In the bustling streets of Florence, Italy, during the early 1400s, a young boy named Giovanni di Bicci de’ Medici was about to change history. Giovanni was not born into a family of great wealth or royal blood. His father, Averardo de’ Medici, was a merchant, and his mother, Jacopa Spini, was a middle-class woman. They lived in a small house, but it was filled with love and laughter.

Giovanni was a curious child, always eager to learn about the world around him. He often wandered the markets of Florence, listening to traders and merchants as they haggled over goods. From silks and spices to artworks and armor, Florence was a city thriving with trade, thanks to its location in the heart of Italy.

When he was just a teenager, Giovanni’s father took him on a business trip to Rome. It was there that Giovanni’s saw his first bank. When people needed to move money to a far away place, they could give their money to the bank who would give them a letter with a number showing the amount. Then they could travel to the faraway place and use the letter to get their money. This was much safer than trying to move large amounts of money  by wagon or on their horse – especially since the roads at that time could be very dangerous. Thieves were known to stop people and take their money. Banks could also be used to keep your money safe and to buy things in faraway places. This not only made trading easier but also safer. Giovanni saw all of this going on and was fascinating.

Returning to Florence, Giovanni decided to start his own bank. With a small amount of money saved up and a loan from a family friend, Giovanni set up a tiny banking in the local market. It was just a simple table in the market where people would come to him to trust him with their money. He was friendly and wise, offering to keep people’s money safe and help them transfer money to different cities without risk.

Banks and banking seem like a simple ideas now, but it was very new at the time and Giovanni wanted to be the one who had the biggest, most trusted, and wealthy bank.

Giovanni’s reputation grew. People trusted him because he was fair and kind. His bank began to grow. He also made money on trade. Trade is when you buy items and then sell them for more. He did this all over Europe along with helping people move and save their money. 

But beyond banking, Giovanni wanted to do more than just make money; he wanted to help Florence, the city he loved. He started lending money to artists so they could buy materials to create beautiful paintings, sculptures, and other crafts. This was the time of the Renaissance when artists were trying new styles and painting more realistically than before. 

The Medici Bank, as it was now known, became the largest bank in Europe!  Giovanni had branches of his bank in many major cities, including Rome, Venice, and even distant London. His success allowed him to support not just his family but also the city’s artists, architects, and thinkers. Florence blossomed into a center of the Renaissance, a golden age of art and science in part thanks to the money spent by Giovanni.

One of Giovanni’s proudest moments was praying for the construction of the famous dome of the Florence Cathedral. He hired Filippo Brunelleschi, a genius architect who proposed a daring design. Many were skeptical that such a grand dome could be built, but Giovanni believed in Brunelleschi’s vision. The completion of the dome was a marvel and remains one of the architectural wonders of the world.

Giovanni also believed in giving back to his community. He supported the construction of hospitals, schools, and libraries. Thanks to him, many young Florentines received education and health care, which were rare in those times for anyone but the rich.

As Giovanni grew older, he trained his sons, Cosimo and Lorenzo, to take over the bank. He taught them everything he knew, not just about banking, but also about being wise leaders and generous supporters of art and culture. Giovanni knew that wealth was not just about gold and silver; it was about making the city better for everyone.

Cosimo, Giovanni’s oldest son, was a quick learner, but he loved art more than banking like his father. He loved to stroll through the workshops of sculptors and painters, watching them turn blank canvases and rough stones into breathtaking art.

As Cosimo grew into a teenager, Florence was blossoming into the center of the Renaissance. It was during these years that Cosimo developed a vision for his city. He saw Florence not just as a center of commerce but as a shining light of culture and learning.

When Cosimo took over the Medici Bank from his father, he was ready to use his wealth to transform Florence. He believed that beauty and knowledge were as valuable as gold and silver. He started investing in art and buildings even more than his father. He became a “patron” of the arts, which means he paid to have them created.

Cosimo’s love for architecture led him to pay for the construction of the San Marco monastery in Florence. He invited architects to design a building that would reflect the elegance and spiritual depth of the city. The finished building was a peaceful place that became a home for scholars and artists. 

He also established the Platonic Academy, a school where philosophers gathered to discuss ideas. With Cosimo as the patron, this academy became a center for learning in Europe, attracting scholars from all over the continent. It was here that the works of Plato and other ancient philosophers were studied and preserved.

But life in Florence wasn’t easy for Cosimo. Even though he gave a lot to the city, he also used his money to control some of the leaders. Many people believed he and his family had too much power over Florence and their use of their wealth to run the city was unfair. One of the competing families, the Albizzi, found enough people to go against them that Cosimo had to leave the city for a time. He was devastated to leave the city he loved. The Albizzi didn’t run Florence as well and eventually the people asked Cosimo to come back. 

Back in Florence, Cosimo paid for the construction of public libraries, making knowledge accessible to more than just the elite. He also paid for public projects like aqueducts, which carried clean water through the city. These projects improved daily life in Florence, making it one of the most advanced cities of its time.

