Asian architectural wonders: the best representation of history, culture and civilization. By Kenny Slaught

Asia is the largest and most populous continent on Earth. It covers an area of 44,579,000 square kilometers, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area. Historically, it is the home of the first modern civilization each of them developing around fertile river valleys. For example, civilizations in Mesopotamia, Indus Valley and Huanghe shared many similarities because they well exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the invention of the wheel. Indeed, Asia is well known for innovations they have made and used then for guiding the human’s development until the level we have achieved today. Despite of its contribution, Asia has stayed apart of western culture since the radical position about religion westerners have taken. Even though this position, westerners have adopted main Asian innovations such as writing, the invention of textiles used for writing as well as for clothes fabrication.

From 1 to 1800 A.D.China and India alternated in being the largest economies in the world. Furthermore, China was a major economic power and attracted many to the east, and for many the legendary wealth and prosperity of the ancient culture of India personified Asia. Furthermore, Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream. Hence, within Asian, monuments and temples were created in order to venerate and adore gods. These beautiful constructions still amuse even the most experimented architects since they find no explanation for understand how this big and perfect constructions were made around 3000 years ago. Here, there is a list with the most Asian impressive constructions:

Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, India  Peaking at 46m, the towers taper skywards like elongated, stepped pyramids, their surfaces writhing with jumble of deities, , curvaceous maidens, demons, warriors, pot-bellied dwarves and sprites. The great temples of the Chola dynasty utterly dominate most major towns in Tamil Nadu. For sheer scale and intensity, though, none outstrips the one dedicated to the fish-eyed goddess, Shri Meenakshi, and her consort, Sundareshwara, in Madurai.

Achit Chand Baori – IndiaDetails on its impressive construction remain a mystery but there are some legends about this site. According to the legend in the village of Abhaneri in Rajasthan, India, where the Chand Baori stepwell lies, ghosts built this architectural marvel around the 10th century. There don’t seem to be any other explanations as to how this perfectly designed stepwell came to be. Around 900 AD, King Chanda had it built to solve the area’s drought problem. Roughly 13 stories high, dug into a V-shape nearly 100 feet below the earth’s surface, with an estimated 3,500 perfectly levelled steps, King Chanda devoted it to the Goddess of Joy and Happiness, Hashat Mata, upon its completion.

Wat Phra Kaeo, Thailand  Its shimmering walls and gables covered all over in gilt and colored glass mosaics. Adapted as a former royal residence and the main temple, Wat Phra Kaeo, dazzles people who visit it. Join the hundreds of Thai pilgrims and step inside to pay homage to the teeny Emerald Buddha. In addition, this is the holiest icon in the country.

Great Wall of ChinaOne of the Seven Wonders of the World , the Great Wall is one of the country's most enduring symbols and it is a must when in China. It is commonly thought that the Great Wall is one long wall that runs from the East China Sea inland along the mountains north of Beijing. In fact, it was made up of several interconnecting walls spanning China and it way crosses China covering over 5,500 miles (8,850km). Furthermore, it took hundreds of years to finish it because each dynasty made a part of it. Actually, the many sections of wall construction took over 2,000 years.

Image courtesy of Matt Barber at Flickr.com

Taj Mahal, Agra, India  The most famous mausoleum in the world, Agra’s “crown of palaces” was built in 1653 for the wife of Emporer Shah Jahan. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the white-marble building, its four sides are identical and colors dance on it throughout the day. They started from pink in the morning with the first sunrays to white in the evening and under moonlight its golden color shines.  Fascination for this country has been exposed hundreds of years ago. The accidental discovery of America by Columbus in search for India demonstrates this. And, The Silk Road became the main East-West trading route in the Asian hither land while the Straits of Malacca stood as a major sea route. This continent remains as an indecipherable land where ethnic groups, cultures, environments and historical ties give the impression there is still some magic surrounding everything and everyone.

Image courtesy of Mary Molirano at Flickr.com