on the cave roof. The cave is transformed into a planetarium with countless start twinkling. Hanging down from the roof, on Cobweb like filaments are the Waitomo's glow worms that shine like stars. 

New Mexico Caverns Tourism Places

Fingals Cave Tourist Place 

Fingal's cave is a basalt sea cave on the Hebridean islet of Staffa off the west coast of Scotland. It is a perfect example of natural architecture. It looks like the architecture of a greek temple but it is totally natural. 

The basalt cliff that plunges vertically down to the sea has been shaped into many black and brown columns, receding into a large cavern on the side of the cliff. Each column is outlined by 'Yellow Stalagmite matter'. The columns are topped by sponge basalt mass and then with a layer of springy turf. 

Fingal or Fium or Fuihi was said to be a legendary hero about whom the Gaelic bard Ossian wrote in his poems.  Mendelssohn's composed his famous musical 'Fingal's cave' inspired by this. 

Fingal's cave attracted many tourists and is considered a cave cathedral. Robert Peel called it a, "Temple not made with hands". 

Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico Tourist Place

A strikingly beautiful example of nature's architecture are the 'Carlsbad Caverns'. They are located in New Mexico. 28 miles from the town of Carlsbad. 

Beneath 73 square miles of hilly, desert country, covered with cacti, a network of beautifully formed caves exist. More than 200 years ago the entire Carlsbad area was covered by sea water. Here coral polyps built massive lime stone reef.   The sea dried up or withdrew from that area, and it was buried under metres of sand and sediment. A few millions of years after that, mountains thrust upwards due to geological activity Ground water containing carbon-di-oxide seeped into the lime stone reefs and created hollows. These hollows gradually became larger and larger. The seepage of the surface water carried the dissolved limestone on to the walls of the caves, which solidifed into many variously shaped limestone formations, stalactites hanging from the ceiling stalagmites rising from the floor, limestone domes and pillars in many shapes. 

At the entrance there is an 89 feet wide and 39 feet high natural arch. Thins leads into a corridor at a depth of 828 feet. There are many caves, notable of which are the king's chamber with sparkling onyx Queen's chamber with its elephant ear formations, papoose room, big room, massive subterranean cathedral, all with their own constantly changing patterns of stalactite and stalagmite formations are breathtaking beautiful. 

The Petrified Forest Tourist Place 

The Petrified Forest, Arizona, USA does not look like a forest because there are no green trees or bushes. This is the place where there was a great forest millions of years back. Originally a dense forest stood around a swampy basin. Due to natural reasons like storms and earthquakes these trees were uprooted and fell into the basin. Here they were covered by thousands of meters of mud, sand and ash from volcanic activity. 

The tissues of the plants got petrified i.e. the minerals from sand and ash like silica, potassium etc. got
into the stems and roots and they got preserved for ever. The minerals got into every cell of the plant and the details and designs of the plant tissues were permanently preserved in mineral form. 

The size of these petrified plants ranges from trunks of huge proportions to small ones, in every colour possible.  They all shine in the sun along with precious stones like quartz, agate, opal etc. 

At the northern end of the petrified forest is another of nature's wonders "The painted desert". This has all the colours, patterns and layers of standstone, shale and clay. The colours and shapes change with the sun. It is most beautiful in the early mornings and late eventings. 

It is because their strange, yet breathtaking beauty, "The Petrified Forest" and 'Painted desert' are counted among the Natural wonders.

Light House of Pharos Tourism Places

The Light House of Pharos in Alexandria World Wonder Tourist Place 

King Ptolemy II of Egypt built a very high light house in 280 BC on the island of Pharos in Alexandria.
It stood 440 feet (130 m) high.  

This light house was considered a technological triumph and an archetype for all modern lighthouses. King Ptolemy II commissioned, Sostratus of Cnidus to build the light house. It was built in three states, all sloping slightly inward. The lowest was a square, the next octagonal and the top cylindrical. A broad spiral ramp led to the beacon at the top, where a fire burned at night. The lighthouse was surmounted on the top by a huge statue of the Sun God Helios representing either Alexander the Great or Ptolemy I soter. The beacon was visible to ships more than 25 miles (45 km) out in the Mediterranean. 

