Lens-Artists Challenge #35 – Architecture
“A person can put up any kind of wall, but love and truth always find a way around it.”
Molly Friedenfeld
This week Amy has shared her beautiful images of Machu Picchu and has challenged us to post our own examples of stunning architecture. I’ve been fortunate to have visited some amazing places – contemporary examples such as the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, the Sydney Opera House, or New York’s City’s Caltrava Oculus come to mind. On the other hand although I’ve not been to Machu Picchu, I’ve seen other incredible examples of ancient architecture. Following Amy’s lead, I’ve chosen to feature some of those sites in today’s post, beginning with China’s Great Wall. The wall is thousands of miles in length and was built from the 3rd century B.C. through the 17th century A.D. Read more about my visit to the Great Wall here.
“Sometimes our walls exist just to see who has the strength to knock them down.”
Darnell Lamont Walker
“Deep in the forests of Cambodia’s Siem Reap province, the elegant spires of an ancient stone city soar skyward above the sprawling complex of Angkor Archaeological Park” is the first sentence of National Geographic’s description of the temples of Angkor. I couldn’t have said it better myself 🙂. The remains of the Khmer Kingdom offer an amazing view into a civilization founded in the year 802 and lasting into the 15th century. Radar technology has identified it as the epicenter of a sprawling city, at least as large as Berlin, completely hidden for centuries by overgrown vegetation. Inscriptions found in the temples detail the 37 years, 300,000 workers and 6,000 elephants it took to build the complex. Sadly, its decay was due to overpopulation (which defeated its advanced irrigation system) and extensive deforestation – valuable ecological lessons for us to this day. I’ve included many more images of the temples in a previous post here.
“It is better to hug a tree than to bang your head against a wall.”
Rasheed Ogunlaru
High on my list of the amazing places I’ve seen are the archaeological wonders of Petra. Built by the ancient Nabataens in the 1st century B.C., it served as their capital city until it was partially destroyed by an earthquake in the 4th century A.D. The city’s structures were literally carved into beautiful rose-colored rock, leading to its nickname, The Rose City. You can get a sense of the buildings’ scale from the tiny people shown in the bottom right corner of my Treasury image above.
“Men build too many walls and not enough bridges.”
Joseph Fort Newton
Finally, I’ve included an image from the ancient city of Acre (Akko) in Israel, a UNESCO world heritage site. Built in the early 1100s, it’s one of the many archaeological wonders we explored during our recent visit. A favorite story from our trip concerned its discovery, which happened when a woman living above the site needed a repair to her plumbing. The underground ruins (which have been beautifully restored) were found when the plumber accidentally broke through her floor (or at least that is the story we were told!) The amount of historic architecture – going back as far as the Canaanite Gate, built in 1750 BC – combined with the archaeological digs currently underway, make the entire country a must-see for those interested in architectural archaeology.
As much of the world as I’ve been fortunate to see, there are many other places still on my bucket list, not the least of which are Machu Picchu and ancient Greece. How about you, what are the places you’ve seen or hope someday to see? If they include marvelous architecture be sure to tell us about them in your response to Amy’s challenge. Don’t forget to help us find you by tagging your responses with the Lens-Artists tag.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead – hope to see you right here next week for challenge #36.
these pictures are simply beautiful an speaks about the art and architecture of that era…
https://www.siliconindia.com/blogs/blogs_new.php?59271Xsmt6uDxP5wAAYSooUK0NDCG8YF
Thanks so much Diksha
What an exciting world tour over my morning cuppa. 🙂 Beautiful photos.
Thanks Jen!
Again, a great collection of pictures, that I sadly missed last week.
Thanks Rabirius – better late than never!
https://prideofhimalyas.wordpress.com/2019/03/10/top-10-treks-of-himachal-pardesh/
Thanks for joining our challenge
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Our nearby sister city😊. Great example
You certainly have seen some wonderful examples of architecture in your travels, Tina. Beautifully captured, as always!
I sure have Sue – thanks very much
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Petra was one of my favourites too. Closer to home, I love visiting the Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon.
