The most unusual places on earth. The most unusual places on earth Cathedral Bay, New Zealand
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Antarctic ice sheet
Antarctica
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Antarctica (translated from Greek as “the opposite of the Arctic”) is a continent located in the very south of the Earth; the center of Antarctica approximately coincides with the southern geographic pole. The continent's area is about 15 million km? (of which 1.6 million km are ice shelves).
Antarctica was discovered in 1820 by a Russian expedition led by Thaddeus Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The first to set foot on the continental part in 1895 were the captain of the Norwegian ship "Antarctic" Christensen and natural science teacher Carlsten Borchgrevink.
Antarctica is the most high continent Earth, the average height of the continent's surface above sea level is more than 2000 m, and in the center of the continent it reaches 4000 meters. Most of this height is made up of a permanent ice cover of the continent, under which the continental relief is hidden and only ~5% of its area is free from ice - mainly in West Antarctica and the Transantarctic Mountains: islands, sections of the coast, the so-called. “dry valleys” and individual ridges and mountain peaks (nunataks) rising above the icy surface.
The Antarctic ice sheet is the largest on our planet and is approximately 10 times larger in area than the next largest one, the Greenland ice sheet. Does it contain ~30 million km? ice, that is, 90% of all land ice. The average thickness of the ice layer is 2500-2800 m, reaching a maximum value in some areas of East Antarctica - up to 5 kilometers. A special feature of Antarctica is the large area of ice shelves (low (blue) areas of West Antarctica), amounting to ~10% of the area above sea level; these glaciers are the source of icebergs of record sizes. In winter (summer in the northern hemisphere) the area sea ice around Antarctica increases to 18 million km?, and in summer it decreases to 3-4 million km?.
According to the Antarctic Convention, Antarctica does not belong to any state. Allowed only scientific activity. The placement of military facilities, as well as the entry of warships and armed vessels south of 60 degrees latitude are prohibited. Due to the severity of the climate, Antarctica has no permanent population. The temporary population of Antarctica ranges from 4,000 people in summer to 1,000 people in winter.
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Salar De Uyuni
Bolivia
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The Salar de Uyuni is a dry salt lake in the south of the Altiplano desert plain in Bolivia at an altitude of about 3650 m above sea level. Has an area of more than 10.5 thousand km? and is the largest salt marsh in the world. It is located in the vicinity of the city of Uyuni in the departments of Oruro and Potosi in the southwest of the country. The interior of the lake is covered with a layer of table salt 2-8 m thick. During the rainy season, the salt marsh is covered with a thin layer of water and turns into the world's largest mirror.
About 40 thousand years ago, this area was part of Lake Minchin. After it dried out, two currently existing lakes remained: Poopo and Uru-Uru, as well as two large salt marshes: Salar de Coipasa and Uyuni. According to experts, the Uyuni salt marsh contains a reserve of 10 billion tons of salt, of which less than 25 thousand tons are extracted annually. Thanks to the development of tourism in the Uyuni salt marsh, local residents began to build hotels from salt blocks in which they can stay overnight. In addition, the Uyuni Salar is an ideal tool for testing and calibrating remote sensing instruments on orbiting satellites. Uyuni's clear skies and dry air allow satellites to be calibrated five times better than using the ocean surface.
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Sand dunes of the Sahara
North Africa
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The Sahara is the largest desert on Earth, with an area of about 9 million km?, that's a little less area United States of America. Sahara is located in North Africa, on the territory of more than ten states (Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, Sudan). The Sahara does not lend itself to categorization within one type of desert, although the predominant type is sandy-stony. The desert consists of many regions: Tenere, Greater Eastern Erg, Greater Western Erg, Tanezruft, Hamada el-Hamra, Erg Igidi, Erg Shesh, Arabian, Libyan, Nubian deserts. The name "Sahara" is an Arabic translation of the Tuareg word "tenere", meaning desert.
In 2008, an international group of scientists from Germany, Canada and the United States, as a result of research, found that the Sahara turned into a desert about 2,700 years ago as a result of very slow climate evolution. Scientists were able to draw such conclusions based on a study of geological sediments recovered from the depths of Lake Yoa, located in northern Chad. According to research results, 6 thousand years ago trees grew in the Sahara and there were many lakes. Thus, this work of scientists refutes the existing theory that this part of Africa turned into a desert 5,500 years ago and that the desertification process took only a few centuries.
About 160 thousand mirages are observed annually in the Sahara. They can be stable and wandering, vertical and horizontal. Even special maps of caravan routes have been compiled with an assessment of the places where mirages are usually observed. These maps show where wells, oases, palm groves, and mountain ranges appear.
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Angkor
Cambodia
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Angkor is the capital region of the Khmer Empire of the 9th-15th centuries, which dominated the entire South-East Asia, where Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom are preserved - outstanding monuments of medieval Khmer art. Angkor stretches for 24 km from west to east and 8 km from north to south. It is located on the shores of Tonle Sap Lake approximately 240 km northwest of Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh.
The construction of this grandiose temple complex lasted for four centuries. It was started by the founder of the Angkor dynasty, Prince Jayavarman II in 802, and the last temple complexes were erected by King Jayavarman VII in the 12th century. After his death in 1218, construction stopped. The builders of Angkor have completed their centuries-long project. According to another version, the Khmer Empire simply ran out of sandstone deposits. Interestingly, all of Jayavarman II's successors followed his principles of construction. Each new ruler completed the city in such a way that its core constantly moved: the center of the old city ended up on the outskirts of the new one. This is how this giant city gradually grew. Each time, a five-tower temple was erected in the center, symbolizing Mount Meru, the center of the world. As a result, Angkor Wat turned into a whole complex of temples.
Angkor has reached our time not exactly as a city, but rather as a temple city. During the Khmer Empire, residential and public buildings were built from wood, which quickly deteriorates under the influence of the hot and humid tropical climate. Sandstone stone was most often used in the construction of temples. The fortress walls were made of tuff. This explains the relatively good preservation of religious and fortification buildings in the complete absence of residential buildings. However, at the height of the empire, more than a million people lived in Angkor Thom alone, more than any European city at the time.
Ta Prohm Temple was built by Jayavarman VII in memory of his mother. Now it is interesting because it has not been cleared of the jungle. The temple appears to bear the stamp of extraordinary beauty; here the entire surface is covered with a cloak of tree roots and lush greenery. Since graduation civil war in Cambodia and the inclusion of the Angkor complex in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, active restoration work is underway in the remaining temples.
