Timbuktu

Timbuktu Mali Africa

Sankore Mosque in Timbuktu

Center of a significant written culture of Africa


Africa is often dubbed as a dark continent; but those who heard of Timbuktu can never call it so. Timbuktu; the ‘center of significant written culture of Africa’ is -located in Tombouctau District, Mali- was a torch spreading light all around; it was at a time when rest of the world groped amidst the gloom that encircled. Eight centuries back the district of Tombouctau was home to leading universities like Sankore and the Djinguereber and Sidi Yahya. They were the centers of excellence not only in theological disciplines but scientific and historic wisdom as well. These ancient universities did a great thing they kept written records of what was taught, these records prevail to tell all.


A golden period

Sankore Madrasah in Timbuktu

During the good times this city had a population 100,000 people but the pupils of these institutions alone were about 25,000; that means it catered the educational needs of pupils belonging to a large portion of the surrounding area. These buildings made out of clay in a typical Timbuktu style are standing tall heralding their past prominence; they are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Three centuries from the 13th to the 15th was for Timbuktu its golden period when these three centers along with numerous madrasas shone like stars spreading world-class knowledge to its pupils these ancient wisdom in the form of manuscripts if not existed; no one would have believed that such an impoverished nation like Mali was home them.


No Christians please; we are traders


Mali’s population mainly consists of Songhay, Tuarog, Fulani and Mande people and numerous nomadic tribes. The Tombouctau region where the Timbuktu sites are located is about 15 km north of River Niger; it is in the northern most part of Mali –a land locked and one of the most backward nations in the African Continent. Being located in the Sub-Saharan area these places were hard to access. The traders kept this place secret from the Europeans as they knew that the Europeans will outsmart them in trade. In the attempt to explore the location many non-Muslims traders and their informants got killed.


An entrepot


Tombouctau is located in the meeting point of the trans-Saharan trade routes and flourishing trade made this region rich. Tombouctau was an entrepot (a place where merchandise can be imported and exported without restriction, an ancient system for the present duty-free ports). The ban was only for non-Muslims and commodities of all sorts were welcome! Timbuktu even catered the needs of Europe by supplying rock salt from Taoudenni (an oasis known for its salt deposits) although the trade was not direct.


‘From here to Timbuktu’

Map of Timbuktu

Timbuktu even engaged in indirect trade with far away countries of Europe, for Europeans Timbuktu was a weird place; a symbol of all that were exotic and distant and something they have never seen, the phrase ‘from here to Timbuktu’ also means a place as far as one can imagine. Though Timbuktu was the creation of the Tuaregs (a tribe who live in the surrounding areas); it was the merchants and brisk trade that made the town rich; various kingdoms were born and flourished in the soil of Timbuktu; like the Ghana, Mali and Songhay empires.

A different style


The structure made of clay in typical style; that stands as Timbuktu University building was built on 1581; which was built on the older and the original structure which was built about two centuries back. In curriculum as well as method of teaching adopted here was entirely different from what existed in other parts of the world. There is much for the expensive modern universities can emulate from Sankore of Sidi Yahya to cut costs and make education more student friendly. It is surprising to see that Ancient Universities like Nalanda and Taxila had many similarities in their functioning with that of Sankore.


Collection of schools

Timbuktu, Mali, Africa

These great universities like Sankore, Sidi Yahya, Djinguereyber etc were in fact collections of small institutions; each managed by single faculty known as the Imam. Students were associated only with that single master. The classes were held in the open or in mosque compounds. The main theme was teaching of Qur’an but classes on logics, astronomy, history etc were also held. Ahmed Baba –a prominent historian was one of the most celebrated faculties of the university, his name is referred in classic works like Tarikh- es Sudan etc.


The real treasure!


The scholars had to write their own books based on their curriculum, socio-economic issues and all that they were taught. It is this system that has generated the numerous manuscripts (written in Arabic or Fulani) which later turned out to be very valuable documents for the historians to understand the progress the people have achieved in this part of the land. The real treasure of this time is not just the 15th century complex but the 100,000 plus manuscripts (written in Arabic or Fulani) intended for didactic (moral teaching) purpose. These manuscripts were written in various times some of them were even older than Islam itself. When the older ones mainly dealt with theological subjects; comparatively recent ones were containing history, law, science and music.


