I am sure you have heard about The Great
Wall of China. But what are the other walls you are familiar with? I
was not familiar with many walls until I compiled this list. The list
contains ten of the most popular walls in the world and I am sure they
will prove educative or at least add to your knowledge. These walls have
been built since the ancient times for many purposes. They have served
has protection, borders and to keep people in. They were even built to
secure precious resources and to give respect. Enjoy the read!
10. WALL OF STON
These walls were built for defensive purposes and were more than 7
kilometers long originally. The protected the city of Ston in Dalmatia
by surrounding it. Dalmatia is a part of Republic of Ragusa. It is now
known as southern Croatia. These walls were also known as ‘European Wall
of China’. Throughout the existence of the republic, the walls were
renovated and maintained. They served to protect the salts pans which
were a major contribution to Dubrovnik’s wealth. These salt pans are
still mined.
9. VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL WALL
This particular wall is a national memorial in Washington. This wall
is in the memory of US soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. The
construction of the wall saw many controversies. The memorial is divided
into three parts: the Three Soldiers Statue, the Vietnam Women’s
Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. The last part is the
most famous one. People leave many items at the memorials which are then
collected by National Park Service and displayed in various museums.
8. WALLS OF TROY
Troy was once a legendary city. It is now the northwestern Turkey.
This is exactly where the Trojan War happened. The site of Troy contains
many ruins. Many of these ruins date back to the thirteenth century.
There are portions of the Walls of Troy that are still visible and they
are being maintained and preserved carefully. Many people visit Troy
each year. There is even a large wooden horse on display for children to
play with. It is basically a playground. I am sure you know the story
with the horse.
7. HADRIAN’S WALL
It was built for defense purposes in Roman Britain. The wall began in
122 AD during the rule of Hadrian. Two fortifications were built in
Great Britain and this is the first of those two. The second wall is
called the Antonine Wall. The physical remains of both these walls are,
well, not visible; not a lot. Although, there is a portion of the wall
that still exists. It happens to be the most popular tourist attraction
in all of Northern England and it also has the honor of being UNESCO
World Heritage Site. It earned the honor in 1987.
6. BERLIN WALL
This particular wall was basically a barrier. It was constructed by German Democratic Republic. The construction began on the 13th
August in 1961. It cut off West Berlin from East Berlin. This
particular wall was referred to as the ‘Anti-Fascist Protection
Rampart’. The Western part of Berlin considered the wall to be the ‘Wall
of Shame’. The wall was 155 kilometers long. The wall no longer exists;
at least it does not serve the purpose of separation. Much of the wall
was taken down, but it still is fascinating to look at. I myself had the
pleasure of seeing it recently.
5. GREAT ZIMBABWE WALLS
This is basically a series of stone ruins that are spread over a
large area. There are many small ruins in the area and that’s the reason
it’s called ‘Great’. It is to distinguish it from the smaller ruins. It
was built by the Bantu people and the construction started in the
eleventh century. The work on the walls continued for over 300 years. At
that time, Zimbabwe had 18,000 inhabitants. The walls are as high as
eleven meters. They must have served some sort of defensive purpose
although I am not certain.
4. SACSAYHUAMAN
This complex is really high above the city of Cusco in Peru. This
city looked like a puma. Puma is the animal that symbolized the dynasty
of Inca. This particular site is located at an altitude of 3,701 meters.
Today the people of Peru celebrate the Inti Raymi at the site. It is an
annual festival of the winter solstice and New Year. Cusco by the way
was the capital of the Inca Empire. These walled are made of polished
dry-stone. Each boulder is very carefully cut to fit in perfectly. It’s
amazing.
3. WALLS OF BABYLON
This happens to be one of the original wonders as mentioned by
Antipater of Sidon. Another one of the ancient Seven Wonders of the
World included Ishtar Gate. It was constructed around 575 BC and was a
part of this wall. The wall and the gate was constructed with blue
glazed tiles. In the year 1983, Saddam Hussein started restoring the
wall. If you think that visiting Iraq is not worth it, then you might
want to visit The Pergamon Museum in Berlin. It contains a
reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate.
2. WESTERN WALL
This wall is also knows as Wailing Wall or Kotel. It is located in
the Old City of Jerusalem. It is what is left of the ancient wall that
surrounded the Jewish Temple’s courtyard. It is perhaps the most sacred
site for the Jewish faith. The place has been a site for Jewish prayer.
There have been many attempts to purchase the right to the wall all of
whom were unsuccessful. This wall became tension between the Jews and
Muslims; the reasons for which I will not get into at this point in
time.
1. GREAT WALL OF CHINA
I do not think that this particular wall needs any introduction at
all. The wall is made of wood, stone and brick primarily. It was built
to protect the Chinese Empire. The walls were under construction as
early as the seventh century. The wall built between 220 and 226 BC by
Qin Shi Huang is the most famous part of the wall and not a lot of it is
left. The Great Wall of China is still in an excellent shape and China
spends millions to keep it in that shape. The wall is around 8,850
kilometers long and to think they built it in that time with such
perfection is actually quite amazing to me.
source : http://www.smashinglists.com/most-popular-walls-in-the-world/
Tag :
Place
0 Komentar untuk "Top 10 Most Popular Walls in the World"