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Alhambra Granada in Spain. Your tickets to the Alhambra and Generlife of Granada. Ticket sale, guided tours and tourist information of the Alhambra.

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Carved directly into vibrant red, white, pink, and sandstone cliff faces, the prehistoric Jordanian city of Petra was "lost" to the Western world for hundreds of years.

Located amid rugged desert canyons and mountains in what is now the southwestern corner of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Petra was once a thriving trading center and the capital of the Nabataean empire between 400 B.C. and A.D. 106.

The city sat empty and in near ruin for centuries. Only in the early 1800s did a European traveler disguise himself in Bedouin costume and infiltrate the mysterious locale.

In 1985, the Petra Archaeological Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, and in 2007 it was named one of the new seven wonders of the world.

Several scenes from the Hollywood blockbuster Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed in Petra. The movie's fictional Canyon of the Crescent Moon was modeled on the eastern entrance to Petra, a 250-foot-high (76-meter-high) sandstone slot canyon known as the Siq that leads directly to Al Khazneh (the Treasury)-perhaps the most stunning of Petra's dozens of breathtaking features.

In the film's climactic final scenes, actors Harrison Ford and Sean Connery burst forth from the Siq and walk deep into the labyrinths of the Treasury in their quest to find the Holy Grail. But, as usual, archaeological fact bowed to Hollywood fiction when Indy came to Petra.

In reality, the Treasury is nothing more than a facade with a relatively small hall once used as a royal tomb.

"You can't really say that anything in Indiana Jones is accurate," Haifa University archaeologist Ronny Reich said. "I was once asked in the United States if one of the responsibilities of Israeli archaeologists is to chase down Nazis. I told them, 'Not any more.'"

A giant urn carved above the entrance to the Treasury bears the marks of hundreds of gunshots. Bedouin tribesmen living in and among the ancient ruins say the damage was caused when local men would open fire with rifles, seeking the loot thought to be inside the urn (actually made of solid stone).

There are dozens of tombs and other carved or constructed structures and sites within Petra.

The Nabataeans, before they were conquered and absorbed into the Roman Empire, controlled a vast tract of the Middle East from modern-day Israel and Jordan into the northern Arabian peninsula. The remains of their innovative networks of water capture, storage, transport, and irrigation systems are found to this day throughout this area.

Scholars know the Nabataeans were in Petra since at least 312 B.C., says archaeologist Zeidoun Al-Muheisen of Jordan's Yarmouk University.

Al-Muheisen, who has been excavating in Petra since 1979 and specializes in the Nabataean period, says no one has yet found any archaeological evidence dating back to the fourth century B.C. The earliest findings thus far date back only to the second and first centuries B.C.

But more clues remain beneath the surface. "We have uncovered just 15 percent of the city," he says. "The vast majority-85 percent-is still underground and untouched."

Numerous scrolls in Greek and dating to the Byzantine period were discovered in an excavated church near the Winged Lion Temple in Petra in December 1993.

Researchers at the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, the capital, are now analyzing the scrolls and hope they will shed light on life in Petra during this period.

Once Rome formally took possession of Petra in A.D. 106, its importance in international trade began to wane. The decay of the city continued, aided by earthquakes and the rise in importance of sea trade routes, and Petra reached its nadir near the close of the Byzantine Empire's rule, around A.D. 700.

Visitors today can see varying blends of Nabataean and Greco-Roman architectural styles in the city's tombs, many of which were looted by thieves and their treasures thus lost.

Today, local Bedouins selling tourist souvenirs hawk their wares not far from the place where Arabs believe Moses struck a rock with his staff, causing water to burst forth.

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"Lost City" of Petra Still Has Secrets to Reveal

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Carved directly into vibrant red, white, pink, and sandstone cliff faces, the prehistoric Jordanian city of Petra was "lost" to the Western world for hundreds of years. Located amid rugged desert canyons and mountains in what is now the southwestern corner of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Petra was once a thriving trading center and the capital of the Nabataean empire between 400 B.C.

