Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World

The seven wonders that are most widely agreed upon as being in the original list are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, which was compiled by ancient Greek historians and is thus confined to the most magnificent structures known to the ancient Greek world. Of all the Ancient Wonders, the pyramids alone survive.

   The Pyramids of Egypt are three pyramids at Giza, outside modern Cairo. The largest pyramid, built by Khufu (Cheops), a king of the fourth dynasty, had an original estimated height of 482 ft (now approximately 450 ft). The base has sides 755 ft long. It contains 2,300,000 blocks; the average weight of each is 2.5 tons. Estimated date of completion is 2680 B.C.

  The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were supposedly built by Nebuchadnezzar around 600 B.C. to please his queen, Amuhia. They are also associated with the mythical Assyrian queen Semiramis. Archeologists surmise that the gardens were laid out atop a vaulted building, with provisions for raising water. The terraces were said to rise from 75 to 300 ft.

   

   The Statue of Zeus (Jupiter) at Olympia was made of gold and ivory by the Greek sculptor Phidias (5th century B.C.). Reputed to be 40 ft high, the statue has been lost without a trace, except for reproductions on coins.

   

   The Temple of Artemis (Diana) at Ephesus was begun about 350 B.C., in honor of a non-Hellenic goddess who later became identified with the Greek goddess of the same name. The temple, with Ionic columns 60 ft high, was destroyed by invading Goths in A.D. 262.

  

  The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was erected by Queen Artemisia in memory of her husband, King Mausolus of Caria in Asia Minor, who died in 353 B.C. Some remains of the structure are in the British Museum. This shrine is the source of the modern word mausoleum.

  

 The Colossus at Rhodes was a bronze statue of Helios (Apollo), about 105 ft high. The work of the sculptor Chares, who reputedly labored for 12 years before completing it in 280 B.C., it was destroyed during an earthquake in 224 B.C.

  

   The Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria was built by Sostratus of Cnidus during the 3rd century B.C. on the island of Pharos off the coast of Egypt. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 13th century.

Keunikan Etnik Sarawak

Sarawak adalah negeri yang sangat cantik. Sarawak memang cukup dikenali sebagai negeri yang mempunyai kaum yang sukar untuk didapati di tempat-tempat lain. 


Untuk mengetahui latar belakang serta kepelbagaian etnik yang terdapat di Sarawak, rasanya tidak cukup jika sekadar dengan membaca buku tanpa melihat sendiri gaya hidup serta suasana penempatan kaum-kaum tersebut.


 Oleh sebab itu, Kampung Budaya Sarawak yang dibuka secara rasmi pada tahun 1990 dan dibangunkan di atas tanah seluas 14 ekar diharap mampu memberikan pengalaman terindah kepada pengunjung yang mahu merasai sendiri gaya hidup serta kediaman sebenar masyarakat unik tersebut.




Hanya 35 kilometer dari Bandaraya Kuching dan mengambil masa lebih kurang 35 minit perjalanan menggunakan kereta, Kampung Budaya Sarawak merupakan lokasi percutian terbaik untuk seisi keluarga.




"Walaupun dikenakan bayaran sebanyak RM60 untuk golongan dewasa dan RM30 untuk kanak- kanak, namun saya rasa ianya cukup berbaloi kerana pengalaman sebegini sukar untuk didapati di tempat lain.
"Apatah lagi saya diberitahu kebanyakan kaum-kaum minoriti di Sarawak seperti kaum Bidayuh, Iban, Penan, Orang Ulu dan Melanau juga kini sedang dilanda era kemodenan. Jadi mereka sudah tidak tinggal di dalam rumah yang bercirikan tradisional seperti ini.


"Di Kampung Budaya Sarawak ini, kami dipaparkan dengan gaya hidup sebenar masyarakat tersebut termasuklah kuih muih, pakaian tradisional serta tarian yang dipersembahkan di dalam persembahan kebudayaan selama 45 minit yang diadakan khusus untuk pengunjung.





"Pendek kata Kampung Budaya Sarawak ibarat sebuah 'muzium hidup' yang penuh warna warni kehidupan masyarakat desa," ujar salah seorang pelancong tempatan yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Faizal.


Beliau yang berasal dari Kuala Lumpur memberitahu, anak-anaknya cukup teruja kerana berpeluang memasuki rumah kaum Melanau yang sangat tinggi serta kaum Bidayuh yang berbentuk bulat.



