The Pyramid of Giza

Cairo, Egypt.
History
Contrary to the common belief, only the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops), not all three
Great Pyramids, is on top of the list of Wonders. The monument was built by the
Egyptian pharaoh Khufu around the year 2560 BC to serve as a tomb when he dies.
The great pyramid is believed to have been built over a 20 year period. The site was first
prepared, and blocks of stone were transported and placed. Although it is not known how
the blocks were put in place, several theories have been proposed.
Throughout their history, the pyramids of Giza have stimulated human imagination.
When Napoleon invaded Egypt in 1798, his pride was expressed through his famous
quote: Soldiers! From the top of these Pyramids, 40 centuries are looking at us.
Today, the Great Pyramid is enclosed, together with the other pyramids and the Sphinx,
in the touristic region of the Giza Plateau.
Description
When it was built, the Great pyramid was 145.75 m high. Over the years, it lost 10 m off
its top. It ranked as the tallest structure on Earth for more than 43 centuries, only to be
surpassed in height in the nineteenth century AD. Each side is carefully oriented with one
of the cardinal points of the compass, that is, north, south, east, and west. The structure
consists of approximately 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing more than two tons. It
has been suggested that there are enough blocks in the three pyramids to build a 3 m high,
0.3 m thick wall around France. The area covered by the Great pyramid can
accommodate St Peter's in Rome, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, and Westminster
and St Paul's in London combined.
The King's chamber is located at the heart of the pyramid. The King's sarcophagus is
made of red granite, as are the interior walls of the King's Chamber. Most impressive is
the sharp-edged stone over the doorway which is over 3 m long, 2.4 m high and 1.3 m
thick. New theories concerning the origin and purpose of the Pyramids of Giza have been
proposed...
Astronomic observatories... Places of cult worship... Geometric structures constructed by
a long gone civilization... Even extraterrestrial-related theories have been proposed with
little evidence in support... The overwhelming scientific and historic evidence still
supports the conclusion that, like many smaller pyramids in the region, the Great
Pyramids were built by the great Ancient Egyptian civilization off the West bank of the
Nile as tombs for their magnificent Kings... Tombs where Khufu, Khefre, and Menkaure
could start their mystic journey to the afterlife.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Location
On the east bank of the River Euphrates, about 50 km south of Baghdad, Iraq.

History
Nebuchadnezzar II (604-562 BC) is credited for building the legendary Hanging Gardens.
It is said that the Gardens were built by Nebuchadnezzar to please his wife or concubine
who had been "brought up in Media and had a passion for mountain surroundings".
While the most descriptive accounts of the Gardens come from Greek historians,
Babylonian records stay silent on the matter. Tablets from the time of Nebuchadnezzar do
not have a single reference to the Hanging Gardens, although descriptions of his palace,
the city of Babylon, and the walls are found.
Even the historians who give detailed descriptions of the Hanging Gardens never saw
them. Modern historians argue that when Alexander's soldiers reached the fertile land of
Mesopotamia and saw Babylon, they were impressed. When they later returned to their
rugged homeland, they had stories to tell about the amazing gardens and palm trees at
Mesopotamia, about the palace of Nebuchadnezzar and the Tower of Babel and the
ziggurats. And it was the imagination of poets and ancient historians that blended all
these elements together to produce one of the World Wonders.
It wasn't until the twentieth century that some of the mysteries surrounding the Hanging
Gardens were revealed. Archaeologists are still struggling to gather enough evidence
before reaching the final conclusions about the location of the Gardens, their irrigation
system, and their true appearance.

Description
Detailed descriptions of the Gardens come from ancient Greek sources. Here is an
excerpt from their accounts:
"The Hanging Garden has plants cultivated above ground level, and the roots of the trees
are embedded in an upper terrace rather than in the earth. The whole mass is supported on
stone columns... Streams of water emerging from elevated sources flow down sloping
channels... These waters irrigate the whole garden saturating the roots of plants and
keeping the whole area moist. Hence the grass is permanently green and the leaves of
trees grow firmly attached to supple branches... This is a work of art of royal luxury".
More recent archaeological excavations at the ancient city of Babylon in Iraq uncovered
the foundation of the palace. Other findings include the Vaulted Building with thick walls
and irrigation well near the southern palace. A group of archaeologists surveyed the area
of the southern palace and reconstructed the Vaulted Building as the Hanging Gardens.
However, the Greek historian Strabo had stated that the gardens were situated by the
River Euphrates. So others argue that the site is too far from the Euphrates to support the
theory since the Vaulted Building is several hundreds of meters away. They reconstructed
the site of the palace and located the Gardens in the area stretching from the River to the
Palace. On the river banks, recently discovered massive walls 25 m thick may have been
stepped to form terraces... the ones described in Greek references.