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Trafalgar Square is a square in central London, England. With its position in the heart of London, it is a tourist attraction; and one of the most famous squares in the United Kingdom and the world. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base. Statues and sculptures are on display in the square, including a fourth plinth displaying changing pieces of contemporary art, and it is a site of political demonstrations.

The name commemorates the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), a British naval victory of the Napoleonic Wars. The original name was to have been "King William the Fourth's Square", but George Ledwell Taylor suggested the name "Trafalgar Square".
Trafalgar Square is owned by the Queen in Right of the Crown, and managed by the Greater London Authority.[1]

Each year in December, the people of Norway send a gift of an enormous Christmas Tree to Britain, which is erected in Trafalgar Square. This is in thanks for Britain's part in their liberation during the second world war. One of the unforgettable sights of London is to see the giant tree after dark, when it is lit by hundreds of twinkling fairy lights, carol singers grouped around, while floodlights illuminate the sparkling water in the fountains of the square. This picture is depicted on many Christmas cards, sent all over the world each year.

Trafalgar Square ranks as the fourth most popular tourist attraction on Earth with more than fifteen million visitors a year.[citation needed]

Marble Arch is a white Carrara-marble monument at the junction of Oxford Street, Park Lane, and Edgware Road, almost directly opposite Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park in London, England. The arch is on a large traffic island, which also includes a very small park, in the midst of swirling traffic. The traffic island is directly across from the Marble Arch tube station.

The name "Marble Arch" also refers to the locality in west London where the arch is situated, particularly, the southern portion of Edgware Road. Historically, only members of the royal family and the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, have been allowed to pass through the arch in ceremonial procession.

In 1828, John Nash designed the arch based on the triumphal arch of Constantine in Rome. It was originally erected on The Mall as a gateway to the new Buckingham Palace, which was rebuilt by Nash from the former Buckingham House. At that time, Buckingham Palace did not yet have its present flat east front, which meant that the inner courtyard, flanked by two wings, was still open on one side. The Marble Arch was placed at the entrance to this open side of the courtyard.

In 1851, the arch was moved to its present location during the building of the east front of the palace. (A popular story says that the arch was moved because it was too narrow for the Queen's state coach to pass through, but, in fact, the gold state coach passed under it during Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953).

It has been speculated that the arch might be moved across the street to Hyde Park, or to some other more-accessible location, instead of its current position on a large traffic island.

http://londonanditsplacesofinterest.blogspot.com/

Big Ben is the nickname for the great bell of the clock at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, and is often extended to refer to the clock or the clock tower as well. Big Ben is the largest four-faced chiming clock and the third-tallest free-standing clock tower in the world. It celebrated its 150th anniversary in May 2009 (the clock itself first ticking on 31 May 1859), during which celebratory events took place.
The nearest London Underground station is Westminster on the Circle, District and Jubilee lines.
The clock is famous for its reliability. The designers were the lawyer and amateur horologist Edmund Beckett Denison, and George Airy, the Astronomer Royal. Construction was entrusted to clockmaker Edward John Dent; after his death in 1853 his stepson Frederick Dent completed the work, in 1854. As the Tower was not complete until 1859, Denison had time to experiment: Instead of using the deadbeat escapement and remontoire as originally designed, Denison invented the double three-legged gravity escapement. This escapement provides the best separation between pendulum and clock mechanism. The pendulum is installed within an enclosed windproof box sunk beneath the clockroom. It is 3.9m long, weighs 300 kg and beats every 2 seconds. The clockwork mechanism in a room below weighs 5 tons.
The nickname Big Ben is the subject of some debate. The nickname was applied first to the Great Bell; it may have been named after Sir Benjamin Hall, who oversaw the installation of the Great Bell, or after boxing's English Heavyweight Champion Benjamin Caunt. Big Ben is used to refer to the clock, the tower and the bell collectively, although the nickname is not universally accepted as referring to the clock and tower. Some authors of works about the tower, clock and bell sidestep the issue by using the words Big Ben first in the title, then going on to clarify that the subject of the book is the clock and tower as well as the bell.

The forbidden city - or a palace of an imperial dynasty, is in the centre of capital of China, and throughout 5 centuries intended for residing of governors of China. Construction is dated about XV century, into complex structure enters about 1000 constructions which occupy the space more than 700 thousand м2. It is a part of a world cultural heritage, and represents bright display of the Chinese traditions. The name «Forbidden city» speaks that anybody without the permission of the governor cannot enter or leave a palace - today the museum here is located.
Palace building has begun after occurrence of a dynasty of the Mines which have replaced the Mongolian dynasty - palaces of Mongols have been destroyed, and the new governor needed a new residence. As well as many Chinese constructions, a palace differed in the large sizes, and was under construction a large quantity of people. For it the precious wood, special bricks and marble slabs was used. The forbidden city is the world's largest remained palace. It is surrounded by 8 metre wall, and also a deep ditch. The width of walls makes about 8 m. that allowed them to be a serious obstacle for attacking; also they served as support for the palace.
The palace was subdivided into 2 parts - in one there passed ceremonies, in the second there lived the emperor with a family. Round the Forbidden city gardens and parks which can be visited till now are broken. Also near to it the tomb for members of an imperial family has been located. The design of the given complex has been carefully planned, and answered philosophical and religious principles, symbolising the power of emperors. For example, almost all roofs here yellow colour - colours of an imperial family, except for a library roof - it black, that symbolises safety from a fire, and roofs over residence of the successor - it green, that symbolises career growth.