Preah Khan (Khmer for “sacred sword”) is a huge temple built in honor of the victory over the Chams by King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century. According to another version, the temple was dedicated to the memory of the king's father. Back in the late nineties of the 20th century, like Ta Promkh, it was a jungle-covered ruin with gigantic trees growing on it. Now restorers from the USA are working there. The vegetation has already been almost completely removed.
The most beautiful monument of the entire Angkor complex is the most famous and well-preserved temple of Angkor Wat, built over thirty years during the reign of Suryavarman II. After the death of the king, the temple accepted him into its walls and became a tomb-mausoleum.
In the Angkor Thom fortress, located two kilometers away, the central Bayon Temple and its fifty-four huge towers, each decorated with four faces of Buddha, deserve special attention. According to one version, a portrait of the king himself was presented in the image of Buddha. This temple was the last large religious building built in Angkor.
This booming tourist destination has international Airport and many modern hotels. The distance from the center of Siam Reap to the main temple of the complex, Angkor Wat, is about 5 km.
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The Amazon Rainforest
South America
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Great Barrier Reef
Coral Sea, Australia
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The Great Barrier Reef is a ridge of coral reefs and islands in the Coral Sea, stretching along the north-eastern coast of Australia for 2300 km. In the northern part its width reaches 2 km, in the southern part - 150 km. Most of the reefs are underwater (which are exposed during low tides). In 1979, a Marine National Park with an area of over 5 million hectares was founded here.
The history of the Great Barrier Reef goes back about 18 million years. Modern history its development lasts about 8000 years. New layers continue to appear on the old foundation. The main body of the reef comprises over 2,100 individual reefs, which are surrounded by nearly 540 barriers that form offshore islands. A lagoon stretches between the Reef and the coast. This area of shallows rarely exceeds a depth of 100 m. From the sea, the slopes of the reef fall steeply thousands of meters into the sea. The barrier in this place is subject to the influence of waves and winds. Coral growth is fastest here, while in places where waves and temperatures reach extreme heights, reefs lose greatest number building material. Most of the free material is woven into the reefs and forms new rocks, thus the reef undergoes constant, successive processes of destruction and subsequent restoration.
Thanks to the variety and colorfulness underwater world on the territory of the Reef, as well as almost always warm, clear sea water, this place is incredibly popular among tourists, especially those who are keen on diving. For this reason, large islands located near the Great Barrier Reef have become luxury tourist resorts.
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Victoria Falls
Zambia, Zimbabwe
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Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River in South Africa. Located on the border of Zambia and Zimbabwe. The width of the waterfall is approximately 1800 meters, the height is 128 meters. Scottish explorer David Livingstone visited the falls in 1855 and named it after Queen Victoria. Previously, the waterfall was known among the local population as "Thundering Smoke" ("Mosi-oa-Tunya").
The waterfall is located approximately in the middle of the Zambezi River. Above the falls, the Zambezi flows over a flat basalt slab in a valley bordered by low and sparse sandstone hills. Along the river there are islands, the number of which increases as you approach the waterfall. The waterfall itself was formed in a place where the Zambezi falls sharply into a narrow crevice. Numerous islands divide the waterfall on the ridge, forming channels. Over time, the waterfall retreated upstream, gnawing itself into more and more new crevices. These crevices now form a zigzag river bed with sheer walls. Victoria Falls is approximately twice as tall as Niagara Falls, and more than twice as wide as its main part (the Horseshoe). Falling water creates spray and mist that can rise to heights of 400 meters or more, and are visible up to 50 kilometers away.
The waterfall was practically not visited by people until the railway was built here in 1905. After implementation railway they quickly gained popularity and maintained it until the end of British colonial rule. A tourist town has grown up on the Zimbabwe side. In the late 1960s, tourist numbers declined due to guerrilla warfare in Zimbabwe (Rhodesia) and the detention of foreign tourists under Venneta Konda's rule in independent Zambia. Zimbabwe's independence in 1980 brought relative peace, and the 1980s saw a new wave of tourism in the region. By the late 1990s, almost 300 thousand people visited the falls annually. In the 2000s, the number of tourists visiting Zimbabwe began to decline due to unrest associated with Robert Mugabe's rule.
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National Park Serengeti National Park
Tanzania, Kenya
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Serengeti National Park is a national park on the Serengeti savannah, located in Tanzania and Kenya. Savannah extends from the north of Tanzania, east of Lake Victoria, to the south of Kenya and covers an area of about 30 thousand km?. The name comes from the Maasai word "siringet", meaning "elongated platform". The Serengeti ranges from 920 to 1850 m above sea level and its landscape varies from long and short grass in the south to forested hills in the north. The Serengeti is characterized by accumulations (over 1.5 million heads) of wild ungulates (antelope, zebra, buffalo, rhinoceroses, giraffes, hippopotamuses), the elephant, lion, cheetah, leopard, hyenas, etc. are common. Year-round continuous migration of large herds of ungulates, which looking for a watering hole is considered one of the most striking seasonal phenomena in the wild.
The world's largest pack of lions, or as zoologists call it a pride of lions, was discovered in the Serengeti Park in 2005. The pride consists of 41 lions. They are ruled by three adult males, each of whom is 10 years old. The pack also includes eight 4-year-old lionesses and 9 young “princesses” who are two years old. There are also 13 lion cubs in the pride, ranging in age from 4 months to a year. Nowhere in Africa has there been such a large flock before.
Europeans first learned about these places only in 1913. Unfortunately, like all the territories of the British colonies in East Africa, the Serengeti plains quickly became a place of mass pilgrimage for hunters from Europe. The national park was founded in 1940 due to the danger of large animals being exterminated by numerous hunters, both local and visitors from other countries.
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Petra
Jordan
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Petra - the capital of Edom, or Idumea, later the capital of the Nabataean kingdom, main city sons of Esau. The city is located on the territory of modern Jordan, at an altitude of more than 900 meters above sea level and 660 meters above the surrounding area, the Arava Valley, in the narrow Siq canyon. The passage to the valley is through gorges located in the north and south, while from the east and west the cliffs drop vertically, forming natural walls up to 60 meters in height. Petra was located at the crossroads of two important trade routes: one connecting the Red Sea with Damascus, the other connecting the Persian Gulf with Gaza off the coast Mediterranean Sea. Caravans with spices leaving from the Persian Gulf had to courageously endure the harsh conditions of the Arabian desert for weeks until they reached the coolness of the narrow Siq canyon, leading to the long-awaited Petra. There travelers found food, shelter and cool, life-giving water.
Annual rainfall in Petra is only about 15 centimeters. To get water, local residents cut down canals and reservoirs right in the rocks. Over time, almost every drop of rain in and around Petra was collected and stored. Thanks to the water, which the inhabitants of Petra skillfully conserved, they were able to grow crops and raise camels. In addition, they were able to build a city - a center of trade. Water still flows along the entire length of the Siq canyon through winding stone channels.