I agree wholeheartedly Margy. I think Bryce is my favorite of all the amazing US National Parks. The hoodoos are so bizarre 🙂
Couldn’t agree more! When we visited last October, we were out at Sunset Point for moon rise (full moon-sadly no photos) and up before dawn at Sunrise Point. No better way to experience that breathtakingly unique geology.
Beautiful, quotes very fitting – enjoyed
Thanks very much Ecopoet
Very nice, all of them, but I really like that first image. I think I like it because it shows the wall in the landscape, it’s not just the wall.
Thanks Amy, it’s quite a sight as goes on as far as the eye can see
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Thanks, Tina, for providing the challenge and visuals to classic historical pieces of architecture. The one I’d like to see first is The Great Wall.
Thanks Henry – it was the #1 thing on my personal bucket list!
Great architecture finds a way to persevere. And, the not-so-great does too. 🙂
The Treasury at Petra I find fascinating. To be completely carved out of the rock face, it’s a piece of some very impressive craftsmanship.
It is amazing David. Especially considering if you make a mistake there’s no turning back!!
I do enjoy your collection, Tina. And Petra, it brought back the nice memories to me.
Thank you Nurul, it is truly amazing don’t you think!?
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Thanks for joining us WM
Wonderful, Tina! You have been to so many spectacular places – and we are lucky that you share some of them with us. Petra is my favorite here! The two people sitting below shows the very size of it…and the colours are of course incredible. Love also the plumbing story – true or not – it brings another dimension to everything when old and new are connected with such stories! The world is still beautiful…
You have traveled extensively, Tina and I love seeing your photos! Petra looks amazing! I’ve been nowhere with stunning architecture. My travel takes me outdoors mostly. On the top of our list is Chile and Greece.
Chile is glorious but I’m with you on needing to visit Greece
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Such beautiful places.
🙂 Truly stunning, dear Tina!
Have a very HAPPY Sunday 🙂
Thank you Happy Face
Wow! Glorious pictures, Tina! And loved the quotes too.
Many thanks Helen
amazing shots! 🙂
Thanks very much Jim
Enjoyed your selection, especially the intersecting arches. The quotes are ones to reflect upon.
Thanks Sally – appreciate your stopping by
My contribution to the challenge: https://wp.me/p19kRp-2X5
John, great to have you with us!
You have piqued my curiosity!
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Excellent examples of ancient architecture from places I have never been to nor am I likely to now. Lots of ancient architecture in Britain. I shall have a look in the archives and see if anything shouts at me!
For sure Jude-looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Great images, Tina. Astounding Petra is always my favorite.
Thanks Jane. Having been there I know you realize how much more spectacular it is in person!
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Fascinating “non political and artistic approach” to walls! Love that Rose City!
Thanks for the refreshing reprieve!
LOL, I thought about including some thoughts on that and decided not to corrupt the post 😊. Thanks for recognizing my decision as the right one!
Seeing photos of these incredible ancient structures leaves me in awe of what was created with bare hands!
Me too Laurel, thanks!
Amazing places and amazing photos.
Many thanks Judy
I’d be very happy to see any of these, but the place I’ve always wanted to see is the oracle at Delphi, not for the architecture, but because an erudite man I met on a long train journey when I was a teenager told me it was one of the most beautiful places in the world. He must have had a quite a way with words as the impression stayed with me.
Thanks Susurrus. Good for him for getting you so enthralled with it!
Love all your architecture posts! You’ve been to some interesting places in the world!
Thanks nomad, I sure have. The world is a beautiful place
WOW!!
😊 thanks!
Lovely stack of photos, Tina. All of them are stunning, showcasing how amazing man-made creations can be. That was a lovely story you heard in Israel, how a historic site was accidentally discovered on a normal day 😁 Also really like the first quote by Molly Friedenfeld. Love and truth are the strongest feelings and emotions we each can hold and share. Hope all is good and have a good week 😊
Thanks Mabel, we’ve seen some truly amazing places
Beautiful photos of architectures, Tina. It’s so wonderful about traveling that you could see the wonders in the world. I’m glad you included links for many more photos. 🙂
Thanks very much Miriam, glad you enjoyed this one
You’re welcome, Tina!
