Lovers die, but love shall not and death shall have no dominion…
In the year 1607 when a prince of the royalMughal household strolled
down the meera Bazaar, accompanied by a string of fawning courtiers, he
caught a glimpse of a girl hawking silk and glass beads. Five years
and a wife later (in those days princes did not marry for love alone) the
regal 20-yr-old went to wed his 19-yr-old bride. It was a fairytale
union from the start, one that withstood court intrigues, battles for succession
and finally, the grand coronation. And when she died on the 19th year of
their marriage, he etched her story in stone. The Taj Mahal is the living
symbol of the monumental passion of Shah Jahan and Arjumand Banu. Which
other love story has so grand a memorial? The Chosen City: Agra was the
chosen city of the Mughal emperors during the early years. It was here
that the founder of the dynasty, Babur, laid out the first formal Persian
garden on the banks of the River Yamuna. Here, Akbar, his grandson, raised
the towering ramparts of the great Red Fort. Within its walls, Jehangir
built rose-red palaces, courts and gardens. Shahjahan embellished it with
marbled mosques, palaces and pavillions of gem-inlaid white marble. Agra
is globally renown as the city of the Taj Mahal, a monument of love
and imagination, that represents India to the world.
Taj history: The origin of the name the "Taj Mahal" is not clear. Court histories from Shah Jehan's reign only call it the rauza (tomb) of Mumtaz Mahal. It is generally believed that "Taj Mahal" (usually translated as either "Crown Palace" or "Crown of the palace") is an abbreviated version of her name, Mumtaz Mahal (Exalted One of the Palace).
The Taj Mahal is a deserving resting palace for an Emperor's Empress. It stands on the banks of the river Yamuna, which otherwise serves as a wide moat defending the Great Red Fort of Agra, the center of the Mughal emperors until they moved their capital to Delhi in 1637. It was built by the fifth Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan in 1631 in memory of his second wife, mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian princess. She died while accompanying her husband in Burhanpur in a campaign to crush a rebellion after giving birth to their 14th child.
Build me a Taj: As Mumtaz Mahal lay dying, she asked four promises from the emperor: first, that he build the Taj; second, that he should marry again; third, that he be kind to their children; and fourth, that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary. He kept the first and second promises. Construction began in 1631 and was completed in 22 years. Twenty thousand people were deployed to work on it. The principal architect was the Iranian architect Istad Usa; it is possible that the pietra dura work was coordinated by an Italian artist.
Wonder of the World: To people the world over, the Taj Mahal, mausoleum
of Mughal Emperor shah Jana's chief wife, Mumtaz Mahal, is synonymous with
India. Its curving, gently swelling dome and the square base upon which
its rests so lightly is a familiar image from hundreds of brochures and
travel books. The Taj is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular buildings
of the world. Renowned for its architectural magnificence and aesthetic
beauty, it counts among man's proudest creations and is invariably included
in the list of the world's foremost wonders. As a tomb, it has no match
upon earth, for mortal remains have never been housed in greater grandeur.
All About the Great Wall of China
The Great Wall of China was built ver,2000 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi,
the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206
B.C.). In Chinese the wall is called "Wan-Li Qang-Qeng" which means 10,000-Li
Long Wall (10,000 Li = about 5,000 km). After subjugating and uniting China
from seven Warring States, the emperor connected and extended four old
fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700
B.C. (over 2500 years ago). Armies were stationed along
the wall as a first line of defense against the invading nomadic Hsiung
Nutribes north of China (the Huns). Signal fires from the Wall provided
early warning of an attack.
The Great Wall is one of the largest building construction projects ever completed. It stretches across the mountains of northern China, winding north and northwest of Beijing. It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth. It was over 5,000 km (=10,000 Li) long. Its thickness ranged from about 4.5 to 9 meters (15 to 30 feet) and was up to 7.5 meters (25 feet) tall.
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles) and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.
The Great Wall can be seen from Earth orbit, but, contrary to legend, is not visible from the moon, according to astronauts Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, and Jim Irwin.
It's more than 2,000 years old, but the Great Wall of China remains one of the great wonders of the world, an engineering feat rarely matched in the 22 centuries since its construction began. Stretching 4,500 miles, from the mountains of Korea to the Gobi Desert, it was first built to protect an ancient Chinese empire from marauding tribes from the north. But it evolved into something far greater — a boon to trade and prosperity and ultimately a symbol of Chinese ingenuity and will.