For hundreds of years, trade brought great wealth to Petra. But when the Romans opened sea routes to the East, the land trade in spices came to naught and Petra gradually became empty, lost in the sands. Many buildings of Petra were erected in different eras and under different owners of the city, including the Edomites (18-2 centuries BC), Nabataeans (2nd century BC - 106 BC) , Romans (106-395 BC), Byzantines and Arabs. In the 12th century AD e. it was owned by the crusaders. The first of the modern Europeans to see and describe Petra was the Swiss Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, who was traveling incognito. Next to the ancient theater you can see a building from the Edomite or Nabataean era. Monuments built after the 6th century AD. e. practically none, because in that era the city had already lost its significance.
The inhabitants of Petra masterfully mastered the art of working with stone. The name “Petra”, which means “rock”, is associated with stone. The Nabataeans, who built the city, carved houses, crypts and temples from stone blocks. The famous rock temple-mausoleum of El-Khazneh, “Treasury of the Pharaoh,” as the Arabs call it, was created in the 2nd century. - perhaps in connection with the visit of Syria by Emperor Hadrian. The exact purpose of the structure is not completely clear.
The territory of Petra occupies a large area. From the center, where the ruins of numerous buildings are well preserved, no longer rock-built, but built in the traditional way, from stone, it extends for several kilometers. The main street, stretching from east to west through the entire city, was laid during Roman rule. A majestic colonnade stretches on both sides of it. The western end of the street abutted big temple, and the eastern one ended with a three-span triumphal arch. Ed-Deir, a monastery carved into the rock at the top of a cliff, is a huge building about 50 m wide and more than 45 m high. Judging by the crosses carved on the walls, the temple served as a Christian church for some time. These days, about half a million tourists come to Jordan every year to see Petra, whose buildings testify to its glorious past. As tourists walk through the cool kilometer-long Siq Canyon, around the bend they discover the Treasury - majestic building with a facade carved from a huge rock. It is one of the best preserved structures from the first century. The building is crowned by a huge stone urn, which supposedly contained gold and precious stones. The canyon gradually widens, and tourists find themselves in a natural amphitheater, in the sandstone walls of which there are many caves. But the main thing that catches your eye is the crypts carved into the rocks. The colonnade and amphitheater testify to the presence of the Romans in the city in the first and second centuries.
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Great Wall of China
China
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The Great Wall of China (translated from Pinyin as “Long Wall of 10,000 Li”) is the largest architectural monument. Passes through northern China for 6350 km. Construction of the first wall began in the 3rd century BC. e. during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang (Qin dynasty), during the period of the “Warring States” (V - III centuries BC) to protect the state from the raids of the nomadic Xiongnu people. At that time, a fifth of the country’s population participated in construction, i.e. about a million people. The wall was supposed to serve as the extreme northern line of the possible expansion of the Chinese themselves; it was also supposed to protect the subjects of the “Middle Empire” from transitioning to a semi-nomadic way of life, from merging with the barbarians. The wall clearly defined the boundaries of Chinese civilization and contributed to the consolidation of a single empire, just made up of a number of conquered kingdoms.
During the Han Dynasty (3rd century AD), the Wall was extended westward to Dunhuang. A line of watchtowers was also built, extending deep into the desert, to protect trade caravans from raids by nomads. Those sections of the Great Wall that have survived to this day were built mainly during the Ming Dynasty (14th - 17th centuries). In this era, the main building materials were brick and stone blocks, which made the structure more reliable. During the reign of the Ming, the Wall stretched from east to west from the Shanhaiguan outpost on the shores of the Bohai Bay of the Yellow Sea to the Yumenguan outpost at the junction of the modern provinces of Gansu and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
The Manchu Qing dynasty (mid-17th century - early 20th century), having overcome the Wall with the help of Wu Sangui's betrayal, treated the Wall with disdain. During the three centuries of her reign Great Wall almost collapsed under the influence of time. Only a small section of it near Beijing - Badaling - was maintained in order - it served as a kind of “gateway to the capital”.
In 1984, on the initiative of Deng Xiaoping, a program for the restoration of the Great Wall of China was launched, financed from funds from Chinese and foreign companies, as well as individuals. It is reported that a 60-kilometer section of the wall in the Mingying region of Shanxi region in the north-west of the country is undergoing active erosion. The reason is China's intensive farming practices since the 1950s have dried up groundwater, making the region a major source and hotspot for powerful sandstorms. More than 40 km of the wall have already disappeared, and only 10 km are still standing, but the height of the wall in some places has decreased from five to two meters.
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Grand Canyon
Arizona, USA
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Grand Canyon, or Great Canyon, Grand Canyon is one of the deepest canyons in the world. Located on the Colorado Plateau, Arizona, USA, in the territory national park Grand Canyon. Cut by the Colorado River through limestone, shale and sandstone. The length of the canyon is 446 kilometers. The width (at the plateau level) ranges from 6 to 29 kilometers, at the bottom level - less than a kilometer. Depth - up to 1600 meters.
Initially, the Colorado River flowed across the plain, but as a result of the movement of the earth's crust about 65 million years ago, the Colorado Plateau rose. As a result of the rise of the plateau, the angle of inclination of the flow of the Colorado River changed, as a result of which its speed and ability to destroy rock lying in its path increased. First of all, the river eroded the upper limestones, and then began to take over the deeper and more ancient sandstones and shales. This is how the Grand Canyon was formed about 5-6 million years ago. The canyon is still growing due to ongoing erosion.
Native Americans (Indians) knew about the Grand Canyon thousands of years ago. The first signs of human life in the canyon include rock paintings that were created by the Indians about 3 thousand years ago. In 1540, the Grand Canyon was discovered by a group of Spanish soldiers, under the command of Garcia Lopez de Cardenas, traveling in search of gold. Several Spanish soldiers, accompanied by Hopi Indians, tried to descend to the bottom of the canyon, but were forced to return due to lack of drinking water. Since then, the canyon has not been visited by Europeans for more than 2 centuries. The first scientific expedition to the Grand Canyon, led by John Weasley Powell, was conducted in 1869. Powell explored and described the canyon. US President Theodore Roosevelt visited the canyon in 1903, and he declared it a national monument in 1909.
