Bandar atas air

Oleh Saufi Hamzah

Zhouzhuang antara empat bandar purba yang punyai sejarah lebih 1,700 tahun

TERLETAK di pinggir bandar raya Shanghai, Zhouzhuang adalah bandar atas air purba yang amat terkenal di seluruh China, dengan nilai sejarah lebih 1,700 tahun.

Meliputi kawasan seluas 47 kilometer (km) persegi, kampung kecil berbentuk seperti kipas kecil, berkerlipan umpama sebiji mutiara cerah dalam tasik dan pergunungan.

Turut dikenali dengan satu gelaran lain - 'Pearl Stream' (anak sungai mutiara) - bandar kecil itu adalah satu daripada empat bandar purba di Shanghai yang dipulihara dengan baik.

Jambatan lama unik menyeberangi anak sungai, dilindungi pohon willow dan deretan rumah yang berserambi, memikat pengunjung dan warga tempatan yang selama ini hidup di tengah kesibukan dan hiruk pikuk bandar moden kepada dunia baru penuh nilai antik, santai dan ketenangan.

Tidak hairanlah jika melawat Zhouzhuang tanpa menikmati keunikan jambatan bermakna anda belum benar-benar pernah berada di situ.

Jambatan di bandar itu begitu kaya dengan nilai tersendiri dan purba, dibina ketika Dinasti Ming dan Qing.

Bandar lama itu dihubungkan dengan 36 jambatan dalam pelbagai bentuk dan corak, diperbuat sama ada menggunakan kayu, batu mahupun mamar.

Jambatan Fangsheng atau turut dikenali sebagai Jambatan Kebebasan adalah jambatan batu terpanjang, terbesar dan tertinggi dengan lima terowong, memberi kesempatan kepada pengunjung untuk menikmati pemandangan keseluruhan bandar Zhouzhuang.

Jambatan itu dibina pada 1571. Di atas jambatan itu terdapat batu peringatan diberi nama Batu Pintu Naga, yang diukir dengan lapan naga mengelilingi sebutir mutiara. Ada empat ukiran batu berbentuk naga juga terdapat di atas jambatan berkenaan.

Jambatan Fangsheng, jambatan terpanjang di Zhouzhuang.

Jambatan Lang (Jambatan Serambi) juga dikenali sebagai Jambatan Huimin, adalah jambatan kayu tunggal dan muncul jambatan paling terkenal di bandar itu.

Jambatan Lang mempunyai palang kayu di kedua-dua belah sisi dan cucur atap terbalik di atasnya, sama seperti koridor yang sempit.

Lorong utama atau Lorong Utara di bandar itu yang begitu purba, dipenuhi bangunan lama ketika Dinasti Ming dan Qing, memang memikat pengunjung tempatan mahupun asing.

Memang Lorong Utara yang cuma sepanjang satu kilometer itu, adalah lorong purba terbaik yang dipulihara di kawasan subbandar Shanghai.

Pemandangan yang begitu purba sepanjang penjelajahan di bandar terapung itu sambil menghargai bangunan sejarah, deretan kedai dan jambatan lama serta lorong sempit pasti menyuntik kegembiraan.

Zhouzhuang juga terkenal dengan taman cantik dan luas yang menyerikan bangunan lama yang dibina ketika Dinasti Ming dan Qing.

Di antara seni bina purba terkenal seperti Ke Zhi Yuan iaitu taman manor terbesar di bandar itu. Taman itu biasa dipanggil 'Taman Keluarga Ma' sempena nama bekas pemiliknya, Ma Wenqin.

Terletak di Lorong Xijin Street, utara bandar berkenaan, Ke Zhi Yuan menampilkan pemandangan indah dan senyap serta persekitaran yang nyaman. Ia mengandungi tiga bahagian iaitu kawasan dewan, bukit tiruan dan taman.

Kawasan bukit tiruan pula, terdapat seni binaan simbolik menarik iaitu bangunan lima tingkat segi empat, di puncaknya terdapat astaka yang diberi nama "Moon Viet Pavillion". Bangunan ini dianggap binaan tertinggi di situ.

