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The World's Top Ten Sites

  1. The Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

            


    The Great Pyramid of Giza is the only remaining wonder from
    the original Seven Wonders of the World. It is located in Giza
    Necropolis, not far away from Egypt's capital city, Cairo. The
    monument was built by Egyptian pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth
    Dynasty around the year 2560 B.C. Over 100,000 labourers
    had worked on building the royal tomb for 20 years before it
    was completed. The length of the pyramid is around 230.4m
    long , and the current height is 138.8m tall.

  2. Great Wall, China

            


    The Great Wall of China was built and maintained between
    the 5th century B.C. and the 16th century as fortifications
    to protect China from Mongol tribes invasion. The actual
    length of the monument was around 6000km long.

  3. Machu Picchu, Peru

            

    Machu Pichu is a pre-Columbian city constructed around
    the year 1450 by the Inca Empire and was abandoned less
    than 100 years later during the Spanish invasion. The ruins
    are located two thousand feet above the rumbling Urubamba
    river close to the town of Aguas Calientes. The ruins were
    discovered in 1911 by Yale archaeologist Hiram Bingham.

  4. Taj Mahal, India

            


    Taj Mahal is a mausoleum built by the fifth Muslim Mughal
    Emperor Shah Jahan. He built it in the memory of his favorite
    wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is located in Agra, India. Construction
    of the mausoleum took twenty thousand workers over
    twenty years (1632-1648), and an estimated cost of 32 million
    rupees to complete.

  5. Angkor Wat, Cambodia

            


    Angkor Wat is a temple built for built for King Suryavarman II
    in the early 12th century to honor the Hindu god Vishnu and
    is a symbolic representation of Hindu cosmology. The temples
    at Angkor are spread out over some 40 miles around the village
    of Siem Reap.

  6. Colosseum of Rome, Italy

            


    Colosseum of Rome is a giant amphitheatre located in the centre
    of the city of Rome, Italy. Construction was started by Emperor
    Vespasian in 72 A.D., and was completed by his son, Titus, in
    80 A.D. It was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles.

  7. Petra, Jordan

            


    Petra is the most famous site located on the edge of the
    Arabian Desert. It is the capital of the Nabataean empire of
    King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.) The Petra basin boasts
    over 800 individual monuments, including buildings, tombs,
    temples, and arched gateways.

  8. Alhambra, Spain

            


    The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish
    monarchs of Granada, in southern Spain. It was converted by
    the first king of the Nasriden, Mohammed I, from a 9th century
    castle into his own residence.

  9. Chichen Itza, Mexico

            


    Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by
    the Maya civilization between 7th and 10th centuries A.D. It is
    located 75 miles east of Merida, Mexico, close to the resort town
    of Cancun. It was a large city with a great many inhabitants,
    distributed around the architectural nucleii. The site is dominated
    by the grand pyramid of Kukulkan.

  10. Stonehenge, England

            


    Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English
    county of Wiltshire. It was believed that it was built 3000 and
    1600 B.C. With each stone weighing around 50 tons, it is
    regarded as a truly amazing feat of engineering. It is not clear
    who built it, nor why it was built. However, it has been speculated
    that it was either a temple dedicated to the worship of ancient
    earth deities, an astronomical observatory or a sacred burial site.



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