The Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt (honorary wonder) The Great Pyramid was built by the Egyptian pharaoh Khufu (Cheops), a king of the fourth dynasty to serve as his tomb and was constructed in about 2560 B.C. over a 20-year period. The Great Pyramid is the largest of three Pyramids at Giza, outside modern Cairo. […]
Machu Picchu, Peru Machu Picchu is the city in the clouds. Built 8,000 feet above sea level in the 15th century by emperor Pachacutec, this ancient Incan city of sparkling granite is nestled between two peaks – Machu Picchu (Old Peak) and Huayna Picchu (New Peak) at an elevation of 7,710 feet. It was hidden […]
Petra, Jordan Petra was the capital of the Nabataean kingdom of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to A.D. 40) during the Roman Empire and is perched on the edge of the Arabian Desert built around 9 B.C. Located in southwest Jordan are the ruins of the ancient city of Petra. Petra means “rock” in […]
Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from space. This wall was built to protect China’s northern border from invading Huns, Mongols, and other tribes, and to unite fortifications into one defense system. It is 4,160-mile and ranks as the world’s longest man-made structure. The barricade […]
Taj Mahal, India The Taj Mahal, in Agra, India, is the lavish mausoleum built in between 1632 and 1648 by 5th Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan to honor the memory of his beloved late wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It required more than 20,000 laborers to build this opulent, domed mausoleum which it includes four minarets, each more […]
The Colosseum, Rome, Italy The Colosseum in Rome, Italy— Built in Rome around A.D. 70(2,000 years ago) under Emperor Vespasian was the first freestanding amphitheater. Once held up to 50,000 spectators who came to watch gory games involving gladiators contests, group combats, wild animals hunt, prisoners, battle reenactments, executions and other productions.Earthquakes and stone-robbers have destroyed the […]
The “Christ the Redeemer” statue in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, 105-foot-tall (38-meter-tall) atop the summit of Mount Corcovado high above Rio, took five years to build. It is build in France in 1931 by sculptor Paul Landowski and was shipped to Brazil in pieces, and then carried up the mountain by train, where it was reorganize. […]
Chichén Itzá, the popular temple city of the Mayas, a pre-Columbian civilization that is currently located on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, Central America. It was the economic, political and religious center of Maya civilization during the period from A.D. 750 to 1200. Chichén Itzá, the popular temple city of the Mayas, a […]