Segala pemandangan yang dijelaskan hanyalah sebahagian daripada tarikan yang ada di Zhouzhuang.

Kota seni penuh keunikan

Oleh Mustapa Omar

musomar@bharian.com.my

ISTANA Hofbugh menyimpan pelbagai khazanah peninggalan Franz Joseph I.

Vienna yang mewarisi sejarah panjang tamadun manusia menawarkan pelbagai kelebihan kepada tetamunya

BERADA di Stephanplatz di tengah kota Vienna pada petang menjelang perlawanan separuh akhir Euro 2008 antara Russia dan Sepanyol, boleh membuatkan bulu roma tegak. Preobrajensky March, lagu patriotik Russia dan irama Latin menenggelamkan klasik Mozart yang menjadi kebanggaan rakyat Austria.

Penyokong kedua-dua pasukan seolah-olah lupa mereka berada di Vienna, bukan di Moscow atau Madrid. Hampir di setiap sudut, warna biru, putih, merah dan kuning menyelubungi dataran yang di kelilingi butik jenama mewah dari Prada, Zegna, Armani, Boss, Cartier, Gucci, Louis Vuitton dan pelbagai lagi.

Vienna memang kota mewah dan mahal. Di sebalik deretan bangunan lama bersejarah, sesekali kelihatan deretan pengunjung, terutama wanita yang terpaksa menunggu giliran untuk masuk ke butik menjual barangan berjenama - kebanyakannya dalam ruangan kecil yang hanya mampu menampung 20 pengunjung.

Satu lagi kawasan tumpuan membeli-belah ialah di Josefstoer strasse, pasar tradisional masyarakat Vienna dengan deretan gerai kecil menjual pelbagai barangan seperti Portobello di London atau Jalan Petaling di Kuala Lumpur. Harga di sini agak murah, terutama jika anda ingin membeli cenderahati.

Sebenarnya banyak lagi yang boleh dilakukan di Vienna selain membeli-belah. Dari St Stephen Cathedral, Schonbrunn, Hofburg Imperial Palace hinggalah bangunan moden di MuseumsQuartier, kota yang mempunyai sejarah panjang tamadun manusia ini menawarkan pelbagai kelebihan kepada tetamunya.

APARTMEN Hundertwasserhaus hasil gabungan seni bina moden dan alam semula jadi.

Istana Schonbrunn yang dibina antara 1695-1700 adalah tempat istirahat keluarga diraja Hapsburg pada musim panas. Ia menjadi saksi pelbagai peristiwa bersejarah. Marie Antoinette dibesarkan di sini, Mozart dan Napoleon pernah mengunjunginya, malah Kennedy dan Kruschoff mengadakan pertemuan di istana itu.

Schonbrunn mempunyai 1440 bilik, tetapi hanya 40 bilik yang dibuka kepada orang ramai. Hiasan dalaman dan perabot mewah menggambarkan kekayaan pemiliknya. Begitu juga tamannya yang luas, dipenuhi pokok bunga yang mekar pada musim bunga. Luangkan masa kira-kira 20 minit untuk menikmati keindahannya.

Sebuah lagi bangunan yang penuh bersejarah ialah Istana Hofburg. Ia kini dijadikan muzium mempamerkan pelbagai harta peninggalan Maharaja Franz Joseph I yang memerintah Austria antara 1846 hingga 1916. Berdiri di tengah koleksi barangan perak yang digunakan ketika santapan istana sungguh mengasyikkan.

Jika anda ingin melarikan diri dari kesibukan Stephanplatz, Kärntner Strasse dan Mariahilfer Strasse yang sentiasa padat dengan pengunjung, mungkin antara pilihan sesuai ialah melihat keunikan sebuah bangunan yang dibina di persimpangan Jalan Kegelgasse dan Lowengasse di Third District.

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PENYOKONG Sepanyol membanjiri Stephanplatz menjelang perlawanan separuh akhir Euro 2008 menentang Russia.

Bangunan itu dikenali sebagai Hundertwasserhaus, sempena nama arkiteknya yang juga seorang pelukis ternama, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Ia sebenarnya adalah kompleks apartmen 52 bilik yang menggabungkan seni bina moden dengan alam semula jadi.

