Page 19 - All About History - Issue 27-15

The Catacombs
FRANCE
Under the heart of Paris lies the Empire of the Dead – a
200-mile labyrinth lined with the bones of approximately
six million Parisians. The remains were transferred after There’s There are a whopping
83 stones that make
cemeteriesbecamesoovercrowdedthatcorpses STONEHENGE up Stonehenge
burstfromthegroundandthesmellofrotting a group of
fleshdisturbedtheliving.Graveyardswere urban explorers ENGLAND
emptiedin1786andrelocatedtotheformer called ‘cataphiles’ Stonehengehasbeenaplaceofpilgrimageforcenturies,
quarrieswhosestonehadbeenusedtobuild making it one of the most famous prehistoric monuments in
monuments like Notre Dame. The Catacombs that try to illegally gain theworld.Itbeganabout5,000yearsagoasanearthwork
have fascinated Parisians ever since. King access to the Catacombs. enclosure where prehistoric people buried their cremated dead,
CharlesXheldpartiesinthem,NapoleonIIItook Patrolling police fine whilethestonecirclewaserectedinthelateNeolithicperiod,
hissononatour,andtheFrenchResistanceused around2,500BCE.Touristsvisitingtodayareactuallypartofa
them to hide from Nazis in World War II. any intruders they long tradition that dates back to Roman times.
come across.
Jacqueline Kennedy visited
ANGKOR WAT Angkor Wat during the Vietnam
War to fulfil her lifelong dream
CAMBODIA
Itsnamemeans‘templecity’,whichisapt
considering it’s one of the largest religious
monumentseverbuilt.Spanninganarea
of500acres,AngkorWatwasoriginally
constructed between 1113 and 1150 as
a Hindu temple dedicated to the god
Vishnu.Comethe14thcentury,however,it
Certain passageways in wasconvertedtoaBuddhisttemplewhen
the Catacombs are still thekingandhissubjectschangedtheir
open to tourists today faith. Today, over half the tourists that visit
Cambodia come for the temples.
Porcelain Tower of The tower is thought “Tourists visiting
to have been built
Nanjing CHINA to honour the
emperor’s parents Stonehenge today are part
OneoftheSevenWondersofthe
Medieval Ages, the Porcelain Tower rose ofalongtraditiondating
79metres(260feet)high.Itwasbuilt
during the Ming Dynasty in the 15th back to Roman
centuryasaplaceofworship.Atnight,
the tower was lit with more than 100 times”
porcelainlampsandduringthedayit Every year
wouldglitterinthesun.However,in the Inca Trail
the19thcentury,lightningstruckit,and ‘Machu Picchu’ means
then in 1850 the Taiping Revolution ‘OldPeak’inthe becomes a 26-mile
finished it off completely. Rebels Quechua Indian language race track, which is
destroyedthetowersoitcouldn’tbe practicallyamarathon!
usedasalookoutpostandit’sremained
apileofrubbleeversince–untilnow. The current record is
The Chinese government is currently three hours and 26
reconstructing this Medieval wonder.
minutes.

MACHU PICCHU PERU
The Incas were some of the best masons in the world b
of their cities were destroyed by the Spanish conquest.
Picchu was concealed, though, at the lung-crushing he
of 2,430 metres (7,970 feet) above sea level. It was so w
hidden that it wasn’t re-discovered until 1911. Believed
be the sacred site for Inca leaders, it features more than
3,000 stone steps and 150 buildings, from temples to
baths and houses.

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