In private hands


These manuscripts had been kept by the rich families of the surrounding areas as their family treasure and most of them were being lost for lack of proper preservation. It is estimated that there are between 300,000 and 700,000 such manuscripts existing in various houses; as the possession is secret no one is able to assess exact number. At present the Ahmed Baba institute (Cedrab) founded in 1970 by the Government of Mali in collaboration with UNESCO has acquired some of them for preservation and digitalization.


Like gold; like salt; like wisdom


These manuscripts that cover every aspects of human life is properly scrutinized can yield a lot of information about the culture, society, history and human relations and the depth of their knowledge. There is an old saying that stated the importance of Timbuktu “Salt comes from north, gold from south and wisdom from Timbuktu”. If salt is for health, and gold for wealth, wisdom was for the very existence of culture without which man is beast.


The African Ink-Road


Timbuktu had nothing but wisdom as its own to exchange; and as the store-house of wisdom (being home to Sankore etc; it had no dearth for it. In exchange of the commodities received Timbuktu offered its wisdom in abundance. These treasures of wisdom in the form of manuscripts traveled all through the routs and reached every where the commodities reached; thereby forming the African Ink-Road that stretches between the West Africa to the east and the south. If ancient Asia had a ‘Silk-route’ Africa had a far valuable ‘Ink-Road’. More than sixty libraries are there on this ink-road all richly endowed with these invaluable manuscripts.


The stunning abundance!


Sankore, Djinguereyber, Sidi Yahya all combined gave birth to manuscripts that is so abundant that no one is sure how much of them exist and how much have perished; most of them are secret holdings of the surrounding families. There are about 60 to 80 libraries dotted here and there along the Ink-Road like the Mamma Haidara library, Fundo Kati library (which has a collection of about 3000 manuscripts of the Andolusian origin. At present UNESCO is working in liaison with these libraries to get these manuscripts preseved.


The decline

A typical street scene at Timbuktu, Mali, with omnipresent bread-baking ovens

The Portuguese and other European traders landed in West Africa changing its entire scenario –this region was so far kept away from the Europeans- they devised alternative trade routes thereby diminishing the potential of the existing routes. With the fall of the trade routes the city lost its prominence as a trading center. The attack made by Morisco (Moriscos are Muslims of Spain who were forcible converted to Christianity, the word means Moor-like) mercenaries hastened its fall.


Present Timbuktu


Timbuktu is a UNESCO approved World Heritage Site since 1988 and on that merit it has an international air-port and some amount of tourists visit its sites. This town has a population above 30,000 and headquarters to the local Governor. Whatever its status as a heritage site the people of this town live in utter penury and water scarcity; the Sahara Desert keep on advancing to swallow this little town. UNESCO placed this site in the ‘endangered sites list’ as it was on the verge of getting buried by the desert sand, after necessary works done in 2005 it has been taken out of the endangered list.

Alhambra

Alhambra, Granada Spain- The Red Palace

Alhambra Granada Spain

Something odd in Spain!

Alhambra (means ‘the red’ in Arabic) is in Granada in Southern Spain, the name may make one to think that it may be located in Turkey or Saudi Arabia. The Alhambra Palace Complex has passed through turbulent times of the Europe and there are many historical events behind its construction, reconstruction, additions and finally to its change in to a museum of exquisite Islamic arts and architecture. In the middle age (between the 1^st and 10^th centuries) Spain and its surrounding areas were in turmoil as the Semitic Religions playing different games (most of them bloody) for adding maximum numbers to their respective groups as well as doing everything for the elimination of the others.

On the edge of the sword!

Alhambra from the "Mirador de San Nicolás" in the Albaycin of Granada.

Romans; that called the shots during the reign of Augustus Caesar colonized Spain along with neighboring regions and formed ‘Hispania’. Visigoths from the Germanic regions were there with Christianity. Muslims from Africa rose as a major power after the weakening of the Roman Empire. Paganism of Rome was crumbling before the new wave of Semitic Religions. Christianity of Visigoths and Islam from Arabs all struggled for supremacy; in between them were some pockets of Jews finding it hard to survive. Religious persecutions became the order of the day, human blood flowed like river. Conversions and re-conversions at the edge of the sword prevailed. By 5^th AD major parts of Spain fell in to the hands of Muslims and that spell lasted up to the 10^th Century AD until the return of ‘reinforced’ Christianity. The Alhambra is a product of this period.

And quietly flows the Darro!