Like his father, Cosimo taught his children the value of art, culture, and community. When Cosimo passed away, Pietro took over the Medici Bank and leadership of Florence. We’re not going to spend as much time learning about Pietro but he did carry on his family’s legacy of running the bank and keeping the finances in order. Cosimo’s rule had been very expensive from all of his spending on art and architecture and Pietro was able to focus on the banking again and increase the family’s wealth.

His son, Lorenzo, grew up surrounded by scholars, artists, and poets. From a very young age, he was taught not only about banking and politics but also the value of art and knowledge. Lorenzo had a powerful personality and was very intelligent like his father and grandfather, with a natural ability to lead and inspire those around him. 

In 1469, he was barely 20 years-old when his father passed away and he was left in charge of the family bank. He paid for great art like his grandfathers, Cosimo and Giovanni, but with even greater enthusiasm. He surrounded himself with poets and scholars, too, who helped him turn Florence into the intellectual and artistic capitol of Europe.

One of the most famous artists and inventors of the Renaissance was Leonardo da Vinci. Lorenzo was a patron to Leonardo and Michelangelo, two of the most famous artists in history. He became known as “Lorenzo the Magnificent” for all of his different qualities.

He was also a very skilled politician. This means he knew how to work with leaders in the government. Often the way he worked with leaders was unfair, because he used his money to pay for who was in power and how they voted. He was like a king of Florence, but he did it in a secret way by using his money to make things go his way.

At the time, many of the different cities in what is now Italy competed for power. Cities such as Rome, Milan, Venice, Naples and Genoa. Because all of these cities were competing for power, Lorenzo’s reign as leader of Florence was not without its challenges. In 1478, someone tried to assassinate him during church in the Duomo of Florence. Lorenzo survived, but the attack left scars that would affect his leadership and the safety of his family.

As Lorenzo grew older, running Florence became harder and harder. The bank wasn’t as powerful as when his father was in charge and his building projects and art became too expensive for their family to pay for. He died in 1492, yet, the world has Lorenzo and his father and grandfather to thank for much of the beautiful artwork and buildings you can still visit in Florence today.

The Medici Family, through its generations, showed both the good and ill that come with great power. They were patrons of the arts and education, and helped keep Florence stable. However, their leadership also included times of extreme control, corruption, and abuses of power. Despite this, the Medicis left a significant mark on history, transforming Florence into a center of the Renaissance that still shines brightly today.

The story of the Medici family, from Giovanni to Cosimo to Lorenzo, teaches us that with great power and wealth comes the responsibility to foster culture, knowledge, and beauty. Their legacy reminds us that we all have the capacity to contribute to a better society. Their story inspires us to think of how we, too, can make our own mark in the world, creating something magnificent that could last generations.

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But did you know that kings and queens and dungeons and castles don’t just exist in fairy tales? They really exist! For hundreds of years, they’ve lived in a city called London.

Every year, 30 million people travel from around the world to London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. Why do so many people come to visit this city that is home to kings, queens, dungeons, and castles? Let’s check it out!

What better way to see all of the old castles and new buildings of London than from the sky. So let’s start our tour of this magical place with a trip up an elevator. In London, though, they would call this elevator a “lift.” This particular lift is going to take us to the very top of a building called the Shard. The Shard is the tallest building in London so our elevator has to travel more than 1,000 feet to reach the top!

But what a view! From the 68th floor of the Shard, we can see just how enormous London really is! Museums, buses, people, and buildings spread out as far as the eye can see. Many people think that London is one of the biggest cities in the world. Actually, though, it’s the smallest city in the United Kingdom. This is because the actual City of London is only about one square mile of skyscrapers. All of the palaces, attractions, and museums we see below us are actually in a region called Greater London, not the city of London.

London was founded about 2,000 years ago. At this time, a powerful empire known as the Roman Empire was invading many places on the continent of Europe. Eventually, the mighty Roman army sailed so far north that they reached a large island with a large river called the Thames. The Romans sailed along the Thames until they decided that it was narrow enough to build bridges across it. There, they built a city and called it Londinium, but at some point, it was shortened to London. From the top of the Shard, it’s easy to see the same river running through London today!  

Where the Romans first settled is the small section that is the true City of London. Today, people from all over the world come to work here. It’s pretty easy to spot from the Shard because it’s a cluster of tall skyscrapers. One of them is even shaped like a pickle. In fact, many people who live in London like to call it the Pickle!

Remember those bridges that the Romans built? Well, there are still around 35 of them crossing the river in London alone! Probably the most famous is called Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is built to look like, well, a tower. It’s named after a landmark that sits just at the end of the bridge called the Tower of London.   

The Tower of London has actually served many purposes throughout its history. It was first built as a military fortress for a French king named William the Conqueror. But since then, it’s been a prison, a castle, a place to store weapons, and even a zoo. 

Today, visitors stop by the Tower of London to see the crown jewels, owned by the King and Queen themselves. The collection of jewels is guarded by seven ravens, and countless British guards called beefeaters who wear bright red coats, big black boots, and tall fluffy hats. They get their pictures taken by tourists a lot! 

While the beefeaters guard their jewels in the Tower of London, the King and Queen live on the other side of London in Buckingham Palace. But even though a British queen or king has ruled the United Kingdom for around 1200 years, they haven’t always lived in Buckingham Palace. When the palace was built in London in the 1700s, it wasn’t for the royal family. A man named John Sheffield just wanted a place to stay while he was in London. About 50 years later, in 1762, King George III saw how grand and beautiful it was. He knew that nobody except for the royal family was fit to live there. So, he bought it for his wife.