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Taj Mahal
Agra, India
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The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum-mosque located in Agra, India, on the banks of the Yamuna River. The construction time dates back to approximately 1630-1652. Built by order of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died during childbirth (Shah Jahan himself was later buried here). Inside the mausoleum there are two tombs - the Shah and his wife. Their burial place is located in the same place as the tombs, but underground. The Taj Mahal is a five-domed structure 74 m high on a platform, with 4 minarets in the corners (they are slightly tilted away from the tomb so as not to damage it in case of destruction), which is adjacent to a garden with fountains and a swimming pool. The walls are made of polished translucent marble inlaid with gems. Turquoise, agate, malachite, carnelian, etc. were used. Marble has such a feature that in bright daylight it looks white, at dawn it looks pink, and on a moonlit night it looks silver.
More than 20,000 craftsmen from all over the empire, as well as craftsmen from Central Asia, Persia and the Middle East, were invited to build the complex. There was supposed to be a twin building made of black marble on the other side of the river, but it was not completed. A gray marble bridge was supposed to connect these two buildings.
The mausoleum has numerous symbols hidden in its architecture and layout. For example, on the gate through which visitors of the Taj Mahal enter the park complex surrounding the mausoleum, a quote from the Koran is carved, addressed to the righteous and ending with the words “enter my paradise.” Considering that in the Mughal language of that time the words “paradise” and “garden” are written the same way, one can understand Shah Jahan’s plan - to build a paradise and place his beloved within its boundaries. On the left side of the tomb there is a mosque made of red sandstone. On the right is an exact copy of the mosque. The entire complex has axial symmetry. The tomb has central symmetry relative to the Mumtaz Mahal tomb. The only violation of this symmetry is the tomb of Shah Jahan, which was built there after his death.
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Iguazu Falls
Brazil, Argentina
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Iguazu Falls is a complex of waterfalls on the Iguazu River, located on the border of Brazil (Parana State) and Argentina (Misiones Region). The waterfalls are located on the border of the Argentine and Brazilian Iguazu National Parks. The name Iguazu comes from the Guarani words i (water) and guazu (big). Legend has it that God wanted to marry a beautiful Aboriginal woman named Naipu, but she ran away with her lover in a canoe. In anger, God cut the river, creating waterfalls, condemning the lovers to an eternal fall. The waterfalls were discovered in 1541 by the Spanish conquistador Don Alvaro Nunez Caseso de Vaca, who went to the South American jungle in search of gold and adventure.
The complex is 2.7 km wide and includes approximately 270 individual waterfalls. The height of the water fall reaches 82 meters, but at most waterfalls it is a little more than 60 meters. The largest waterfall is Garganta del Diablo (“Devil's Throat”) - a U-shaped cliff 150 meters wide and 700 meters long. This waterfall marks the border between Brazil and Argentina. During the dry season, visitors can see two separate waterfalls in the shape of two crescents. During the dry season, there are fewer rainfalls and the water level of the Iguazu River decreases. As a result, less water flows into Iguazu Falls, so it splits into two separate waterfalls. During the wet season these two crescents join together to form one big waterfall approximately 4 kilometers wide.
Many islands (including quite large ones) separate the waterfalls from each other. Most of the waterfalls are located within the territory of Argentina, but from the side of Brazil it opens good view on "The Devil's Throat". In the vicinity of Iguazu there is a national park where visitors can explore the wildlife and vegetation. Boat excursions are available on the Parana and Iguazu rivers. You can also visit the Itaipu Dam, one of the largest hydroelectric dams in the world.
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Pyramids at Giza (Giza pyramids)
Egypt
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The Giza pyramid complex is located on the Giza Plateau in the suburbs of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments is located about eight kilometers towards the center of the desert from the old city of Giza on the Nile. This ancient Egyptian necropolis consists of the Pyramid of Khufu (known as the Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Cheops), the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure, as well as a number of smaller accompanying buildings known as the pyramids of the "queens", the pavements and the valley pyramids. The Great Sphinx is located on the eastern side of the complex, facing east.
The Pyramid of Cheops (or Khufu) is the largest of Egyptian pyramids, the only one of the “Seven Wonders of the World” that has survived to this day. Initially, the height of the pyramid was 146.6 meters (about a fifty-story skyscraper), but due to the loss of the crowning granite block - the pyramidion - as a result of an earthquake, its height has now decreased by 9.4 meters and is 137.2 meters. The length of the side of the pyramid is 230 meters. It is made up of approximately 2.3 million stone cubes, stacked in 203 tiers (originally 210). The average weight of a stone is 2.5 tons, but there are also larger ones whose weight reached 15 tons. The time of construction is unknown. According to one legend, the pyramid was built in the 26th century BC. e. Pharaoh Khufu (2590-2568 BC), in Greek his name sounded like “Cheops”. The architect of the pyramid is considered to be Hemiun, a vizier and relative of Cheops. According to Herodotus, 100,000 workers, who replaced each other every three months, took approximately 20-25 years to build the pyramid. But this figure raises doubts among modern scientists. According to their calculations, only 8,000 people could easily build the pyramid without interfering with each other.
Since antiquity, no one has entered the Cheops pyramid, although the descending tunnel was visited back in Roman times, as evidenced by the inscriptions in the underground chamber; a description of this chamber was made by Strabo. The first person to enter the pyramid after the Romans was Caliph Abu Jafar al-Ma'mun in 832, cutting a passage more than 17 m long (it is through this that tourists get inside the pyramid in our time). He hoped to find the pharaoh's countless treasures there, but found only a layer of dust there. Inside the Cheops pyramid there are two burial chambers, located one above the other.
The Pyramid of Khafre (or Khafre) is the second largest ancient Egyptian pyramid. Built in the middle of the 26th century. BC. the 136.5 m high structure (originally 143.5 m) was named Urt-Khafra (“Khafra is great” or “Revered Khafra”). Although Khafre's pyramid is smaller in size than that of his father Khufu, its position on a higher hill and its steeper slope make it a worthy rival Great Pyramid. Two rather large chambers and two intersecting passages that lead to a horizontal corridor represent a rather modest space in relation to the Khufu pyramid. The Pyramid of Khafre was just an element of the mortuary complex.
The Pyramid of Mykerinus (or Menkaure) is the southernmost, latest and lowest of the three Egyptian pyramids at Giza. Despite the nickname “Heru” (high), it barely reaches 66 m in height, and the side length of its base is 108.4 m. The interior of the pyramid reveals a lack of unity of plan: probably the original modest dimensions, not designed for the heir to the throne, were increased from his accession. The Pyramid of Menkaure stands out somewhat from the general picture of buildings in Giza.