The River Darro which flows beside the Alhambra was a case point, its initial name was Aurus (meaning gold as its sand contained traces of gold and small-scale gold extractions were taking place there), when Arabs took over the land they ‘converted’ the river and named it as ‘Hadarrb’, lately Christians took over the reign and re-Christened the ‘Muslim’ river in to a Christian river and named it ‘Dauro’. This river is presently known as ‘Darro’. If the fate of and ‘innocent’ river is this what would be that of historical monuments. The changes of rulers had corresponding changes in the Alhambra, many additions, many desecrations and many modifications.

The original Qal’at al Hambra

The Muslim rulers known as the Moors engaged in massive conversion of Christians and Pagans in to Islam; these new converts to Islam were known as Muladis; the Muladis grew in strength and power and finally drove out the Moors who were forced to take shelter in the original Qal’at al Hambra (the red fort) they used it as residence as well as court. At that time Alhambra was a medium sized building. Enemies easily entered in the fort and destroyed it. This building lied there in the state of ruins; ignored by all for centuries.

Second and the third births

The Court of the Lions, a unique remain of islamic animal statues.

Samuel Ibn Naghrallah Vizier (top official under Muslim rulers) to King Badis of the Zirid dynasty rebuilt it with red-clay; which also got eventually destroyed. It was Nasser of the Nasrid Dynasty who finally built the structure that stands intact today. The Nasrid Dynasty was established by Ibn Nasser found asylum in Granada running away to avoid persecution from King Ferdinand in early 13^th century.

A palatine city

The architecture adopted by Nasrid was different from the Umayyad style that existed here before (The Cordova Mosque is a typical Umayyad Style structure), Nasrid got the entire complex transformed in to a palatine city with six palaces (four of them royal residences), an advanced irrigation system known as acequias (al saqiya in Arabic for community water supply), numerous bath-houses and all paraphernalia required for a royal city.

Not an inch to spare

Fountains and flowing water are a common feature around the Alhambra

Not even an inch is spared from artworks, arches were made only for aesthetics, walls covered with expensive and enchanting ceramics and ornate plasters, coverings made of wooden frames carved so beautifully. As in the case of typical Muslim palaces walls are adorned of calligraphy depicting poems. ‘Zawi ben Ziri’ (founder Nasrid dynasty), Allah Aqbar (meaning god is the victor), etc. The decorative elements frequently used are inter lacing vegetative forms with nets of rhombuses (net-shaped carvings known as ‘jallies) as human figures are taboo, Now let us see some of the individual items

The Column

The Alhambra is creditable with unique styling the column on which it is built is a cylindrical shaft with molded concave base and decorative rings at the top. Its capital is divided in to two; the first one is cylindrical it has a prism with round base with ornate carvings.

The Hall of ‘Abencerraejes’ is decorated with arches and marble floors, it is said that the knight of Abancerrjes was beheaded at this hall and hence the name. There are markings on the floor said to be the blood stain of the knight. No one is sure which knight was beheaded and who ordered for it.

Hall of Two Sisters has the name denoting two marble stones placed in it. It was built by Mohammed 5 and includes bed chambers, gardens, emperor’s chamber and porticos connecting them together.

Comares Palace; the official residence of the king, has several rooms surrounded by Court of Myrtles. All rooms have galleries with porticos, this complex include Hall of the Boat and the Hall of Ambassadors. Its walls are decorated with holy-verses.

Court of the Myrtles; one of the most beautiful structures of the complex made of pure white marble, with a pond that reflects the building it stands in contrast to the lush green myrtle bushes and hence its name (this building has got different names in different times).

Mexuar including tower and a gallery is believed to be built by Nasrid but it had undergone several modifications and its original shape has become hard to guess. It is so named as the architect Michuka lived in it during the construction.

The Oratory; located behind the Mexaur has arches and walls with inscriptions and verses from Qur’an. This hall suffered extensive damages in an explosion and renovated in 1917.

Gilded Room (Cuarto Dorado); it is part of the Comares Palace and got its name for its painted Mudejar style and coffered ceiling. It has highly decorated walls and is connected to the Mexaur with a little arch. Patio of the Gilded room was renovated in 1943 and fountain reinstalled as per the exact original design.