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A little history of the Roman Colosseum

The construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Roman Coliseum, began around AD 7 under the Emperor Vespasian. The Coliseum was built in a valley, having dried a small lake that Nero used for the Domus Aurea, between the hills of the Palatine, Esquiline and Celio. The Emperor Titus inaugurated the Colosseum in the year 80, but 2 years later finished the works that included the last floor.

The Colosseum became the largest Roman amphitheater, with an elliptical structure of 188 meters long, 156 meters wide and 57 meters high. Made in brick and covered with travertine was divided into five levels with a capacity for more than 50,000 people. Its areas were delimited depending on the social class, the closer to the arena they were the greater the rank to which they belonged.

In the nineteenth century, work was done on the settlement and remodeling of the Coliseum, and although during World War II suffered the effects of the attacks, this majestic and imposing monument has become a cultural asset of the city and the world surviving the time and wars.

What is the Colosseum nowadays?

Even though the Roman Coliseum is now in ruins, it continues to impress us because of its great size and beauty and that is why since 2007 it is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.

The Roman Colosseum is now the symbol of Rome in the world, and has become through the years a historical and archaeological treasure able to remind us of the greatness of the Roman Empire. According to a calculation made by the Ministry of Culture, Flavio Amphitheater receives 6 million visitors a year and ranks first among the most visited monuments in Italy.

Curiosities of the Roman Colosseum

Did you know that for the inauguration of the Roman Colosseum a party was organized that lasted 100 days and in it died dozens of gladiators? In the year 80 AD the Roman Colosseum was inaugurated after three years of work. Cassius Dio, historian, said that during the inaugural games of the Colosseum 9,000 animals, both trained and savage, perished.

Did you know that the entrance to the Colosseum serves to enter 3 museums? With the entrance to the Roman Coliseum you can also enter the Palatine and Roman Forum, it is also a valid entry for 2 days from the first use.

The Roman Forum is a true sanctuary of Ancient Rome where once the basilicas, the temples, the Senate Curia, the Speakers' Tribune or the House of the Vestals were once erected. Today we can see only its ruins but you can relive its history in each of these magnificent settings. Over the valley of the Roman Forum lies the Palatine Hill, where you can find the ruins of the imperial residence whose construction was initiated by Augustus and completed by his successors, here you can tour the courtrooms, basilicas, underground galleries, etc.

Why visit the Roman Colosseum?

The Roman Colosseum is part of the history of an empire that for the pleasure of the residents of Rome organized fights between gladiators or against wild animals and fabulous shows called "naumachie", that were real naval fights in the Sand full of water. Beneath the Arena of the Colosseum, numerous corridors and rooms housed gladiators and ferocious beasts that could be carried to the center of the Arena thanks to a series of elevators and ramps.

How to visit the Colosseum?

The Colosseum, probably the most famous monument in the world, offers different options to people who wish to visit and discover the secrets of the Ancient Rome. Given the high traffic of visitors, the reservation of tickets is highly recommended to avoid the long lines at the entrance. In addition to the simple entrance, which also allows you to visit the Roman Forum and the Palatine, it is possible to participate in a guided group tour of the Colosseum or in a Imperial tour that also includes a bus tour to reach Piazza Venezia (Venice Square). It is also possible to request a private guide to visit completely the archaeological site.

Very close to the Colosseum is the Roman Forum where you can't miss:

The two Triumphal Arches where it stands out that of Tito because of its historical importance and size. It commemorates the triumph of Titus on the Jews in the year 70.

The Temple of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux) which with its three Corinthian columns have become an icon of Ancient Rome

The Basilica of Massenzio with its imposing structure

The Casa delle Vestali with its evocative internal courtyard where we can recreate the life of the only female priestesses of Rome whose mission was linked to the destiny of the city.

Very close to the Roman Colosseum is also the Castel Sant'Angelo, a fortress that also functioned as a palace, where the Popes spent long periods during difficult times. For this reason it has noble rooms, enriched with elegant Renaissance frescoes.

You may be interested in:

Uffizi (Florence), St Mark's Basilica (Venice) or The Last Supper (Milan).

