Tuesday 5 March 2013

10 World Wonders in Asia

Asia is a country rich in culture and a view also has an assortment of beautiful places that should be included in the "Wonders of the World". But there are some who are "Wonders of the World". Here we will trace the manifold wonders of the world in Asia. Perhaps there are friends who want to vacation there.
 
1. The Great Wall, China
Great Wall of China or the Great Wall of China (Traditional Hanzi: 长城; hanzi simple: 长城; pinyin: Changcheng), also known in China as the Wall Along the 10,000 Li (万里长城; 万里长城; Wanli Changcheng) is the longest building ever built , located in People's Republic of China.

Great Wall of China is considered as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In 1987, the building was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Great Wall of China is not a continuous length, but is a collection of short walls that follow the shape of the mountains north China. On 18 April 2009, after an accurate investigation by the government of the Republic of China, announced that the giant wall constructed in the Ming Dynasty period length is 8851 km.
2. Taj Mahal, India
The Taj Mahal  is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pardesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

Taj Mahal is regarded by many as the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Islamic, Persian, Ottoman Turkish and Indian architectural styles.

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The construction of the Taj Mahal was entrusted to a board of architects under imperial supervision, including Abd ul-Karim Ma'mur Khan, Makramat Khan, and Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer.

3. Borobudur, Indonesia
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist Temple in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument consists of six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha Statue. A main dome, located at the center of the top platform, is surrounded by 72 Buddha statues seated inside a perforated stupa.

Built in the 9th century during the reign of the Syailendra Dinasty, the temple's design in Gupta architecture reflects India's influence on the region. It also depicts the gupta style from India and shows influence of Buddhism as well as Hinduism. The monument is both a shrine to the Lord Buddha and a place for Buddhist pilgrimage. The journey for pilgrims begins at the base of the monument and follows a path around the monument and ascends to the top through three levels symbolic of Buddhist cosmology: Kamadhatu (the world of desire), Rupadhatu (the world of forms) and Arupadhatu (the world of formlessness). The monument guides pilgrims through an extensive system of stairways and corridors with 1,460 narrative relief panels on the walls and the balustrades.

Evidence suggest Borobudur was constructed in the 9th century and abandoned following the 14th century decline of Hindu kingdoms in Java, and the Javanese conversion to Islam. Worldwide knowledge of its existence was sparked in 1814 by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles, then the British ruler of Java, who was advised of its location by native Indonesians. Borobudur has since been preserved through several restorations. The largest restoration project was undertaken between 1975 and 1982 by the Indonesia government and UNESCO, following which the monument was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Borobudur is still used for pilgrimage; once a year Buddhists in Indonesia celebrate Vesak at the monument, and Borobudur is Indonesia's single most visited tourist attraction.
4. Ka'bah, Saudi Arabia
The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبةal-Kaʿbah "The Cube"), also known as al-Kaʿbah l-Mušarrafah (الكعبة المشرفة; "The Noble Cube"), al-Baytu l-ʿAtīq (البيت العتيق; "The Primordial House"), or al-Baytu l-Ḥarām (البيت الحرام; "The Sacred/Forbidden House") is a cuboid building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is one of the most sacred sites in Islam.

Masjid al-Haram, the most sacred mosque (masjid) in Islam, is built around the Kaaba. Muslims are expected to face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. From any given point in the world, the direction facing the Kaaba is called the Qiblah.

One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage). However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when about 6 million pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.

5. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Angkor Wat (Khmer: អង្គរវត្ត) is the largest Hindu temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by a king Suryayarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (Khmer: យសោធរបុរៈ, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum.

Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious center since its foundation – first Hindu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag, and it is the country's prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Darvidian Architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu Mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mil) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a  quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means "Temple City" or "City of Temples" in Khmer; Angkor, meaning "city" or "capital city", is a vernacular form of the word nokor (នគរ), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (नगर). Wat is the Khmer word for "temple grounds", derived from the Pali word "vatta" (वत्त). Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit), after the posthumous title of its founder.