Bath complex

The bath complex is comprised of many chambers typical to Arabic style big bath tub alone are provided and no swimming pool. There is provision for cold, hot as well as steam baths. The first to come is the ‘frigiderium’ with large cold water basin, ‘tepidarium’ (provided at the central hall) with warm water and finally a ‘caldarium’ for steam bath. Inside the hall there is a copper boiler in which water is boiled and piped to the required basin by underground pipes. Remnants of these pipes are still visible.

The Royal bath; What a royal bath!

The Royal Bath; is built at the east of the Comares Palace, with a fountain in the middle surrounded by columns. The Hall of Beds was the place to undress before bath with an open side for the emperor to watch. The lady who catches his attention had gets an apple thrown at her as a mark of her approval. With the apple she gets the privilege to spend that night with the emperor. Such a throw with emperor’s apple was rare chance to that lady as the harem is filled with numerous ‘wives’ and only lucky ones get a chance to spend one night with the emperor!

Evolution of styles

A room of the palace and a view of the Court of the Lions.

If the Darro River had to carry many names with change of rule; the shape of the palace also has undergone changes in accordance with the change of the rulers. First names were Arabic then came Spanish names. Some of the names mentioned above are just English translations of the Spanish names. The Islamic artists living cut off from the mainstream Islamic arts slowly evolved in to a separate entity by name ‘the Andalusian’ artists. Most of the Islamic traits got transformed and a new style specific to the region of Andalusia which remains as the uniqueness of Alhambra structures.

The Christian era

By the beginning of the 15^th century whole scenario changed Granada became the seat of the Christian Arch Bishop! The Moors were expelled and those Muslims who stuck to Islam fled to Africa. Charles V established a university in Granada and a court in Alhambra. The renaissance and the Baroque deleted the Islamic remnants from the landscape. There were tremendous activities of construction, churches were made in fashionable designs, facades, canvasses, sculptures all were started dotting the entire city-scape.

French occupation and after

The French occupation was not as sweet and almost all the original structures were destroyed, nothing came up to replace what was lost. Even the expulsion of the French could not usher the old charm of the city as revolutions and revolts were regular. Only by the end of the 19^th century a building boom that followed could add something to make the city’s charm. At present Granada remains as a modern city with sparkling gems of the yesteryears with well restored monuments. Its main dependence is on the students who flock to the 450 years old University as a center of excellence.

Seven Wonders

Seven Wonders

‘Seven Wonders’ Released.

Finally seventh July 2007 arrived and in a grand function held at Benfia Soccer Stadium at Lisbon, Portugal, the results were out marking the end of the hectic campaigns blowing in the cyber world for the last two years. Initially there were 200 nominations for this high status out of which 77 were selected by people which in turn got reduced 21. Finally on 7^th July Bernard Weber the Australian adventurer has released the list in a grand ceremony attended by celebrities like Hillary Swank, Bipasha Basu, Ben Kingsley as well as Portugal’s home-grown foot ball wizard Christiano Ronaldo. Shows by top artists like Jennifer Lopez, Jose Carreras, Dulce Pontes, Alessandro Saffina etc added color and glamour to the ceremony.

And The Winners of the New Seven Wonders of the World are !!!

Pyramids in Giza (there was no election as it was only surviving structure of the original Seven Wonders. Built 4500 years back these pyramids stands tall challenging the centuries which pass by. The tallest is 452 feet tall, the tomb of King Cheops nearby the limestone wonder statue of the Sphinx. As per the wish of the government of Egypt this structure was not nominated and it was given an honorary status. The names of the other seven winners are given below with brief descriptions.

Pyramids in Giza image courtsey: tourism-egypt.com.eg

1. Chichen Itza (at the mouth of the well of Itza) Pyramid Yucatan Peninsula Mexico was built in the 6^th century AD by the Mayans. It is a collage of various architectural styles happened due to cultural integration between different civilizations. Chichen Itza is Referred in the ancient chronicles as ‘Uucyabnal’ meaning Seven Great Rulers. The main structure is the Pyramid of the Kukulcan a step pyramid; its corners cast a shadow of a crawling serpent on the ground denoting fall and winter.

Chichen Itza image courtsey: wikipedia.org

2. The Great Wall of China. It is a massive 4150 miles long barricade built to block the invading armies of Huns, Mongols, Turks as well as numerous nomads who were engaged in looting and killing of people at random. It was built between 4^th and 7^th centuries and remains as the only structure that can be viewed from space.