Customers who have seen this museum also viewed:

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Colosseum - Useful Information - Rome & Vatican Museums

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The construction of the Flavian Amphitheater, better known as the Roman Coliseum, began around AD 7 under the Emperor Vespasian. The Coliseum was built in a valley, having dried a small lake that Nero used for the Domus Aurea, between the hills of the Palatine, Esquiline and Celio.

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How the Pyramids at Giza were built is one of Egypt’s biggest mysteries.

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Sydney, Australia - Official Travel & Accommodation Website

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Visiting Sydney, Australia? The official Sydney website has information about accommodation, events, the latest deals and things to do in Sydney.

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"The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was designated as a National Monument in 1924. Employees of the National Park Service have been caring for the colossal copper statue since 1933.

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Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

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"The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States and is recognized as a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886. It was designated as a National Monument in 1924.

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How much do you know about the Great Wall of China? Why was it built, are there bodies buried in it, and can you really see the Wall from outer space? John Man, author of The Great Wall of China, separates facts from fiction...
It cannot be seen from the Moon

It was Robert Ripley, the American illustrator who made a fortune with his cartoon feature Believe It Or Not!, who called the Great Wall "The mightiest work of man - the only one that would be visible to the human eye from the Moon". This statement was, of course, founded on no evidence at all, since it was made 30 years before anyone had been in space. Yet it became sanctioned by use. Even the eminent Sinologist Joseph Needham, author of Science and Civilisation in China, stated that "the Wall has been considered the only work of man which could be picked out by Martian astronomers".

Though discredited by astronauts, the Moon version is still widely quoted as a "fact". The truth was established once and for all during the first Chinese space flight in 2003, when astronaut Yang Liwei said he couldn't see anything of it from orbit.

The Chinese don't call the Wall 'the Great Wall'

The Chinese term for the Wall emerges from a distant past - long before "the Great Wall" was used - when every city had its own wall. So fundamental was the connection between walls and cities that the Chinese used one word to cover them both, and they still do. There it is, in the Oxford Union Press's standard concise dictionary: Chéng: "1. city; 2. city wall".

The Wall, of course, is rather more than a city wall, so Chinese adds an adjective, not "great" but "long". So the Chinese for "the Great Wall", cháng chéng, means Long City. And Long Wall. And Long Cities, or Long Walls, plural. There is a way to resolve the contradiction: peel back a city wall in your mind, stretch it out, put farms and garrisons along it, and there you have it - Great Wall(s) equals Long City/ies.

The Wall is not as old as you think

The Wall is widely thought to date back 2,000 years to just after 221 BC, when China was first unified. In fact, almost everything which is that old is no more than a mound of earth. The popular idea of the Wall derives from the stone, battlemented structure built by the Ming (1358-1644). Its maximum age is about 500 years.

There's more than one Wall

The Wall is not an "it". It's a "them", in the plural. They are in bits, and very few of them look like the glorious creation to which tourists go. Tame sections give way to wild ones - crumbling, overgrown, barred to walkers - and wild ones vanish into gaps made by roads and reservoirs. In many places, the Wall doubles, triples even quadruples itself. And all of these bits overlap each other in time. The sections you see around Beijing have ancient precedents, some of which run directly beneath the Wall. And these divided sections are as nothing compared to other walls of earth, which run westward in parallel lines and scattered segments.

Well, the Ming bits around Beijing are, but out west, brick and stone give way to earth: sometimes moulded by the elements into camel's humps; sometimes no more than a gentle bank; sometimes nothing at all. And there is much more to the Wall than walls or banks: fortresses, barracks, guard-towers and beacon-towers stalk the main lines of the Wall in a sort of stretched-out halo.

More like this

The Great Wall of China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

It was not built to repel Mongols

The Wall was commissioned by the First Emperor who died in 210 BC, long before the emergence of the Mongols around AD 800. The threat then was from the Xiongnu, who possibly became the ancestors of the Huns. The classic confrontation with the Mongols occurred only from the late 14th century, when the Mongols were chased out of China by the Ming.

The Wall does not contain corpses

Ancient rumours speak of labourers being buried in the Wall. These probably emanated from a chief historian of the Han dynasty, Sima Qian, who criticised his own emperor by slighting his Qin predecessor. However, no bones have ever been found in the Wall and there is no evidence, written or archaeological, for the slander.

