 |
| A picture of me from 2007 |
Hi #Treksters
As you can tell from that very convoluted title, this blog post is going to be a blast from the past...well to be more precise a blast from my past!
Which I wanted to share with you, although before I get into the 'remastered' Sixth Form essay. I just want to give you a bit of expedition into what your about to read...and why it even exists!
As your quite aware I'm Dyslexic (and Dyspraxic), so I've always found it difficult to do numeracy and literacy (see previous blog post). Which makes it extremely difficult to get a high level (grade) in exams and coursework.
This meant that by the time I was studying my A-Levels (AS Levels in Year 12) at my Secondary School Sixth Form.
I had to resit my GCSE English, which was something I wanted to do. Because I needed a slightly higher level (grade) to get into university initially, before getting into the teaching profession.
The essay you're going to read is something I wrote (originally) back in 2007 (when I was 17)...but like I said it's been 'remastered' it.
So that it illustrates more of who I am today. Whilst still representing who I was back then, during that point in my life.
The other real reason why I have published this school essay, is because in it's original format my teacher though it was written to such a high standard that he used it as an example in his lessons. Which I thought was quite a compliment at the time!
This blog post (come former essay), is in answer to my English teachers question (similar to this...I can't remember):
"If you could choose seven modern Wonders from the candidates selected for this years New7Wonders of the World vote, which ones would you choose any why?!"
My new 7 Wonders of the World, and why I think they should be
selected:
The Acropolis of Athens, Greece:
 |
| The Acropolis |
The Acropolis can also teach us so much about the Ancient
Greeks. Unlike The Sydney Opera House, which was built in the early 1970’s and
has no important information to tell us about the Australians. As it was built
some 900 years later, and also because much is known about Australian culture from
the 1970’s.
But for the ancient Greeks we have HAD to learn about their
society, by looking at their writing and building designs such as The
Acropolis.
So my question is; do you really want a 1970’s building in
the 7 Wonders of the World?
The reason I chose the Colosseum is because it’s a structure
which is known all around the globe. At the time, it’s was one of the largest
structures around the world:
The Eiffel Tower is the
‘brainchild’ of the French engineer Gustave Eiffel in order to celebrate the centenary
of the French Revolution.
It was also built to act as the
entrance “arch” for the 1889 World Fair (Exposition Universelle in French), which was strangely being held in
Paris.
The Kremlin was originally built in
1156 for the residence of Ivan the 1st, since then it’s become the
centre of Russian statehood and the residence of the czars and the hierarchs of
the Russian Orthodox Church.
The St Basil’s Cathedral is less
known by the name Cathedral of Intercession on the Mound…is it just me or did
they get bored naming the cathedral?!
As hopefully the list will be occupied by pre-1930’s buildings of the world.
The Colosseum of
Rome, Italy:
 |
| The Colosseum |
- 48
metres high
- 88
metres long
- 156 metres wide
On each level (3 levels) there are 80 arches, making a total
of 240 arches!
On the wooden arena area they placed sand to make it easier
to ‘work’ on.
If you’re like me you’d expect the Colosseum to be a round
circle…but we’d both be wrong as it’s actually an elliptical shape.
So that the ‘players’ wouldn’t be able to retreat into a
corner, keeping the audience entertained for longer!!!
The Colosseum is made of 100,000 cubic metres of travertine
stone was used in the construction.
As I mentioned earlier there are 3 levels where you can
watch the entertainment from:
- The
podium: 1st level was for Roman Senators.
- The area above the podium was for other Roman Aristocrats.
- The 3rd level, which is divided into 3 sections:
- Lower part for wealthy citizens.
- Upper part for poorer ones.
- And at the very top of the building was for peasants to stand and watch only this was for lower-class women.
The Colosseum teaches us about how the Romans enjoyed
themselves in ancient times. Where entertainment was more ‘real’ to us because
now we have computer this, computer that and nothing really ‘real’ anymore and
when we do go to the theatre it’s on very special occasions but for the ancient
Greeks it was a daily occurrence.
