My Science School

The Rila Monastery, located in the Rhodope Mountains of south-western Bulgaria was founded by St John of Rila in the 10th century. St John was canonised by the Orthodox Church and his tomb and monastery became a holy site.

Being the most prominent monastery of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Rila Monastery attracts a large number of pilgrims and tourists annually. The Rila Monastery has always been supported and respected by the Bulgarian rulers, all of whom gave donations to the Monastery.

It grew into a powerhouse in the 13th and 14th centuries and was the centre of the Bulgarian national revival in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Monastery complex was destroyed in a fire in the early 1800s but was rebuilt between 1834 and 1862.

It supported the publication of books, and the establishment of libraries, archives and educational institutions. Rita became a symbol of Bulgarian national identity. It is a major tourist attraction for Bulgaria as well as Southern Europe. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1983.

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The Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites located in Southern England have been a mystery for historians and archaeologists for hundreds of years.

Stonehenge consists of around 100 huge stones placed vertically in a circle. Stonehenge is the most architecturally advanced prehistoric stone circle. Many historians accept that Stonehenge was once a burial ground. However, it is still unclear whether it served any other purpose.

What is more mysterious is how these enormous structures were built without the assistance of modern technology, at a time when even the wheel hadn’t been invented. The stone circles are indeed examples of excellent engineering skills.

Stonehenge is considered as a British cultural icon. UNESCO added it to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. The site is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage. The ownership of the surrounding land goes to the National Trust.

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The Giant’s Causeway is a promontory of basalt columns that stretches along 6 kilometres of the northern coast of Northern Ireland. A promontory is a high land that juts out into the sea.

The Giant’s Causeway is made up of nearly 40,000 stone pillars, each with 5 to 7 irregular sides. They almost look as if they are steps leading into the sea. The shapes of these dramatic structures have inspired stories about giants that walked across the sea to Scotland.

Studies on the formation of the Giant’s Causeway over the last 300 years have added much to the field of Earth Sciences. It is now understood that these structures were formed due to volcanic activity during the Tertiary period, which was 50 to 60 million years ago.

The Giant’s Causeway became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986 and the next year the Department of Environment of Northern Ireland declared it as a national nature reserve. The site is visited by almost 300,000 tourists every year.

A poll of Radio Times readers in 2005 found the Giant’s Causeway as the 4th greatest natural wonder in the United Kingdom. The Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast World Heritage Site are owned and managed by the National Trust. It is not just a place of striking beauty but also of ecological importance. The cliffs, seashores, marshes and grasslands are home to 50 species of birds and over 200 species of plants.

There are many Acropolises in Greece. However, the Acropolis of Athens is the most famous one of all. Simply referred to as The Acropolis, the Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located above Athens. It is situated on a hill almost 156 metres high. The Parthenon is a renowned structure located inside the Acropolis. The buildings of the Acropolis are architecturally and historically important and give us a view of the spirit of Greek civilization. In ancient times, the Acropolis was known as Cecropia after the serpent - man Cecrops who was the first Athenian king according to legends.

In the late 1600’s, the Venetians and Turks were fighting over Athens. Acropolis was used as a military point because of its high position. There were explosives stored in the Parthenon that went off and blew up the interior of the Parthenon. The Acropolis of Athens was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1987. Funds from the state budget and the European Union are used for the upkeep of the Acropolis.

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The 16th century city of Shibam is located in Yemen and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1982.

The first known details of the city are from the 3rd century CE. Shibam was the capital of the Hadramawt Kingdom. The oldest metropolis in the world to use vertical construction, Shibam is an excellent example of city planning. With its fortified wall, the city is located in the heart of Yemen’s Wadi Hadramawt.

One can see the astonishing sight of ancient mud skyscrapers rising above the desert as a proof of man’s capacity to flourish even in the most unforgiving conditions.

Shibam was a major stop for caravans in the spice and incense route across the southern Arabian plateau. British Explorer Freya Stark called it The Manhattan of the desert in the 1930s. The city has been planned very systematically. It is situated on an elevated rocky surface which protects it from flooding.

