Photo by reurinkjan
The sport of mountain climbing was born in 1760, when a young Genevese scientist, Horace-Benedict de Saussure, offered prize money for the first person to reach the summit of Mount Blanc, Europe’s tallest peak. But long before that time humans have been climbing mountains for the challenge it poses. Or “because it’s there” as English mountaineer George Mallory famously replied when he was asked why he wanted to climb Mount Everest. A few months later he disappeared on the way to the summit.
Some of the mountains on this list still provide a great challenge for the professional mountaineer. Others can be visited more easily by foot or cableway. But all of them can be appreciated from a safe distance providing magnificent vistas and spectacular scenery.
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Photo by quinet
The earliest lists of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were made more than 2,000 years ago by ancient Hellenic tourists. Except for the Great Pyramid of Giza those wonders no longer exist. They were destroyed by earthquakes, fires and in one case by an angry mob. Many lists of wonders have been made since than. Today we list our selection of ten wonders of the world.
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Photo by Fr Antunes
The most famous fairytale castles are probably the ones that originate from legends and myths. Well known examples are King Arthur’s Camelot and the Cinderella and Sleeping Beaty castles that can be found in several theme parks around the world. This list contains their real world counterparts and source of inspiration. These real fairytale castles are just as magical and most are associated with stories and fairy tales of their own.
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Photo by F H Mira
Walls have been built since ancient times, to mark borders, to keep enemies out or to keep people in. In more recent times walls have also been built to serve as memorials and structures of art. But no matter what purpose they surve, walls dominate the landscape wherever they stand.
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Photo by qalinx
A temple is roughly defined as a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities . Temples have been built throughout the ages and many new ones open their doors every year. The Akshardham Temple in New Delhi built in 2008 and the White Temple in Chiang Rai which is still under construction are just two recent examples. The temples on this list however were built millenniums ago by people who’s religion and believe system are nog longer practised. These buildings are among the oldest man made structures found on earth. They surve as a testimony to the gods and deities of cultures and civilizations long gone.
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Photo by Mrs Logic
Rock-cut architecture is the practice of creating a structure by carving it out of solid natural rock. There are many examples of work of this kind, often done on a grand scale and involving intensive labour. The rock cut temples and tombs listed here are among the most amazing and beautiful buildings in the world.
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Photo by Birchster
Volcanoes have long been a source of myths and legens. To ancient cultures, volcanoes’ power could only be explained as acts of gods or demigods. We now know that volcanoes are in fact the result of the tectonic movements of the Earth’s crust. But although we understand their inner workings they still represent a force of nature that can be intimidating and bewildering.
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Photo by wwarby
Statues have been created by man since the prehistory for all kinds of reasons and in all sizes. One of the first statues, a 29.6 cm (11.7 inches) high sculpture called the Lion Man, was created almost 32,000 years ago. The original Seven Wonders of the World included two statues: The Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia. Today, statues have been erected all over the world representing everything from religious deities, historical events and influential people.
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Photo by tylerdurden1
The term skyscraper became popular in the late 19th century as a result of public amazement at the tall buildings being built in Chicago and New York City. Today, skyscrapers are an increasingly common sight in large cities because they provide a favorable ratio of rentable floor space per unit area of land. But they are built not just for economy of space. Like temples and towers of the past, skyscrapers are considered symbols of a city’s economic power. Not only do they define the skyline, they help to define the city’s identity.
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Photo by eenar_6
The Tomb of Mausolus, was a tomb built at Halicarnassus for Mausolus, a governor in the Persian Empire. The structure was considered to be such an aesthetic triumph that Antipater of Sidon identified it as one of his Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The word mausoleum has since come to be used generically for any grand tomb and this top 10 features some of the most famous ones. The Tomb of Mausolus didn’t make it to this list however. It was damaged by an earthquake and eventually disassembled by European Crusaders in the 15th century.
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