   
Tambah manis apabila para pekerja di Kampung Budaya Sarawak memberikan layanan yang baik dan mesra kepada para pelancong. "Berlatar belakangkan hutan hujan tropika yang masih elok terpelihara serta Gunung Santubong yang tinggi melangit, saya yakin Kampung Budaya Sarawak akan terus dikenali sehingga ke peringkat antarabangsa," tambahnya.


   Dibuka setiap hari bermula jam 9.00 pagi hingga 5.15 petang, Kampung Budaya Sarawak yang telah menerima pelbagai anugerah dari dalam luar negara itu diharapkan akan terus terpelihara serta menjadi daya tarikan utama buat para pelancong yang mahu berkunjung ke Sarawak.

Sarawak Bumi Kenyalang

Negeri Sarawak dikenali dengan gelaran Bumi Kenyalang merupakan salah satu daripada 14 negeri yang membentuk Persekutuan Malaysia. Burung Kenyalang (Rhinoceros Hornbill) merupakan burung rasmi negeri Sarawak. 

   Oleh kerana spesies Burung Kenyalang ini yang hanya boleh didapati di negeri ini, Sarawak turut dikenali sebagai Bumi Kenyalang (Land of the Hornbill). Sengalang Burong yang memainkan peranan yang penting dalam perayaan keagamaan Iban, terutamanya Hari Gawai Kenyalang.

   Bagi sesetengah penduduk Dayak, burung Enggang Badak mewakili Dewa Perang mereka, Singalang Burong. Ia merupakan burung negeri Sarawak. Burung Kenyalang ini melambangkan satu daripada 'Petara'[Tuhan] yang paling berkuasa dalam kaum Dayak,

   Kenyalang mengemari buah ara dan memain peranan dalam penghapusan buah ara – suatu proses yang menujukan penumbuhan penghutanan ekosistem Sarawak.

The Great Niah Caves

      Niah Caves is located within the district of Miri in Sarawak, Malaysia. Part of Niah National Park, the main cave, Niah Great Cave, is located in Gunung Subis and is made up of several voluminous, high-ceilinged chambers. The Great Cave lies in a large limestone block, about a kilometre long in general north to south direction and about half a kilometre wide, that is detached from the main Gunung Subis complex, by a valley between about 150 to 200 meters wide. 

      The main Gunung Subis complex rises to about 394 meters above sea level at its highest point. The whole "Gunung Subis Limestone Complex" lies some 17 kilometres inland from the South China Sea coast and about 65 kilometres south west of the town Miri. It is roughly heart shaped measuring five kilometres from its northern tip to the south and four kilometres across. The Gunung Subis is surrounded by a low countryside with gentle hills from which the small limestone massiv and its smaller detached blocks rise rather appruptly out of the jungle, some with cliffs over 100 metres high. 

       Though it is not an extensive cave system compared to others in Sarawak, it has been estimated to cover some 10 hectares and the roof rises to about 75 metres above the cave floor in some places. In geological terms, the limestones are part of the Subis Formation. This is dated to some 20 to 16 million years ago during the Early Miocene. The caves have been used by humans at different times ranging from the prehistory to neolithic, chinese Sung-Era and more recent times.

The main entrance to the Niah Caves at sunset

The cave is an important prehistorical site where human remains dating to 40,000 years have been found. This is the oldest recorded human settlement in east Malaysia. 

       More recent studies published in 2006 have shown evidence of the first human activity at the Niah caves from ca. 46,000 to ca. 34,000 years ago. Painted Cave, situated in a much smaller limestone block of its own, some 150 metres from the Great Cave block's south eastern tip, has rock paintings dated as 1,200 years old. The caves are also well known for the birds' nest (Swiftlet) industry. It is a popular tourist destination in Sarawak.

       Research was pioneered by Tom Harrisson in the 1950/60s. Since then local universities and foreign scientists have continued the archaeological research, and many articles have been published in the Sarawak Museum Journal. The site has been re-excavated (1999-2003+) by a joint British-Malaysian expedition to determine the accuracy of Harrisson's work.

      Items found at Niah Cave include Pleistocene chopping tools and flakes, Neolithic axes, adzes, pottery, shell jewellery, boats, mats, then iron tools and ceramics and glass beads dating to the Iron Age. The most famous find is the human skull dated at around 38,000 years BCE. Painted Cave has paintings and wooden coffin 'death ships'. Niah National Park was 31.4 km² when it was gazetted in 1974.