Great Wall of China image courtsey: wikipedia.org

3. Taj Mahal Agra India was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan in the sixteenth century as mausoleum to his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in her early age in a child-birth. It took 20,000 people about 16 years to complete the structure which involved extensive precision work. One of the best preserved Monument in India.

Taj Mahal image courtsey: wikipedia.org

4. Petra of Jordan located in an ancient city of Petra, Jordan built on a terrace in Wadi Musa (Valley of Mosses) was capital of Arab Kingdom of Nebastius. It had a promising past under the Romans who came after Nebastius in AD 106. Most of the structures as well as infra-structures like water tunnels are carved out of rock. The tomb of Ad dayer though incomplete its facade even served as a church to Christians who had to live there fearing repression.

Petra of Jordan image courtsey: wikipedia.org

5. The Coliseum of Italy. It was built in AD 80 is the forerunner in design of the modern stadium. Built by Emperor Titus for a 100 day long marathon game including the duel between gladiators, who had either to kill or die before the public spectators and there may be the emperor himself as the spectator. It was here Christians were thrown to hungry lions for their crime of embracing Christianity.

Coliseum of Italy image courtsey: kellogg.northwestern.edu

6. Machu Pichu of Peru represents a wonderful Incan culture that prevailed in South America around the 15^th century. Ruins of the giant walls, Palaces, temples, dwelling places are all there located at an altitude of 8000 feet above sea-level.

Machu Pichu of Peru image courtsey: wikipedia.org

7. Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro Brazil. A giant statue of Jesus Christ; standing straight (stretching his hands in the role of redeemer of souls) which is a 125 feet tall structure located on the Mount Covocado. This giant statue was built by Paul Landowski in 1926 and brought to Brazil to be assembled. The transportation of these heavy parts safely was a task which deserved equal merit as the construction, but all done successfully by building rail to the top of the mountain and carrying the parts using cog-wheels. The statue was opened on 1931.

Christ the Redeemer image courtsey: wikipedia.org

Seven is not eight!

There is a contradiction in selecting seven wonders other than Pyramids as the total number comes to eight. It would have been appropriate if six would have selected other than Pyramid of Giza as it is the only existing wonders of the original seven. Seven should have been kept as seven itself in 7 – 7 - 2007, Deferring to stretching to 8 – 8 – 2008!

Loss of wisdom!

The high profile canvassing via SMS also have made a balanced decision impossible, and number of structures lost the covetable status in the battle-cry. Kerala articles presented a list of 7 of which Taj Mahal alone emerged winner. The other six were Angkor Wat, Hagia Sofia, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, Neuschwanstein Castle and The Kremlin. All these were eligible but lost due to lack of back-support. It is said wisdom gets lost in the flood of knowledge and knowledge in turn gets lost in the flood of information. However the project could make some awareness in youth about the cultural heritage of the world so far so good.

New Seven Wonders of the World

New Seven Wonders of the World.

To get wonder-struck is every body’s wish; mother-nature has bestowed us with so many wonders like the earth, sky, ocean, sun, moon, stars etc. Every-day sights loots the thrill and people flock to see new ones, those who live on sea-shore go to the mountains to get the thrill, whereas those living in mountain ranges go to the ocean to get wonder-struck! Man in his long history has played god by creating wonders of his own which can be classified in to those belonging to the Ancient ages, Middle Ages and those of the Modern times.

Wonders of the Ancient Ages.

• The Pyramids,

• Colossus of Rhodes

• The Hanging Garden of Babylon.

• Statue of Zeus.

• Temple of Artimis at Ephesus.

• Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus.

• Light House of Alexandria.

Wonders of the middle Ages.

• Coliseum of Rome.

• Catacombs of Alexandria.

• Great Wall of China.

• Stone Hedge.

• Porcelain Tower.

• Leaning Tower of Pisa.

• Hagia Sophia.

Wonders of the modern times.

There are about 21 options for the selection as the Seven Wonders of the World of the modern times. All having their own unique features, our site is of the view that the following criteria should definitely taken in to account when the ranking is made. The criteria we think just are given in its order of priority.

1. Age (how old it is),

1. History (what role it has played in history),

1. Preservation (whether it exists today),

1. Magnificence (how wonderful it is).

Number one is The Pyramid of Giza and there is no contenders for that place the other ones are given below.

