Architecture

USA

2008-08-16T00:12:00.000-05:00

Gateway Arch

The Gateway Arch is in St.Louis, my birthplace! It was designed by Eero Saarinen,and was opened in 1965. The stainless steel arch is 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide at the ground level. There is a tram inside the arch that takes people to the top. On the top is the viewing area. One can view the Mississippi river that flows on the eastern side of the arch. There is also a museum located below the arch.

Statue of Liberty

The Statue of Liberty was presented to the people of the United States in 1886 by France. It became a national monument in 1924. It was built by the french sculptor Auguste Bartholdi. The statue is 151 feet tall, made of copper. The pedestal is 65 feet tall, made of granite. One could reach the crown by climbing 354 stairs.

Washington monument

Washington monument, was built in the memory of father of United States, George Washington. It was erected in 1838. It is 550 feet tall. This picture is taken from the Lincoln memorial. This reflecting pool was inspired by the pools at Versailles and the Taj Mahal.

Christian Science Church

The Christian Science Church is in the heart of Boston. You also see the reflecting pool and the fountain. During the summer, the children play in the fountain. Mary Baker Eddy is the discoverer of Christian Science.

ENGLAND

2008-08-08T22:56:00.000-05:00

Tower Bridge

Tower bridge, a bascule bridge (moveable bridge) and suspension bridge over the Thames river in London that consists of two towers connected to eachother by means of two horizontal walkways.

Statue of Anteros

This is the statue of Anteros (Greek God of requited love), but is often wrongly referred as statue of Eros (brother of Anteros). It was made by Alfred Gilbert in 1885. It is one of the first statues to be cast in aluminium. It stands in the Piccadilly circus memorial fountain, London.

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs on the River Cam was built in 1831 by architect Henry Hutchinson. It belongs to St. John's College of Cambridge University. It is named after the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.

JAPAN

2008-08-01T00:03:00.000-05:00

Great Buddha

The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a bronze statue of Amida Buddha that is located on the grounds of the Kotokuin Temple. It is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan. It is 13.35 meters. It seems the statue was casted in 1252 and originally located inside a large temple hall. Later, by the end of 15th century, the temple buildings were washed away by a tsunami tidal wave , since then the Buddha stands in the open air.

Rainbow bridge

The rainbow bridge connects the Tokyo waterfront with the manmade island Odaiba. The bridge carries an expressway, a regular road, monorail Yurikamome and a pedestrian walkway. I enjoyed the ride in the un-manned, elevated train with rubber tires. To see spectacular view, one should take a ride in the Yurikamome train. I took ride several times since my friends Marthandan, Prathiba, Vivek and Murugan were living in Odaiba.

CZECH REPUBLIC

2008-07-31T00:18:00.003-05:00

National Museum Of Prague

This picture was taken in the famous Wenceslas Square in Prague. In this picture you see the statue of St.Wenceslas, king of Wenceslas on his horse. Behind the statue is the monumental National museum. It is the biggest museum in the Czech Republic and was built in 18th century.

NETHERLANDS

2008-07-24T23:43:00.000-05:00

Madurodam miniatures

Madurodam is a miniature city in Netherlands. The pictures you see above are not real buildings, railways, bridge or castle but they are model of Dutch town on a 1:25 scale !

AUSTRIA

2008-07-10T00:17:00.006-05:00

Schonbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna used to be the summer residence of the imperial family. It was designed by Fischer von Erlach and was bulit in 17th century. It has been declared as the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Sites.

Hofburg Palace

While Schönbrunn Palace was preferred as a summer residence by the imperial family, the Hofburg Imperial Palace was their winter residence. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was built in 13th century and expanded over the centuries.

Parliament Of Vienna

This is the picture of Austrian parliament building. It lies at the Ringstraße in the capital city Vienna. The architect who designed this building was Baron Theophil von Hansen and the main construction lasted from 1874 to 1883. The Athena Fountain in front of the parliament shows the classical Greek style. Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom, is dressed in armor with a gilded helmet, her left hand carries a spear, her right carries Nike. The four lying figures at the foot of Athena are allegorical representations of the four most important rivers of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Statue of Mozart

This is the statue of the famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart situated in the Burggarten in Vienna, Austria. The Burggarten contains many monuments of other famous like Goethe. My brother Pari was behind the Goethe statue taking several pictures.