It never stopped an invasion

The Wall was easily overrun or avoided by northern tribes. In 1449, the Mongols inflicted a defeat on the Ming south of the Wall, and it was only during a period of peace (1571-1644) that it was completed. However, it fell to the Manchus in 1644 when a local Ming general opened the far eastern gate, Shanhaiguan, to the invaders.

It is not wide enough for five horses abreast

Well it is, but only on some sections around Beijing which were built as both wall and road. Other parts of the Ming wall, notably the ridge that runs over the peaks of Simatai, are only wide enough for a single person. Westwards there is often no walkway. Horses and soldiers had to march along the Wall's base.

Marco Polo did in fact see it

True, Marco never mentioned it, which has been used as an argument that he never went to China. At the time (in the late 13th century) all China was ruled by the Mongols, so the wall had been redundant since the invaders devastated north China under Genghis Khan over 50 years earlier. The Mongols, who had ignored the Wall in war, had no need to mention it in peace. Marco must have crossed it several times on his journeys from Beijing to Kublai Khan's palace in Xanadu (Shangdu), but had no reason to take any notice of it.
John Man is a popular travel writer and historian. He is the author of The Great Wall of China (2008). This article was first published in the March 2008 issue of BBC History Magazine

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The Great Wall of China is an ancient series of walls and fortifications located in northern China, built around 500 years ago. Estimates of its length vary from 1,500 to 5,000 miles, but an archaeological survey carried out in 2012 by China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage suggested the wall is more than double than that length: some 13,000 miles - or 21,000km - long...

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Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal with construction starting in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the mosque, the guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer courtyard and its cloisters were added subsequently and completed in 1653 AD. The existence of several historical and Quaranic inscriptions in Arabic script have facilitated setting the chronology of Taj Mahal. For its construction, masons, stone-cutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from the Central Asia and Iran. Ustad-Ahmad Lahori was the main architect of the Taj Mahal.

The Taj Mahal is considered to be the greatest architectural achievement in the whole range of Indo-Islamic architecture. Its recognised architectonic beauty has a rhythmic combination of solids and voids, concave and convex and light shadow; such as arches and domes further increases the aesthetic aspect. The colour combination of lush green scape reddish pathway and blue sky over it show cases the monument in ever changing tints and moods. The relief work in marble and inlay with precious and semi precious stones make it a monument apart.

The uniqueness of Taj Mahal lies in some truly remarkable innovations carried out by the horticulture planners and architects of Shah Jahan. One such genius planning is the placing of tomb at one end of the quadripartite garden rather than in the exact centre, which added rich depth and perspective to the distant view of the monument. It is also, one of the best examples of raised tomb variety. The tomb is further raised on a square platform with the four sides of the octagonal base of the minarets extended beyond the square at the corners. The top of the platform is reached through a lateral flight of steps provided in the centre of the southern side. The ground plan of the Taj Mahal is in perfect balance of composition, the octagonal tomb chamber in the centre, encompassed by the portal halls and the four corner rooms. The plan is repeated on the upper floor. The exterior of the tomb is square in plan, with chamfered corners. The large double storied domed chamber, which houses the cenotaphs of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan, is a perfect octagon in plan. The exquisite octagonal marble lattice screen encircling both cenotaphs is a piece of superb workmanship. It is highly polished and richly decorated with inlay work. The borders of the frames are inlaid with precious stones representing flowers executed with wonderful perfection. The hues and the shades of the stones used to make the leaves and the flowers appear almost real. The cenotaph of Mumtaz Mahal is in perfect centre of the tomb chamber, placed on a rectangular platform decorated with inlaid flower plant motifs. The cenotaph of Shah Jahan is greater than Mumtaz Mahal and installed more than thirty years later by the side of the latter on its west. The upper cenotaphs are only illusory and the real graves are in the lower tomb chamber (crypt), a practice adopted in the imperial Mughal tombs.

The four free-standing minarets at the corners of the platform added a hitherto unknown dimension to the Mughal architecture. The four minarets provide not only a kind of spatial reference to the monument but also give a three dimensional effect to the edifice.