Dengan pohon hijau serta bunga menjulur dari balkoni yang menyejukkan suasana serta pelbagai warna yang menghiasi dinding, ia memberikan kelainan sehingga mampu menarik perhatian ribuan pengunjung setiap hari. Malah, penggunaan pelbagai bahan sisa sebagai hiasan menambah lagi keunikannya.

Difahamkan ada kira-kira 250 pohon dan pokok bunga di sekeliling bangunan yang dibina pada 1983 dan siap pada 1986 itu, sesuai dengan hasrat Hundertwasser untuk mewujudkan tempat tinggal yang mesra alam bagi warga Vienna.

Vienna juga terkenal dengan taman bunganya seperti Burggarten, terletak tidak jauh dari Hofburg dan Opera House, Rathauspark yang direka bentuk sendiri oleh Franz Joseph I dan Stadtpark, taman di mana terletaknya Viennese Art Nouveau, galeri arca kontemporari termasuk hasil karya Donald Judd.

Bagi pengunjung yang ingin menikmati keindahan alam semula jadi, Krems yang terletak di tebing Sungai Danube, kira-kira sejam perjalanan dari Vienna sudah pasti menggamit hati. Kedamaian desa di pinggir kota dengan bangunan lama yang masih kukuh seolah-olah membawa kita ke zaman kegemilangan Empayar Rom.

Memang banyak yang menarik di Vienna, cuma yang sering menjadi masalah ialah komunikasi kerana kebanyakan warga kota itu hanya berbahasa Jerman. Selain itu, perawakan mereka yang agak serius, khususnya lelaki menyebabkan pelancong asing agak takut bertegur sapa dengan mereka.

Vienna juga kota seni. Tidak hairanlah jika banyak dewan konsert di kota ini seperti di State Opera, Musikverein Golden Hall, Hofburg dan Konzerthaus. Anda juga akan bertemu ramai penjual tiket di setiap pusat pelancongan. Daripada tiket untuk konsert Mozart dan Strauss hinggalah persembahan Vienna Symphony Orchestra yang cukup popular.

Tutorial Photoshop - Brighten your yellowish teeth with photoshop.

Brighten your yellowish teeth with photoshop.

Are you worrying about yellowish teeth in your photos? You can make your teeth whitest white by using photoshop.
I'm gonna choose this picture with yellow teeth and convert into whitest teeth.




1.To whiten the teeth select the dodge tool in the toolbox. Make the option seeings range: Midtones, Exposure:30%. Change the brush size so it is small enough to paint the teeth without touching the gums.

2.Paint the teeth just enough to make them slightly brighter. Don't make it very bright so that it looks artificial.
See the outcome:

Tutorial Photoshop - Photo filled text effect

Photo filled text effect

This tutorial is about filling the text with any image. Sometimes it will be very boring to give text only colors, gradient effects or preset patterns of adobe photoshop. Why not try fill the text with images?

1.Open an image of your choice. I have selected an image of clouds.




2.Using type tool enter any text.



3.Make a copy of background layer, by clicking and dragging the background layer in the layer palette onto the New layer icon.

4.Select background layer(NOT background copy) in the layers palette, choose Edit -> Fill, and then choose white color to clear the original flower background.

5.Drag the text layer so that it is between the background and the background copy layer. The text disappears.

6. Select the background copy layer in the layers palette, and in the layers menu, select create clipping mask(Alt+Ctrl+G), and see the result.



7.Double click the text layer and apply the following layer styles:




So the final outcome is:

Tutorial Photoshop- realistic water droplet

Create realistic water droplet

This tutorial is about creating realistic water drop. I have chosen a pic of leaf

1. Open the image. Select elliptical marquee tool and drag on the image. Click ctrl+J. This will create a new layer.

2. With the new layer selected choose Filter -> Distort -> Spherize. Choose amount to 100% and mode to normal and click ok.

3. Double click the new layer to open layer style window and apply the following settings.



4. Choose blur tool and apply it on the edges of drop shadow so that the edges don't look very sharp.

So the pic looks like.