6. Kiyomizu Temple, Japan
Kiyomizu-dera (清水寺), Officially Otowa-san Kiyomizu-dera (音 羽山 清水寺) is an ancient Buddhist temple, which was built in the year 798 and was 10 times through the damage or fire caused by war or natural disaster. Behind the main temple there Jishu-jinja shrine called Gods Arranged marriages, and in front of the temple there are 2 stone which is often called the "Stone Blind" and "Seer Stone Love".

The legend says that according to local people with eyes closed within 100 m we walked toward the stone blind with closed eyes or close your eyes and get right in front of the stone blind, then our desires will be met. And to test the loyalty of the liver in a partner, we can try rock astrologer love, do the same with your eyes closed, but when our feet are not exactly the direction towards rock astrologer love or strayed away then our hearts are still thinking of others.
7. Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma
The Shwedagon Pagoda, also known in English as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda, is a 99 meters (325 ft) gilded pagoda and stupa located in Yangon, Burma. The pagoda lies to the west of Kandawgyi Lake, on Singuttara Hill, thus dominating the skyline of the city. It is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda for the Burmese with relics of the past four Buddhas enshrined within: the staff of Kakusandha, the water filter of Konagamana, a piece of the robe of Kassapa and eight strands of hair from Gautama, the historical Buddha. Uppatasanti Pagoda is an exact replica of Shwedagon Pagoda in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma.
8. Tian Tan Buddha, Hong Kong
Tian Tan Buddha, also known as the Big Buddha, is a large bronze statue of a Buddha Amoghasiddhi, completed in 1993, and located at Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. The statue is located near Po Lin Monastery and symbolises the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion. It is a major centre of Buddhism in Hong Kong, and is also a popular tourist attraction.


The statue is named Tian Tan Buddha because its base is a model of the Altar of Heaven or Earthly Mount of Tian Tan, the Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It is one of the five large Buddha statues in China. The Buddha statue sits on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by six smaller bronze statues known as "The Offering of the Six Devas" and are posed offering flowers, incense, lamp, ointment, fruit, and music to the Buddha. These offerings symbolize charity, morality, patience, zeal, meditation, and wisdom, all of which are necessary to enter into nirvana.

The Buddha is 34 metres (112 ft) tall, weighs 250 metric tons (280 short tons), and was the world's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha prior to 2007. It reputedly can even be seen from as far away as Macau on a clear day. Visitors have to climb 240 steps in order to reach the Buddha, though the site also features a small winding road to the Buddha for vehicles to accommodate the handicapped.
9. Petra, Jordania 
Petra (Greek πέτρα (petra), meaning 'stone'; Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ) is a historical and archeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an, that is famous for its rock-cut architecture and water conduit system.

Established possibly as early as 312 BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan, as well as its most-visited tourist attraction. It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.

The site remained unknown to the Western World until 1812, when it was introduced by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate Prize-winning poem by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage". See: UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Petra was chosen by the Smithsonian Magazine as one of the "28 Places to See Before You Die."

10. Kremlin, Russia
View of the Kremlin from the Moscow River.
The Moscow Kremlin, sometimes referred to as simply the Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskya River (to the South), Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square (to the East) and the Alexander Garden (to the West). It is the best known of kremlins (Russian citadels) and includes four palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers. The complex serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federations.

The name Kremlin means "fortress", and is often used as a metonym to refer to the government of Soviet Union (1922–1991) and its highest members (such as general secretaries, premiers, presidents, ministers, and commissars), in the same way that the metonym Élysée Place refers to the President of the French Republic, the White House refers to the Executive Office of the President of the United States and Number 10 Downing Street or Whitehall refers to the Offices of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the British Government. It is still used in reference to the government of the Russian Federations and even the Russian President's official website is Kremlin.ru. "Kremlinology" refers to the study of Soviet and Russian policies.

I hope the article above can be useful ^^
Created by : Calvina
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