But if you look at something like The Great Wall of China
although it had a different purpose to the Colosseum the Great Wall of China is
just a very large wall because the Chinese can’t be bothered to fight the
attacking army!!!
So the question, I’d ask yourself is if you’d prefer to have
a very large wall on the 7 wonders list or a place of entertainment?
So it should be a 7th Wonder of the World because this is a
‘snapshot’ of Roman life. But some may argue that the great wall is seen from
space but nothing is more valuable than a snapshot in time in my opinion.
The Eiffel Tower in Paris, France:
 |
| The Eiffel Tower |
 |
| Gustave Eiffel |
Back to the modern day, the tower
is visited by a staggering six million visitors every year.
 |
| The construction of the Eiffel Tower |
- Metal structure weighs 7,300 tons.
- Total weigh of 10,100 tons.
- 300 workers built it and 1 died.
- 18,038 pieces of puddle iron (pure kind of structural iron) had to be joined.
- Using 2.5 million rivets.
- Every 7 years, 50 tons of paint are applied to protect it against rust.
- On the 1st floor there are interactive screens, which let visitors give their opinion on what colour should be applied in the future.
Some people may argue that the
Eiffel Tower is just a tower well to argue for the Eiffel Tower you could just
say that the Sydney opera house is just a “beautiful building” with its ideas
of “abstraction and creativity” but the Eiffel tower is a symbol of “challenge
and progress” (source www.new7wonders.com).
This is because it was a challenge
to build it and shows the progress the French people have made in the time
since the French Revolution.
The Kremlin and St. Basil’s
Cathedral in Moscow, Russia:
 |
| The Kremlin |
In 1367 to 1368 the white stone
walls and towers of the Kremlin were erected and from the colour of the walls
Moscow became being called “white-stone”. In 1485 to 1495 the Kremlin was
rebuilt and this is the one we know today.
 |
| St Basil’s Cathedral |
Because I think they added to the end of the name “on the Mound” for a laugh!
The Kremlin and St Basil’s
Cathedral should be picked because where else would you hear a comical Cathedral
name like the Cathedral of Intercession on the mound?!
The Pyramids at Giza were built
between 2,600 and 2,500 BC the 3 pyramids are made of a total of 5 million
sandstone blocks that were transported using ‘primitive’ techniques by our
standards.
Shah Jahan who was the 5th Muslim
Mogul emperor built the Taj Mahal in memory of his beloved wife a Persian
princess who was born as Arjuman Bano begum but was better known as Mumtaz Mahal.
Mumtaz was a huge influence on Shah’s life and policies but the sad
thing is she died at the age of 39 giving birth to their 14th child
in 1631.
Because I very much doubt you’d hear an English cathedral doing the same.
As this is the sort of conversation
you would get if the Archbishop of Canterbury went to a PR (Public Relations) agency
to get Canterbury Cathedral renamed-
Archbishop of Canterbury: “Excuse
me can you help me please?”
Assistant would say: “Ok, what are you
looking for?”
Archbishop of Canterbury would go “We’d
like our cathedral remembered all over the world”
Assistant would say: “Well there’s
two options available to you, as you can either-
- "Rename your cathedral with a comical name".
- "Or you can become a DJ".
Archbishop of Canterbury: “…O ok
then in that case I’ll rename Canterbury Cathedral!”
The Pyramids at Giza, Egypt:
 |
| The Pyramids at Giza |
There were two main techniques used
to get them to Giza, the first was by putting the sandstone blocks on a timber
sled and by pulling it.
The other technique they could use,
involved rolling the blocks over the top of logs. The Egyptians believed that
represented a link between heaven and earth, which were directed at Horus, who
as you all know was the Egyptian god of the world!!!
I think the pyramids should be a 7th
Wonder of the World because there are still some mysteries about the pyramid’s
which will never be answered.
For example:
Who constructed them? Was it slaves,
who were really badly treated or were they probably very fed up paid workers?
No one will ever know the answer to that question...which is the mystery.