To make it even grander, he added large gardens, archways, statues, and monuments. Buckingham Palace now has over 775 rooms. Seventy-eight of them are bathrooms! 

Since the 1700s, the people who lived and worked in Buckingham Palace have followed many royal traditions. Some are still used today. For example, if you visit the palace, you’ll know that King Charles is home if the British flag is flying on top of the building. You might also be lucky enough to see the changing-of-the-guard, which happens every morning during the summer, and every other morning during the winter. 

From the Shard, we can see that just below Buckingham Palace is a big clock tower. And when I say big, I mean huge. It’s so big they named the clock in it Big Ben, and it is 315 feet tall to be exact. This famous symbol helps Londoners keep track of time as they go about their busy days in the bustling city. The bells inside weigh about 14 tons each. That’s about the same as five adult elephants. When Big Ben was built, it took sixteen horses to pull it to where it stands now.

Big Ben is attached to the Houses of Parliament. This large building is home to the government of the United Kingdom. It’s kind of like the British version of the capitol building in Washington D.C. The Houses of Parliament look a lot like a palace themselves. In fact, this building is sometimes called the Palace of Westminster because it looks so royal and extravagant. 

London has long been a place for kings and queens to live. It’s also where a lot of business people and politicians come to work. But if you look down from the top of The Shard, you’ll see a crowded city full of people walking its streets, taking taxis and buses, and even riding boats along the Thames. What do all of these people do in London? 

Some could be actors hurrying to theaters in the West End. There are more than 240 theaters across London, and most of them are in the West End. London became famous for its live theater performances thanks to a famous playwright named Shakespeare. Shakespeare has a number of famous plays including Romeo and Juliet. In the 1500s, his theater, the Globe, was built in London. Even though it’s not in the West End, Shakespeare’s Globe and its many performances set the stage, quite literally, for the popularity of theater in London. Visitors can still see a play at the Globe or any one of the other 200 performances every day in theaters across London. 

Visitors might also check out one of London’s 192 museums. London was once the center of an empire that included Africa, Asia, and even the original American colonies. Because of this history, the museums in London are filled with art, artifacts, and information from all over the world. London is even home to the world’s oldest public museum – the British Museum. 

Like the artifacts in its museums, London is home to people from all over the world. Over 300 different languages are spoken here. Its restaurants include food from all over the world. And if you go to one of many soccer stadiums in London to see a match, you’ll likely see the best players in the world. 

The view from the Shard is not just beautiful. It helps show a city that is rich in history but also a modern city that is thriving.

Wait. I think I hear the chimes of Big Ben. It must be time for tea. Afternoon tea is another long tradition in London. But we’ll save that story for another time.

Sources:

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/London/345951

https://www.activityvillage.co.uk/a-brief-history-of-london

https://kids.kiddle.co/History_of_London

https://kids.kiddle.co/Buckingham_Palace

https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Big-Ben/476223

https://kids.kiddle.co/Palace_of_Westminster

https://www.shakespearesglobe.com/discover/about-us/globe-theatre/#:~:text=The%20Globe%20Theatre%20you%20see,Julius%20Caesar%20in%20spring%201599.

https://www.london.gov.uk/programmes-strategies/arts-and-culture/vision-and-strategy/20-facts-about-london%E2%80%99s-culture#:~:text=London%20has%20over%20192%20museums,Rosetta%20Stone%20(196%20BC).

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The first thing you’ll notice is the massive stone walls that seem to blend perfectly with the natural landscape. Once you step inside the walls of the palace, you find yourself in a place that feels both ancient and mysterious. The city is made up of stone buildings and terraces that are carefully arranged in a way that makes you wonder how they were built without modern tools. The buildings have no roofs, which means you can look up and see the drizzly sky above you.

Everywhere you turn, there are stunning views. Lush mountains stretch as far as the eye can see, and you see the winding Urubamba River far down below. Next, you spot one of the most fascinating parts of Machu Picchu, the Intihuatana Stone, which is like a giant sundial. On one of the terraces you also see a pack of llamas. These adorable animals turn and look at you in a friendly, curious way. 

Truly, visiting Machu Picchu is like entering a real-life fairy tale. It’s a place that sparks your imagination and fills you with a sense of awe. The history, the stunning views, and the unique atmosphere have made it a truly unforgettable experience. 

If you listened to our episode last week, we learned all about the rise of the Inca Empire and the construction of Machu Picchu. Now let’s dive into how it was discovered and became the treasured tourist destination that it is today.

In 1831, a child named Hiram Bingham III was born to Clara Brewster and Hiram Bingham II in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Binghams were the children of Protestant missionaries who had journeyed to the islands to teach the native people their religion. Growing up, Hirma’s parents were very strict. He really struggled with this because his favorite stories were of adventure and troublesome kids like Huckleberry Finn. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was one of his favorite books and wished for a life of adventure like one of his heroes. He wanted to explore the world but felt like he was stuck on the island and with parents who wanted him to live a very traditional life and get a very traditional education.