However, the city was still close to primary water sources. It was constructed on a rectangular grid surrounded by a fortified wall. As a result, the inhabitants of the city were safe from enemy tribes and could see up to a long distance from their high vantage point.

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The Red Fort complex in Old Delhi was built by the 5th Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan as a palace for the new capital. The building got its name from the huge red sandstone walls around it. The Red Fort complex was also designed by architect Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the mastermind behind the Taj Mahal. Constructed between May 1639 and April 1648, the original structure had been red and white.

The fort has 23-metre-high massive red sandstone walls. Enclosed within the compound are a complex of palaces, entertainment halls, baths, a mosque and geometrical gardens.

The Diwan-i-Am or the Hall of Public Audience which has a flat roof supported by 60 sandstone pillars and the smaller Diwan-i-Khas or Hall of Private Audience with its white marble pavilion are some of the attractions of the complex.

On 15th of August 1947 India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru hoisted the national flag in the Red Fort. Ever since, the Prime Minister of India hoists the national tricolour at the fort’s main gate and addresses the nation from there on the 15th of August. It was deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007.

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Changdeokgung is a palace in South Korea constructed on the orders of King Taejong in the 15th century. It was intended as a secondary palace to the main palace- Gyeongbokgung.

While Gyeongbokgung had a more contemporary style, Changdeokgung had elements dating back to the time of the Three Kingdoms of Korea (Kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla). Changdeokgung integrates gracefully with its natural setting.

The buildings are made of wood but have stone platforms. Lawns, flowering trees, flowers, a lotus pool and pavilions set against wooded backgrounds adorn the terraced gardens. Altogether, the garden has 56,000 types of trees and plants including walnut, white oak, zelkova, plum, maple, chest-nut, hornbeam, yew, gingko and pine.

Changdeokgung suffered severe damage during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The same fate was shared by the other Five Grand Palaces in Seoul. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

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The Dambulla Cave Temple or the Golden Temple of Dambulla is a cave monastery with five sanctuaries situated in central Sri Lanka. The Sinhalese people call it Dambulu gala, which means Dambulu rock. The temple is also called the Rangiri Dambulu Viharaya.

It has been a sacred pilgrim centre for 22 centuries and remains the largest and best-preserved cave temple in Sri Lanka. These natural caves used to be inhabited by Buddhist monks. Over the course of time the caves were transformed with amazing images of the Buddha and vibrant rock paintings.

Dambulla is perhaps the largest and most outstanding Buddhist complex in all of southern and south-eastern Asia. What makes the site so remarkable is its continuous tradition of practising Buddhist rituals and pilgrimage for two millennia. Before the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka these cave complexes were likely inhabited by prehistoric Sri Lankans. The Golden Temple of Dambulla was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991.

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial or Atomic Bomb Dome was the only structure that remained in the place where the first atomic bomb exploded on 6th August 1945.

The importance of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial does not lie in its architectural value, but rather on what it represents for humanity. Many people have taken efforts to preserve that building in the same condition as immediately after the bombing. The area around the building forms the Peace Memorial Park.

The building used to be the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall before the atomic bomb exploded at a height of 600 metres, 160 metres South East of the building. The explosion and the heat caused the building to burst into flames. But somehow the outer walls and the steel dome of the building were not destroyed.

However, all the people inside the building died and the inner walls were destroyed by the fire. The building came to be called the Atomic Bomb Dome and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

One of the four sacred Buddhist Mountains in China, Mount Wutai is a centre of Buddhist Manjusri worship. There are 41 monasteries and a great number of temples in the mountain. These include some of the oldest wooden buildings in China such as the main hall of the Foguang Temple which has the highest surviving wooden building of the Tang Dynasty.

Foguang Temple is also renowned for its life-size clay statues. Other large temples such as the Xiantong, Tayuan and Pusading are scattered around the town of Taihuai Zhen. lt is believed that Bodhisattva appears on the mountain in the form of pilgrims, monks or as a five-coloured cloud. The practice of pilgrimage to the mountain was started by the emperors and continues till day.

