Tourism in China's great

The Temple is divided by two enclosed walls into inner part and outer part. The main buildings of the Temple lie at the south and north ends of the middle axis line of the inner part. The most magnificent buildings are The Circular Mound Altar (Yuanqiutan), Imperial Vault of Heaven (Huangqiongyu) and Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest (Qiniandian) from south to north. Also, there are some additional buildings like Three Echo Stones and Echo Wall.Almost all of the buildings are connected by a wide bridge called Vermilion Steps Bridge (Danbiqiao) or called Sacred Way.

The Beijing attractions are among some of the best and most renowned that China has to offer. That is saying quite a bit, considering the wealth of tourist attractions in China

The Great Wall of China, one of the greatest wonders of the world, was enlisted in the World Heritage by UNESCO in 1987. Just like a gigantic dragon, the Great Wall winds up and down across deserts, grasslands, mountains and plateaus, stretching approximately 8,851.8 kilometers (5,500 miles) from east to west of China. With a history of more than 2000 years, some of the sections are now in ruins or even entirely disappeared. However, it is still one of the most appealing attractions all around the world owing to its architectural grandeur and historical significance.

Taj Mahal, in Delhi.

Taj Mahal Description

The Taj Mahal is one of the most famous buildings in India and it was built for love! Mumtaz Mahal (Chosen One of the Palace) was the name given to Arjumand Banu, the favorite wife of Emperor Shah Jahan. Upon her death in 1631, Shah Jahan set out to create the perfect mausoleum for her - it took 20,000 workmen and 22 years to complete!

Specialists were brought in from as far as Europe to work on this masterpiece. The Taj Mahal has many elements of Islamic design including arches, minarets, onion-shaped dome and black calligraphy inlaid around the entrance. The mausoleum is constructed from white marble that was brought in from Jodphur. The entire Taj Mahal is decorated with delicate inlaid floral patterns as well as precious and semi-precious stones such as jade, lapis lazuli, diamonds and mother of pearl.

India Pictures

India is a land of traditional and modern worlds, an array of sacred sites and spiritual encounters. Outdoor lovers will enjoy the sun-washed beaches, national parks and the widlife sanctuaries. From the Himalayan mountains to the holy Ganges River, travelers will discover that India is a spiritual, cultural and historical melting pot just waiting to be revealed!

Turrets and flag of the Red Fort in Delhi.

The massive walls of the Red Fort in Delhi.

Qutub Minar, a tall minaret tower, in Delhi.

The flower-like architecture of the Bahai Temple (Lotus Temple) in Delhi.

Humayun Tomb building, the architectural precursor to the Taj Mahal, in Delhi.

Humayun Tomb in Delhi.

Athens - Hadrian's Arch

Hadrian's Arch Description

To the west of the Olympieion, immediately adjoining the Leofóros Amalías, one of Athens' busiest traffic arteries, is Hadrian's Arch, erected in A.D. 131-132, when the gigantic temple of Olympian Zeus was finally completed. It is thought to occupy the position of an earlier city gate of the sixth century B.C., and was later incorporated by the Turks in the circuit of walls with which they surrounded the town in 1778 and which was pierced by seven gates.





The arch is a plain structure of Pentelic marble, bearing two inscriptions: on the west side, facing the Acropolis. "This is the ancient city of Theseus", and on the east side, facing the Olympieion, "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus".

Athens - Acropolis

Acropolis Description

(Local Name: Akrópoli) A great crag of limestone rising out of the plain of Attica offered a site well adapted for the Acropolis, the fortified citadel of Athens. At first it served both as the stronghold of the kings of Athens and as the site of the city's oldest shrines; later it was reserved for the service of the divinities of Athens alone.




This religious center of ancient Athens, which received its classical form in the time of Pericles, thus reflected the humane values of Greek culture and thoughts which have retained their power down to our own day. In spite of the destruction wrought by many centuries, most notably the devastating explosion in 1687, when a Venetian grenade blew up a Turkish powder

magazine which had been housed in the Parthenon and made the 2,000-year-old temple a ruin, the surviving remains still convey something of the splendor of the age of Pericles.

Parthenon in Athens

The Parthenon stands proudly as the centerpiece of Centennial Park, Nashville's premier urban park. The re-creation of the 42-foot statue Athena is the focus of the Parthenon just as it was in ancient Greece. The building and the Athena statue are both full-scale replicas of the Athenian originals.
Originally built for Tennessee's 1897 Centennial Exposition, this replica of the original Parthenon in Athens serves as a monument to what is considered the pinnacle of classical architecture. The plaster replicas of the Parthenon Marbles found in the Naos are direct casts of the original sculptures which adorned the pediments of the Athenian Parthenon, dating back to 438 B.C. The originals of these powerful fragments are housed in the British Museum in London.
The Parthenon also serves as the city of Nashville's art museum. The focus of the Parthenon's permanent collection is a group of 63 paintings by 19th and 20th century American artists donated by James M. Cowan. Additional gallery spaces provide a venue for a variety of temporary shows and exhibits.

Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh

Four Seasons Resort Sharm El Sheikh
Hotel Location is the Southern tip of the Sinai peninsular,
If you are looking for a winter sun holiday in 5 star luxury Sharm El Sheikh Four Seasons Resort is the one of the best choice. All 136 guest rooms feature a private balcony or terrace - most with stunning views of the sea. Luxury suites, interconnecting doors, offer the most elegant and secluded surroundings. The breath-taking Royal Suite, as its name suggests, is truly fit for a king and has its own private garden, where guests can take breakfast each morning, and beach away from the main resort. The fabulous swimming pool makes a spectacular centrepiece to the resort, tempting even the most determined sun-worshipper from their comfortable chaise-longues several times a day. Conscientious attendants ensure that your every whim is catered for, with cold flannels and complimentary fruit juices on offer to combat the height of the midday sun.