Despite its small size, considered a sign of decline, the pyramid of Menkaure was the most beautiful of all the pyramids. The potential of the builders of the pyramid of Menkaure was enormous, as evidenced by one of the monoliths used in mortuary temple Menkaura. Its weight is estimated at more than 200 tons. Putting a block of this size in place, the heaviest on the Giza Plateau, was a true technical feat. The colossal statue of a seated king from the central chapel of the temple is one of the largest in the era of the Old Kingdom - an excellent proof of the skill of the pharaoh's sculptors.
The Great Sphinx is the oldest surviving monumental sculpture on Earth. Carved from a monolithic limestone rock in the shape of a colossal sphinx - a lion lying on the sand, whose face - as has long been believed - was given a portrait resemblance to Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2575-2465 BC). The length of the statue is 73 meters, height is 20 meters; Between the front paws there was once a small sanctuary.
The Sphinx statue is facing the Nile and to the rising sun. Almost all ancient Eastern civilizations saw the lion as a symbol of the solar deity. Since ancient times, it was customary to depict the pharaoh as a lion destroying his enemies. The ancient Egyptian name of the Great Sphinx remains unknown. The word "sphinx" is Greek and literally means "strangler." The opinion that this word came to Greece from ancient Egyptian is unfounded. Medieval Arabs called the Great Sphinx “the father of horror.”
Circumstances and exact time The construction of the Sphinx still remains mysterious. The judgment of ancient authors, accepted in modern literature, that its builder was Khafre (Khafru), is confirmed only by the fact that during the construction of the temple near the statue, stone blocks of the same size were used as in the construction of the neighboring pyramid.
What further confuses the question of who commissioned the statue is the fact that the face of the statue has Negroid features, which is at odds with other surviving images of Khafru and his relatives. Scientists who used a computer to compare the face of the Sphinx with signed statues of Khafru came to the conclusion that they could not depict the same person. Since the 1950s. In popular literature, the dating of the Sphinx to the period of the Old Kingdom began to be questioned. It has been argued that the lower part of the sphinx represents a classic example of erosion caused by prolonged exposure of stone to water. The last time a corresponding level of precipitation was observed in Egypt was at the turn of the 4th and 3rd millennia BC, which, according to supporters of this theory, indicates the creation of the statue in the Predynastic period or even earlier. The relatively small size of the head prompted Boston historian Robert Schoch to suggest that the statue originally had the muzzle of a lion, from which one of the pharaohs ordered to carve a mysteriously smiling human face in his own image and likeness. This hypothesis has not found recognition in the scientific community.
The statue is missing a one meter wide nose. Most often you can hear that this part of the statue was knocked off by a cannonball during the Napoleonic battle with the Turks at the Pyramids (1798); in other versions of the legend, Napoleon's place is taken by the British or Mamelukes. The falsity of this opinion is indicated by the drawings of the Danish traveler Norden, who saw the noseless Sphinx already in 1737.
Although the absence of a nose can be explained by the “natural wear and tear” of the sculpture (centuries of exposure to wind and moisture), a more plausible explanation seems to be that in 1378, one Sufi fanatic, finding the fellahs bringing gifts to the Sphinx in the hope of replenishing their harvest, was filled with anger and took the “idol” away. " nose, for which he was torn to pieces by the crowd. Indeed, then for local residents the Sphinx was a kind of talisman, the ruler of the Nile, on which, as they believed, the level of the great river’s flood and, accordingly, the fertility of their fields depended.
Over the years of its existence, the Sphinx found itself buried up to its shoulders in sand. Attempts to dig it up were made already in ancient times by Thutmose IV and Ramses II. In 1817, the Italians managed to clear sand from the entire chest of the Sphinx, and it was completely freed from thousands of years of sand deposits in 1925.
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Machu Picchu
Peru
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Machu Picchu (Quechua: Machu Picchu, "Old Mountain"), a city and area located 2,400 meters (7,875 feet) above sea level, is an important site in Incan history during the pre-Columbian era. The city is located on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, 80 km (50 mi) northwest of Cusco ( ancient capital Inca Empire). Often called " Lost City Inca", Machu Picchu is probably the most recognizable symbol of the Inca Empire. The city was built around 1450, but was abandoned by the population a hundred years later, during the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. After being forgotten for many centuries, the city was rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important landmark not only in Peru, but throughout Latin America. The city was declared a Peruvian Historical Property in 1981 and the Site World Heritage UNESCO in 1983. Machu Picchu is also one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Machu Picchu was built in the classic Inca style, with polished dry stone walls. Its primary and most important buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. They are located in what is known to archaeologists as the Sacred Area of Machu Picchu. In September 2007, Peru and Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of Incan artifacts that Giram Bingham removed from Machu Picchu in the early 20th century. Currently, there are problems with the tourist flow into the city, since in 2003 Machu Picchu was visited by 400,000 tourists - for this site this is quite a large number and the infrastructure is not adapted to such a tourist flow.
Machu Picchu was built around 1450, when the Inca Empire was at the peak of its development and economic power. The city was abandoned less than 100 years later. It is likely that most of its inhabitants were wiped out by smallpox before the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the area. Giram Bingham, an explorer of the area, along with several other scholars, initially hypothesized that the citadel was the traditional birthplace of the Inca aristocracy or the spiritual center of the "Virgins of the Sun".
Another theory states that Machu Picchu was an Inca "Yakta (llacta)": a settlement built to manage the economy of conquered areas. The city may also have been built as a prison for selected members of Inca society, for those few who committed heinous crimes against Inca society. Research by scholars such as John Rove and Richard Burger has convinced most archaeologists that the city served a defensive function and did not belong to the Inca emperor, Pachacuti. In addition, Johan Reinhard presented evidence that the site was selected for the founding of the holy city due to the exceptional landscape surrounding the city. One such example is that the city is located on natural mountains from which the starry sky was clearly visible, and therefore the mountains became key astronomical landmarks.
Although the citadel is located approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) from Cusco, the capital of the Inca Empire, the city was never found and therefore was not sacked and destroyed by the Spanish conquistadors, as happened to the vast majority of Inca cities and settlements. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle had grown throughout the site, and few people knew of the existence of this ancient city. On July 24, 1911, Machu Picchu appeared before the eyes of Hiram Bingham, an American historian, then a lecturer at Yale University. He was brought to the area of the ruins by local residents who frequented the site. Bingham undertook archaeological research and completed a survey of the area in its entirety. Bingham coined a name for the city, calling it "The Lost City of the Incas", which became the title of his first book. He never thanked or mentioned the people who helped him find Machu Picchu, mentioning only a "local rumor".