Legend also holds that on the of the lighthouse a huge mirror was fitted. In the mirror, it was possible to see what was happening in Constantinople, which was right across the Eastern Mediterranean. It is also said that the mirror was used to focus the sun rays on enemy ships and burn them up. 

The lighthouse of Pharos continued to light ships to Alexandria for nearly 900 years. The arabs captured the city and dismantled the light house, in search of treasures believed to be buried under it. In 1477 the Mamluk Sultan Qait Bay built a fort from the ruins. 

The ruins of the light house, some great white marble stones still lie in the harbour.  

Goddess Artemis Diana Temple World Wonder Tourist Place 

The most important of the twelve lonian cities of Asia Minor, near the Aegeon Coast (in Modern Turkey) was the ancient greek city of Ephesus.  Ephesus was a centre of worship of the goddess Artemis or Diana, daughter of Zeus. Artemis was the goddess of chastity and hunters. At Ephesus, she was worshipped as the goddess of fertility. ( Her statue was believed to have fallen from heaven). It was built in 350 BC and finished by th end of that century. The roof was supported by great stone columns 60 feet high and inside were some of the finest works of Greek artists, including the sculptors Pheidias and Praxiteles. It was built by Croesus, King of Lydia it was burnt down by a madman Herostratus. 

The rebuilding was carried out by the joint efforts of all the Ionian cities of the Asia Minor. Ladies sold their jewellery and paid for the rebuilding.  The new temple was completed in 323 BC. It was 341 feet (104 metres) by 164 feet (50 metres), and had 127 marble columns more than 60 feet (18 metres high).

The temple of Artemis

had many great admirers. One writer put it at the top of the list of the world's wonders: "I have seen the hanging gardens of old Babylon, the statue of Olympian Jove (Zeus), the Colossus of Rhodes, the great labour of the lofty pyramids, and the ancient tombs of Mausolus, but when I beheld the temple
at Ephesus, towering to the clouds, all these other marvels were eclipsed". 

Another writer wrote, "The temple surpasses every structure raised by human hands".  

Alexander the Great, the temple's greatest admirer offered to pay for the entire cost of rebuilding the temple. The Ephesians refused, saying that it was not right for one God to pay for another God. The painting of Alexander on his horse was commissioned from the artist Apelles and hung in the temple. Legend holds that Alexander was not happy with the painting but was satisfied when his horse neighed at the painting, obviously recognising the rider. 

The great admirers of Artemis, from many countries, gave rich treasures as offerings to the temple. The temple  became so rich that it was called, "a common treasury for all Asia".  

This magnificent temple was ran sacked and destroyed by the goths in 262 AD. The site of the temple was buried by the changing course of a river. All that is left are a few fragments of its
columns in the British Museum.

Hanging Gardens of Babylon Tour Places

Hanging Gardens of Babylon Tourist Place 

Over four thousand years ago Babylon was already the capital of one of the world's first great empires - "old Babylonia". Babylonia was the largest city in the world covering 10,000 hectares. River Euphrates flower through it. (Now its course has shifted). In 626 B.C Chaldean ruler Nabopolassar made himself king of Babylon. He built mighty walls around the city of Babylon. These walls were called "The Walls of Babylon" and is said to have been 335 feet in height. Some consider this the second wonder of the world.  

After Nabopolassar, his son Nebuchandnezzar II (605-561 B.C) became king of Babylon. During his reign, Babylon exceeded its old glory.  He continued the great work of his father and added fortresses and strong points along the walls. A great bridge was built across the River Euphrates, and also a beautiful, fortified royal palace, towering over the rest of the city.  