The monasteries of Mount Wutai are a storehouse of books on Buddhist culture. Pilgrims from all parts of Asia flock to Mount Wutai. Prior to building its reputation as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre, Mount Wutai had been a holy mountain of Daoism during the rule of the later Han Dynasty. China’s National Tourism Administration has classified Mount Wutai as a AAAAA Tourist attraction in 2007. It was also designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009.

Siddhartha Gautama or Lord Buddha was born in 623 BC in Lumbini, Nepal. As a result, Lumbini has been a famous pilgrimage centre where people come to see the birthplace of Lord Buddha.

One of the renowned pilgrims to Lumbini was Emperor Asoka who erected a pillar there. Lumbini is currently being developed as a Buddhist pilgrimage centre. Some of the notable features of this pilgrimage centre include the Maya Devi temple, Buddhist monasteries and stupas, and the Asoka pillar made of sandstone.

Inside the Maya Devi temple there are brick structures in a cross-wall system dating from the third century BC. Emperor Asoka’s commemorative sandstone pillar contains Pali inscriptions in Brahmi script. The remains of the Buddhist monasteries called Viharas are from the 3rd century BC to the 5th century AD. The stupas or Buddhist memorial shrines are from the 3rd century BC to the 15th century AD.

Lumbini has remained a notable Buddhist pilgrimage centre from early 1900s and it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

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The Socotra archipelago is located in the Northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden in Yemen. The name Socotra can be traced back to the Sanskrit dvipa-sakhadara which means ‘island abode of bliss’. It is 250 kilometres long and contains four islands and two rocky islets.

Socotra almost appears like an extension of the Horn of Africa. Among the islands that make up the archipelago, the largest one extends eastward from the Horn of Africa and has an area of about 3600 square kilometres. The capital and largest town of the archipelago is Hadiboh in the northern coast.

The universal relevance of this site lies in its unique biodiversity. 37 per cent of the 825 plant species, 90 per cent of the reptiles and 95 per cent of the land snail species in Socotra are found nowhere else in the world.

The plants in the archipelago also include the dragon blood tree which produces a red sap. Dragon blood trees too are unique to the archipelago and not found anywhere else in the world. Socotra was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.

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Komodo National Park is a set of islands located in the centre of the Indonesian archipelago. It contains three main islands named Rinca, Komodo and Padar, and many other smaller islands. Komodo National Park has been selected as one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature.

The unmatched terrestrial and marine ecosystems of this National Park have been well conserved. The water around the island is rich with marine life. Some of the popular marine animals here include the whale shark, sunfish, sea horses, rays and octopuses.

One of the best-known inhabitants of this National Park is the Komodo Lizard. It is the only place in the world where these lizards can be found. Komodo Lizards are commonly called Komodo Dragons due to their fearsome appearance and aggressive behaviour. These are the largest living species of lizards, growing up to two or three metres in length.

The evolution of Komodo lizards are of much importance for science. They are the only remaining species of the large lizards that once lived in Indonesia and Australia.

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The Ajanta caves and the Ellora cave complex have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 1983. The paintings and sculptures of Ajanta caves are examples of Buddhist religious art. Past lives and rebirths of Buddha, Aryasura’s Jatakamala stories and sculptures of Buddhist deities fill the walls of Ajanta. These Buddhist monuments date back to the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.

The Ellora cave complexes dating from 600 to 1000 AD are more secular in nature. They contain monuments and artwork related to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Located not far from Aurangabad, the complex has been built on a series of high basalt cliffs.

One of the noticeable features of Ellora is its uninterrupted sequence of monuments.

The Forbidden City is a palace complex located in Beijing, China. The royal palace was commissioned by an emperor of the Ming dynasty in 1406 and it was officially occupied in 1420. It has 980 buildings, with about 999 rooms and covers nearly 180 acres. The entire compound was added to the World Heritage Site list by UNESCO in 1987.

It came to be called the Forbidden City because only a handful of people other than the emperor had permission to enter it. The Chinese emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty used the palace as their winter residence.

The final inhabitant of the palace was the last emperor of imperial China, Puyi. He was expelled in 1925. This place had been a centre of Chinese power for five centuries. It still remains an important part of the cultural heritage of the People’s Republic of China.

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