Bingham searched for the city of Vitcos, the last refuge of the Supreme Inca and last stronghold resistance during the Spanish conquest of Peru. In 1911, after several years of previous travel and exploration of the area, he was brought to the stronghold of the Quechua people. These people lived in Machu Picchu, in the "original" original Inca infrastructure. Even though most of the Incan inhabitants died within a century of the city's construction, a small number of families that survived the period survived by the time the site was "discovered" in 1911; Many mummies (mostly women) and several families were discovered in the city that still lived in the ancient city. Bingham made several trips and excavated the site until 1915. He wrote a large number of books and articles about the discovery of Machu Picchu throughout his life.
Simone Waisbard, a renowned Cusco explorer, claims that Enrique Palma, Gabino Sanchez, and Agustin Lizarraga left their names "engraved" on one of the rocks at Machu Picchu July 14, 1901. This means that they "discovered" Machu Picchu before Bingham "discovered" the city in 1911. Likewise, in 1904, an engineer named Franklin may have identified the presence of ruins in the area and clearly separated them from a distant mountain. He told Thomas Pyne, an English Christian missionary living in the area, about the site where the ruins were located. In 1906, Pine and another fellow missionary named Stuart E. McNairn (1867-1956) may have climbed up to the ruins.
In 1913, the site gained significant fame after the National Geographic Society publicized information about " lost city Incas" in April of the same year. In 1981, an area of 325.92 square kilometers surrounding Machu Picchu was declared " Historical Heritage" Peru. In addition to the ruins, this area includes much of the regional landscape, rich in flora and fauna.
Machu Picchu was designated a World Heritage Site in 1983, when the city was described as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique proof of the Inca civilization." On July 7, 2007, Machu Picchu was approved as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World by the New Open World Corporation. As a result of environmental degradation resulting from the negative impacts of tourism, which led to the active development of the neighboring city of Aguas Calientes (including poorly located tram lines designed to speed up the movement of tourists), and the construction of a bridge over the Vilcanota River in defiance of court orders and government protests (which most likely attracted even more tourists to the site), the World Monuments Fund placed Machu Picchu on its List The 100 Most Endangered World Heritage Sites in the World in 2008.
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July 2, 2016
We bring to your attention ten fantastic places on planet Earth that will amaze you with their unique, perhaps one might even say unearthly, beauty. Everyone should definitely visit these mysterious and amazing corners of the planet at least once in their life.
The most unusual places on earth
1. Easter Island, Chile
Easter Island, Chile. Easter Island or Rapa Nui is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is famous mainly for its main attraction - the Moai stone statues. There is probably no more mysterious, mysterious, even mystical island in the world. The impressive monuments of Moai sculptures instill in the viewer incredible delight and unjustified fear, indescribable joy and an inexplicable feeling of anxiety. Everyone should definitely visit Easter Island and become immersed in the fascinating history of the Rapa Nui people.
2. Antelope Canyon, USA
Antelope Canyon, USA.Antelope Canyon is probably the most beloved and popular tourist attraction in the United States. Antelope Canyon received its quaint name due to the color of its rocks: reddish-red hues reminiscent of the color of an antelope skin. Over the centuries, water and wind created that fantastic relief that today is impossible to stop admiring. The play of intricate shapes and graceful lines of the canyon rock walls is an extraordinary and unforgettable sight.
3. Zhangye Danxia, China
Zhangye Danxia, China. Zhangye Danxia is rocks, but the rocks are not simple, but colorful! Variegated rock formations were formed due to various natural anomalies. The result is truly stunning - bright rainbow colored stripes adorn the mountains. To believe in the existence of such fabulous landscapes you need to see them with your own eyes; the picture that opens is truly breathtaking.
4. Petra, Jordan
Petra, Jordan. Ancient city Petra is considered one of the wonders of the world. The city is located in the narrow Siq canyon. At one time, the city of Petra was a rich and prosperous trading center. Now Petra is not only architectural monument, but also a vast tourist area that attracts crowds of foreign guests. The main advantage of Petra is the facade of the Al-Khazneh temple building, carved from a single rock. Petra produces indelible impression, be sure to visit this amazing city.
5. Phi Phi Islands, Thailand
Phi Phi Islands, Thailand. The Phi Phi Islands are truly heaven on Earth. More impressive landscape beauties cannot be found in the whole world. Beautiful beaches, clear turquoise waters and stunning cliffs covered with dense tropical greenery make this an ideal holiday destination.
Caño Cristales means crystal river in Spanish. Thanks to the various types of mosses and algae growing on the bottom, the illusion is created that the waters of the river are colored in different colors: red, blue, green, yellow and even black. Therefore, Caño Cristalis is sometimes called the river of five colors. It’s a real miracle to see such indescribable beauty with your own eyes.
The Socotra Islands are a World Heritage Site. They are quite inaccessible and suitable only for ecotourism. Restaurants, hotels and high level of service? Forget about it, because the first roads were built here just a couple of years ago. However, visiting Socotra will be the most unforgettable trip of your life if you decide to endure the discomfort. Being here is like being on another planet. Vegetable world This land is unique: you will not see a huge number of plants growing on the island anywhere else. Such exceptional flora originated here due to the island's isolation and suitable climate.
8. Uyuni, Bolivia
Uyuni, Bolivia. Uyuni is the biggest salt Lake in the world. But interesting feature The beauty of this lake lies not only in its scale. Uyuni is a solid salt marsh with a smooth mirror surface on which you can drive a car. In fact, Uyuni is a huge block of salt. The lake has high economic value for Bolivia due to the extraction of its colossal salt reserves. Here salt is used not only for food, it is even used as a building material. Therefore, travelers have the opportunity to stay in a real salt hotel.
The wonderful Kliluk Lake is located in British Columbia. The waters of the lake are rich in various minerals and when evaporated, many spots of minerals are formed on the surface, which, depending on the time of year, turn into different colors - an incredibly amazing sight. In addition to its magical view, Kliluk is also famous for its healing properties.
The most beautiful places in the world have always attracted millions of tourists. Either high mountains or endless valleys, huge seas or historical buildings. The sights of planet Earth are an endless and fascinating journey. We have prepared the Top 20 most beautiful places in the world. Watch, discuss and share the post on in social networks with your friends!
20th place - Kungur Ice Cave, Russia
8th place - Faroe islands, Iceland-Norway
Located between Iceland and Norway. More than 50 thousand people live on the archipelago. total area The archipelago is 1400 sq. km, and includes 18 small islands, 17 of which have life. Even in the coldest month the temperature does not drop below 0 degrees. All tourists who come to this stunning place are offered: a unique landscape, green meadows, clouds, rocks and, of course, the Atlantic Ocean. You will not find such beauties anywhere else!
