kEAJAIBAN dUNIA

pinguin

di dunia ini ada beberapa keajaiban semualjadi / ciptaan manusia yang mungkin ataupun telah lenyap. disini dipaparkan beberapa seni bina manusia yang mmg ajaib jika difikirkan oleh akal manusia. dan juga bbrapa tempat menarik.

Kootenai River

Kootenaiwetlands in Idaho were almost decimated by agricultural development;part of the wetlands is now being restored by environmental groups. InMontana, the endangered and aging white sturgeon population has stoppedspawning due to loss of habitat caused by the Libby Dam; unlessyoung fish live to spawning age the species is expected to be extinctin as few as 20 years.

The Kootenai River's other name is theFlat Bow River -- perfectly apt, considering the wide loop it makes, aninternational arc from British Columbia, down the Rocky Mountain Trenchinto Montana, then swinging westward into Idaho and back north toKootenay Lake in British Columbia. Eventually those waters make theirway into the Columbia River, but they sure take their time gettingthere.

Humans just can't keep from messing around with the Kootenai, though.In the Idaho valley, its attendant wetlands were drained in the 1920sto create farmland, despite the fact that it's a significant migratorystopover for some 200,000 birds, including about 67,000 ducks andgeese. It's only in the past few years that those migrating water birdshave had a chunk of protected habitat to rest in, thanks to aggressivewetlands restoration by the Nature Conservancy and local partners.

InMontana, spectacular Kootenai Falls -- a site sacred to the KootenaiTribe -- remains the last major waterfall on a northwest river wherethere's no hydroelectric plant. Despite protests by the tribe, severaldam projects have been planned over the past century, with some stillon the drawing boards. And only 31 miles (50km) upstream, Libby Dam wasbuilt in 1975, altering river flows and temperatures so significantlythat the Kootenai's white sturgeon population-one of the few landlockedpopulations, and genetically unique-may not survive another 30years. The sturgeon are now confined to a sluggish, silty section ofriver below the falls, where spawning seems to have fallen offdrastically.

Looking at Kootenai Falls, it makes perfect sensethat the Kootenai consider it the center of the world, a vortex forspiritual forces. Its vivid green waters crash violently over boulders,dropping 300 feet (91m) in just a few hundred yards. No wonder thefilmmakers of The River Wild used this location for the dreadedwhitewater called the Gauntlet in the film (after complex negotiationswith the tribe for permission to film this holy place).

Arriving on U.S. Highway 2, you can view them from picnic grounds at the county park above the falls, and even step out on a swinging bridge spanning the gorge. A narrow path leads through the woods down to the river, to those incredible falls. Be glad there's no power plant desecrating the rugged walls of this gorge-and hope that it stays that way.

pinguin

The Pyramids of Giza

Unrestricted development and urban sprawl from nearby Cairo threaten the ancient pyramids and the Great Sphinx. Air pollution eats away at the magnificent structures, and sewage from adjacent slums weakens the plateau upon which they stand. Ongoing efforts to complete a multilane beltway around Cairo pose additional risks to these irreplaceable wonders.

Of all the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, only one is still standing: the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Granted, its pinnacle was lopped off, and the polished white limestone that once faced its sloping sides was scavenged ages ago. But there it is in the Egyptian desert, the largest in a trio of stupendous royal tombs, with a quirky monument called the Sphinx alongside. It's quite a sight to see-if only you could see it.

Today, aggressive throngs of souvenir vendors, tour touts, and
taxi drivers crowd the entrance to the pyramids. Though camel rides and horseback tours are now banned from the monument area, visitors still clamber unchecked over the ancient landmarks. The haphazard sprawl and pollution of Cairo comes right to the edge of the archaeological zone, yet Egyptian officials seem unconcerned about protecting the site.

