The world is full of magnificent monuments. Do you recognize the ones here, and could you point to where they are on a map?
I was an important trading post for incense, spices, silks, and other valuable products before being forgotten for over 1,000 years.
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Petra, Jordan
Petra is located in modern-day Jordan, between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea. In ancient times, Petra was an important trading point between Arabia, Egypt, and Phoenicia.
This carved city lost its influence in the eighth century BC, before being completely forgotten by Westerners.
It was rediscovered by the Swiss explorer Jean Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
Petra has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985.
I was originally intended to be a place of private worship for one family.
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The Sri Mahamariamman Temple, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Hindu Sri Mahamariamman Temple is located in the city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Built in 1873 by the Pillai family, the temple was initially reserved for their use alone. It was opened to the public at the end of the 1920s.
As many as the number of days in a solar calendar.
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El Castillo, Yucatán State, Mexico
El Castillo is located in southeastern Mexico, in the state of Yucatán, or, more precisely, on the Chichén Itzá archaeological site (a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
It represents the combination of the Maya and Toltec cultures. On equinoxes and the summer solstice, the shadows produced by the pyramid’s unique architecture evoke the undulation of a snake’s body descending the stairs.
Kukulcan, the god to whom the temple is dedicated, took the shape of a feathered serpent.
I hosted two important conferences bringing together Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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Château Frontenac, Quebec City, Canada
Château Frontenac is located in Quebec City, Canada. It overlooks the St. Lawrence River which links the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1943 and 1944, Château Frontenac hosted the Quebec conferences that brought together Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, aiming to devise strategies in the war against Germany and Japan.
To build me on a 200-metre (656-foot) rocky overhang.
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Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
Neuschwanstein Castle can be found in Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, on the border with Austria.
In 1868, King Ludwig II of Bavaria ordered the mountainside to be blown up to build his castle in the style of castles belonging to old German knights. He moved in, in 1884, even though construction wasn’t yet complete.
He died mysteriously two years later, before work had ended.
And was almost knocked down in the 20th century to ease road traffic.
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St. Basil’s Cathedral
St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, Russia, was built to celebrate the taking of Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, by Ivan IV’s troops.
Over the centuries, the cathedral has been transformed several times. During the Bolshevik Revolution, all of the church’s goods were confiscated, with even the bells being melted down.
In the 1930s, the cathedral narrowly escaped demolition to improve traffic flow around Red Square outside the Kremlin.
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The Supreme Court Building, Washington, DC, USA
The US Supreme Court Building is located on One First Street, NE, Washington, DC, next to the Capitol.
Its architects designed it in the Corinthian style to show the importance of the legal system to the American government, and so that it would become a symbol of justice.
Creator of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg.
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St. Andrew’s Church, Kiev, Ukraine
Built in the 18th century, St. Andrew’s Church is located in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine.
It overlooks a neighbourhood known as the Montmartre of Kiev, atop a worryingly unstable hill.
The foundations of this baroque-style building have started to show signs of weakness, and many fear that it will collapse.
After the one in Mecca.
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The Blue Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey
The Blue Mosque, or Sultanahmet Camii, is located in Istanbul, Turkey.
It was built between 1609 and 1616 during the reign of Sultan Ahmed I.
The Blue Mosque was the second mosque, after the one in Mecca, to have six minarets.
A seventh minaret was later added to the mosque in Mecca so that it would remain the mosque with the most minarets.
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Pura Ulun Danu Bratan, Bali, Indonesia
The Hindu temple of Pura Ulun Danu Bratan is located on the banks of Lake Bratan in Bali, Indonesia.
Built in 1663, the temple is dedicated to Dewi Danu, the lake goddess. In 1917, it was destroyed for the first time following the eruption of Mount Batur.
Later, in 1926, another eruption devastated the temple and village. It has since been rebuilt, but higher up to avoid lava flows.
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