The truth is, though, that the Great Wall is actually a series of walls
built and rebuilt by different dynasties over 1,000 years. And while they
often served the same purpose, these walls reflected the worlds — both
natural and cultural — in which they were erected. For all its seeming
timelessness, the Great Wall is an emblem of China's evolution.
(unclickable images)
The construction begun in 1173 and it must have
been suspended at the completion of the third ring,
around ten years later, since a subsidence of the
soil of between 30 and 40 cm. had thrown the tower
out of the perpendicular, causing an initial overhang
of circa 5 cm. More than a century after the laying
of the foundation stone, was once again begun
(1275) by Giovanni di Simone, who added three
more levels, correcting the axis of the Campanile.
In 1284 the six stories of loggias were to all effects
finished, bringing the height of the building to 48 m.,
and employing a technical expedient that was
meant to diminish, at least optically, the effects of
the inclination, accomplished by raising the
galleries of the upper floors on that side.
At the time the inclination of the Tower was more
than 90 cm. The tormented vicissitudes of the
Tower did not, as one might expect, greatly worry
those who were involved in the construction and
completion. The long intervals between building
activity were dictated, most likely, by the need of
letting the Campanile 'rest', but above all by letting
both the foundations and the ground on which they
rested settle down.
In a certain sense it can be said that the
subsidence of the soil and the consequent
inclination had, on the whole, been foreseen. At the
beginning of the 14th century the bells were placed
at the sixth level, in the large opening still visible in
the marble cylinder beyond the loggia. Between
1350 and 1372 Tommaso di Andrea Pisano
(according to Vasari) terminated the installation of
the belfry on the summit of the sixth order of
loggias, increasing the correction of the axis, and
thus diminishing the load on the side that was in
inclination, which in the mean while had become
fixed at 1.43 m.
Conceived of not only as a bell tower, but also as a
belvedere for the square below - from the earliest
times the loggias have served as 'grandstand' for
religious events and fairs - it rises 58.36 m above
the level of the foundation, just under 56 m over the
level of the countryside, and its inclination,
measured at the base, is over 4 m. The average
subsidence of the base is 2.25 m, while the
progressio of the overhang, despite all attempts so
far made to bring it to a halt, is about 1.2 mm per
year.
LEANING TOWER of PISA INFORMATION
TOWER BASICS
Official Name: TORRE PENDENTE DI PISA
Function: Bell Tower (Campanile)
Original Architect: Bonanno Pisano
Years Built: 1173-1350
Base Elevation above Sea Level: About 2 meters
Latitude: 43.7167 (43° 43' 0" N)
Longitude: 10.3833 (10° 22' 60" E)
Altitude of Piazza dei Miracoli 9 feet, (2 meters) (DMS)
First Construction Stop: 1178 (War with Firenze)
Year in which lean became obvious: 1178 (Third Story)
Height at which lean became obvious: 10.6 meters (35 ft.)
Second Construction Stop: 1185 (War with Firenze)
Later Construction
Stop: 1284 (War with Genoa, Major Sea Battle Defeat)
First Bells added: 1198 (Third Floor)
Height: 55.863 meters (185 feet). 8 stories.
Outer Diameter of Base: 15.484 meters
Inner Diameter of Base: 7.368 meters
Direction of Lean: 1173-1250 North, 1272-1997 South
Architect who realized that the Leaning Tower
could not be straightened : Tomasso di Andrea da Pontedera (1275)
Level at which Tower Straightens to North: 5
7th Floor Completed: 1319
Bell Tower Completed: 1350
Number of Bells: 7, tuned to musical scale
Largest Bell: Three and a half tons, cast in 1655.
Oldest Bell's name: Pasquarreccia
Address: Campo dei Miracoli - the "Field of Miracles", Pisa, Italia
Weight: 14,700 metric tons
Thickness of Walls at the Base: 8 feet
Year cement injected into base, (blamed for lean acceleration): 1934
Lean Data Provided by Prof. Pierotti:
1.43 meters (1298) (Giovanni Pisano, reconstructed by P. Sanpaolesi)
3.79 meters (around 1550) (Vasari, six arms and half)
3.79 meters (1787 and 1812) (By Morrona, six arms and half)
3.84 meters (1817) (Crasy & Taylor, 12 feet and 7 thumbs)
4.04 meters (1911) (Pizzetti) (+ 20 cm Crasy & Taylor)
The 1911 measure was taken from the outside of the seventh cornice with a theodolite
(not from the inside with a plumb line) and therefore the resulting linear values are greater
due to the thickness of the cornice, leaning relative
to the body of the tower.