Sharm El-Sheikh City

Sharm El-Sheikh city offers a variety of tourist attractions ranging from a dramatic mountain backdrop to stretches of golden beaches on matchless waters

The simplicity of sun, sea and sand. The

luxury of five-star hotels, water sports, shopping and entertainment. This is Sharm el-Sheikh, one of the most accessible and developed tourist resort communities on the Sinai peninsula. All around are Bedouins, colorful tents, mountains and sea. There are small, intimate hotels with modern designs, as well as larger hotel complexes belonging to International chains, plus about all the amenities one could expect of a tourist center, including casinos, discos and nightclubs, golf courses and health facilities. In fact, with diving and snorkeling, windsurfing and other water sports, horses and camel riding, desert safaris, and great nearby antiquities attractions, it is almost impossible for a visitor to ever suffer from boredom.

Luxor, Egypt Tourism

The town of Luxor, the great tourist center of Upper Egypt, Iies on the right bank of the Nile in an extensive depression bounded on the east by the rock walls of the Eastern Desert Plateau. The modern town occupies part of the area of the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes, which extended much farther north beyond the temples of Karnak, with
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its necropolis on the west bank of the Nile reaching far into the hills of the Western Desert. The present name is derived from the Arabic El-Qusur (the "Palaces": plural form of El-Qasr) referring to the mighty temple which was occupied until the end of the 19th century by the houses of the village.

The town's main traffic artery is the Shari el-Bahr el-Nil, the corniche road, with the landing-stage used by the Nile cruise ships and the cross-river ferries, which runs north and south from the temple. Between the temple and the river are the remains of a Roman forum. To the south are the Winter Palace and New Winter Palace Hotels, and in the immediate vicinity of the temple the Tourist Bazaar, shops, banks and travel agencies. To the north of the temple are other hotels and the Museum. On the eastern outskirts of the town is the station; to the northeast, outside the town, the airport.

To the north of Luxor is the great temple complex of Karnak, reached in ancient times through the streets of the city but now approached by a broad tree-lined avenue. Even in the time of the Pharaohs the Temple of Amun, the chief god of Thebes, was regarded as the finest creation of an age rich in architectural achievement. To the north, at Medu, present-day Medamut, was another group of temples.

Temple of Kom Ombo

Statue of Pharoah, Temple of Karnak

Obelisks, Temple of Karnak

Temple of Hatshepsut

Deir el Medina, west bank of the Nile at
Luxor

Temple of Luxor

Temple of Luxor

Alexandria - Fort Qaitbay

The Qaitbay Citadel in Alexandria is considered one of the most important defensive strongholds, not only in Egypt, but also along the Mediterranean Sea coast. It formulated an important part of the fortification system of Alexandria in the 15th century A.D.

The Citadel is situated at the entrance of the eastern harbour on the eastern point of the Pharos Island. It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

About 1480 A.D, the Mameluke Sultan Al-Ashraf Qaitbay fortified the place as part of his coastal defensive edifices against the Turks, who were threatening Egypt at that time. He built the castle and placed a Mosque inside it.

The Citadel continued to function during most of the Mameluke period, the Ottoman period and the Modern period, but after the British bombardment of the city of Alexandria in 1883, it was kept out of the spotlight. It became neglected until the 20th century, when it was restored several times by the Egyptian Supreme Counsel of Antiquities.

Great pyramid and sphinx.

In a depression to the south of Khafre's pyramid at Giza near Cairo sits a huge creature with the head of a human and a lion's body. This monumental statue, the first truly colossal royal sculpture in Egypt, known as the Great Sphinx, is a national symbol of Egypt, both ancient and modern. It has stirred the imagination of poets, scholars, adventurers and tourists for centuries and has also inspired a wealth of speculation about its age, its meaning, and the secrets that it might hold.

The word "sphinx", which means 'strangler', was first given by the Greeks to a fabulous creature which had the head of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. In Egypt, there are numerous sphinxes, usually with the head of a king wearing his headdress and the body of a lion. There are, however, sphinxes with ram heads that are associated with the god Amun.


The Great Sphinx is to the northeast of Khafre's (Chephren) Valley Temple. Where it sits was once a quarry. We believe that Khafre's workers shaped the stone into the lion and gave it their king's face over 4,500 years ago. Khafre's name was also mentioned on the Dream Stele, which sits between the paws of the great beast. However, no one is completely certain that it is in fact the face of Khafre, though indeed that is the preponderance of thought. Recently, however, it has been argued that Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid, may have also had the Great Sphinx built.

The Great Sphinx is believed to be the most immense stone sculpture in the round ever made by man. However, it must be noted that the Sphinx is not an isolated monument and that it must be examined in the context of its surroundings. Specifically, like many of Egypt's monuments, it is a complex which consists not only of the great statue itself, but also of its old temple, a New Kingdom temple and some other small structures. It is also closely related to Khafre's Valley Temple, which itself had four colossal sphinx statues each more than 26 feet long.

The material of the Sphinx is the limestone bedrock of what geologists call the Muqqatam Formation, which originated fifty million years ago from sediments deposited at the bottom of sea waters that engulfed northeast Africa during the Middle Eocene period. An embankment formed along what is now the north-northwest side of the plateau. Nummulites, which are small, disk-shaped fossils named after the Latin word for 'coin', pack the embankment. These were once the shells of now extinct planktonic organisms. There was a shoal and coral reef that grew over the southern slope of the embankment. Carbonate mud deposited in the lagoon petrified into the layers from which the ancient builders, some fifty million years later, carved out the Great Sphinx.