When he was 12, Hiram and a friend hatched a plan to leave home and travel to Africa. He took $250 of his savings out of the bank and headed to the port to set sail to the United States. From there he’d travel to New York and then Africa! Unfortunately, the boat didn’t leave on time and Hiram’s father found out about the plan. As you can imagine, he was not happy! Hiram stayed in Hawaii until he was 16 until he got his chance to leave and study at Yale University and later Harvard. He eventually became a professor in Latin History and later married and continued to teach. But something inside Hiram still longed for the life of adventure he dreamed of as a child reading about his hero, Huck Finn. 

In 1908, Hiram Bingham traveled to Peru, South America to meet with other professors for work. There, someone told him a story about a lost Incan. Hiram was intrigued! He wondered if the story was about the lost city of Vilcambamba. During his trip, he did some exploring and took pictures of ruins, and started writing about his time in Peru, hoping that someday he could return and find this lost, mysterious city from the stories. 

By 1911, a few years later, Hiram Bingham had assembled a team of experts and enough money to make the return trip to Peru to find the lost city of Vilcambamba. He made great sacrifices, such as selling family property in Hawaii, to pay the $12,000 dollars for the trip, and leaving his family at a difficult time. But he was determined to make a great discovery that would put his name in the history books! 

Hiram and his crew sailed from New York to Lima, Peru, and got to work trying to figure out the location of the lost city. He interviewed people and studied maps and journals of Spanish priests and others who might have clues about the location of the city. From Lima, they traveled to the city of Cuzco, where in the last episode we learned about Pachacuti, the great king who once ruled the Inca Empire. In Cuzco, Hiram met a man named Melchor Arteaga, who said he knew the location of the lost city and could take Hiram and his team there. 

After a five-day journey through the jungle, Hiram, Melchor and his team arrived at a village at the base of the mountain. The weather was bad, making the mountain wet and slippery, but Hiram paid Melchor enough to convince him to take him up the mountain. They climbed up through the rain and mists and mud, sometimes on their hands and knees, and soon reached the mountaintop. The ruins were in view! There was something to the stories about this city. They found a family who were living and farming the terraces of the mountaintop. The family gave them water to drink before Hiram set about exploring the area further. Hiram hiked around and found more walls and more elaborate stone architecture. A temple, a palace, and aqueducts. Hiram didn’t know it yet but this was Machu Picchu, the ruins of Pichacuti’s mountaintop palace! He took pictures of the ruins and notes of everything he observed before climbing back down the mountain to his awaiting team. 

Hiram, still wanting to find the lost city of Vilcambamba, continued to explore the area – and did find a city of ruins overgrowing with vines and plants. He didn’t realize it at the time but it was Vilcambamba, but Machu Picchu was even more amazing and he was very excited to share his discoveries with the world! 

After returning home, Hiram wrote about his adventures in Peru. He quickly became known around the world for his discoveries and returned again the next year to explore the area deeper and take more pictures. The team also began to uncover more of the buildings. They dug and found pots and jewelry and gold and skeletons, which helped them better understand the life of Pachacuti and the Incas. Many of these artifacts were removed from Machu Picchu and taken to Bingham’s university to be put on display. One hundred years later, these artifacts were rightfully returned to Peru for its people to appreciate.

After Hiram’s later visits, National Geographic printed pictures of the Machu Picchu and people all across the world were able to appreciate the magnificent mountaintop palace. Since that time, Machu Picchu has become one of the most famous archeological sites in the world. In 1948, Peru built a road leading closer to the ruins and also made it a national park. This has helped it to become one of the most visited locations in the world. Since Hiram’s time, more archeologists and scientists have visited the mountaintop palace to learn about the people who lived there. And currently, around 2,000 tourists visit Machu Picchu every day!

The Story of Machi Picchu is one of the skilled, hardworking, and ingenious people who were able to engineer and construct such a magnificent site. Also, it’s a story of an intrepid professor, much like one of my favorite movie characters, Indiana Jones, who followed his childhood dreams and discovered an ancient city for the world to enjoy!

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During the 1400s the people of this area were under the threat of nearby tribes. The kind at the time decided to turn and run, but fortunately one of his sons, a bold leader, decided to face the enemy instead. His name was Pachacuti (Patch-a–KOO-tee) and he quickly went to work uniting the nearby tribes in a large army to face the invaders. Pachacuti led the Incas into battle and after fierce hand-to-hand combat, they won! After becoming king and providing safety for his people, Pachacuti went to work on the new kingdom of united tribes. He organized the building of roads and city centers to improve the economy, temples to worship their gods, and stone walls and buildings to keep the people safe. And instead of being on the defense, he instead attacked nearby tribes who he worried might threaten their safety. After defeating other tribes, he added their soldiers to his army, and their people to his growing empire. They helped build new roads and cities, temples, and defenses. But if he could avoid battle, he would do just that and instead offer them gifts, so they would join his empire instead. The conquered tribes then paid taxes and little by little the Inca Empire grew. Eventually, Pachacuti’s empire spread into six countries that we know today as Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina. 

