A monument is a type of structure either explicitly created
to commemorate a person or important event or which has become important to a
social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural
heritage, or simply as an example of historic architecture. There are many famous cultural monuments in the
world, and what is being featured here are some examples of them. Each of these cultural icons is
a symbol with various meanings, it may represent an epoch, an area, a belief, a
culture, a country or a city. Below is a top 10 list of most famous cultural monuments in the world.
10. The Sultan Ahmed Mosque
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is a historical mosque in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey
and the capital of the Ottoman Empire (from
1453 to 1923). The mosque is popularly known as the Blue Mosque for the blue
tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built from 1609 to 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other
mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice.
While still used as a mosque, the Sultan Ahmed Mosque has also become a popular
tourist attraction.
9. Liberty
Enlightening the World
The Statue of Liberty enlightening the world was a gift of
friendship from the people of France
to the people of the United
States and is a universal symbol of freedom
and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886,
designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on
July 4, 1986.
8. The Potala
Palace
The Potala Palace is located in Lhasa,
Tibet autonomous region, China.
It is named after Mount
Potalaka, the mythical
abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. The Potala
Palace was the chief residence of the
Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India,
during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. Lozang Gyatso, the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, started the
construction of the Potala Palace in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers,
Konchog Chophel (d. 1646), pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of
government, situated as it is between Drepung and Sera monasteries and the old
city of Lhasa. It may overlay the remains of an earlier fortress, called the
White or Red Palace, on the site built by Songtsen
Gampo in 637. Today, the Potala
Palace is a museum.
7. The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a famous
monument, landmark and tourist attraction erected in memory of Generalissimo
Chiang Kai-shek, former President of the Republic of China. It is located in Taipei, Republic of China
(ROC). The monument, surrounded by a park, stands at the east end of Memorial Hall Square.
The structure is framed on the north and south by the National Theater and
National Concert Hall.
6. The Acropolis hill
The Acropolis hill, so called the “Sacred Rock” of Athens, is the most
important site of the city and constitutes one of the most recognizable
monuments of the world. It is the most significant reference point of ancient
Greek culture, as well as the symbol of the city of Athens itself as it
represent the apogee of artistic development in the 5th century BC. During
Perikles’ Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal
way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were
erected on its ground.
5. Angkor Thom (Big Angkor)
Angkor Thom is a 3km2 walled and moated royal city and
was the last capital of the Angkorian empire. After Jayavarman VII recaptured
the Angkorian capital from the Cham invaders in 1181, he began a massive
building campaign across the empire, constructing Angkor Thom as his new
capital city. He began with existing structures such as Baphuon and Phimeanakas
and built a grand enclosed city around them, adding the outer wall/moat and
some of Angkor’s greatest temples including
his state-temple, Bayon, set at the center of the city. There are five
entrances (gates) to the city, one for each cardinal point, and the victory
gate leading to the Royal
Palace area. Each gate is
crowned with 4 giant faces. The South
Gate is often the first stop on a tour.
4. The Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is a series of
fortifications made of stone, brick, tamped earth, wood, and other materials,
generally built along an east-to-west line across the historical northern
borders of China
in part to protect the Chinese Empire or its prototypical states against
intrusions by various nomadic groups or military incursions by various warlike
peoples or forces. Several walls were being built as early as the 7th century
BC; these, later joined together and made bigger, stronger, and unified are now
collectively referred to as the Great Wall. Especially famous is the wall built
between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that
wall remains. Since then, the Great Wall has on and off been rebuilt,
maintained, enhanced; the majority of the existing wall was reconstructed
during the Ming Dynasty. Truly one of the most famous cultural monuments and wonders of
the world.
3. The Egyptian pyramids are ancient pyramid-shaped
masonry structures located in Egypt.
There are 138 pyramids discovered in Egypt as of
2008. Most were built as tombs for the country’s Pharaohs and their consorts
during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. These are some of oldest famous cultural monuments. The earliest known Egyptian pyramids are found at Saqqara,
northwest of Memphis.
The earliest among these is the Pyramid of Djoser (constructed 2630 BCE–2611
BCE) which was built during the third dynasty. This pyramid and its surrounding
complex were designed by the architect Imhotep, and are generally considered to
be the world’s oldest monumental structures constructed of dressed masonry.
2. The Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal “crown of palaces”, world heritage site is a
white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, seen from
the banks of Yamuna river, with Mihman Khana or assembly hall (left) and Taj
Mahal mosque (right), the two almost identical buildings on either side. It was
built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as “the jewel of Muslim art in India and one
of the universally admired masterpieces of the world’s heritage.It covers an area
about 221 hectare (552 Acres) which include 38 hectare Taj Mahal and 183
hectare Taj protected forest area. This world’s most famous cultural monuments is also one of the wonders of the world.
1. The Kaaba (Masjid al-Haram)
The Kaaba (Masjid al-Haram) is a cuboid-shaped building
in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and is the most
sacred site in Islam, oldest and top the most famous cultural monuments in the
world. The Quran states that the Kaaba was constructed by Abraham (Ibrahim in
Arabic), and his son Ishmael (Ismaeel in Arabic), after the latter had settled
in Arabia. The building has a mosque built
around it, the Masjid al-Haram. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba
during prayers, no matter where they are. This is called facing the Qiblah. One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to
perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do
so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to walk seven times around the
Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed from above). This
circumambulation, the Tawaf, is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah
(lesser pilgrimage). However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when
about 6 million pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.
Source : http://www.wonderslist.com
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