GERMANY

2008-06-10T22:41:00.005-05:00

Heidelberger Schloss and Alte Brücke (Heidelberg castle and old bridge)

Heidelberg is a small city in the southern part of Germany. It lies in the state of Baden-Württemberg and is an independent city that do not belong to any district. I lived in this place for three years. I have several memories attached to this city. The first five things which comes to my mind when someone says 'Heidelberg' are: the castle and old bridge, the neckar river, lushy green hills, christmas market and the University of Heidelberg.

Heidelberger Schloss or the Heidelberg castle was constructed in the 12th century. It has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries. The view of the old downtown from the castle is a lovely scene. Every year there is a "Heidelberger Castle Festival" in which the castle and the old bridge are illuminated with lights and fireworks. As a relic of the period of Romanticism, Heidelberg has been named "romantic city".

Ruprecht Karls University (University of Heidelberg) founded in 1386 is the oldest university in Germany. Karl Drais, who invented the bicycle in 1817, was a student of University of Heidelberg. Coindidentally, Heidelberg is a bicycle-friendly city.

Koln Kathedrale

Cologne Cathedral is one of the largest churches in the world as well as one of the best-known architectural monuments in Germany. This Gothic church is the largest in Northern Europe and it is considered as a UNESCO world heritage site. Though the construction of the church began in 1248 due to several interruptions, only in 1880 it came to a completion. The nave has got many 19th century stained-glass windows depicting the stories from the Bible.

Brandenburger tor

This is the Brandenburger gate in Berlin. It was designed by Carl Gotthard and was constructed between 1778 and 1791. The decorations depicts the Greek mythology. The quadriga of victory crowns the gate.It is 60m tall and was part of a wall surrounding the city and was the main entrance to the city. It is the only gate that remains of this former city wall which was removed in 1989.

New Rathaus

This is view of the new town hall of Hannover from the Maschpark lake. Its architectural style make it look like a more historical building but it was built between 1901-1913. I just got down in Hannover on the way to Hamburg and I found worth visiting it.

SPAIN

2008-05-15T23:55:00.009-05:00

Arc De Triomf

This arch called the "Arc de Triomf" is in Barcelona. It was built for the 1888 and served as the exposition's main entrance.

Casa Amatller

Casa Amatller is a stylish building situated in the Passeig de Gràcia (one of the major avenue in Barcelona containing several famous architecture pieces). This building was designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch between 1898 and 1900.

Casa Batllo

Casa Batlló is a very famous building designed by Antoni Gaudí and Josep Maria Jujo in 1877 and was remodelled between 1905 and 1907. Casa Batlló is also situated in Passeig de Gràcia, an avenue in Barcelona which is regarded as the most expensive street in Spain. As you see in the picture, it is actually next to the Casa Amatller. Casa Batlló is also named as Casa dels ossos (House of Bones) because it looks like it has been made from skulls (the balconies) and bones (the supporting pillars).

The Casa Amatller and Casa Batlló along with Casa Lleó-Morera makes up the three most important buildings in Barcelona's famous Illa de la Discòrdia (meaning "block of discord") beacuse of their uniqueness.

FRANCE

2008-04-10T22:08:00.004-05:00

Eiffel tower

Eiffel and was erected in 1889. The total height of the tower is 324m. The base measures 125x125m . And is made of puddle iron. It has 1665 stairs from the ground to the top, however we took the elevator. I was impressed by the wax characters, Gustave, his daughter Claire as well as their famous guest, the American inventor Thomas Edison which can be found on the top floor. The Eiffel by night was great! Paris, was my first tour in the Europe. My friends Subbu and Pandian accompanied me, which is a sweet memory. My second trip was with my brother and sister-in-law, we spent 2006 new year eve in Paris.

Cupid and Psyche

This sculpture is one of the many other beautiful ones kept at the Louvre musuem in Paris. This was sculpted by Antonio Canova. In Roman mythology,"cupid" is the god of erotic love and beauty, equivalent to the Greek God Eros. This sculpture is a depiction of Cupid reviving Psyche, who was put to sleep forever by inhaling a magic perfume.

GREECE

2008-03-13T21:59:00.007-05:00

Acropolis of Athens

Acropolis (In Greek, "Acro" means 'high' and "Polis" means 'city'. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m above sea level in the city of Athens. It is an UNESCO world heritage site.

In the first picture, you see "The Erechtheum" an ancient Greek temple built between 421 and 407 BCE on the Acropolis of Athens in Greece. It derived its name from a shrine dedicated to the legendary Greek hero Erichthonius. According to some legends, King Erichthonius an early ruler of Athens, was an autochthonous (born of the soil or Earth) and raised by the goddess Athena.

