Monday 8 December 2008

ABC Wednesday: U for UNESCO




to enlarge click first on View All Images, then on Original View

A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that has been nominated for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's international World Heritage program. The program aims to catalogue and preserve sites of outstanding importance, either cultural or natural, to the common heritage of humankind.
Here are some of the buildings on the list of UNESCO for Egypt.

The Pyramid of Djoser(Zoser), or step pyramid is an archeological remain in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the city of Memphis. It was built for the burial of Pharaoh Djoser by his vizier Imhotep, during the 27th century BC.

The Bent Pyramid is a unique example of early pyramid development in Egypt, about 2596 BCE. This was the second pyramid built by Sneferu.

Some believe that the pyramid of Cheops at Giza was built by slaves but this is not true. One hundred thousand people worked on it for three months of each year. This was the time of the Nile's annual flood which made it impossible to farm the land and most of the population was unemployed. He provided good food and clothing for his workers and was kindly remembered in folk tales for many centuries.

There are three pyramids at Giza, each of which once had an adjoining mortuary temple. Attached to this temple would have been a covered causeway descending down to a valley temple, near the Nile. The 'great' pyramid itself is truly an astonishing work of engineering skill - for over four thousands years, until the modern era, it was the tallest building in the world.

The Citadel and the Muhammad ‘Ali mosque..
In the 12th century, Saladin and his successors built an impenetrable bastion in the Citadel, using the most advanced construction techniques of the age. For the next 700 years, Egypt was ruled from this hill.
During the 1330s al-Nasir Muhammad, who ruled on three different occasions for a total of 42 years (AD 1293-1340) and was considered the greatest Mamluk sultan, tore down most of the Ayyubid buildings to make room for his own needs, which included several palaces and a mosque in addition to barracks for his army.
These, too, were not to last, for when the Ottoman Muhammad 'Ali assumed power in the 1800s he had all the Mamluk buildings razed and the complex entirely rebuilt; only the green-domed mosque and a fragment of al-Qasr al-Ablaq (the striped palace) remain. The Citadel's appearance today is the vision of Muhammad 'Ali, particularly the mosque that bears his name.
Source Wikipedia.

For more information: Here

Thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who has hosted this ABC game for the third round to the letter U for ABC Wednesday. For more ABC posts click on ABC picture in my side bar.Join us in this wonderful meme!

17 comments:

Rune Eide said...

I knew of the pyramids of course, but the rest was news top me - thank you for sharing. Another day not wasted. :-)

Leslie: said...

Some day I hope to see the pyramids and the sphinx.

Oman said...

wow. not just one but loads of amazing photographs perfect for the theme. very wise choice. great job.

Unknown said...

How interesting Wil! I am so glad you are back. I know you returned a few weeks ago but I really missed you : ).

That is so interesting about your dogs and cats being left behind when you went to the concentration camps. I wonder what did happen to them.

I think we will get the dog but it is up to my husband Gary so I have to wait : ). I am pleading for him because Kaish wants one so bad, and how cute is that dog? Seriously? So cute, right? : )

kayleen said...

Very interesting and informative. Beautiful photography.

Liz Hinds said...

I've never seen a real pyramid but they're so impressive. I love the - what was it? - bent one!

Anonymous said...

Strange to read of Djoser and thge step pyramid. I read 'The Pyramids of Egypt'when I was 15 totally ignoring a school football match in the process. They didn't like it - but they didn't like a lot of things I did.
Your comment is very kind - this belief of mine was part of our living on the island.
I fear the situation has been muddied by ludicrous Global Warming mania, ignoring Nature's natural cycles and not seeing the wood for the trees.

Patty said...

What a wonderful slide show you put together. Thanks for sharing.

Dragonstar said...

So much fascinating detail, and a load of photos. Thank you for all this - i've always wanted to see the pyramids.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Interesting educational and historical too. Excellent slide show. Unesco is such a wonderful organization.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know all this...great idea for ABC..I love your header picture..perfect for the season..

A Scattering said...

Wonderful! thanks for sharing the information. I've been to another Unesco site, Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland, Canada (it's where I hail from originally).

Unknown said...

In Malaysia(Sarawak) Mulu Cave is listed under UNESCO world heritage site & we are proud of it.
Thanks for visiting my letter U.

magiceye said...

that was sure a lovely take on the letter U!

Smart Mouth Broad said...

The pictures of your trip are so cool! I have never left the US. No real plans in the near future so I will have to live vicariously thru you and love it.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for posting this reader wil - I have been looking forward to seeing it on your blog and was not disappointed.

Kay said...

This is so neat. We were in Egypt last year and it was great fun to see your photos and bring back the memories.