5. Ctrl click the new layer to select it and create a new layer(layer 2). Now choose white color from color box. Select gradient tool and select the 2nd gradient preset(Foreground to transparent). Pressing shift key drag from left top to bottom right of the selection.



6. Click ctrl+T and reduce the width and height to 90%. Press enter to apply. Click ctrl+D to deselect the selection.

7. Reduce the opacity to 50%. Now using blur tool blur the edge of the reflection to make the edges blur. So the result is:

Tembikar

Tembikar merupakan salah satu daripada hasil kraftangan Melayu tradisi. Ia diperbuat daripada tanah liat dan antara barang-barang yang diperbuat dari tembikar ialah zawan, mangkuk, pinggan, pasu dan sebagainya. Terdapat empat kawasan utama sebagai pusat kegiatan pengeluaran barangan ialah di Kampung Mambong, Kuala Krai, Kelantan, di Sayong, Kuala Kangsar, Perak, di Kampung Pasir Durian, Hulu Tembeling, Pahang dan beberapa tempat di Sarawak.

Salah satu barangan tembikar yang begitu popular di Malaysia ialah labu sayong. Cara menghasilkan tembikar juga dipanggil seramik di empat kawasan tersebut tidak banyak berbeza cuma jenis barangan yang dihasilkan dan rekacorak hiasan atau pengemasannya. Perbezaan ini wujud kerana pengaruh adat dan cara hidup mesyarakat tempat, serta daya cipta pengusahanya. Hal ini juga memberi gambaran bahawa barangan tembikar tradisional mengutamakan ciri fungsional dari ciri perhiasan. Labu ialah sejenis buyong, takar atau kendi tembikar yang bentuk asasnya menyerupai buah labu. Sayong pula nama merupakan sebuah kampung yang terletak di Kuala Kangsar.

Proses Pembuatan

Terdapat beberapa proses untuk membuat labu sayong:

Tanah liat yang lazimnya diperolehi daripada sungai atau di bawah perdu pokok dkumpulkan dan ditumbuk dengan menggunakan lesung kaki supaya hancur dan halus.

Setelah itu ia ditapis untuk membuang pasir dan ketul-ketul batu. Tanah liat itu kemudiannya dicampurkan dengan air dan diuli supaya padat dan bebas daripada gelembung udara. Tanah tersebut seterusnya digiling sehingga berbentuk bulat dan memanjang.

Untuk membentuk labu, proses awal yang perlu dilakukan ialah membentuk badan labu dengan melingkarkan tanah liat di atas pinggan. Setelah itu lingkaran tanah liat tersebut dipicit sambil dipusingkan dan dinaikkan sehingga berbentuk silinder. Sudip buluh digunakan untuk melurut permukaan labu supaya licin dan kayu penepek digunakan untuk memampatkannya. Untuk membuat tapak labu, tanah liat dileperkan untuk dicantumkan di bahagian tapak labu dengan teknik lilit. Manakala untuk membuat leher labu, labu yang sudah siap tapaknya diterbalikkan di atas pinggan. Ukuran tanah liat dibahagikan dan dipicit sambil menaikkannnya untuk dijadikan leher dan seterusnya membentuk muncung labu.

Setelah siap bentuk labu tadi, sudip buluh dan batu sungai digunakan untuk menggilap permukaan labu. Labu dibiarkan kering selama dua atau tiga jam. Motif ukiran labu dihasilkan dengan menekan hujung kayu yang berukir pada permukaan labu yang masih lembut. Setelah labu tersebut diukir, ianya disalai dengan asap terlebih dahulu sebelum dibakar. Labu tersebut disalai di atas bara buluh dan pelepah kelapa. Kedua-dua jenis bahan tersebut digunakan kerana apinya tidak cepat merebak dan tidak cepat memakan bahan. Labu ti dak pula diletakkan terlalu rendah dan bahang api tidak terlalu panas. Keadaan demikian mengelakkan labu daripada retak atau meletup kerana kandungan air masih ada.