Other Sources:
Lean: 1.63 meters (1360)
Lean: 1.43 meters (1372) The Guardian (London) August 19 1997
Lean: 3.77 meters (1550)
Lean: 4.75 meters (1817)
Lean: 4.8 meters (1935)
Lean: 5.2 meters (1997)
Steps to Bell Tower: 294 Number of visitors who climbed
to top in 1989: 700,000 Date Closed to
Public: 7 January 1990 Rate of Fall in 1990: 1.2 mm (1/20")
every year ("Un millimetre per anno")
Source: The Guardian (London) August 19 1997 Weight of Lead added
on North side (picture above):
600 tons (1995) Amount of tilt recorded overnight in September
1995: 2.5 mm (0.07") Weight of Lead
added after overnight tilt: 230
tons Amount of tilt correction since 1990: 25mm (1.0")
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Very Much Detailed Artistic Static Description
Comments on the Tower by Dr. Fernando Lizzi, Distinguished Engineer
from Naples:
Open Letter to the Minister of Public
Works
Italian Federal Legislation for Restoration
of the Leaning Tower
Leaning Tower Descripition posted by Hotel DiStefano, Pisa
Leaning Tower of Pisa Architecture by David Speiser
Work by Vittorio Novelli:
A Definitive Proposal to Save the Tower of
Pisa Structural Analysis
and Calculations related to the Tower of Pisa Phases of Construction
News Article about Vittorio Novelli Trouble
at the Leaning Tower
Construction Details by Prof. Piero Pierotti: History Date of
Construction The Measurements The Construction The Stairs
The Bell Tower Pioretti Leaning Tower Website
ArtWatch International: ArtWatch Comment Tower Troubles
Experts Wrangle Over Best Angle
PARTICIPANTS and CONTRIBUTORS
to the TOWER STABILIZATION
List compiled from various sources
Bonanno Pisano
Architect of Tower (attributed)
Galileo Galilei
Experimenter at the Tower ?
Vittorio Novelli
Surveyor from Cesena (Forl?)
Commissions and Committees
298 Commission - Giovanni Pisano,
Guido Di Giovanni, Orsello
1840 Commission - Castinelli, Lapi, Martolini
1907 Commission - Bernieri, Canavari, Cuppari, Fedeli, Galli,
Pizzetti, Socini
1912 Commission - Bacci, Bernieri, Canavari, Ceradini, Cuppari,
Giudi, Ongaro, Susinno, Toscanelli
1924 Commission - Bernieri, Canavari, Canevari, Fascetti Giulio,
Fascetti Giuseppe, Giovannoni, Susinno
1925 Pisan Committee - Allegretti, Bacci, Bernieri, Bertuzzi,
Canavari, Cerpi, Fascetti Giulio, Fascetti Giuseppe,
Ferrucci, Lecci, Manghi, Puntoni, Simoni, Ugolini
1926 Pisan Committee - Bernieri, Buffarini Guidi, Fascetti Giulio,
Fascetti Giuseppe, Lecci, Manghi, Niccolai, Puntoni,
Simoni, Ugolini
1926 Pisan Committee - Bernieri, Canavari, Cassinis, Cicconetti,
De Marchi, Fascetti Giulio, Niccolai, Petri, Sesini,
Ugolini
1927 Pisan Committee - Battaglia, Canavari, Cassinis, Ciappi,
Cicconetti, Crema, De Marchi, Fantoli, Fascetti Giulio,
Giovannoni, Guidi, Pellati, Poggi, Sesini, Susinno,
Ugolini
1932 Commission - The proceedings are remembered but the names
of the
members were not documented. It was a "special
commission" entrusted to attend to the works of 1934-35.