In the second picture, you see "The Parthenon" a temple built in the 5th century BC on the Acropolis of Athens. It is dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena (Goddess of strategic warfare and heroic endeavour). The Parthenon replaced an older temple of Athena, called the pre-parthenon or older parthenon, that was destroyed during the Persian invasion in 480 BC. Between 1799 and 1803, the Turkish invaders sold the marble sculptures that originally belonged to the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens to 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador. They are now placed on display in the British Museum.

ITALY

2008-02-28T21:25:00.013-06:00

Colosseum

The Colosseum of Rome, originally called Flavian amphitheater was built by the Flavian family- Vespasian and Titus in 80 A.D. and completed by Domitian. The Colosseum was designed to hold 50,000 spectators, and it had approximately eighty entrances so crowds could arrive and leave easily and quickly. It measures externally 188 m x 156 m, with the base of the building covering about 6 acres. Also called as “arena of death” since its opening was celebrated with 100 days of games in which thousands of animals and gladiators were killed. This is an impressive ancient building to seen.

Fontana di Trevi

Trevi Fountain is the most famous fountain in Italy. It was built by the architect Salvi in 1735 and decorated by several artists of Bernini's school. The fountain shows the sea god in his chariot. The tradition here is to throw a coin into the fountain to ensure your return to Rome.

Castle Nuovo

Castel Nuovo (New Castle), is a beautiful castle, situated on the bay of Napoli(Naples) in Italy. Its construction was undertaken in the second half of the 13th century under the Angevin sovereign who entrusted the work to the French architects. It is one of the most outstanding works of Renaissance honorary architecture. I had the chance to visit this city since I had an interview for my studies. I would say, Naples is a very good place to visit but not for living!

Piazza del Duomo

Piazza del Duomo or Piazza dei Miracoli is recognized as one of the main centers for medieval art in the world. It consists of the Duomo-cathedral, the Leaning tower, the Baptistery and the Camposanto. The whole square is a UNESCO world heritage site. In the above picture you see the leaning tower and the Duoma. The Leaning tower of Pisa is the bell tower of the cathedral. The tower leans at an angle of 3.97 degrees. The Tower was designed to be "vertical", it began leaning soon after the onset of construction due to a poorly laid foundation and loose substrate. Although the construction of these started in 10-11th century, it took almost two centuries to complete them.

Galileo Galilei is said to have dropped two cannon balls of different masses from the tower to demonstrate that their descending speed was independent of their mass.

Ponte di Rialto

Ponte di Rialto or the rialto bridge is the oldest bridge across the canal and probably the most famous in Venice. This stone bridge was constructed by architect Antonio da Ponte in late-15th century to replace the wooden bridge that collapsed repeatedly. I was there during the Christmas along with my brother, sister-in-law as well as my husband. The bridge and the surroundings were beautifully lit.

VATICAN CITY

2008-02-14T21:05:00.008-06:00

St Peter's piazza

This is the St.Peter’s square in Vatican city or Holy See. In 1984, the Vatican was added by UNESCO to the list of world heritage sites. This picture is taken from the top of the world famous St.Peter’s Basilica, designed by the Italy's foremost architects, including Michelangelo and Raphael. The St.Peter’s square is a masterpiece of the architect Bernini, built in 17th century. If you stand on the dark paving stones between the obelisk and either of two fountains, the columns line up in perfect rows so that the massive columns behind can't be seen. I enjoyed my walking tour in Rome and Vatican city.

INDIA

2008-01-01T22:11:00.011-06:00

Meenakshi Amman temple

Meenakshi Amman temple is in the city Madurai in Tamil Nadu. This is the most beautiful temple in India. In the early B.C, this city was visited by Romans and Greeks for trading with the Pandya Kings. This temple was originally built by the King Kulasekara Pandyan in the early A.D . After its destruction by Islamic conqueror Malik kapur in 13th century, the temple was reconstructed by the King Thirumalai Nayak in 16th century. This temple has 12 towers plus 2 golden towers. The tallest four towers are the entrances for the temple in every direction-north,south,west and east. The tallest tower measures 160.9 feet in height.

Meenakshi Thirukalyanam

The towers or the gopurams have stone carvings or figures of Gods and Goddesses. The following is a picture of one of them.