Proses pembakaran mengambil masa selama 6 jam. Untuk menghitamkan labu, labu yang masih panas ditimbus dengan sekam padi selama lebih kurang 10 minit. Kemudian tapak labu disapu dengan damar untuk menghalang air dari meresap keluar. Kemudian tersedialah labu yang sudah dibentuk. Labu yang dihasilkan adalah bewarna hitam dan kemerah-merahan. Warna ini terjadi bukanlah disebabkan oleh cat atau pewarna yang lain tetapi disebabkan oleh proses pembakaran dan juga sekam padi yang ditimbus ke atas labu yang telah menjalani proses pembakaran.






Motif dan Hiasan

Motif yang digunakan untuk menghias labu sayong ialah hiasan daripada tumbuh-tumbuhan dan juga motif geomatrik seperti:-

* Bunga cengkih * Bunga kedudut * Bunga tanjung * Bunga padi * Bunga pecah empat * Bunga pecah lapan * Bunga lawang * Pucuk rebung

Hiasan umum yang terdapat pada labu ialah hiasan panai dan gelugur. Hiasan panai iaitu jaluran timbul yang disusn secara menyerong atau tegak. Hiasan gelugur pula ialah jaluran cekung di permukaan yang menimbulkan kesan cembung. Hiasan jaluran cekung ini juga dikenali sebagai bekas taliair. Dua garis timbul atau turis yang melingkar di bahagian badan labu disebut gelang puyoh.

10 Most Amazing Lost Cities - 2

PETRA: stone structures carved into rocks _[Wiki]

Petra ("Rock") lies on the slope of Mount Hor (Jordan) in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is famous for having many stone structures carved into the rock. The long-hidden site was revealed to the Western world by the Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. Burgon had not actually visited Petra, which remained accessible only to Europeans accompanied by local guides with armed escorts until after World War I. The site was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 when it was described as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage."

Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf. Petra's decline came rapidly under Roman rule, in large part due to the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363 an earthquake destroyed buildings and crippled the vital water management system. The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity in the Middle Ages and were visited by the Sultan Baibars of Egypt towards the close of the 13th century. The first European to describe them was Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.

PALMYRA (Syria): the Bride of the Desert _[Wiki]

Palmyra was in the ancient times an important city of central Syria. It has long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert. The earliest documented mention of the city by its pre-Semitic name Tadmor, Tadmur or Tudmur, is recorded in Babylonian tablets found in Mari. Though the ancient site fell into disuse after the 16th century, it is still known as Tadmor and there is a small newer settlement next to the ruins of the same name.



n the mid-first century, Palmyra, a wealthy and elegant city located along the caravan routes linking Persia with the Mediterranean ports of Roman Syria and Phoenicia, came under Roman control. During the following period of great prosperity, the Arab citizens of Palmyra adopted customs and modes of dress from both the Iranian Parthian world to the east and the Graeco-Roman west. Tadmor is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (Second Book of Chronicles 8:4) as a desert city built by the King Solomon of Judea, the son of David. Palmyra was made part of the Roman province of Syria during the reign of Tiberius (14–37). It steadily grew in importance as a trade route linking Persia, India, China, and the Roman empire. In 634 the first Muslims arrived in Palmyra. The city was taken by the Muslim Arabs under Khalid ibn Walid in 636. In the 6th century, Fakhreddine al Maany castle was built on top of a mountain overlooking the oasis. The castle was surrounded by a moat, with access only available through a drawbridge. The city of Palmyra was kept intact. After year 800, people started abandoning the city.

POMPEII (Italy): buried by the volcano_[Wiki]

Along with Herculaneum, this Roman city near modern Naples was destroyed and completely buried during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning two days on 24 August year 79. The volcano collapsed higher roof-lines and buried Pompeii under many meters of ash and pumice, and it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1748.