At the center of the empire was the capital city of Cuzco, in what is now known as Peru, with around 40,000 citizens and another 200,000 in surrounding areas at the time. The city was located high in the Andes Mountains and had a ruling class led by Pachacuti and a priestly class who organized the worship of their gods. The Incas were skilled farmers and artisans who mined gold, silver, copper, bronze, and other precious metals and used them to craft beautiful jewelry and bowls, and other tools. They also used these metals to decorate their buildings, many of which were covered in gold. They were also very advanced at designing fabrics and used them to make strong and colorful clothing. 

Skilled Inca engineers used advanced engineering to design their buildings. They were made of stone blocks and were often so perfectly measured that they didn’t need any kind of cement to keep them together. The rulers and priestly class used advanced math to keep track of the stars and other planetary bodies. They used astronomy to design their buildings, which meant different windows and features faced planets and stars according to the time of the year. The Incas worshipped the sun and build stone temples and in honor of the sun god, decorated their buildings with gold.

As Pachacuti conquered new tribes across South America, he got to work building palaces in all of the new lands. One of these new territories was high in the Andes Mountains and overlooking the Urubamba River Valley. Pachacuti decided this mountaintop would be the perfect place to build a palace for his family, so he could retreat there and enjoy some quiet away from busy cities like Cuzco. Basically, like a vacation home for a celebrity or the President in our day and age. From the top of the mountain, Pachacuti would also be able to view his empire in all directions and the tall peaks would keep him safe from his enemies. This is the palace that later became known as Machu Picchu which means “old peak.” 

Together with his engineers, Pachacuti figured out how to build a home in this very high, very steep place. Workers dug into the sides of the mountain and flattened it out into a series of large steps, known as terraces, where they could plant crops and build buildings. Peasants worked hard to clear and farm these terraces and planted maize (what we know as corn), beans, potatoes, and other crops on these wide steps or terraces. They also worked tirelessly to haul huge stones up the mountain to build walls and the palace itself. 

Of course, without water, the visitors to the palace wouldn’t survive, so the brilliant Inca engineers found a spring and designed aqueducts to move the water around the mountaintop and into fountains which the king, his family, and servants could use to drink and cook and bathe.

Once the construction project of Machu Picchu was complete, the king and his royal family often made the long trek from Cuzco to vacation there. Sometimes he had up to 100 family members and 500 servants living at the palace!

King Pachacuti loved nature and the stars, so when he designed Machu Picchu with his engineers, they included many works of art that reflected the beauty of the local nature and the animals of this region. They also designed a temple on the mountain and many of the buildings with the stars in mind, meaning certain windows faced certain stars or the sun and moon at different times of the year. Beautiful flowers and other plants were also cultivated on Machu Picchu to celebrate Pachacuti’s love of nature. 

During their time at the palace, the king and his family also spent time capturing and hunting animals. Some of these included deer, alpacas, and llamas. If you’ve ever seen a llama or alpaca they are a very funny-looking creature with a wooly body, long neck, and tall ears. They live and are able to climb and survive high in the mountains of Peru. The royal family feasted on the meat of deer and used the wool of llamas and alpacas for their beautiful clothing. But of course, Pachacuti wasn’t always at Machu Picchu. It was one of his many palaces and often he lived at Cuzco, the capital from which he ruled his growing empire.

As I mentioned earlier, people native to the Americas lived in North and South America for a VERY long time without anyone in the rest of the world, Europe or Asia, and beyond, even knowing they existed. This is what we sometimes call the New World, which the Old World didn’t know about. It wasn’t until Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas in 1492 that the knowledge of this new continent became really well known to Europeans. This was a time when the Incan Empire was thriving alongside major European empires like Spain, France, and England. 

After Columbus’s voyage, powerful empires like Spain decided they wanted in on the New World, too, so they immediately sent explorers to find out how to better their own situation. This era was called The Age of Discovery. The Spanish explorers who journeyed to the New World were called conquistadors and traveled there in search of new land, gold for their empires, and people with which to share their religion. 

The Conquistadors had heard about the Inca Empire and knew they had access to many mines. Especially mines containing their favorite precious metal, gold! They heard that the Incas had so much gold that they used it to decorate their temples, and other buildings, and to make beautiful jewelry. 

Francisco Pizzaro was one of the first conquistadors who wanted some of this gold to enrich himself and his beloved country of Spain. Upon landing, he declared the land of South America the property of Spain with no consideration for the people who already lived there – such as the Incas. And as you can imagine, the Inca Empire and its hoards of gold were immediately in his sights. 

At this time, Pachacuti was no longer the king of the Incas. Instead, they were ruled by a king named Atahuallpa (ah-ta-HUAL-pa), who had weakened the Incan Empire during a war with his brother. But Atahuallpa still had a very large army and seeing that Pizarro’s was very small, he assumed to defeat them very easily. He brought a small part of his army, 5,000, to the fight and didn’t even arm them. But what he didn’t know is that numbers aren’t the only important part of a battle. Technology made all the difference in this age, and he wasn’t prepared for Pizzaro’s more advanced weapons of war, such as guns, armor, and horses. 