Brahadeeswara Temple

Sri Brihadeswara temple, a masterpiece of Chola architecture is in Thanjavur. It was built by Raja Raja Cholan around 10the century. The dome of the temple rests on a single monolithic rock of granite, weighing 81 tons. Similarly, the Nandi, the bull statue weigh about 25 tons has been made from a single granite rock. The temple stands 216 ft. tall but it has been built in such a manner that throughout the day its shadow never falls on the ground! This Temple was declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1987.

Arunachaleswara Temple

Arunachaleswara temple is in the city Thiruvanamalai in Tamil Nadu. The temple was built by several kings-Pandya, Chola and Hoysala between 12th and 13th century. This temple had 9 towers. The east tower stands at 217 feet.

Chennakeshava Temple

Chennakeshava temple is in Belur, Karnataka. It was built between 10th and 12th century by the Hoysala rulers. The platform of the temple illustrates the general Hoysala preference for star-shaped or Lotus shaped foundations. The pyramidal objects are model shrines, which flank the steps leading up to the temple. I have mentioned more about the Hoysala architecture later in this section of blog.

Bhagandeswara temple

Bhagandeswara temple is in Bhagamandala, Karnataka. This temple is situated on the place where the three rivers Kaveri, Kanike and Sujyothi meet. This is an example of Kerala architecture.

Siva Temple

This Siva temple in Bangalore, Karnataka is an example of modern architecture. Behind the 65 feet, meditating, Siva statue is the cave. And inside this cave, is kept Jyothir Sivalingams. One can enter into the cave through one side and exit the other side. This picture was taken by my brother Pari. I had taken my family and friends to this temple, and everyone appreciated its beauty.

Lotus temple

The Lotus temple in New Delhi is an another example of modern architecture. It is made of marble. It was designed by Fariburz Sabha, a Canadian citizen and a Bahá'í of Iranian descent. The Bahá'í is one of the most widespread world’s independent religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh.

Taj Mahal

Everyone knows this one-Taj mahal of Agra. Taj Mahal was declared by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 1983.
Please go to the following website to read about two different stories on this masterpiece of architecture.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A5220

Qutb Minar

Qutb Minar near Delhi is a 72.5m red sandstone tower with five storeys. It was built in 12th century and is an example of Islamic architecture in India. And its surrounding mosques, are built of materials reused from some 20 Brahman temples.

Musical Pillar

In this picture, you see the musical stone pillar. It got ruined now, since it was open to the public to play with for the last several centuries.
Inside the Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple is the “ayiramkal mandapam”( Hall of thousand pillars). When viewed from an angle, these pillars appear in a straight line which is an architectural masterpiece. These pillars cannot be compared with the few pillars which you see in the St.Peter's Basilica!

Rotating statue pillar

This beautiful carved pillar is in the Chennakeshava temple, Belur, Karnataka. This was carved in 11th century. It is an example of Hoysala architecture. These are carved in a dark-green steatite or soapstone, and shimmers even to this today. In 13th century, the Muslims damaged this sculpture and many other Hindu religious monuments.

Gajacharmabara

This statue of Gajacharmabara is in the Hoysaleswara temple, Halebid, Karnataka. This was built in 12th century. This was also damaged by the Muslim invaders.

SivaSakthi

This is the statue of Lord Siva and his consort Sakthi. You can see the ornaments beautifully carved on them. You can also see the destructions made by the Muslim invaders.

Gommateswara

This is the statue of Gommateswara(a jain prince) in Sravanabelagola, Karantaka. It is 17m tall and was carved out of granite stone in 10th century.The statue is on a small granite hill which has 614 steps. This is a pilgrimage site for the the Jains.

Namdroling Nyingmapa Monastery

This monastery is in Bailukuppa, Karnataka. The height of the statue of Buddha is 60 feet where as the the statues of Padmasambhava and Amitayus are 58 feet. They are made of copper, plated with gold. Inside the statues are scriptures, relics of great beings, small clay mould stupas, and small statues, which symbolize the body, speech and mind of the Buddhas.

The Buland Darwaza Gate

This is the gate to Jama Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri. The gate was erected in 1602 AD to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Deccan. It is an example of Mughal architecture. It is 40m in height and it ranks among the biggest in the world.

India Gate

India gate in the capital city New Delhi is 42m in height. It was built as a memorial to commemorate the 70,000 India soldiers killed in World War I. It was erected in 1931. Beneath it burns an eternal flame(Amar Jawan Jyoti). The shallow domed bowl at the top was intended to be filled with burning oil on anniversaries. From the base of the arch, the President’s House (Rashtrapati Bhavan) can be viewed.