I mean, apart from the seven-wonders of our world, there are hundreds of amazing monuments of our planet.
Which was that one structure you saw and went 'Oh Wow!', and left you transfixed?
For me it was the beautiful Konark Temple, in Orissa, India.
It's a thirteenth century structure, made of stone.
It's a one of a kind temple built to honour the Sun-God - Surya.
It is structered as a huge chariot on twelve glorious wheels, drawn by seven maginificient steeds...all carved from ancient rock...
And all around it's decorated with amazingly sensuous carvings of men and women...
This just took my breath away!
Without a doubt the birth of my children!
Swimming with turtles off the coast of Western Australia was pretty special.
If you are talking about ancient monuments, then, the Big Temple in Tanjore, Tamil Nadu, India, as well as the Taj Mahal in Agra, India come to my mind (amongst those that I have seen personally).
Amongst modern 'monuments', the Eiffel Tower in Paris is also pretty good.
If you include natural wonders, then my vote definitely goes to the Niagara Falls in the North America 
In terms of man made monuments, I'd have to say the Great Wall of China.
Hello all,
These are mine. Of course "monument" taken at a larger extent.
Just to mention a few...
Cheers
Christophe
Taj Mahal, rear view with the Yamuna river
Desert in Morocco
Celtic Cross in a cemetery, north west of Dublin
Mountain lake in the french alps
Genovese bridge in Corsica
Belem (Lisbon) San Jeronimo Cloister
Venice, Italy - Piazza and Piazzaetta San Marco
[/code] There is something special in Rome. It is difficult to take one building all of it is special, churches, museums, gardens.
I think some people have confused the word "Monument" with "Moment".
A birth of a child and swimming with turtles are "Moments", not "Monuments".
I'd have to say Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, in Cambodia.
I went there years ago when I was working in Cambodia.
It's such an ancient and beautiful place. Very primeval, and emotional. There is something immortal about the image of this place, and sadly mortal at the same time, watching nature reclaim the stones beneath networks of tree roots and other flora. A reminder of the transitory state of everything, no matter how permanent we might think it is. I recommend anyone going there. @Ophois. That tree is pretty amazing. Almost like a science fiction movie. Which part of Cambodia was the photo taken in?
Well, in my personal experience,
There's Mt. Rushmore:
The 'pride hangar' (a monstrously huge, and old, aircraft hangar- made for a single enormous bomber. The inside is all one huge room. There's a 1/3 mile running track inside now, as well as two basketball courts, a tennis court, and an indoor football field. It isn't really that huge; there are bigger buildings... but being inside that one, huge, empty room is amazing. It was made to house the bomber shown in the second picture- the B-36, the largest bomber ever made by the US):
Then, in Cape Canaveral, there's the massive space shuttle hangar, where they store the shuttle, plus fuel tank and boosters when it's almost ready to launch:
I'm sure there are more impressive monuments around, but these are the best I've seen. I like the UFO!!!! Did you work it into your graphic?
My real favourite has always been the launch of the shuttle. I remember the first IMAX show I saw "A Dream is Alive" and it really gave me goose pimples. I found a number of good launch shows in YouTube. This one was really good:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPQvTgD2quQ&feature=related
| deanhills wrote: |
I like the UFO!!!! Did you work it into your graphic?
|
No, it was already there, but that was the only picture of the inside of the building I could find.
| Quote: |
My real favourite has always been the launch of the shuttle. I remember the first IMAX show I saw "A Dream is Alive" and it really gave me goose pimples. I found a number of good launch shows in YouTube. This one was really good:
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I've seen that, but only from a distance. Even from a hundred miles away, you can clearly see it rising through the sky, and even see the boosters split off and fall back. One time, when it launched during the sunset, I could see the sun glinting off those boosters all the way down until they disappeared below the horizon. | ocalhoun wrote: |
| I've seen that, but only from a distance. Even from a hundred miles away, you can clearly see it rising through the sky, and even see the boosters split off and fall back. One time, when it launched during the sunset, I could see the sun glinting off those boosters all the way down until they disappeared below the horizon. |
You lucky devil! I remember the part in "A dream is alive" that really gave me the goose pimples was going from complete quiet at sunrise, showing the placid lake and early morning bird life and sounds, and then that slight tremble of the earth and then finally the roar as it started to take off, and then deafening noise, the sounds are just so manificent and full of power and force. | deanhills wrote: |
| the sounds are just so manificent and full of power and force. |
Well, you can't hear it from a hundred miles away... not taking off anyway. You can hear it land though. The approach to the runway at Cape Canaveral goes right over where I used to live- I would hear a tremendous boom, shaking everything in the house, then, if I cared to, I could turn on the TV, and there'd be the footage of the shuttle coming in for a landing. | deanhills wrote: |
| @Ophois. That tree is pretty amazing. Almost like a science fiction movie. Which part of Cambodia was the photo taken in? |
Yeah, it's an awe inspiring place(for the record, I didn't take the photos. I almost never take photos of anything. I don't like looking like a tourist).
The temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom are in Angkor, Cambodia, which is in the north-west part of the country, just north of the city of Siĕmréab. Not too far from Thailand, actually. There's a nice big lake nearby, and a national park(Phnom Kulen Nat'l Park), which is beautiful.
There are many waterfalls in the park, which are breathtakingly beautiful. You can really feel peaceful in a place like this.
And in many of the little rivers, the monks have inlaid carvings of spiritual symbols and other various designs into the riverbeds. They did this centuries ago, and it really is amazing to look at. Actually, many rivers throughout Cambodia have had this done.
| Ophois wrote: |
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This one is particularly beautiful for me. The photo of the waterfalls is also quite awesome. Is it safe to travel in Cambodia? Did you travel on your own? And what language would you use to communicate with? | deanhills wrote: |
| This one is particularly beautiful for me. The photo of the waterfalls is also quite awesome. Is it safe to travel in Cambodia? Did you travel on your own? And what language would you use to communicate with? |
Safe is a relative term. There are dangers there that make it unsafe sometimes, but no more so that many other places. I never once felt a threat there, though I was fully aware of the potential. I didn't travel on my own, we were in a group of about a dozen people. Some from the US, some Europeans, and some locals, which acted as guides and interpreters. The official language is Khmer, but I don't speak a lick of it, so our local friends really helped with that. At the height of my stay there, maybe I knew a few words, but nothing more.
I really liked ocalhouns' photos of the shuttle. Living in Florida, and not too far south of where they launch from, I often take for granted the awe of having a space ship just up the road from me. I have been very close during a launch, and it is truly a sight to behold. The sound always sends a tingle down my spine and makes me smile. I really should get up that way more often. | Ophois wrote: |
| The sound always sends a tingle down my spine and makes me smile. I really should get up that way more often. |
Right, that sound is really amazing and has done the same for me. Last night when I was posting in this thread, I went through probably a 100 YouTube productions and the ones with the sound were awesome, gave me a real thrill and goose pimples. I almost chose one of them, but in each of them there were people who shrieked, wish I could have found a YouTube production with real sound minus people noises.