Atahuallpa and the Inca soldiers had never seen a gun before. How did a device like this hurt someone from a distance? Why did it make such a loud, booming noise, and fire smoke and fire? For centuries, they’d only used spears and swords in battle. Needless to say, they were very unprepared to take on Pizzaro and his better-armed soldiers. When the Conquistadors started firing their weapons, the Incas were frightened and many were injured or died. Very quickly the battle was over and Atahuallpa had been taken captive by Francisco Pizzaro and the other conquistador soldiers. 

With Atahuallpa as his captive, Pizarro forced the Incas to bring him gold and they did for a very long time. The Spanish melted the beautiful gold jewelry and cups and bowls and other fine materials down into gold bars, which they sent back to Spain as a tribute to their own king. Pizarro took over the government in Peru and set up his own king, who followed his orders. Over time, the Incan Empire faded in power and glory. But back to the grand palace of Machu Picchu. By this time, the mountaintop vacation home had already started to lose its magnificence since no kings after Pachacuti lived there or took care of it as its creator did. Vines and moss grew over the stone walls, no one cultivated the terrace farms, and the beautiful buildings fell into disrepair and began to crumble with weather and age. Most Incas forgot it even existed, although the tales of this glorious mountaintop palace were still passed on, perhaps even treated as legend.

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Love is one of the greatest emotions known to mankind. It propels people to accomplish great feats, fight valiant battles, or overcome insurmountable obstacles.  Love inspires people to write songs, present gifts, and erect monuments. And throughout the centuries, amazing architecture has been built in the name of love.  Some are world-famous, while others are known to a few.  These lovely structures might look like fairy tale castles, glorious mosques, coral caves, or even spectacular spaceships!  So, let’s take a look at some of these wonders of architecture built in the name of love.

First – and undoubtedly the most famous – is the Taj Mahal in Uttar Pradesh, India.  Many centuries ago, in the 1600s, there lived a mighty emperor named Shah Jahan.  He had a lovely wife, the Empress Consort Mumtaz Mahal, who he loved with all his heart. In 1631, at age 38, Mumtaz became pregnant with the Shah’s 14^th child.  The months passed and she joked with the Shah about the baby-to-be.  Would it be a rambunctious prince or a feisty princess?  They laughed over names and imagined their newest child joining 13 royal siblings.  The happy day arrived and the baby was born – a beautiful little princess.  But all was not well.  Mumtaz’s health quickly declined. Doctors tried everything to help the ailing Empress but were unable to save her.  She passed away the same day.  

The Shah was inconsolable.  He loved his wife beyond measure.  He didn’t know how he could go on; he didn’t want to lose her or the memory of their beautiful life together.  Out of his grief, an idea blossomed.  He would erect an awe-inspiring mausoleum and mosque to honor his young wife.  He hired architects, contractors, and over 20,000 workers.  Over the next 22 years, the amazing marble structure called the Taj Mahal or “Crown of the Palace” slowly rose from the dusty plain, reaching a height of 241 feet.  When finished, it was the most glorious building most had ever seen – an immense, white marble structure with a glistening, onion-shaped dome surrounded by four smaller domes and four tall minarets – or pillars.  These minarets were constructed in such a way that if there was an earthquake, they would fall away from the building.  Massive arches were adorned with marble calligraphy.  Inside, the walls and ceilings were decorated with colorful paintings of leaves and flowers, surrounded by semi-precious jewels and passages from the Qur’an.  Outside, glorious gardens and trees were planted.  Fountains and a reflecting pool were installed to create a place of beauty and serenity.  

After his death, the Shah and Empress Mumtaz were laid to rest in this amazing structure, which has been called “one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world.” More than 6 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year and in 2007 it was declared one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. 

Next, is the “Swallow’s Nest” or “The Castle of Love” in Crimea, Ukraine.  To get an idea of what it looks like, imagine taking the Disneyland Castle in California and plopping it on the edge of a tall, rocky cliff with one corner dangling 100 feet above the Black Sea!  Originally built in 1895 out of wood, it was called “The Castle of Love,” but no one knew who the castle was built to honor. The second owner was the doctor to the Russian czar and he gifted the castle to his wife.  In 1911, the castle was bought by a German baron, torn down, and rebuilt in white marble. Like any amazing castle, it sports turrets, towers, and fluttering flags.  It is surrounded by a white marble terrace with dizzying ocean views.  Due to its beauty and unique location, it has been featured in several Russian movies.  However, an earthquake struck in 1927 and cracked the massive cliff, breaking off a huge chunk.  But the castle survived intact, with only a few items tumbling into the sea.  Fears for the safety of the castle and its occupants caused it to close for the next 40 years.  But repairs were started in 1968 and the castle is now an Italian restaurant hosting romantic, ocean-front dining.  If you are afraid of heights, you might not want to dine at this clifftop castle!

And Europe is not the only continent with castles.  In Homestead, Florida, USA, there is a truly unique castle – not one of marble or limestone – but coral!  It is called the “Coral Castle” but looks more like an Aztec temple.  