1949 Commission - Albenga, Arcuri, Ballantini, Ballrin, Boaga,
Donato,
Fascetti Giulio, Fortini, Franco Fausto, Girometti,
Leschiutta, Marcantoni, Marchesi, Mario, Moncelli,
Natoni, Noccioli, Pepe, Pistolesi, Ramalli, Rendola Rosi,
Sanpaolesi Piero, Spina, Trevisan
1964 Commission - Bendini, Beneo, Camanni, Ceschi, Cestelli Guidi,
Croce, Franco Antonio, Giusti, Locatelli, Lumini,
Marcheti, Molajoli, Noccioli, Pistolesi, Polvani, Prete,
Roselli, Sanzo, Savarese, Schultze, Skempton, Trevisan,
Vozzi
1965 Commission - Bendini, Beneo, Bonatti, Calabresi, Camanni,
Canepa,
Carrara, Caselli, Ceschi, Cestelli Guidi, Croce,
D'Alessandro, Da Porto, De Sanctis, Franco Antonio,
Gangemi, Giusti, Locatelli, Lumini, Maccagni, Marchetti,
Marussi, Molajoli, Noccioli, Ortolani, Pistolesi,
Polvani, Prete, Ricci, Roselli, Rosini, Salvioni, Sanzo,
Savarese, Schultze, Selleri, Skempton, Tornar, Trevisan,
Viggiani, Vozzi
1965 COMMISSION President prof. GIOVANNI POLVANI
At the end of its order the 1965 commission set itself to
the form of the completed task. The proclamation undertook
22 articles, in principal they were:
1. Application of actions to the tower that produce a reverse
to its movement.
2. Modification of the existing foundation with insertion of
piling under the old and new structures.
3. Stabilization of the earth based on favorable deformations
caused by appropriate measures.
4. Amelioration of the pertinent mechanical properties of the
meaningful volume of the ground underlying the tower.
5. Reduction of the inclination not more than one degree equal
to 1.019 Meters of lean.
1972 Commission - Agresti, Berti, Bertolini, Capriotti, Cestelli
Guidi,
Conte, Croce, D'Ambrosio, De Sanctis, Evangelista,
Faltelli, Guasco, Kezdi, Locatelli, Lumini, Noccioli,
Occhiuzzi, Prete, Rossi Adriano, Rossi Eugenio, Schultze,
Secchi, Selleri, Silvestro, Span?, Toniolo, Tornar,
Travaglini, Trevisan, Zuppardi
1983 Commission - Bartelletti, Berardi, Caroti, Finzi, Jamiolkowski,
Ragghianti, Sanpaolesi Luca
1988 Technical Committee - Calzona, Daniele, Del Monte, Gabbani, Giangreco,
Gurrieri, Jappelli, Pozzati, Scarselli, Selleri
1990 Committee for the introductory operations (intended for appointment):
Burland, D'Elia, Desideri, Di Stefano, Jamiolkowski,
Gurrieri, Lemaire, Leonards, Leonhardt, Veniale, Viggiani
STATUE of LIBERTY FACTS
Date Construction of the Statue began in France: 1875
Title of Statue: "Liberty Enlightening the World"
Location of Statue: Liberty Island, formerly Bedloe's
Island and
Fort Wood (fortress for protection of New York Harbor 1811)
Sculptor: Auguste Bartholdi
Structural Engineer: Gustave Eiffel
Method of Fabrication: Repousse Process
Statue completed in Paris: June 1884
Statue presented to America by the people of France: July 4,
1884
Statue dismantled and shipped to US: Early 1885
1885 Transport Ship: French frigate "Isere"
Number of individual pieces shipped to US: 350
Number of crates required: 214
Architect of the pedestal: Richard M.Hunt (in
1877)
Dates of construction of the pedestal: Start
1883, complete 1884
Champion Fundraiser for the Pedestal: Joseph Pulitzer,
Hungarian immigrant, Publisher of the New York World.
Date of Final Assembly of statue & pedestal:
1886
Official accepting Statue on behalf of US: President
Grover Cleveland
Date of Acceptance by President: October 28, 1886
Part of Acceptance Statement by President Cleveland:
"We will not forget that liberty here made her home;
nor shall her chosen altar be neglected".
Date designated a National Monument: October 15,
1924
Wind speed at which Statue sways 3 inches (7.62 cm):
50 mph
Torch sway in 50 mph wind: 5 inches (12.7 cm).