1 Acropolis of Athens

2 Angkor Wat of Combodia.

3 Kiyomitzu Temple, Kyoto Japan.

4 Opera House of Sydney, Australia.

5 Eiffel Tower Paris, France.

6 Statue of Christ the redeemer Rio de Janeiro Brazil.

7 Machu Picchu Peru.

8 Petra Jordan.

9 Pyramid at Chichen Itza.

10 Statue of Liberty, New York, America.

11 Coliseum of Rome, Italy.

12 Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

13 Timbuktu, Mali.

14 Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow, Russia.

15 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey.

16 Stone Hedge, Amesbury United Kingdom.

17 Statues of Easter Islands.

18 Great Wall of China.

19 Neuschwanstein Castle Germany.

Why vote for the Taj?

Age. As per the first parameter Age (older the structure gains an ancestral status and a new structure of the same shape stands no match to the old), Taj sufficiently aged (built in 1632 – 1648) as a structure of the early seventeenth century structure.

History. Taj was built as a mausoleum for Mumtaz Mahal wife of Emperor Shah Jehan belonging to the Mughal Empire king Shah Jehan hence Taj has the status of the monument dedicated to eternal love. To add to the woes of the king he got imprisoned by his own son Aurangazeb and had to spend the rest of his life in the nearby prison. There was one favor done to the king he could see Taj from his place of arrest.

Preservation. Taj was lucky enough to be preserved in good shape where as almost many of the other structures were got destroyed more than one times and had to be rebuilt thereby losing its originality.

Magnificence. The Taj was built by the strenuous work of 20,000 skilled workers brought from all parts of the world and they all had to take 16 long years to complete the work. The precision of the works involved was that much and it all reflected in each square inch of the structure. During nights the sight of Taj standing bathed in the moonlight is something never could be seen anywhere else in the world. Yes we vote for the Taj!

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat Temple image courtsey: impactlab.com

Angkor Wat – the only structure to appear in a national flag.

Suryavarman the great!

Angkor Wat (the largest and best preserved monument of Cambodia) is a typical Hindu temple built by Suryavarman -2 who ruled Cambodia in the early 12^th century. Cambodia takes so pride of this temple as much as it has given the image of this temple in its national flag. Once there was a culture based on Hindu mythologies that spanned from Afghanistan in the west and up to the Indonesian Peninsula in the east. The real name of this temple or the town hosted it is not known (Angkor derived from Nokor the corrupt form of the word Nagar in Sanskrit meaning city)

Legends.

For centuries peasants of Cambodia tell about a legend about the city that became uninhabited and lost in the dense forest and grand parents used to pass the intriguing story about the unknown ghost town lost for ever. It just remained as a nanny’s tale and children alone believed it.

A Fairy tale!

Statues in Angorwat Temple Combodia image courtsey: flickr.com

“Once upon a time there came a Brahmin from distant India (the head office of all mythologies). He stayed in the forests for doing ‘tapas’ (worshipping god observing all the rituals and other paraphernalia). One day an ‘apsaras’ (a form of angel) visited him and they finally became man and wife! When children were born to the couple the Brahmin built a city and made his son its king, thus the Funan kingdom was born.

Legend of Zagab and a foolish king.

Kambuja (old name for Cambodia) was ruled by one young and impetuous king he boasted of cutting out the head of Zagab (king of the neighboring country – Java). News about his prattles reached king Zagab’s ears and he was enraged. Zagab invaded Kambuja got the head of the foolish king and returned, before returning he posted a wise young man as the king of Kambuja. It is this young ruler who became Jayavarman the forerunner of Varman Dynasty to which Suryavarman belonged.

An abrupt end?

The Angkor temple is the old City of Funan that was lost in the forest; as per the legends. It is located about five and a half kilometers from Seam Reap city. Well known for its walls with well decorated and beautiful ‘bas reliefs’ (images which partially project out of a wall or any plain surface as carvings in Indian temples) of goddesses as in almost all ancient Hindu temples. Some of the bas reliefs are incomplete giving suspicions to experts that the king would have died while the works were in progress and would have got stopped at that stage.

Well entrenched.

Angot Wat Temple Combodia image courtsey: hinduwisdom.info

Angkor Wat is construction made as per the typical Khmer style of architecture, was mainly based on sandstone and not on laterite of granite. This temple has a moat (a deep trench dug around as a measure of protection) within it comes the outer wall 1025 meter long and 802 meter broad and a height of 4.5 meters! Entry to inside restricted through a sand-bank from the east and stone causeway from the west. It is a pity that no inscription could be found anywhere regarding the temple.