It's difficult now to get that iconic long-distance view of the three pyramids looming in the desert; you can't really see them
until you're so close, you're staggered by their size-an estimated 2,300,000 stones compose the Great Pyramid alone, weighing on average 2.5 tons apiece (some are even 9 tons). Oriented precisely to the points of the compass, they were built for three Pharaohs of the 4th Dynasty (about 27th c. B.C.)-the Great Pyramid of Cheops, the slightly smaller Second Pyramid of Chephren, and the much smaller red-granite Third Pyramid of Mycerinus-and designed to imitate the rays of the sun shining down from its zenith, so that the buried king might ascend to
heaven using his pyramid as a ramp. The great mystery is how they were erected at all, given the primitive technology available. Obviously it took a lot of manpower, or rather slave power: The construction of the Great Pyramid was like a gigantic 20-year public works project, giving the workers extra income during the annual flooding of the Nile.

The Great Sphinx wasn't part of the original plan, but was improvised to get rid of a limestone knoll that blocked King Chephren's view of his pyramid-a brilliant bit of serendipity, as it turned out. It's a gargantuan likeness of Chephren himself, dressed up as Harmachis, god of the rising sun. Fragments of orange-red paint still cling to the battered face, which was vandalized by medieval Muslims. Its soft limestone, however, has required continual restoration; in the late 1980s, the paws (and the left shoulder, which fell off in 1989) got a makeover, though there was no way to repair the broken-off royal "artificial beard."

Most tourists expect a visit to the famed pyramids to be a once-in-a-lifetime thrill, not a tawdry letdown. It's the only Ancient Wonder we have left-what a pity it's come to this.

pinguin

Versailles

The fierce winter storms that pummeled Europe in December 1999 were bound to take down some property -- but did it have to be Louis XIV's showplace?

Known (for good reason) as the Sun King, this French monarch devoted 50 years to remaking his father's hunting lodge into a royal residence so fabulous, its very name betokens luxury living. Here, he typically hosted some 3,000 courtiers and their retinues at a time. Given the constant entertainment and lavish banquets, few turned down the chance to join the glittering throng -- to gossip, dance, plot, and flirt away while the peasants on their estates sowed the seeds of the Revolution. It all caught up with later monarchs Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who were eating cake at Versailles on October 6, 1789, when they learned that citizen mobs were converging on the palace. Versailles became a museum under Louis-Philippe (1830-48) and has remained so ever since.

When the 1999 storm hit, hurricane-force winds peeled layers of lead from the roof and blasted out thousands of windowpanes-but those were quickly repaired before the rain could get at the priceless interiors. Today, visitors can tour the State Apartments, loaded with ornate furniture, paintings, tapestries, vases, chandeliers, and sculpture. The most dazzling room -- a long arcade called the Hall of Mirrors, with windows along one wall and 357 beveled mirrors along the other -- is where the Treaty of Versailles, officially ending World War I, was signed in 1919.

The gardens, though -- that's another story. The Gardens of Versailles were the ultimate in French formal garden design, with geometrical flower beds, terraces, pools, topiary, statuary, lakes, and some 50 fountains. An estimated 10,000 beeches, ce**, junipers, and firs were flattened in the storms, 90% of them over 200 years old. Among the trees lost were a Corsican pine tree planted by Napoleon and a tulip tree from Virginia given to Marie Antoinette. Although new seedlings were planted, it will take years -- centuries -- before those leafy avenues look the way they did.

Most of the trees were not only old, they were too tall for their root systems -- Versailles was built over a swamp, and the water table is so high, trees never sink deep roots. Versailles' gardeners see the replanting as a long-overdue chance to restore the park's original design. However, since the days of the Sun King, Paris's suburbs have overtaken his country hideaway. With the trees gone, you can now see apartment towers from the royal terraces -- hardly the effect Louis intended.

pinguin

Taj Mahal

If the plan to close the Taj Mahal goes into effect, it would reduce this over-the-top mausoleum-built by Shah Jahan (fifth emperor of the Mughal dynasty) to mourn his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal-to a mere postcard silhouette instead of the spiritual experience it can be.