The most impressive in the Taj Mahal complex next to the tomb, is the main gate which stands majestically in the centre of the southern wall of the forecourt. The gate is flanked on the north front by double arcade galleries. The garden in front of the galleries is subdivided into four quarters by two main walk-ways and each quarters in turn subdivided by the narrower cross-axial walkways, on the Timurid-Persian scheme of the walled in garden. The enclosure walls on the east and west have a pavilion at the centre.

The Taj Mahal is a perfect symmetrical planned building, with an emphasis of bilateral symmetry along a central axis on which the main features are placed. The building material used is brick-in-lime mortar veneered with red sandstone and marble and inlay work of precious/semi precious stones. The mosque and the guest house in the Taj Mahal complex are built of red sandstone in contrast to the marble tomb in the centre. Both the buildings have a large platform over the terrace at their front. Both the mosque and the guest house are the identical structures. They have an oblong massive prayer hall consist of three vaulted bays arranged in a row with central dominant portal. The frame of the portal arches and the spandrels are veneered in white marble. The spandrels are filled with flowery arabesques of stone intarsia and the arches bordered with rope molding.

Criterion (i): Taj Mahal represents the finest architectural and artistic achievement through perfect harmony and excellent craftsmanship in a whole range of Indo-Islamic sepulchral architecture. It is a masterpiece of architectural style in conception, treatment and execution and has unique aesthetic qualities in balance, symmetry and harmonious blending of various elements.
Integrity
Integrity is maintained in the intactness of tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate and the whole Taj Mahal complex. The physical fabric is in good condition and structural stability, nature of foundation, verticality of the minarets and other constructional aspects of Taj Mahal have been studied and continue to be monitored. To control the impact of deterioration due for atmospheric pollutants, an air control monitoring station is installed to constantly monitor air quality and control decay factors as they arise. To ensure the protection of the setting, the adequate management and enforcement of regulations in the extended buffer zone is needed. In addition, future development for tourist facilities will need to ensure that the functional and visual integrity of the property is maintained, particularly in the relationship with the Agra Fort.
Authenticity
The tomb, mosque, guest house, main gate and the overall Taj Mahal complex have maintained the conditions of authenticity at the time of inscription. Although an important amount of repairs and conservation works have been carried out right from the British period in India these have not compromised to the original qualities of the buildings. Future conservation work will need to follow guidelines that ensure that qualities such as form and design continue to be preserved.
Protection and management requirements
The management of Taj Mahal complex is carried out by the Archaeological Survey of India and the legal protection of the monument and the control over the regulated area around the monument is through the various legislative and regulatory frameworks that have been established, including the Ancient Monument and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1958 and Rules 1959 Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation); which is adequate to the overall administration of the property and buffer areas. Additional supplementary laws ensure the protection of the property in terms of development in the surroundings.

An area of 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal is defined to protect the monument from pollution. The Supreme Court of India in December, 1996, delivered a ruling banning use of coal/coke in industries located in the Taj Trapezium Zone (TTZ) and switching over to natural gas or relocating them outside the TTZ. The TTZ comprises of 40 protected monuments including three World Heritage Sites - Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.

The fund provided by the federal government is adequate for the buffer areas. The fund provided by the federal government is adequate for the overall conservation, preservation and maintenance of the complex to supervise activities at the site under the guidance of the Superintending Archaeologist of the Agra Circle. The implementation of an Integrated Management plan is necessary to ensure that the property maintains the existing conditions, particularly in the light of significant pressures derived from visitation that will need to be adequately managed. The Management plan should also prescribe adequate guidelines for proposed infrastructure development and establish a comprehensive Public Use plan.

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An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the ...

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Tower Bridge - Facts and History of Tower Bridge in London

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Art and the Eiffel Tower

From the beginning the Tower was an attraction, but in the 1920s it became a symbol of modernity and the avant-garde. Little by little, its image was associated with Paris, until it even became its worldwide symbol.

Poets, painters, singers, choreographers, film dire...

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The Eiffel Tower: all there is to know - Official website

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Conception, history, statistics, illuminations, artwork... discover every secret of the iconic Parisian monument.