Antonia da Magdalene a Portuguese traveler of 1586 has written “It is such an extraordinary construction that it is not possible to describe it with a pen, particularly since it is like no other building in the world. It has towers and decoration and all refinements which the human genius can conceive of”. From 14^th century this structure was converted for Theravada Buddhist use (Theravada Buddhism is an ancestral school of Buddhism that existed many parts of the world).

Oriented to west.

Angkorwat temple image courtsey: wayfaring.info

This temple is oriented towards west and there are opinions among scholars that Suryvarman has built it as his funerary temple, some tray with ash recovered also added credence to this theory, the bas reliefs were preceding in anti-clockwise direction is said to indicate with funeral ceremonies. There are other schools of thought that in Cambodia there are several temples with western orientation.

Finely balanced elements.

Angkor Wat has many praises to its credit it has been compared to ancient structures of Greece and Rome “Angkor Wat temple attain classic perfection by the restraint monumentality of its finely balanced elements and the precise arrangement of its proportions, it is a work of power, unity and style” Maurice Glaize conservator of Angkor Wat.

Of the style.

Angor Wat Combodia image courtsey: allposters.com

Architecturally the style include the ogival (curved surface like edge of a bullet), towers shaped like lotus buds; half galleries broaden passage-ways; axial galleries connecting enclosures. Most of the visible structures made of sand-stones, laterite used only for outer wall or parts not visible. The binding material not yet identified; may be some resin or soaked lime.

All Epics!

Angkor Wat Temple arieal view image courtsey: wikipedia.org

The outer wall of the temple encloses 203 acres, in it the temple proper stands on a terrace with three rectangular galleries rising to a central tower. The inner wall bears a series of bas reliefs depicting scenes from Hindu Epics like Ramayana and Maha Bharata. The Battle between Sri Ram and Ravana, The Kurukshetra war are only some of the scenes.

The masterpeice!

The Southern Gallery shows the procession led by Suryavarman -2 along with the 32 hells and the 37 heavens as per the Hindu Myths. Where are eastern gallery bears the most beautiful sculpture the churning of the ocean of milk (Palazhi, Pal = milk and azhi = sea), in which 92 demons (assuras) on and 88 demigods (devas) wait on both parts of Vishnu who churn the sea using Vasuki (a giant mythical snake) as rope, while Indra (the chief of the demigods) watches from the top.

Restoration.

Angkor wat image courtsey: earthportals.com

The present government of Cambodia has recognized the value of this structure and its power to attract tourists from all over the world. Hence massive restoration works with experts in the field is being undertaken as previous half hearted attempts with the engagement of poorly skilled agencies have done more damages than repair to those invaluable structures.

A German hand.

At present the ‘German Apsara Conservation Project’ is engaged in the conservation project (Angkor Wat is part of the World Heritage Site established in 1992). As twenty percent of the sculptures is in bad shape their restoration is a daunting task. While the Japanese team has completed the work on the library building on the outer skirts in 2005 creditably. The world has only just begun to recognize the potential of this magnificent temple structure and the influx of tourists has exceeded millions filling the coffers of the government. Let Angkor Wat remain as long as there are the oceans and the mountains!

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower –The pride of Paris.

Eiffel Tower image courtsey: perso.orange.fr

The crowd puller.

Towering as the face of Paris beside River Seine this steel structure still remains as the magnet which attracts maximum number of visitors for years. The idea of such a tower with a so far unheard height of 324 meters (inclusive of the antennae with 24 meter) was born in the mind of Gustav de Eiffel the architect who designed it for the entrance arch for a world-fare (Exposition Universelle) to be held in Barcelona.

To see his baby born!

Gustav Eiffel image courtsey: ce.jhu.edu

Gustav Eiffel was a dejected man when his design was rejected by the committee and there were few buyers for his work on which he had poured out his heart. Most scoffed it off as ugly and lacking aesthetics! At last the corporation of Paris agreed to its construction on rigid terms ‘the structure is sanctioned only for a period of twenty years after it will be dismantled and the scrap metal will be the corporation’s property. Poor Eiffel had to agree as he was eager to see his baby born.

The vital stats.