Even a recent rise in admission prices doesn't deter floods of tourists from shuffling through the Taj Mahal-three to four million tourists every year. Between the crowds and the air pollution that's eating away its white stone facade, tourism officials are considering closing this 17th-century landmark to the public, leaving its fabulous domed symmetry-that graceful center onion dome, the four smaller surrounding domes, the slender punctuating minarets, the serene reflecting pool-visible only from afar.

When you pass through the red-sandstone gatehouse, you enter tranquil Persian-style hanging gardens, a welcome respite from the hectic city outside. When you get up close, you can see that what seemed like a sugar-cube white building is in fact marvelously ornate, with exquisite detailing covering the marble inside and out-a technique called pietra dura, which came from either Italy or Persia, depending on which scholar you read. Islamic crescent moons, Persian lotus motifs, and Hindu symbols are gracefully combined. Past the central pool rises the arched octagonal building containing the tomb of Mumtaz, its white dome ringed by four minidomes. Two red mosques flank the mausoleum on either side, one required by the Muslim faith, the other a "dummy" built for the sheer love of symmetry.

Only when you enter the buildings can you view the interiors' stunning lapidary decoration, inlaid with precious stones-agate, jasper, malachite, turquoise, tiger's eye, lapis lazuli, coral, carnelian. Notice how the panels of calligraphy, inlaid with black
marble, are designed to get bigger the higher they are placed, so the letters appear the same size to a beholder on the ground level. When Shah Jahan himself died, his tomb was placed beside Mumtaz's, the only asymmetrical note in the mausoleum chamber. The two tombs (oriented, of course, toward Mecca) are surrounded by delicate filigreed screens, ingeniously carved from a single piece of marble.

Shah Jahan placed this memorial beside the Yamuna River, despite the constant risk of flooding, because it was next to the bustling market of the Tajganj, where it is said he first saw Mumtaz selling jewels in a market stall. Work started in 1641, and it took 20,000 laborers (not to mention oxen and elephants) 22 years to complete; its marble came from Rajasthan, the precious stones from all over Asia. In the late 19th century, the badly deteriorated Taj Mahal was extensively restored by British viceroy Lord Curzon; what will today's Indian government do to preserve this treasure?

pinguin

ADA BANYAK LAGI TEMPAT2 menarik di dunia ini seperti kota larangan di china, tembok besar china, taman tergantung babylon dll.. ada juga yang sudah mengalami kemusnahan akibat poerang dan sebagainya

crystal_grey

menarik nyer..tq 4 your info..

muah..muah..

pinguin

TQ.. muahh gak

ayiepk

nak muah gak laaa..best kalu kite bace mende2 macam nih..

biggirlduncry

best2... BG baru balik melawat pyramid... mmg kagum la... camner org dulu2 leh ada idea wat pyramid tu ek, pla pas ni nak lawat PETRA, Jordan lak... insyallah

reez54

ekeke..klcc pon ajaib gak dllu kannn..tanam cerucuk...then hilang...masok tanah gitu...pastu klcc nye posisi kne la di ubah...

alphawolf

Mods bod ni...ni rasa sesuai kat thread geography nih....

tosei

wahhh...muahhh gak...menarik...memang impian aku satu hari nanti aku nk melawat tempat2 camni.....aminnnn....

pinguin

awat semua muah muah ni.. alamak. anjerku ada masuk sini lak. Muahh tuk reez.. erm.. betui2.. banyak benda2 ajaib kat dunia ni.. macam piramid dll..

BTW kaalu sapa nak melawat benda2 menarik di dunia ni leh pegi batu pahat. ada satu kawasan tu dinamakan TROPIKAL VILLAGE.. anda boleh temui tembok besar china, menara condong, menara eiffel, patung firaun, sleeping buddha dll dalam bentuk replika mini yang menarik..

PrinCessMaya

sapa ada gambo taman tergantung babylon dan sejarahnya?

mumu81

ha ah aku pun nak tgk gak

fara_lily

tepek la lg......

jeriah_md

amazing!!!

catstitch

tepek babylon
tak pnah tgok

LadyD

a'ahh..nak nengok babylon gak..

zaidann

haah... la... babylon plssss