The story starts in 1913 when there lived a 26-year-old man named Edward Leedskalnin in Riga, Latvia.  He fell madly in love with a 16-year-old girl named Agnes Scuffs and asked her to marry him.  She said yes and all seemed to go perfectly – until the big day.  On the day of their wedding, Agnes refused to marry Edward.  Edward was crushed.  His broken heart would not allow him to stay in Latvia, so he took off for distant shores, spending years traveling through Canada, Texas, and California before arriving in Florida in 1918.  He bought some land and started building stone sculptures to keep himself busy. But thoughts of Agnes crowded his mind.  He couldn’t forget her and the love they might have shared. In 1936 he bought 100 acres of land and spent the next four years building a small square castle out of massive blocks of carved coral, plus fountains, furniture, and sculptures. It is believed that Edward moved and carved over 1,100 tons of coral by himself using basic tools, levers, and pulleys.  Since he stood only 5 feet tall and weighed barely 100 pounds, this was quite an impressive feat – and one fueled by unrequited love. Agnes probably never learned of Edward’s adventures or the coral masterpiece he built in her honor.  But British rock singer Billy Idol heard and was so impressed that he wrote the song “Sweet Sixteen” about Edward, Agnes, and The Coral Castle.

The next castle is also in the United States, in Phoenix, Arizona, and it is called the “Mystery Castle.”  But this isn’t a fancy castle like the ones you find in Europe, with turrets, spires, moats, and drawbridges.  This is a cement castle, built square, short, and sturdy to withstand the desert heat.  

And how did this castle blossom out of the Arizona desert?  Well, the story starts in Seattle, Washington, in the 1930’s where a man named Boyce Luther Gully lived with his wife and their young daughter Mary Lou. Boyce adored his daughter and loved reading fanciful fairytales to her, stories brimming with castles, princesses, and dragons. But when Mary Lou was 5, Boyce contracted tuberculosis, a deadly and contagious disease.  He knew he needed to leave so he wouldn’t pass this disease on to his wife and child.  He left without telling them where he was going, perhaps so they wouldn’t follow him and risk catching the disease themselves.  

Boyce moved to Arizona and for the next decade built an 18-room castle by himself in honor of Mary Lou, complete with secret compartments filled with gold nuggets, jewelry, and coins – treasures worthy of a princess.  He also installed a trap door with a note stating it must not be opened until 1948.  By 1945, the disease was catching up with Boyce and he lay dying.  He wrote a letter to his daughter telling her he had built a castle for her.  Mary Lou and her mother raced to Arizona.  It is unknown if they made it to Boyce in time, but they were stunned by the castle he had built for Mary Lou.  They followed his wishes and did not open the trap door until 1948.  When it was opened, they found a treasure trove of sentimental items, including a picture of Boyce, a Valentine’s Day card Mary Lou gave him years earlier, $1,000 in cash, and a handwritten note.  Mary Lou and her mother lived in the castle Boyce built for the rest of their lives.  This castle still stands today and is now open to the public. 

And last on our list of amazing structures built in the name of love is the UFO House in Puerto Rico. But unlike the immense Taj Mahal or the clifftop castle, this is a science fiction house built in the shape of a UFO – or flying saucer!  

About 40 years ago, there was a young, creative man named Roberto Sanchez Ramirez.  He was madly in love with his teenage girlfriend and told her he would build her a house – one truly unique and innovative.  One that looked like a UFO!  His girlfriend did not believe him and eventually broke off the relationship.  Roberto was crushed.  He knew he had the skills and vision to create his masterpiece.  So, he went on to higher education and, to earn a living, became an industrial arts teacher.  Eventually, he purchased a piece of land in Puerto Rico and, upon retirement 40 years later, started building his long-awaited UFO masterpiece.  He built the flying saucer house with reflective panels, flashing lights, and a sound system featuring music from the movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”  He added colorful, abstract paintings of planets and floating furniture with mood lighting.  He hung trash cans from the wall and tables from the ceiling to give a feeling of items floating in space.   And when his former girlfriend saw his incredible creation atop a stunning hilltop, she tried to reconnect with Roberto.  But Roberto had matured and moved on with another lady who supported his creative visions and inspired endeavors.  If you’re ever in Puerto Rico, look to the hills for the UFO that love built!

We’d love to hear your thoughts!

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When I was a little kid, I took art class in school and one of my projects was to draw a picture of my family.  I was not a great artist so I did the basics: a square house and little stick figures for people. Perhaps you’ve done the same.  Well, imagine if your teacher put a rock on your desk and said, “Carve a picture of your mother out of this rock.”  That would seem impossible!

First of all, to carve a face out of stone, you need special tools, like chisels and hammers.  And you need to know how to carve the stone in the right places to make a nose, eyes, and lips.  It takes a lot of time and practice to get it right – and some really big rocks!  

Well, today, we’re going to talk about some gigantic rock portraits.  You might know some already, like Mt. Rushmore in the United States, The David statue in Italy, or the Terracotta Army in China.  Today we’re going to discover some other rock portraits – faces that look like a surprised Santa, a majestic lion, or a wailing devil!

The Great Sphinx of Giza

One of my favorite stone portraits is the Great Sphinx of Giza, near Cairo, Egypt.  It is a statue of a large, reclining lion with a human head.  It measures 240 feet (73 metres) long and 66 feet (20 metres) high and was carved around 2465 B.C.E.!  And to make it even more amazing, it was carved out of one mammoth piece of limestone!  Scientists estimate it took three years and 100 workers to carve this statue – and then they painted it! Eventually the paint chipped off from sun and heat exposure but it must have looked amazing when it was finished.