Since then, its excavation has provided an extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today, it is one of the most popular tourist attractions of Italy and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

PALENQUE (Mexico): one of Mayan's most exquisite cities _[Wiki]

Palenque is an ancient Maya city near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings the Maya produced. The ancient Mayan city of Palenque, with its superb jungle setting and exquisite architecture and decoration, is one of the marvels of Mexico. First occupied around 100 BC, it flourished from about 600 to 700 AD, and what a glorious century that was. The city rose to prominence under Pakal, a club-footed king who reigned from 615 to 683 AD, represented by hieroglyphs of sun and shield, he is also referred to as Sun Shield or White Macaw. During Pakal's reign, many plazas and buildings, including the superlative Templo de las Inscripciones (his Mausoleum), were constructed in Palenque, characterized by very fine stucco bas-reliefs.



Pakal's son Chan-Bahlum II continued Palenque's political and economic expansion and the development of its art and architecture and presided over the construction of the Grupo de la Cruz temples, placing sizable narrative stone stelae within each. One can see the influence of Palenque's architecture in the Mayan city of Tikal. The rival Mayan city of Toniná's hostility was perhaps the major factor in Palenque's precipitous decline after Chan-Bahlum II's death in 702. Sources speak of a devastating Toniná attack on Palenque in 730. After the 10th century Palenque was largely abandoned. In an area that receives the heaviest rainfall in Mexico, the ruins lay undiscovered until the 18th century. Frans Blom, an early-to-mid-20th century investigator remarked: 'The first visit to Palenque is immensely impressive. When one has lived there for some time this ruined city becomes an obsession.'

VIJAYANAGAR (India): capital of one of the largest Hindu empires _[Wiki]

Vijayanagar, the capital of one of the largest Hindu empires ever, was founded by Sangama dynasty princes Harihara and Bukka in 1336. Its power peaked under Krishnadevaraya (1509-29), when it controlled nearly the whole of the peninsula south of the Krishna and Tungabhadra rivers. Comparable to Delhi in the 14th century, the city, with an estimated population of half a million, covered 33 sq km and was surrounded by several concentric lines of fortification. Its wealth derived from the control of spice trade and the cotton industry. Its busy bazaars, described by travelers such as Portuguese Nunez and Paes, were centers of international commerce. The empire collapsed after the battle of Talikota in 1565 when the city was ransacked by the confederacy of Deccan sultans (Bidar, Bijapur, Golconda, Ahmednagar and Berar), thus opening up southern India for Muslim conquest.



The ruins are set in a strange and beautiful boulder strewn landscape with an almost magical quality. The undisputed highlight, the 16th century Vittala Temple, is a World Heritage Monument. Started by Krishnadevaraya, it was never finished or consecrated; its incredible sculptural work is the pinnacle of Vijayanagar art. The outer pillars are known as musical pillars as they reverberate when tapped. An ornate stone chariot in the temple courtyard containing an image of Garuda.

EPHESUS (Turkey): one of the most important cities of early Christianity _[Wiki]

Ephesus was an Ionian Greek city in ancient Anatolia, founded by colonists from Athens in the 10th century BC. The city was located in Ionia, where the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes) flows into the Aegean Sea, and was part of the Panionian League. Ephesus hosted one of the seven churches of Asia, addressed in the Book of Revelation (2:1–7). It is also the site of a large Gladiator graveyard.



Ephesus was an important center for early Christianity. Paul used it as a base. He became embroiled in a dispute with artisans, whose livelihood depended on the Temple of Artemis there (Acts 19:23–41), and wrote 1 Corinthians from Ephesus. Later Paul wrote to the Christian community at Ephesus.

SANCHI (India): the best-preserved group of Buddhist monuments _[Wiki]

A UNESCO world heritage site in central India near the Betwa River, Sanchi is on a flat-topped sandstone hill, 90m above the countryside, and stands the best-preserved group of Buddhist monuments in India. Most noteworthy is the Great Stupa, discovered in 1818. It was probably begun by the emperor Asoka in the mid-3rd century BCE and later enlarged. Solid throughout, it is enclosed by a massive stone railing pierced by four gateways on which are elaborate carvings depicting the life of the Buddha.



The stupa itself consists of a base bearing a hemispherical dome representing the dome of heaven enclosing the Earth; it is surmounted by a squared rail unit, the world mountain, from which rises a mast to symbolize the cosmic axis. The mast bears umbrellas that represent the various heavens. Other remains include several smaller stupas, an assembly hall (caitya), an Asokan pillar with inscription, and several monasteries (4th–11th cent. CE). Several relic baskets and more than 400 epigraphical records have also been discovered.