This bridge was built in 1894 and it is still in daily use even though the traffic in and out of the London wharves' has increased to an extraordinary extent in the course of the 20th century.

         While the central stay measure 142 feet, each bascule to be raised weighs 1,000 tons. Nowadays the pedestrian path is closed. This footpath crossing which used to be allowed was by the upper bridge which connected the top of each tower, situated at a height of 142 feet above the waters of the famous Thames.

       Tower Bridge commands wide and magnificent views of both the city and the river. After Tower Bridge, the wharves of London extend until Tilbury. The gigantic port of the city, which has one of the heaviest movements of ocean-going traffic in the entire world, occupies practically the whole of the Thames from Teddington. It is virtually impossible to get a complete idea of its colossal extention. In fact it is one wharf after another, apparently continuing endlessly.

          There is one way to form a closer idea of the grandiosity of this port: to view it from Tower Bridge on a clear day. To get the most accurate idea of its extension and complexity, one can recommend taking one of the boat trips that are organized during the summer months.

Milford Sound

Milford Sound (Piopiotahi in Māori) is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. It has been judged the world's top travel destination in an international survey, and is acclaimed as New Zealand's most famous tourist destination. Rudyard Kipling had previously called it the eighth Wonder of the World. Many trips are made to this wonderful place which leaves from Queenstown as it is nearest to Milford. Milford is also famous for hiking and tracking and is most popular around the world. It has limitations for the hikers that are not more than 40 per day. Visiting this place during rainy days you can get the most beautiful site of number of waterfalls running on the walls of sounds making this place heavenly.

Bermuda

Bermuda is a group of 360 small islands in the western Atlantic, of which 20 are inhabited. Population density is rather high, and most people (61%) are of African descent.
Bermuda is especially known for the mystery of the so-called Bermuda Triangle. It`s the name of a region between Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Florida, where a series of strange events have taken place. Since the 19th century 40 ships and planes have disappeared along with almost 2000 people. No wrecks or bodies have ever been found.
What causes all those strange events? Many explanations have been put forward both by the scientists and lay people. Some say they are caused by the legendary civilization of Atlantis which is still alive deep under the ocean`s surface, while others blame the UFO. Those who are more sceptical think there is nothing peculiar about the place and that the events can be easily explained by the changeable weather conditions. Whatever the explanation, Bermuda is still one of the most mysterious and interesting places in the world.

Wonderful Place on Earth-Chichén Itzá

Wonderful Place on Earth-Chichén Itzá

What?

It is one of the most important remaining of the pre-Hispanic civilizations in America. It was named as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, in 2007 by the UNESCO.Chichen-Itza which known as “El Castillo” (the castle), is one of the new seven wonders of the world elected in 07.07.2007. It is exactly 24 m. high considering the upper platform

Where?

It is located in Yucatan Peninsula, which is in Southeastern Mexico, and separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico. The area where that monument stands is predominated by short and tall dry tropical jungles.

Who and How?

Chichen Itza was funded in the year 525 by the Itzaes, who were druids of the Mayan Civilization. Different buildings were constructed in this city, for example Ball Courts, Churches, Sacrifice places and a Temple of Warriors.

About Sphinx in Egypt!

In a depression to the south of Khafre's pyramid at Giza near Cairo sits a huge creature with the head of a human and a lion's body. This monumental statue, the first truly colossal royal sculpture in Egypt, known as the Great Sphinx, is a national symbol of Egypt, both ancient and modern.

The word "sphinx", which means 'strangler', was first given by the Greeks to a fabulous creature which had the head of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird.

The body is 72.55 meters in length and 20.22 meters tall. The face of the sphinx is four meters wide and its eyes are two meters high. The mouth is about two meters wide, while the nose would have been more than 1.5 meters long.

In 1885, Gaston Maspero, then Director of the Antiquities Service, once again tried to clear the Sphinx, but after exposing the earlier work of Caviglia and Mariette, he also was forced to abandon the project due to logistical problems.

Between 1925 and 1936, French engineer Emile Baraize excavated the Sphinx on behalf of the Antiquities Service, and apparently for the first time since antiquity, the great beast once again became exposed to the elements.

Sydney Opera House

The Sydney Opera House is a beautiful arts centre on Bennelong Point in Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon. It is one of the 20th century's most wonderful buildings, and one of the most famous performing arts centres in the world. It is on the north-eastern side of the Sydney, surrounded on three sides by the harbour, and neighboured by the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The building covers 1.8 hectares (4.5 acres) of land, and is 183 metres (605 ft) long and 120 metres (388 ft) wide at its widest point. It is supported on 588 concrete piers sunk as much as 25 metres below sea level. Its power supply is equivalent to that of a town of 25,000 people, and is distributed by 645.5 kilometres (401 miles) of electrical cable.




Construction of the Opera House began in March, 1959. The project was built in three stages. Stage I (1959–1963) consisted of building the upper podium. Stage II (1963–1967) saw the construction of the outer shells. Stage III consisted of the interior design and construction (1967–73).

Online Project 9 A

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Online Project 9 A

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Welcome Dear Friends!

Welcome to the Collaborative Blog of 9 A about

Wonderful Places of the World.

Our students are 15-16 year-old teenagers studying at linguistic gymnasia 20. The task is to find information about a world-famous sight ( some 500-700 signs), add an impressive picture of it , or a slideshow and publish it to this blog. Besides you should also comment posts of your classmates. Please , be creative: use videos from Youtube, or podcasts, try to record your own voice with comments.You will get additional points for creativity.

I wish you success in your work!

Enjoy your online activity!