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.