I think it should be a 7th
Wonder of the World but others may argue that the Statue of Liberty is symbol
of The United States of America but the pyramids are one of very few symbols of
Africa.
The Taj Mahal, India:
 |
| The Taj Mahal |
 |
| Shah Jahan (right) and his wife Mumtaz Mahal (left) |
On her deathbed her last wish to
her husband was “to build a tomb in her memory such as the world had never seen
before”. So he built exactly that and that is what we see today.
Shah himself is laid next to his
wife at the Taj Mahal, it’s said that when his son overthrown him. He was imprisoned
in the nearby Great Red Fort for 8 years, where he could see the Taj Mahal out
of his small cell window.
- Built between 1631 and 1648.
- 20,000 workmen employed on it daily.
- Specially built town next it called “Mumtazabad” named after the deceased empress.
- Materials brought from all over India and central Asia with the help of 1,000 elephants.
- Central dome is 57metres or 187 feet high in the middle.
The reason I think the Taj Mahal
should be selected to be a 7 wonder is because I can’t a better symbol of love
and passion (source www.new7wonders.com)
and I don’t see a couple building a structure similar to it in this day and age
for example:
Women-“To build a tomb in my memory
such as the world had never seen before”
Man-“Love, have you realised that
we’re in debt so I can’t build you this fabulous building sorry”.
Women-“Oh"
Other’s may argue that it’s a
little over the top for love…although I wouldn’t go back in time and say to
Shah Mahal “excuse me Mr Mahal don’t you think that’s a little over the top?”
Stonehenge is a Neolithic and
Bronze Age megalithic monument. With only half of the original monument remaining.
This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out!
As if you did…you’d probably be hanged just for saying it. He really loved her
and he wanted to for fill her last wish, so I think the Taj Mahal is a great
symbol for love and passion.
Stonehenge, Amesbury, United
Kingdom:
 |
| Stonehenge |
As over time, some of the stones
have fallen over, or have been carried away for building and repairing farm
tracks.
The site has unfortunately over the
centuries seen it fair share of intrigued visitors (and tourists) who have
chipped souvenirs off the stones, greatly reducing the sight we see today.
Stonehenge was built in 3
stages/phases:
- 1st monument built around 3100 BC and it was a circular bank with a ditch enclosure probably for keeping livestock amazingly enough the enclosure was dug by hand using animal bones as shovels and deer antlers as pick-axes with 56 holes were around the edge of the bank to hold wooden posts.
- In about 2500 BC Stonehenge was rebuilt but this time using sandstone from Preseli Mountains in Wales 245 miles (380km) away. The stones were probably dragged to the sea then floated on huge rafts up the river Avon and dragged on site this is when one stone weighs about 5 tons.
- About 200 years later in 2300 BC the bluestones were dug up and rearranged and bigger sandstones or sarsen stones were incorporated.
- Then 700 years later in 1600 BC monument building at Stonehenge seemed to have stopped.
Stonehenge is surrounded in lots of
mythology, for example:
- Since it’s aligned north-east/south-west there's a theory that astronomical rituals involving solstice and the equinox points.
- For instance on a midsummer’s morning the sun’s rays went directly into the centre of the monument between the horseshoe arrangement.
- But other scholars argue that Stonehenge was the destination of a long ritualised funerary procession.
- The old legends think that Merlin the wizard had a giant build Stonehenge for him, or that he had magically transported it from Ireland. Others say that the devil built it.
So I think Stonehenge should be a 7th
Wonder of the World because then the British people will have something to be
proud about. Well if you think about it for a Stone Age man it’s not that easy
to get stones weighing 5+ tonnes to a field in the middle of nowhere and
putting them upright.
Others may argue that the British
people HAVE got something to be proud about but we don’t just look at the sport
at the moment and then you’ll see what I’m on about!!!
I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog post!
Hopefully it's given you a better understanding of how much my writing abilities have improved since then!!!
I hope you've enjoyed reading this blog post!
Hopefully it's given you a better understanding of how much my writing abilities have improved since then!!!
This is Simon from The Engage Podcast signing out!
No comments:
Post a Comment