7th place - Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve, Russia
It is located 12 kilometers from the city of Serpukhov on the left bank of the Oka River. The territory of the Prioksko-Terrasny Reserve, with an area of 4945 hectares, is forested; it is located near the northern border of the mixed forest subzone. Here visitors can see a unique phenomenon - broad-leaved forests meet coniferous forests. Vacationers who come to this place will be able to see more than 960 higher species of plants. Visit the most beautiful places in Russia and this place should certainly be among them.
6th place - Yellowstone Volcano, USA
One of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States of America. Yellowstone National Park is cleverly located in three states at once: Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. The park is famous for its waterfalls, hot springs, rich flora and fauna. This reserve became a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in March 1872. Those who saw the most unusual places on Earth, Yellowstone is always placed in a special category.
5th place - Iguazu Falls, Brazil-Argentina
A real wonder of the world, which is located 20 km from the town of Puerto Iguazu. The legendary national park invites everyone to plunge into amazing world Amazonian forests with incredibly beautiful landscapes. The classic tour of the park is a short walk to the waterfalls. A boat ride along a stormy river - and you are already at the foot of the world-famous waterfalls, which you saw from above just half an hour ago.
4th place - Yosemite National Park, USA
The first American nature reserve, which is famous throughout the world for its unique pristine nature. The reserve with the highest waterfall is located in the state of California. Filmed in Yosemite National Park most of films about Indians.
3rd place - Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany
This is a majestic structure, which is located near the town of Fussen in Bavaria. The amazing beauty of the mysterious castle literally at first sight enchants tourists with its magnetism. The castle was built in 1869 by Ludwig II, who wanted to recreate the era of chivalry. A record amount of money was spent on the construction of this architectural masterpiece - more than 6 million gold marks. After the death of the monarch, the castle was opened to the public, this was done in order to recoup at least part of the Money spent on construction.
2nd place - Niagara Falls, USA-Canada
The most famous waterfall in the USA and Canada. It is one of the most visited attractions North America. It got its name from the Indians who lived here, and is translated as “thundering water.” The width of the waterfall is 670 meters, the depth in the middle is about three meters, and the height is 51 meters. Every year 20 million tourists from all over the world come to admire the beauty of the waterfall. For maximum enjoyment of the beauty, tourists are offered observation platforms, cable car, galleries and pedestrian paths, and even a tour of hot-air balloon and helicopters.
1st place - Grand Canyon, USA
(Grand Canyon) is one of the oldest national parks in the United States of America. The picturesque area is one of the most perfect creations of nature on Earth. It is located in the state of Arizona. Until the mid-16th century, the Grand Canyon was inhabited by a tribe of Pueblo Indians who lived in small cave dwellings. The Grand Canyon is a huge tourist complex with numerous parking lots, descents and overnight accommodations. Many people believe that this is the most beautiful place on earth!
Have you read the article about the most beautiful places in the world. Want to visit there? Press Ctrl+D and you will definitely come back here again!
Moscow is one of the oldest and the most beautiful cities Russia, and it has more attractions per square meter than many European capitals. Sometimes even native Muscovites are at a loss as to where to go and what to see. So that the nerve cells of guests and residents of the capital do not burn out in the throes of choice, we have compiled top 30 most beautiful places in Moscow. The list includes corners of the capital that received good feedback on travel websites and specialized review sites.
Apothecary garden
The oldest botanical garden in Russia is open to the public every day from 10 am. You can take a guided tour, but it's probably best to just wander around. The garden is good at any time of the year; It's cool here in summer and warm in winter. The garden’s Instagram can give you some idea of the beauty hidden behind the modest name.
Arkhangelskoye Estate
A wonderful architectural monument of Catherine’s times with all the signs of the time - columns, balustrades, pseudo-antique busts and medallions with the Yusupov family coats of arms. For the beauty of the buildings and the surrounding park, the estate was nicknamed “Versailles near Moscow.”
VDNH
Well, who doesn’t know the Exhibition of National Economic Achievements! Having spent the last couple of decades in the form of a collapse with trays and peddlers, after the reconstruction VDNKh was miraculously transformed. Now you can indulge in the joys of a cultural holiday either on your own or with friends or family. There are exhibitions, museums, interactive expositions (where you can touch and try on), bicycle rentals and even a boat station.
Sparrow Hills
The left bank of Moscow, rising up to 80 m above the river, is one of the most beautiful places in Moscow. It is noteworthy not only for its complex and interesting terrain, but also observation deck, from where a wonderful view of the city opens up - you can see not only the gigantic buildings of Moscow City, but also the Novodevichy Convent and even the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Estate Vysokiye Gory
Surprisingly, this pearl is hidden in the very center of Moscow - a real 19th-century park with cast-iron lanterns, vases, classical sculpture and round rotunda gazebos. Now the estate houses a rehabilitation center for patients, but you can walk around the park without hindrance.
Griboedov Wedding Palace
One of the most beautiful registry offices in Moscow is located in a building where rich merchants lived before the revolution. Apparently, some part of the legacy of the former owners has survived to this day - traditional Stalinist pomp is combined here with the wealth and luxurious excess of the beginning of the last century. Once upon a time, this registry office consistently ranked first in popularity among Muscovites who wanted to tie the knot; Since then, its position has weakened a little, but it is still one of the most beautiful. And overcrowded.
Catherine Park
A small but very beautiful area of wildlife, sandwiched between two highways and one square. Surprisingly quiet and peaceful place (especially considering its location). And it's not even too crowded.
Kyiv metro station
The personification of the magnificent splendor of Stalin's times - against the background of white walls, gilded stucco molding and bright mosaics stand out especially clearly, on which the Ukrainian people fraternize with the Russians. And what luxurious lamps there are! Don't forget to walk through the southern vestibule and appreciate all the Byzantine richness of mosaic images.
Kolomenskoye Estate
The oldest building of the Kolomenskaya estate is the flying Church of the Ascension of the Lord, one of the best examples of tent-roofed architecture. There you can also admire examples of wooden architecture miraculously preserved from past centuries - both for sacred purposes and for economic purposes.
Krutitskoye Compound
Surprisingly, once you get to the Krutitskoe courtyard, you seem to find yourself in another time - despite the busy highways nearby, it is quiet here, the bees are buzzing, and the nettle thickets seem to be straight from childhood. On the territory you can see church buildings and temples of the 16th-17th centuries that have survived to this day almost unchanged.
Kuskovo Estate
The estate, built in the 18th century, is of stunning beauty - it looks especially good from the side of the pond, in the calm waters of which the noble proportions of the building are reflected. It was in Kuskovo that films were shot about the Russia we lost, including a series about midshipmen.
