Welcome to our new post! In this article, I will introduce you to some of the most incredible monuments around the world. Get ready to learn amazing things about these wonderful places and surprise your friends with these interesting facts.
Machu Picchu
This city is located in Peru in the province of Urubamba (Cusco). It became one of the 7 wonders of the world on July 7, 2007. This city covers about 150 buildings, among them you can see temples, houses, sanctuaries and baths.
Among all the buildings in the city, 3 could be identified as the main ones: the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Three Windows and the Intihuatana.
You may have already heard of this place as "The lost city of the Incas", but have you already wondered why it is usually called that way? Because the Spanish never found it, even though they conquered the Inca empire in 1500. It was built around 1400, but was only discovered 511 years later, when archaeologist Hiram Bingham rediscovered it.
Access to this area may be a bit difficult for some people, because this monument was built in a ravine with a drop of 400 meters. There is a local legend that the location is haunted by ghosts. This arose because at midday the city is completely covered by a mist, which gives it a supernatural appearance. Some even describe it as if the city were in the middle of clouds floating through the air.
A local dialect called Quechua was spoken in this city and is still used by the inhabitants of the area. The name of the city means "Old Mountain" in Quechua. It is thought that this construction was made through the carving of the mountain, since to bring them up would require a lot of force or a lot of people. It is not known why the Incas abandoned the area, but one hypothesis would be an outbreak of smallpox.
Angkor Wat
This Cambodian landmark is so striking that its illustration sits at the center of the country's flag. It is the largest Hindu temple in the world. This construction is made up of 3 enclosures surrounded by a 4 kilometer long river.
A curious fact about this site is that the walls that surround it add up to 365.24 meters, which coincides with the duration of a solar year. Angkor means capital and wat means temple.
After the expulsion of the invaders in 1177 the temple changed from being Hindu to Buddhist. The temples on this site are aligned with the Draco constellation.
Notre dame
This Gothic cathedral located in Paris is one of the oldest and also the third largest in the world, only behind Cologne (Germany) and Milan (Italy). The famous gargoyles of this cathedral were not present since the original construction, but were added in the 19th century.
Notre Dame has 10 bells, the largest being the one in the south tower called "Emmanuel" and weighs 23 tons.
In World War II, Hitler signed the liberation of the city in Notre Dame Cathedral. In front of the church you can see a compass also called zero point, because it is the point from which all distances are calculated in Paris. The cathedral was built on top of Lutetia, an ancient city and the temple of Zeus.
Great Wall of China
It was built to protect the northern border of the Chinese empire from attacks by Manchuria and Mongolia. It is about 21,200 kilometers long, making it the longest wall in the world. 100 million tons of stones, bricks and earth were needed to build this wall. To join the stones and bricks they also used glutinous rice flour. This construction is more than 2300 years old.
Due to its great extension, an urban legend was created that said that the wall could be seen from Mars. This is not true, on average it is only 5 meters wide and almost the same color as the ground, therefore it is not possible to see it from Mars or the Moon. The barrier is not continuous, its extension is interrupted by rivers and high mountains.
Acropolis
The Acropolis that we will mention now is that of Athens. You may be wondering, but is there another Acropolis? And the answer is yes. Acropolis is the name given to the highest portions of the ancient Greek cities.
Its construction dates from the 4th century BC. A century later it was razed by the Persians. Already in the 4th century BC they rebuilt it. The Parthenon is one of the best-known buildings on the Acropolis, it is a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Inside the temple was a 12 meter statue of Athena made of gold and ivory. Around 1,200 kilos of gold were used to build this statue.
In addition to the Parthenon there is also the Erechtheion, a gallery that is supported not by pillars, but by women, the famous Caryatids.
Chichen Itza
Within this area of Mexico is the pyramid of Kukulkan. Some studies claim that the Mayans were forced to leave the area due to the scarcity of water.
The four stairs of the temple have 91 steps each, which if added to the upper platform total 365 as the days of the year. The pyramid is 30 meters high. It cannot be climbed, due to wear and tear in the construction.
The buildings in the area have incredible acoustics, even allowing something that was said at the other end of the field to be heard, some 139 meters away. Even the pyramid has an acoustic effect that resembles the song of the Quetzal bird. This phenomenon can be observed in the upper temple and happens when someone claps from the base of the pyramid.
Fushimi Inari
This Shinto shrine is one of the most important in Japan. Behind the temple gate are two foxes. These animals are found throughout the temple, because they are the messengers of Inari, the deity of agriculture and wealth.
The various red doors in this sanctuary allow it to have natural lighting. Between New Year's Eve and the first weeks of January is when the sanctuary is usually the most crowded, reaching around 2 to 3 million visitors.
The red torii adorn the area so much that in some places they even form tunnels. Throughout the sanctuary there are about 10,000 torii, these were donated by individuals or companies as a way of thanking Inari.
There is also a divination ritual with the Omokaru stone. The divination method consists of mentalizing your desire and lifting the stone. If the stone doesn't seem as heavy as you imagined, it will be fulfilled. And if it seems heavier, no.
📚 Data source:
https://www.peruhop.com/es/machu-picchu-curiosidades-15-hechos-interesantes/
https://omviajesyrelatos.com/curiosidades-sobre-los-templos-de-angkor-en-camboya-misterios/
https://www.tonica.la/spot/Notre-Dame-7-datos-curiosos-que-deberias-saber-20200416-0017.html
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Muralla_China
https://www.viaje-a-china.com/gran-muralla/dato/
https://miviaje.com/curiosidades-de-la-acropolis-de-atenas/
https://www.howlanders.com/blog/mexico/curiosidades-chichen-itza/
https://gogonihon.com/es/blog/fushimi-inari-taisha-en-kioto-santuario-con-miles-puertas-rojas/
https://vagandopormundopolis.com/2020/04/25/excursion-a-fushimi-inari-taisha-desde-kioto/
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