VY_32_INOVACE_1.3.AJ3,4.14/Se
Poznámky pro vyučujícího k prezentaci.
1. The Middle Ages was a period that started after the Fall of the Roman
Empire in 476 AD. During a relatively short segment of time of about one
thousand years, a lot of splendid architectonical constructions were originated.
Some of them were erected much earlier but were discovered and became
popular many centuries later. All of them are worth to be listed among
medieval wonders. Many of the lists depicting them don´t limit themselves to
Seven Wonders Structures – many feature as much as 10 or even more, for
example The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa in Alexandria, Egypt, The
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, China, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, The Leaning
Tower in Pisa, Italy, Machu Picchu in Peru, The Town of Chichen Itza, Mexico,
the Iron Pillar in Delhi, India, Taj Mahal in India, Salisbury Cathedral in
Wiltshire, England, etc.
2. The Great Wall in China is a series of fortifications made of stone bricks,
built around an east to west line across the historical northern borders of
China to protect the Empire. Some parts were built as early as the 7th century
BC, later joined together and made bigger and stronger.
3. The entire Great Wall with all of its branches measure out to be 21,196 km.
The wall is a maximum 9,1 meters wide and, it is the only thing made by
humen beings that is visible from Earth orbit.
4. Krak des Chevaliers is a Crusadercastle in Syria. The site was first inhibited
in the 11th century by the Kurds, later it became a stronghold of the Christian
knights. Its name comes from Arabian and French and means ”the castle of
knights”.
It was quite impossible to attack this huge castle. Round the stronghold there
were two high bulwarks with 13 towers. The whole site occupies 3000 square
metres and could serve as a shelter to 2ooo knights with their horses, all
equipment and provision of food for 5 years.
5. During the nineth and last crusade in 1271 that was completely
unsuccessful, Krak des Chevaliers was captured by the Mamluk Sultan
Baibars after a seige lasting 36 days.
6. Angkor Wat is the largest Hindu temple complex and the largest religious
monument in the world. It was built by the Khmer king Suryavarman II in the
early 12th century. It ought to be his state temple and eventual mausoleum.
The temple has become a symbol of Cambodia, appearing on its national flag,
and it is the country´s prime attraction for visitors.
7. The towers in the shape of lotus flower-buds are 60 meters high. Stretching
over some 400 kilometres square, including forested area, Angkor contains
the magnificant remains of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century.
They include several temples with countless sculptural decorations.
Autorem materiálu a všech jeho částí, není-li uvedeno jinak, je Mgr.art. Ivan Sec.
CZ.1.07/1.5.00/34.0501
VY_32_INOVACE_1.3.AJ3,4.14/Se
8. In 1431 the city of Angkor was attacked and destroyed by Thai warriors.
The site was completely desolated and overgrowned by jungle. People
redescovered it only 150 years ago.
9. At first, Tenochtitlán was a mere village, later it became a big city that was a
centre of the former Aztec civilization for two hundred years. It was founded in
1325.
Spanich conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived in Tenochtitlán in 1519 and
believed the city was one of the largest in the world. In his letter to the Spanish
king, he wrote that Tenochtitlán was as large as Seville or Córdoba. Cortés´s
men were in awe at the sight of the splendid city and many wondered if they
were in a dream.
10. According to an old legend, the Aztecs were searching for an eagle eating
a snake while perched atop a cactus. They saw this vision on what was then a
little swampy island in lake Texcoco. That legend is now immortalized in
Mexico´s coat of arms and the Mexican flag.
The population of the city was about 500.000 people. In the main square,
there was a thirty metres high pyramid with a wide staircase leading to two
temples – one of them dedicated to god of war Huitzilopochtli, the other to god
of rain Tlaloc. The Aztec priests used to sacrifice their captured enemies to
their gods.
11. The Spanish conquistadors attacked the Aztec Empire and killed emperor
Montezuma in 1521. The city of Tenochtitlán was completely destroyed.
Today, the largest city in the world, Ciudad de México, is located just at the
site of Tenochtitlán´s original central plaza and market.
12. Alhambra or Red Castle is a citadel in Granada in Andalusia, Spain with
Moorish and Christian palaces from the centuries 13th to 16th, gardens and
fortresses. There are 23 towers and four big gates.
13. The Islamic palaces were built for the last muslim emirs in Spain, but after
the Reconquista by Catholic monarchs in 1492, Alhambra was used by the
Christian rulers. The main reconstruction of Alhambra was made during the
reign of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.
14. A big part of Alhambra was destroyed during rough battle between the
Moors and Christians. But nowadays, after many reconstructions, Alhamba
belongs among the most beautiful sights in the world.
15. Along the Yi-Shui River, eastern China there were carved on both banks
approximately 1,400 caves. There are 10.000 statues, some of whch are only
twenty-five milimetres high, while the largest Buddha statue is 17 metres in
height.
16. The grottoes were excavated and carved over the period from 493 AD to
1127 AD. During the war between China and Japan, the Japanese looted the
site and took many of the statues to Japan, so many of these relicts are now in
Japanese museums.
Autorem materiálu a všech jeho částí, není-li uvedeno jinak, je Mgr.art. Ivan Sec.
CZ.1.07/1.5.00/34.0501
VY_32_INOVACE_1.3.AJ3,4.14/Se
17. Vandalism occurred in the 1940s, a result of political unrest. With the
establishment of the People´s Republic of China in 1949, the grottoes have
been declared as protected area. The Constitution of China enacted to protect
this cultural heritage.
18. Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the hills of Zimbabwe. It was the capital
city of the kingdom during the country´s late Iron Age. It first began to be
constructed in the 11th century and continued to be bult until the 14th century,
spanning an area of 722 hectares. At its peak, the site could have housed up
to 18,000 people. The modern state of Zimbabwe derives its name from the
name Great Zimbabwe that used to be a centre of a big African empire lasting
several hundreds of years.
19. The walls of the city were over five meters high and constructed without
mortar. Eventually the city was abandoned and fell into ruins, nobody knows
the reason. The earliest known written mention of the ruins was in 1531, but
the first visit by Europeans was in the late 19th century, with investigations of
the site startng in 1871. The word ”great” distinguishes the site from the many
hundreds of small ruins, nown now as ”zimbabwes”, spread across the
Zimbabwe Highveld.
20. There are about 200 such sites in southern Africa, in Zimbabwe and
Mozambique, with monumental mortarless walls. Bu Great Zimbabwe is the
largest.
Autorem materiálu a všech jeho částí, není-li uvedeno jinak, je Mgr.art. Ivan Sec.
CZ.1.07/1.5.00/34.0501