Popular Walls in the World

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!

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 BERLIN WALL

This particular wall was basically a barrier. It was constructed by German Democratic Republic. The construction began on the 13^th 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.

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.

 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.

 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.

 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.

 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/

Top 5 Undefeated Fortresses

 5. Palanok Castle – Ukraine

The castle is intelligently designed and is located on a volcanic hill which gives this castle a unique location to safeguard itself from intruders and enemies. The castle was built by French engineers and has also remained the residential place of the Royal family. The castle has also been used as a political prison. The castle is divided into low, medium and high castle where the high castle is lavishly decorated for the Royal family. Today, this impregnable castle has been turned into a museum for the people to see.

 4. Malbork Castle – Poland

The castle now is better known as Malbork Castle because it is situated in Malbork. However, the castle was built by the Teutonic Order who were knights interested in helping sick and injured Catholics in Poland. The castle remains as one of the classic examples of medieval castle and today it has been named as UNESCO World Heritage Site in Poland. The castle also holds the record of world’s largest brick gothic castle. The castle was built in 1274 and was named as Marienburg after the Virgin Mary. The castle remains undefeated till date because of its unique location. The surrounding areas near the castle are very flat and does not give any chance to the enemy to hide and therefore the warriors have ample of time to get ready and prepare the war before the enemy approaches from distance.

3. Janjira – India

Though, there are many such fortifications in India that have played a significant role in the development of a particular kingdom or a state but Murud-Janjira remains on top of the list when it comes to undefeated fortress in India. Though, on the first look the fortress looks like a very common fortress that can be conquered easily but that is not the case because of its unique location. The fortress is like an island surrounded by water from all sides and therefore it gives a clear picture to the army inside the fort of any intruders coming through the sea. This fortress was originally built by Fisherman Kings of Konkan to combat against the Muslim rulers in 1490. However, the word Janjira comes from Arabic word Jazeera which means an island. The fort was later captured by Shivaji and it became one of the headquarters for the Maratha Empire.

2. Alamut – Iran

Another such fortress that have remained unconquerable throughout its history is Alamut which also means Eagle’s Nest.

Alamut is located in the central Alborz Mountains near Kazvin Province which is just hundred kilometers from today’s Tehran in Iran. The fortress was built by Hamdollah Mostowfi at the height of 2100 meters and there was only one way up to the fortress which was heavily guarded by the soldiers and warriors which makes that route impossible to penetrate. The other sides of Alamut was naturally protected because it has steep gravel slope which means that soldiers going through that route would fall into the valley if they miss a step. The fortress was well maintained and had a superb network of water supply and food storage for the entire army. In 1090 the fortress was occupied by powerful Hashshashins (Assassins) who were able to win many other historic fights and battles because of Alamut.

1. Masada – Israel

Since we are talking about some of the unconquerable castles and fortresses in the world than we cannot miss out this awesome structure that has really stood the test of time. Masada is the name of site where you will find various fortifications and palaces. The site is built on top of an isolated rock plateau in Israel and is very near to the Dead Sea. Masada sits on the eastern edge of the cliff which is 1300 feet high which makes it one of the most difficult fortresses to conquer.

In fact, there were only a few people who were able to make it to the top because the elevation of the cliff is very steep and does not provide any support to the people who are climbing up. The plateau has many other towers and storehouses that were used for the accommodation of the people on the top. Apart from that, Masada also has a place for keeping the weapons and cisterns which would be filled by rainwater. As per the history, Masada was used by Jewish rebels to fight and harass Romans.

The Amazing Life of the Harvest Mouse

These pictures give a rare insight into the secret lives of tiny harvest mice (Micromys minutus). Photographers Jean-Louis Klein and Marie-Luce Hubertspent one year photographing the adorable little creatures in a project that saw them released from captivity into the wild

A harvest mouse seems to look directly into the camera while balancing on ears of wheat

A harvest mouse balancing between two stalks of grass in a field in Alsace, France

A female harvest mouse and her young (aged 5 days) in a nest

A harvest mouse female regurgitating to feed her cubs (aged 10 days old)

a mouse swimming in the water

A young harvest mouse on an ear of wheat

A harvest mouse drinking the dew on a blade of grass

Three young harvest mice link tails while sitting on a branch...

...and another young mouse uses his tail to hang off theirs

A female harvest mouse carrying a baby to a new nest

A harvest mouse peers out from a nest

A harvest mouse balancing between two stalks of grass in Alsace, France, holds a grasshopper between its front paws

A harvest mouse female pushing a male on a branch

From the studio - where the pair documented tiny newborns and their first few weeks of life - to the great outdoors where all of the 30 mice were eventually released, the pictures take viewers through a variety of events faced by the mice

Jean-Louis said: "All of the harvest mice came originally from captivity and were eventually released them into a field where we continued to photograph them, always carefully choosing a suitable habitat where we knew they could survive

"We also wanted to show the behaviour of the animals during maternity, but we wouldn't have been able to get this in the wild without disturbing the mother and there was a danger a wild mother might have abandoned them. Instead we shot the maternal behaviour in a studio before releasing the mice once the babies were mature enough for the wild."

To demonstrate how mice often take to the water in the wet meadows they inhabit, 55-year-old Jean-Louis and 46-year-old Marie-Luce gave one of their subjects a dip in a mouse-sized aquarium before releasing it into the wild 

The harvest mouse is the smallest European rodent. An adult can weigh as little as four grams (0.14 ounces)

"When shooting in the wild, we didn't need a hide. You just had to find a good spot, lay very still for a long time, and wait for the mice"

Colourful planes in the world

HOTEL ATLANTIS IN DUBAI

HOTEL ATLANTIS IN DUBAI .......... No, this is not Alice in the wonderland! It’s the Grand opening of Atlantis hotel in Dubai last month Where the cheapest room goes for $35,000 a night!

                                According to Guinness book of world records, the opening night was marked with the biggest fireworks of the century!