Great Structures for vision

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is one of the great structure in world, with millions of visitors coming to marvel at it every year. You may have already known that it was built in 1889 and is re-painted every 7 years, but there are plenty of little-known facts about the tower that you may not know.

The great landmark Eiffel Tower was designed by the French engineer and bridge builder Alexandre Gustave Eiffel to celebrate the 100th year anniversary of the French Revolution. The two years, two months and five days it took to build it is considered both a technical and architectural achievement.

Since it opened in 1889, almost 250 million visitors have come to see the tower. TToday, it welcomes almost 7 million visitors a year, 75 percent of whom are foreigners, making it the most visited monument that you have to pay for in the world. A study done by Client Watchdog asked 5,000 visitors about who they visit the tower with, and reported that 3 percent said they visit alone, 18.1 percent visit with friends, and 30 percent said they visit with an organized group. The most popular response was visiting with family, which was made up of 48.9 percent of visitors.

The Eiffel Tower has 20,000 lightbulbs, 5,000 per side, that sparkle for five minutes on the hour, every hour, from nightfall to 1AM. What might surprise some is that it is illegal to take a photograph of the tower at night because the light display is considered artwork and therefore protected under copyright law. Snap off a picture and you can be fined.

Taj Mahal

An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage.

The Taj Mahal is located on the right bank of the Yamuna River in a vast Mughal garden that encompasses nearly 17 hectares, in the Agra District in Uttar Pradesh. It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal with construction starting in 1632 AD and completed in 1648 AD, with the mosque, the guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer courtyard and its cloisters were added subsequently and completed in 1653 AD. The existence of several historical and Quaranic inscriptions in Arabic script have facilitated setting the chronology of Taj Mahal. For its construction, masons, stone-cutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers, dome builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from the Central Asia and Iran. Ustad-Ahmad Lahori was the main architect of the Taj Mahal.

Mustangs By Robert Glen, Las Colinas, Texas, USA

... is a breathtakingly realistic bronze sculpture of nine wild mustangs galloping across a granite stream. Tourists from around the world come to view the impressive, larger-than-life depiction that serves as the centerpiece of Williams Square, a stark, pink granite plaza in the Las Colinas Urban Center.This is a must-see for visitors and residents alike.

Adjacent to the sculpture, in the East Tower of Williams Square Plaza, is the Mustangs of Las Colinas Museum. In the museum, visitors learn the story of the eight years of work African wildlife artist Robert Glen invested in creating the Mustangs. The museum also presents a short film which brings to life for the visitor the time and effort that went into designing, molding, and mounting this distinctive piece of public art. Other works of art by Robert Glen are also on display in the museum.

Les Voyageurs, Marseilles, France

The great monument “Les voyageurs” (travelers), a series of surrealist sculptures by French artist Bruno Catalano. A dozen of these sculptures were installed during the month of September in the streets of Marseille for the European Capital of Culture 2013. This beautiful series of sculptures questions us because of its meaning but also because of its technique, and evokes memories and things that every traveler inevitably leaves behind…