Wonderful images, Tina. I love that you have people in them in the first and third. And great memories in the second! 🙂
Thanks Jane, all about perspective, right?! Interestingly (and thankfully) we saw very few people at the wall thanks to our guide’s suggestion to venture much further out than most of the tourist spots
These are all excellent, but I love the photo of the Great Wall. What a great story about the discovery of Acre! Most people just having plain old plumbing problems. 😉 I haven’t been to any of these places, but I have seen the Acropolis, Delphi, the Roman Colosseum and Forum, as well as some other ancient bits of Europe. I’ve also seen cliff dwellings and the like in the US, but nothing on other continents.
janet
Thanks Janet – it was so incredible in person. Goes on and on and on as far as the eye can see. It’s amazing what’s out there isn’t it?!
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That it is!
You’ve given a gorgeous tour of all the places I should visit! Thanks! Love your shots of these great places.
Thanks Patti, if I know you they’re already on your agenda and plans are in place!!
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🙂 You know me well! We have 2019 planned. Now we’re working on 2020. Israel is in the works for next year. 🙂
A beautiful collection from your travels – the Great Wall is just amazing!!
Thanks Nora – much more so in person. The camera can only do so much!
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I loved Angkor Wat and your photo really does it justice.
Thank you Anne – one of the few expeditions I was willing to do at sunrise 🙂. well worth the extra effort!
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It is truly amazing what they built. The Great Wall of China is something my husband and I want to see.
It is indeed Colline – as for the wall, it was a life long dream to see it and it definitely did NOT disappoint!
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I would love to hug a tree, YES! and nothing beats Petra, Tina.
Me too Perpetua! 🙂. and I agree wholeheartedly about Petra.
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Great images, Tina! I just love the Cambodian one! Outstanding!
Thanks Svetlana – funny story. After being so excited to see it, when we arrived about 25% of it was covered in green shrouds as they were doing some reconstruction. Photoshop helped me to show what was behind the curtains!
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You cannot live without technology, can you? 🙂
Absolutely not!!
These are beautiful photos, Tina. The Great Wall photo is magnificent. We were there in 2015. It was a cloudy day, so I didn’t get good photos. I haven’t been the other three, I’d love to see these fascinating places in the future.
Thanks Amy, its a truly beautiful world, isn’t it?!
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Beautiful images this week, Tina. The buildings at Petra absolutely fascinate me. Your photo is a fine tribute to the builders from long ago.
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Thanks very much Allan. Petra is truly, indescribably beautiful in person.
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The rose-colored walls must be heavenly at sunrise and sunset.
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Funny enough because it’s a steep canyon the light is best in the mid afternoon. Fortunately I said NO when our guide asked me to wait until later for photography!
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love the pillars – and all –
and this quote is so true:
“Men build too many walls and not enough bridges.”
and I do not have too many things on the bucket list – but after Amy’s post – maybe I will add Machu Picchu
Thanks Yvette – yes it’s on my list as well. Altho they say it’s a very difficult trip since it’s nowhere near anything else and the altitude is quite challenging.
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even more of a marvel as to how they erected the strong structures there
I would love to walk the Great Wall! Your images take me to wonderful places.
Many thanks Sandy – it was one of my top bucket list items for as long as I can remember.
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You’re having a wonderful life, Tina!
You got that right Sharon! Including our upcoming CA/AZ trip 😀
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You have certainly seen some marvellous architecture, Tina….much of which I would love to have seen, but alas no longer do-able. Thanks for sharing these wonderful images. But I have seen some less magnificent, but still interesting places!
Thanks Sue; no surprise at all there ! Looking forward to seeing your response!
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Many thanks, Tina!
I liked your shot of the Treasury. What beautiful colors in that rock!
Thanks SB. It’s truly incredible in person!