Luzhkov Bridge
Officially, the bridge is called “Tretyakovsky,” but people stubbornly associate it with the name of the former mayor of Moscow. The bridge is also called the “kissing bridge” - there are several iron trees on it, where lovers hang locks as a sign of the security of their feelings (since there are many people who want to hang locks, new trees are added regularly). One of the most beautiful places in Moscow for walking - on one side of it the buildings of the Tretyakov Gallery begin, and on the other lies the square of the 800th anniversary of Moscow.
Mayakovskaya metro station
Without a doubt, the most beautiful metro station in Moscow, distinguished by its laconicism and elegance of lines and colors. Its design once made a splash international exhibition in 1938, and since then it has continued to delight the eyes of both Muscovites and visitors to the city. Muscovites love and know it to such an extent that when the Moscow government decided to install lamps with a different color shade, the public rebelled. And the lamps were returned.
Beautiful Moscow City
But this is the fruit of today’s Russia, which, however, inherited the gigantomania of the USSR. If we build, then in Europe - apparently, the project customers were guided by this principle. Moscow City, of course, looks amazing - dizzying structures made of glass and chrome look especially advantageous against the backdrop of the usual cityscape.
Moscow Zoo
Get ready to spend at least 3-4 hours in the kingdom of living nature - otherwise it will be impossible to even briefly examine all the diversity of living creatures. There are many animals there, they live in contentment and even delight people with the appearance of babies. It is better to visit the zoo from Wednesday to Friday - on Monday they have a sanitary day, on Tuesday part of the territory is inaccessible (although tickets will be cheaper), and on Saturday and Sunday there is absolute pandemonium.
Museum of Military Equipment
It is located in Victory Park, located near the metro station of the same name, so it is impossible to get lost on the way to it. One of best places for relaxing with children, especially those who are delighted with military equipment. There are not only tanks and planes from the war, but also cars, trains, the same semi-truck glorified by Simonov and much more.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
One of the largest Catholic cathedrals in the country, built before the revolution. Characteristic appearance, giving rise to associations with High Gothic buildings - the abundance of spiers and battlements has an irresistible effect on the romantic soul. The cathedral is located on a quiet street among buildings from the middle of the last century; If you want to take a break from the Gothic, it’s good to just take a walk there.
Boring Garden
Once upon a time, all the informal people of Moscow hung out here. Since then, a lot has changed - informals moved to other sites, but the garden remained. It is still quiet, calm, beautiful here - flowers, trees, gazebos, picturesque bridges over streams and gazebos entwined with climbing plants. One of the most beautiful parks in Moscow, where it’s good to just walk and relax your soul. And a few steps from the Neskuchny Garden there is one of them, it is called the “Dragon Temple”.
Novodevichy Convent
One of the most beautiful places in Moscow - you can see this for yourself by seeing how the elegant red and white towers of the ancient monastery are reflected in the water surface. It was once founded for nuns of the royal family and noble families of Russia and is still in operation. However, the requirements for admission have become much lower. Nearby is the famous cemetery of the same name.
Ostankino Tower
This symbol and personification of the Soviet era is famous not only for its impressive footage, but also for its observation deck, which offers stunning views of the city. However, you can visit it only in warm time year - from May to October.
Patriarch's Ponds
Although the word “ponds” is plural, in fact there is only one pond left - the rest were filled in at the beginning of the 19th century. But a public garden was built around the remaining one, which has survived to this day. It was there, according to Mikhail Bulgakov, that two citizens met on a hot summer evening and the tragedy happened with Berlioz. The ponds can be visited at any time of the year - in the summer it is cool and green, in the winter there is an ice skating rink, and during the rest of the year there are various city holidays.
Metro station Ploshchad Revolyutsii
First of all, Revolution Square is famous for its sculptures depicting ordinary Soviet people - peasants, students, workers, athletes, sailors, engineers, and so on. Don't forget to stroke your Border Shepherd's nose - it brings happiness.
Prechistenka Street
One of the oldest streets in Moscow, the first mention of which dates back to the 16th century. Since then, everything has been built on Prechistenka - from boyar chambers of the 17th century to apartment buildings of the beginning of the last century. A walk along it, especially with a guide in hand, will allow you to feel how Moscow lived and developed over the past four centuries.
Serebryany Bor Park
Here, a Muscovite, run wild by gasoline exhausts, can fall to the wide green breast of Mother Nature. The park itself is located on artificial island, where, in addition to civilized squares with benches, there are sports grounds, several beaches, an ecological trail and enclosures with animals and birds. There are also several beaches, including one nudist one.
Spaso-Andronikov Monastery
Once upon a time, the monastery towered on a steep bank above the Yauza, of which now only one name remains. It contains one of the most beautiful temples Moscow. We recommend visiting it if you are delighted by the architecture of pre-Mongol Rus', when temples did not yet have onion domes, but had modest helmets.
Tverskoy Boulevard
Tverskoy Boulevard honorably bears the title of one of the most beautiful streets in Moscow. In addition to its beauty, it also differs from others in its length – almost a kilometer. Griboyedov, Herzen and Tsvetaeva and other representatives of the Moscow noble and intellectual elite once walked here. Much time has passed since then, and pedestrians have become easier - but the boulevard is still beautiful.
Frunzenskaya embankment
One of the favorite walking places for both Muscovites and guests of the capital. It is located in one of the most beautiful places in Moscow, on the banks of the river of the same name, offering a fantastic view of the capital. The buildings are predominantly from the early to mid-last century, with styles ranging from constructivism to the splendor of Stalinist high-rises.
Tsaritsyno Estate
First of all, the estate is remarkable for its architecture - surprisingly, something like a Gothic cathedral has grown on the plains near Moscow. This is exactly the impression that the main palace complex of the estate makes, since Empress Catherine the Great wanted to have something original in her park. The estate even has its own ruins of a tower, which was never a complete building. But it evokes romantic thoughts - you involuntarily begin to turn around, looking for sinister monks, as well as ghosts of the knightly era.
Tsvetnoy Boulevard
Once upon a time, flowers and flower seedlings were sold here with all their might (that’s why the boulevard got its name). Unlike other old Moscow streets, the architectural appearance of the boulevard is more or less homogeneous - the buildings here are mainly from the mid-19th - mid-20th centuries. The fashionable constructivist building of the Literaturnaya Gazeta is adjacent to the House of the Gymnast Society and the circus, next to which there is a wonderful, kind monument to Yu. Nikulin.
Japanese garden
A small but very cozy garden, laid out by a real Japanese under the auspices of the Botanical Garden. Although the garden itself is small - it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to wander around it for hours admiring the cherry blossoms - but meditating in the gazebos on the sophistication of Japanese landscape architecture is just the thing.