Number of windows in the crown: 25
Number of spikes in the crown: Seven rays of the
diadem (7 oceans of the World)
Hand with which Statue holds tablet: left
Inscription on tablet: "July 4, 1776"
(in Roman numerals)
Day of America's Independence from Britain: July
4, 1776
Height from base to torch: 151' 1"
(46.50m)
Foundation of pedestal to torch: 305' 1"
(92.99m)
Heel to top of head: 111' 1" (33.86m)
Length of hand: 16' 5" (5.00m)
Index finger: 8' 0" (2.44m)
Circumference at second joint: 3' 6"
(1.07m)
Size of fingernail: 13"x10" (33x25.4cm)
Head from chin to cranium: 17' 3"
(5.26m)
Head thickness from ear to ear: 10' 0" (3.05m)
Distance across the eye: 2' 6" ( .76m)
Length of nose: 4' 6" ( l.48m)
Right arm length: 42' 0" (12.80m)
Right arm greatest thickness: 12' 0"
(3.66m)
Thickness of waist: 35' 0" (10.67m)
Width of mouth: 3' 0" (.91m)
Tablet, length: 23' 7" (7.19m)
Tablet, width: 13' 7" (4.14m)
Tablet, thickness: 2' 0" (.61m)
Height of granite pedestal: 89' 0"
(27.13m)
Height of foundation: 65' 0" (19.81m)
Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Battery
Park City
from World Trade Center Observatory
Statue of Liberty, Verazzano Narrows Bridge
from World Trade Center Roof
Weight of copper used in Statue: 200,000 pounds
(100 tons)
Weight of steel used in Statue: 250,000 pounds
(125 tons)
Total weight of Statue: 450,000 pounds
(225 tons)
Thickness of Copper sheeting: 3/32 inch
(2.37mm)
Website selling 8 ft. Statue of Liberty: http://www.westcomm.com/liberty/
Approximate fabric in Liberty's dress: 4,000 sq.yds.
Length of sandal: 25'-0"
US Women's Shoe Size based on standard fomula: 879
(Length (inches)= 7.333 + ({[US Women's Size]-1}/3)
7 Spikes in the Crown represent:
- Either Seven Seas:
Arctic, Antarctic, North & South Atlantic, North & South Pacific,
Indian.
Courtesy Nevada Division of Water Planning:
SEVEN SEAS — Figuratively,
all the waters or oceans of the world. The
phrase probably
has its origins in Brahmanic mythology: the seven seas dividing
and surrounding
the seven land masses of the earth. In modern times it has been
applied to the
seven oceans.
- Or Seven Continents:
North and South America,
Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, Australia
Courtesy of Alexander Foertsch:
- 25 windows in the crown represent: "natural minerals" of the
earth
- Toga represents: The Ancient Republic of Rome
- Torch represents: Enlightenment
- Chains underfoot represent: Liberty crushing the chains of
slavery
- Location of alternate entrance: Sole of Liberty's right foot
Steps to crown: 354 steps (22 stories)
This ascent is not recommended
for those with health problems.
An elevator which goes as
high as the top of the pedestal is also
available. Visitors
who take the elevator to the top of the
pedestal cannot then climb
to the crown.
Statue Inscription:
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant
of Greek fame,
with conquering limbs astride
from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed,
sunset gates shall stand
a mighty woman with a torch
whose flame is imprisoned
lightning,
and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand glows
world-wide welcome;
her mild eyes command the
air-bridged harbor
that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands your
storied pomp!"
cries she with silent lips.
"Give me your tired, your
poor,
Your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your
teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the
golden door!"
Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)
Address and Phone Numbers:
Liberty Island
New York, NY 10004
(212) 363-7770
(212) 363-3200 (recorded
message)
(212) 363-7620 (school group
reservations)
(212) 363-8347 (fax)
(212) 363-6307 (library)
Operating Hours:
Open daily: 9:30AM - 5:00PM
open for extended hours
during Summer
closed on December 25th.
Directions and Transportation:
Liberty and Ellis Islands
are accessible by Statue of Liberty/Ellis
Island Ferry, Inc. ferries
only. One round trip ferry ticket includes
visits to both islands.
Ferries depart from Battery Park in New
York and Liberty State Park
in New Jersey.
Private vessels are not
permitted to dock at the islands.
Fees:
Admission to the Statue
of Liberty and Ellis Island is free and all
programs run by the National
Park Service are free.
Round trip ferry tickets
cost $7.00 for adults, $3.00 for children
and $5.00 for senior citizens,
purchase at Castle Clinton
Call the ferry operator
directly at (212) 269-5755 for additional
information.
Months of Highest Visitation: July and August
Months of Lowest Visitation: January and February
Average Annual Visitation to Liberty and Ellis Islands: 4.2 million
people.
Typical waiting time to climb to the crown during Summer:
3 hours.
Renovation Activities 1984-1986:
A team of French and American
craftsmen worked in and
around the statue, repairing
popped rivets and replacing the
corroded iron ribs with
stainless steel. They strengthened the
arm, incorrectly installed
in 1886. French metal crafters
replaced the old flame,
lit from inside, with a gold-plated
copper flame lit by reflection,
in keeping with the sculptor's
original conception.