The hanging gardens of Babylon are not really hanging, but were roof gardens. They were laid out on a series of rising terraces, irrigated by pumps. (probably Archimedian scresws worked by slaves) from the River Euphrates. The series of terraces were built in the form
of a pyramid, and every Lerrace was planted with trees and flowers from all parts of the world. These plants hid the framework of the building and appeared to be hanging in the air without any support, and were called, "The Hanging Gardens". 

According to the legend, Nebuehad-nezzar married many princesses of the surrounding kingdoms. One of his wives was Semiramis, the princess of the Medes. The Median army had helped Nebuchadnezzar defeat the Assyrians. 

Queen Semiramis, missed the hills of her Persian homeland. Nebuchadnezzar built the
hanging gardens to please his queen.  

The Hanging Gardens rose to a height of about 328 feet (100 metres) and were surrounded by a reinforcing wall 23 feet (seven metres) thick. Wide marble staircases connected the terraces, which were supported by rows of arches. The flower beds were made of stone e lined with lead, and then filled with soil. 

On the top terrace a series of cisterns fed the fountains, waterfalls and streams which kept the gardens watered.  

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were undoubtedly a marvel and wonder of architecture and hydraulic engineering. 

Sadly, 22 years after Nebuchandnezzar's death the new Babylonian empire fell to the Persian emperor. Cyrus the Great. Today all that is left of them is the remains of a wall and one or two arches. 

Chephren Pyramids of Egypt Tourist Place 

Cheop's Pyramid is surrounded by rows of low, flat tombs called 'mastabas' and three small pyramids in which his family and high officials were buried. By the South wall is an underground chamber, discovered in 1954. Which contained Cheops funeral ship untouched since being placed there 4600 years before.  

The Pyramid of Chephren, the second great pyramid, lies to the South-West of the great Pyramid and is only slightly smaller 460 feet (140 metres) high and 709 feet (216 metres) square, with a slightly steeper angle of elevation. Unlike Cheops Pyramid, which has the top lime stone facing completely stripped off, the Pyramid of Chephren has its limestone facing intact. 

The third and the smallest Giza Pyramid, lies South West of the Pyramid of Chephren. It is
the Pyramid of Mycerinus. It is 354 feet square (108 metres) and 230 feet (70 metres) high, and needed less than 1/10th of the limestone used for each of the other pyramids. It was faced both in pink granite and limestone. 

Apart from its pyramids, "The Sphinx" is the most famous feature of Giza. It is carved out of Rock in the form of a lion with a human head. It was a portrait of Chephren. It was also considered to be representing the Sun God and was worhipped. 

The Sphinx is 66 feet (20 metres) high and 240 feet (73 metres) long. It guards the way to
the Pyramid of Chephren.  

The evolution of the Pyramids, is related to the Egyptian Sun worship. For them a Pyramidal shapped stone represented the Sun God and was called "ben ben". 

Its slanting sides represented the sun's rays and was regarded as the stairway for the dead
king to reach heaven. The Egyptians believed that the soul of the deceased takes time to reach the heavenly destination after death and they did their best to help their pharoahs, even after life. They treated and worshipped their kings life Gods. 

In the burial chamber along with the mummyfield dead body in its sarcophagus, great treasures of Gold and Silver were kept along with large supplies of food and clothing. sometimes even the personal servants were also buried along with the Pharoah so
that they can serve him in the after life also.  

The walls of the burial chambers were elaborately decorated with paintings and pyramid texts in hierographics. They consisted of collection of Egyptian mortuary prayers, hymns and spells intended to protect a dead King or Queen and ensure life and sustenance in the life after death and even some magical spells. 

Egyptians had many Gods in human, animal and material forms representing the powers of nature and abstrat ideas. These Gods were also pained on the walls of the burial chambers. 

Also, "The book of the dead" was placed beside the dead body. It contained spells written on papyrus. These texts constitute the oldest surviving body of religious and funeral writing available to modern scholars. 

The famous pyramids of Giza still stand as a monument to the great civilization of the Egyptian Pharoahs many enturies ago.