10 Most Amazing Lost Cities - 1

Lost Cities were real, prosperous, well-populated areas of human habitation that fell into terminal decline and whose location was later lost. Most lost cities are found, and have been studied extensively by scientists. Here's our list of the 10 most amazing lost cities in the world.

MACHU PICCHU (Peru): The Lost City of the Incas _[Wiki]

Machu Picchu ("Old Peak") is a pre-Columbian Inca city located at 2,430 m (7,970 ft) altitude on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, near Cusco. Machu Picchu is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire. It is often referred to as "The Lost City of the Incas". The site was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1983 when it was described as "an absolute masterpiece of architecture and a unique testimony to the Inca civilization".

Machu Picchu was constructed around 1450, at the height of the Inca empire, and was abandoned less than 100 years later, as the empire collapsed under Spanish conquest. Although the citadel is located only about 50 miles from Cusco, the Inca capital, it was never found and destroyed by the Spanish, as were many other Inca sites. Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle grew to enshroud the site, and few knew of its existence. In 1911, Yale historian and explorer Hiram Bingham brought the "lost" city to the world's attention. Bingham and others hypothesized that the citadel was the traditional birthplace of the Inca people or the spiritual center of the "virgins of the sun," while curators of a recent exhibit have speculated that Machu Picchu was a royal retreat.

ANGKOR (Cambodia): Contains the world's largest religious monument _[Wiki]

Angkor served as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the 9th century to the 15th century A.D. More precisely, the Angkorian period may be defined as the period from 802 A.D., when the Khmer Hindu monarch Jayavarman II declared himself the "universal monarch" and "god-king" of Cambodia, until 1431 A.D., when Thai invaders sacked the Khmer capital, causing its population to migrate south to the area of Phnom Penh.

The ruins of Angkor are located amid forests and farmland to the north of the Great Lake (Tonle Sap) and south of the Kulen Hills, near modern day Siem Reap (13°24'N, 103°51'E), and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The temples of the Angkor area number over one thousand, ranging in scale from nondescript piles of brick rubble scattered through rice fields to the magnificent Angkor Wat, said to be the world's largest single religious monument. Many of the temples at Angkor have been restored, and together they comprise the most significant site of Khmer architecture. Visitor numbers approach one million annually.



In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 1,150 square miles. The closest rival to Angkor, the Mayan city of Tikal in Guatemala, was roughly 50 square miles in total size.

MEMPHIS (Egypt): ancient capital of Egypt_[Wiki]

Memphis was the ancient capital of the first nome of Lower Egypt, and of the Old Kingdom of Egypt from its foundation until around 2200 BC and later for shorter periods during the New Kingdom, and an administrative centre throughout ancient history. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Ineb Hedj ("The White Walls"). The name "Memphis" is the Greek deformation of the Egyptian name of Pepi I's (6th dynasty) pyramid, Men-nefer, which became Menfe in Coptic. According to Herodotus, the city was founded around 3100 BC by Menes, who united the two kingdoms of Egypt.



Estimates of population size differ widely. According to T. Chandlerm, Memphis had some 30,000 inhabitants and was by far the largest settlement worldwide from the time of its foundation until around 2250 BC and from 1557 to 1400 BC. Memphis reached a peak of prestige under the 6th Dynasty as a centre of the cult of Ptah. It declined briefly after the 18th Dynasty with the rise of Thebes and was revived under the Persian satraps before falling firmly into second place following the foundation of Alexandria. Under the Roman Empire, Alexandria remained the most important city and Memphis remained the second city of Egypt until the establishment of Fustat (or Fostat) in 641. It was then largely abandoned and became a source of stone for the surrounding settlements. It was still an imposing set of ruins in the 12th century but soon became little more than an expanse of low ruins and scattered stone. The remains of the temple of Ptah and of Apis have been uncovered at the site as well as a few statues, including two four-metre ones in alabaster of Ramesses II. The Saqqara necropolis is close to Memphis.