Pyramid of Kukulcan

Posted by Sokoorway at 1:59 PM

The Pyramid of Kukulcan (also know as El Castillo, a name given by the Spanish
Conquistadors) is the central pyramid of Chich’en Itza, it was built over a pre-existing
temple between 800 and 900 AD. It is the biggest pyramid in Chich’en Itza; at its base
53.3 meters wide on all four sides. It towers above the other monuments at 24 meters tall
with a 6 meter temple on top of the highest platform.

Kukulcán's pyramid is essentially a nine-step structure culminating in a flat platform
that supports a two-story temple. The height to the top platform is 24 m,
the temple adding another 6 m.



The pyramid has special astronomical significance and layout.  Each face of the pyramid has
 a stairway with ninety-one steps, which together with the shared step of the platform at
the top, add up to 365, the number of days in a year. These stairways also divide the nine
terraces of each side of the pyramid into eighteen segments, representing the eighteen
months of the Mayan calendar. 




The staircases rise at an angle of 45 degrees to the horizontal, while the average
inclination of the stepped pyramid itself is 53.3 degrees. The faces of the individual
steps are sloped at a greater angle, approximately 73 degrees.

Hatshepsut Temple

Posted by Sokoorway at 1:04 PM

The Hatshepsut Temple (Temple of Deir El-Bahri) is one of the most characteristic temples in the whole of Egypt,

 due to its design and decorations. It was built of limestone, not sandstone like most of
the other funerary temples of the New Kingdom period.


The Hatshepsut Temple is built into the rock, and consists of three terraces. The temple
itself is located on the top terrace. Hatshepsut was born in the 18th Dynasty.

Hatshepsut is one of the more mysterious figures of ancient Egyptian history. The Temple
was built for the great Queen Hatshepsut (18th Dynasty), to commemorate her achievements
and to serve as a funerary temple for her, as well as a sanctuary of the God, Amon Ra.



The mortuary temple of Queen Hatshepsut is one of the most dramatically situated in the
 world. The queen's architect, Senenmut, designed it and set it at the head of a valley
overshadowed by the Peak of the Thebes, the "Lover of Silence," where lived the goddess
who presided over the necropolis.



Hatshepsut named her temple "Djeser Djeseru", a hieroglyphic expression meaning,
the Splendour of Splendours. Located on the western bank of the Nile (or in Western
Thebes, the great capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom), this is one of the most
beautiful of the royal mortuary temples.




The Temple consists of three imposing terraces. The two lower ones would have once been
full of trees. On the southern end of the 1st colonnade there are some scenes, among them
the famous scene of the transportation of Hatshepsut’s two obelisks.

City of London

Posted by Sokoorway at 12:47 PM

London the capital city of England and the United Kingdom,
it is the largest city in Europe and located astride the famous river of Thames.
The Royal Family have their main residence in London,
London is considered as both business and tourist destination
 and visited by millions of people annually.



London boasts a large selection of museums and art galleries. The British Museum,
The Science Museum and The Natural History Museum are all close to each other in South
Kensington,
 
London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London  Kew Gardens, the site
comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret's Church and
the historic settlement of Greenwich . Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace,
 the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Paul's Cathedral, Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square.
 London is home to numerous museums, galleries, libraries, sporting events and other
 cultural institutions,
you will find all the major museums, galleries and most iconic sights
in Central London.