The city of Angkor - the largest preindustrial metropolis in the world

The city of Angkor

The pyramids and the sphinx

The pyramids and the sphinx

Giza, the site of the Great Sphinx and the three pyramids of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure, may be the most famous archaeological site in the world. Harvard University and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, sponsored George Reisner, who excavated the pyramids, tombs, and temples of Giza from 1903 to 1942, when he died at Harvard Camp on the summit of the Giza Plateau. Reisner was ahead of his time in the development of systematic digging and careful recording by notes, maps, and photographs. He found fabulous pieces of ancient art as he excavated the temples of the Pyramids and hundreds of tombs of the most powerful Egyptians of the Pyramid Age. Modern archaeologists are able to use his records as a basis for their own work at Giza.

Archaeology at Giza has advanced beyond the measuring tapes and trowels used during the early part of this century to infrared distance measurers and computers. While the tape and trowel continue to play an important part in excavation, modern equipment such as photogrammetric cameras, electronic survey instruments, and computers help reconstruct the Sphinx and Pyramids as they were in ancient times.

Today archaeologists ask new questions about the society and economy of the people who built the Sphinx and Pyramids. Archaeologists not only ask how the Egyptians built the pyramids, but also how the pyramids helped to build Egypt as a powerful state. Clues about the role of pyramid building in the development of Egyptian civilization are found in the material culture of the Pyramid Age. Excavators now search for the settlement that housed the great number of people and the vast infrastructure that the Egyptians must have pulled together at Giza to build their largest stone monuments. Recent excavations have discovered storehouses, tombs of the workers, and ancient bakeries. These kinds of discoveries give archaeologists a glimpse of everyday life behind the veil of royalty that colors so much of our knowledge of ancient Egypt.

The Iguazu waterfalls - Argentina and Brazil -

The Iguazu waterfalls - Argentina and Brazil -

The Province of Misiones, located in the center of Mercosur, is privileged by virtue of having more than a hundred waterfalls in an area of only 30,000 square kilometers. These valuable natural resources open up the possibility of economic advantages in terms of tourism and of energy, at the strategic crossroads of important highways linking Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile.

There are various areas making up this wonderful nature reserve, and it is in the Cataratas Area that visitors can gaze on the waterfalls of the River Iguazu.

In the course of their visit, travelers will see the following falls: Floriano, Deodoro, Benjamin Constant, Union, Escondido, Mitre, Belgrano, Rivadavia, Tres Mosqueteros, Dos Mosqueteros, San Martin, Adan y Eva, Bozzetti, Ramirez, Chico, Dos Hermanos, Alvar Nuñez, and the Devil's Throat Falls, among others.

These wonders of nature can be visited on foot and/or by boat, with walks above the impressive Falls themselves, which offer an incomparable spectacle.

Among the most noteworthy falls on the Argentine side are the Alvar Nuñez, on the Lower Circuit of the trip round the Park; the Lanusse, also on the Lower Circuit but lower down; and the Dos Hermanas, Chico Alferez, Ramirez and Bossetti, all on the Upper Circuit of the walk, which range in height from 40 to 60 meters.

The Salto Dos Hermanas has a natural pool formed by water action, which is about eight meters deep.

The Chico Alferez and the Bossetti split up in two, making an unforgettable show, and refreshing spectators on the walkways with a cool, damp breeze.

Further up are the Mbigua, Adan y Eva, and San Martin falls; the latter is a fall with a deafening roar, marveling us with its forceful plunge and forming a second fall, lower down, the whole spectacle ending more than 70 meters below, all blanketed under a pervasive spray that at times forms a rainbow, making a delicate contrast with the rest of the view.

The inca city of Machu Picchu

The inca city of Machu Picchu

Machu Picchu is a city located high in the Andes Mountains in modern Peru. It lies 43 miles northwest of Cuzco at the top of a ridge, hiding it from the Urabamba gorge below. The ridge is between a block of highland and the massive Huaynac Picchu, around which the Urubamba River takes a sharp bend. The surrounding area is covered in dense bush, some of it covering Pre-Colombian cultivation terraces.

Machu Picchu (which means "Old Peak") was most likely a royal estate and religious retreat. It was built between 1460 and 1470 AD by Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, an Incan ruler. The city has an altitude of 8,000 feet, and is high above the Urubamba River canyon cloud forest, so it likely did not have any administrative, military or commercial use. After Pachacuti’s death, Machu Picchu became the property of his allus, or kinship group, which was responsible for it’s maintenance, administration, and any new construction.

Machu Picchu is comprised of approximately 200 buildings, most being residences, although there are temples, storage structures and other public buildings. It has polygonal masonry, characteristic of the late Inca period.

About 1,200 people lived in and around Machu Picchu, most of them women, children, and priests. The buildings are thought to have been planned and built under the supervision of professional Inca architects. Most of the structures are built of granite blocks cut with bronze or stone tools, and smoothed with sand. The blocks fit together perfectly without mortar, although none of the blocks are the same size and have many faces; some have as many as 30 corners. The joints are so tight that even the thinnest of knife blades can't be forced between the stones. Another unique thing about Machu Picchu is the integration of the architecture into the landscape. Existing stone formations were used in the construction of structures, sculptures are carved into the rock, water flows through cisterns and stone channels, and temples hang on steep precipices.

taj mahal image gallery - one of the wonders of the world

taj mahal image gallery - one of the wonders of the world

Taj Mahal of India - "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty". The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. The thoughts that come into the mind while watching the Taj Mahal of Agra is not just its phenomenal beauty, but the immense love which was the reason behind its construction. Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan got this monument constructed in the memory of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal, with

whom he fell in love at the first sight. The very first sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance leaves one mesmerized.

Standing majestically on the banks of River Yamuna, the Taj Mahal is synonymous with love and romance. It is believed that the name "Taj Mahal" was derived from the name of Shah Jahan wife Mumtaz Mahal and means "Crown Palace". The purity of the white marble, the exquisite ornamentation, precious gemstones used and its picturesque location, all make Taj Mahal travel gain a place amongst the most popular ones. However, unless and until, one knows the love story behind the Tajmahal of India, it will come up as just a beautiful building. But, the love behind this outstanding monument is what has given a life to this monument.

borobudur temple pictures - ninth century Buddhist temple complex.

borobudur temple pictures - ninth century Buddhist temple complex

The Borobudur Temple Compounds is a ninth century Buddhist temple complex. It was built on several levels around a natural hill.

Borobudur is built as a single large stupa, and when viewed from above takes the form of a giant tantric Buddhist mandala, simultaneously representing the Buddhist cosmology and the nature of mind. The foundation is a square. It has nine platforms, of which the lower six are square and the upper three are circular. The upper platform features seventy-two small stupas surrounding one large central stupa. Each stupa is bell-shaped and pierced by numerous decorative openings. Statues of the Buddha sit inside the pierced enclosures.

The site was rediscovered in the 19th century, and restored in the early 20th. In 1973 a major renovation took place that was funded by UNESCO.

Two smaller Buddhist temples, Pawan and Mendut, are part of the designated area too.

Eiffel Tower Picture Gallery

Eiffel Tower Picture Gallery

Eiffel Tower | Pictures of Paris, France. Gallery: black and white and color digital pictures of Paris
Eiffel Tower pictures of the Eiffel Tower in Paris exceptional photos.