Eiffel Tower at night image courtsey: 3dphoto.net

The work of this tower with 300.65 meters in height (excluding antennae) and a weight of 7300 tons started in 1887. Metal pieces were cast in special ‘puddle iron’ (special quality pure wrought iron) 300 workers were engaged in assembling 18038 of them. More than 2.5 million were the number of rivets to be fixed. Extra safety arrangements were to be provided to the workers as unlike a floored structure this tower offered no safety nets. Yet there were one casualty as one worker who died due to fall.

Educating Eiffel!

There were protests against this ‘towering inferno’ it was a real test of patience on the part of this acclaimed architect to be tried by laymen, they were teaching Eiffel about architecture! Somehow the tower could be completed in 31^st March, 1889. Then it became the tallest structure in the world replacing Washington Monument to number two in height. Eiffel remained number one until 1930 when the Chrysler building of New York was built with a height of 319 meters.

An eye-sour so dear!

As per the conditions this structure had to be dismantled on 1909 as the twenty year agreement was due to expire, by that time the initial antipathy of the officials died down and the use of this tower as an efficient carrier of communication instruments was all in its favour. The glamour it added to the city also was a stumbling block to move against it. Those who blamed it as ‘eye-sour’ (the famous French writer Guy de Maupassaunt), later became daily visitor to the tower! (To queries about this change he answered that was the only place in Paris where the eye-sore is not visible!)

This tower that has celebrated its centenary in has met with many crises in this long period 1940 – 1944 was marked by German occupation they used this tower as their communication centre; mainly exchanging news about wounded soldiers etc. 1902 saw a massive lightening that struck this tower causing extensive damages, this has necessitated the replacements of about hundred meters length along with all costly electrical equipments.

Yet another tragedy!

There is one more ‘tragedy’ Eiffel Tower had to face when it was sold as scrap by one master con artist arranged a meeting of six scrap dealers in Hotel de Crillon and discussed a secret deal of auctioning the tower as it was a financial liability to the corporation! One dealer (Andre Poisson) actually fell in his trap he had to shell out the prize of the tower as well as extra bucks as kickbacks to the ‘official’. The official (Victor Lusting a Czechoslovakian) did the same trick on one more occasion

The present status.

Eiffel as a magnet for attracting tourists and thereby having a money-spinner status, all arrangements have been made to make conveniences for the tourists (of course making some money in that way). There is a 230 * 230 meters temp controlled scuba diving pool with facility arranged for beginners located near the north pillar of the tower. There are yet another attractions like underwater picture gallery for those who have the spirit to venture (this facility is denied for children and un-escorted minors).

Inside attractions.

Feroscope at the Eiffel Tower image courtsey: tour-eiffel.fr

The Eiffel Tower is open to visitors round the year from 9.30 AM till midnight, security check up is a bit tight (large baggage or animals not allowed inside) on the grounds of growing insurgency and terror threats. Visitors can either climb stairs or use elevators. First elevator allowed only up to 2^nd floor (115 meter height), and visitors have to catch the next. The whole building is equipped with handicapped friendly arrangements. The first floor which is largest in area offers large collection of exhibits, there is good dining places as well as shopping facilities.

Second floor

Animated Window Scenes at the Eiffel Tower image courtsey: tour-eiffel.fr

The perfect floor to view Paris from here visitors can take elevator to the top or din in restaurants with exquisite food, go shopping on souvenirs and fancy item gift packing is available. Animated window scenes for visitors to understand the history of the structure the technologies utilized for its upkeep for the last century etc. visitors can simply scroll with a feeling that they are on the top of the world!

The top floor

Gustave Eiffel's Office image courtsey: tour-eiffel.fr

Can be reached by the help of escalator it has two floors; out-door and the indoor. The very escalator ride is enough to give the visitor the massive nature of the construction and reaching at the top the city of Paris can be viewed from here as if from an aircraft in 360 degrees. The engineer’s office is the masterpiece where Gustav Eiffel along with his daughter Claire and American inventor Thomas Edison sitting in life-size!

From a white elephant to a money spinner.

Illuminated Eiffel Tower image courtsey: world-city-photos.org

Visitors to this tower has exceeded two billion and still counting! The authorities walk all the way to the banks, no one dares to talk of scrapping it anymore, not just it makes money but it has been come to the status of a world monument and Parisians just love to have it as their own; and may not spare anyone who suggest of scrapping it! The sixty tons of paint required to coat it is no more a waste. Let Eiffel Tower rise to greater heights day by day!