And whose face is on the Sphinx?  Well, they’re not sure.  It could be the ancient Pharaoh Khafre.  Others state that Khafre’s older brother had it built to honor their father, Pharoah Khufu.  Whoever it was built for, he must have been amazing.  Unfortunately, it has decayed over time and is now missing its nose.  One legend states that Napoleon ordered the nose blown off with a canon while battling there, but that’s not true – the nose came off long before then.  Others state that the nose was cut off in the 1300’s in protest to idolatry – meaning the worship of false Gods or famous people.  Whatever the truth may be, it is an amazing piece of artwork – and history – and I hope it will remain with us for centuries to come.

Olmec Heads in Mexico

Speaking of kingly faces, I think the Olmec Heads in Mexico are fascinating.  These heads are short and round and depict ancient Olmec rulers.  The smooth faces feature almond-shaped eyes, round noses, and full lips.  On their heads are small caps with simple designs.  These faces were carved out of volcanic rock around 1200-800 B.C., and range in height from 5 to 11 feet.  They weigh a whopping 20 tons.  Unfortunately, the Olmec people vanished from the Earth around 300 B.C. for unknown reasons – maybe war or disease – but these stone statues are a reminder that they were here and were memorialized – or honored – by their talented artists. 

 Nemrut Dag, Turkey

From 700-38 B.C., a king named Antiochus the First ruled in Turkey.  He ordered a sculptor to carve his statue high in the barren Taurus Mountains.  The sculptor carved the king sitting on a throne wearing a stern, majestic face and a tall headdress.  He then carved lions, falcons, and gods seated on either side of the king, protecting him from all enemies – mortal and spiritual.  These magnificent stone gods were depicted as three men and one woman on large thrones wearing pointed hats. A large burial site was built around these statues and contains other stone ancestors and treasures.  This site has decayed over time – possibly due to earthquakes, mudslides, and other weather – but was rediscovered in 1881 and turned into a protected historic site.  

Bayon Temple, Cambodia    

In Cambodia is an amazing Hindu and Buddhist temple called the Bayon Temple that displays over 200 carved faces!  This jaw-dropping temple – more like a vast, stone city – was built around the time of King Jayavarman VII’s reign from 1181 to 1218 and shows buildings with spiked towers, tall pillars and massive stone staircases leading into cavernous rooms.  Outside the temple, a large, smiling face is carved into a stone tower, supposedly of the king.  This king looks incredibly friendly, with full lips curved into a big smile and eyes looking downward, as if he is daydreaming.  His nose has fallen off, but he still wears a tall, royal headdress with a creature or bird on top.  To his left is another rock tower with four smiling king faces looking North, South, East, and West.  

Also in this temple are 200 additional faces, as well as scenes showing Cambodian life.  Statues of large Hindu gods sit on thrones lining the paths to the temple, looking mean and menacing, unlike the smiling king.  This site is truly fascinating – like something out of an Indiana Jones movie – and I would love to explore it one day.  What about you?

The Moai Heads of Easter Island

You may have seen the Moai Heads of Easter Island in the movie, “Night at the Museum.”  They were the large rock heads munching on gum and chanting “Yum, yum.”  The actual heads were discovered on Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean near Chile around 1722.  Carved out of volcanic rock around 1250-1500 A.D., they measure anywhere from 13 feet to 40 feet and weigh 14 tons each.  These massive heads have big brows, long noses, and deep eye sockets that may have had coral for eyes.  Their mouths are carved in a straight line.  Through the years, many of these statues have toppled over – although we don’t know why.  Some say it happened due to earthquakes, others say they were pushed over during tribal battles, and some say that a woman on the island with magical powers struck them down in anger.  

And you may be wondering how 800 massive stone heads were moved across the island.  Archeologists believe this was done by loading the rocks on wooden sleds and rolling the sleds over large logs.  It is thought that the island was once covered with forest, but the trees were cut down to move the stones, which led to the destruction of the island.  The people were no longer able to build houses or make fires and many moved away. 

So, what do these heads mean?  Well, some think they are carvings of ancestors or gods, and have spiritual powers.  Some think they are protectors of the island because they face inland.  Seven are pointed out to sea, maybe to watch for invaders.

You and I may never get to Easter Island to see these amazing statues, but we can view them in museums around the world, including London; Washington, DC; France; New Zealand; Chile; and Belgium.  I would love to see them, but I think I would have a heart attack if they started chanting and chewing bubblegum!

The Devil Heads, Czech Republic 

In the lush green forests of the Czech Republic two ghoulish heads are carved into the side of a mountain, sometimes called the “Czech Mount Rushmore.”  But while Mount Rushmore shows four stately presidents, the Devil Heads show two freaky faces.  One looks like a surprised Santa with bushy eyebrows, a long flowing beard, and an open mouth.  Beside it is another head with a wailing face, furrowed brows, and crooked teeth in a gaping mouth.  It looks like a creature or devil howling in pain.  These faces were carved between 1841 and 1846 by a man who was working as a cook in a nearby castle.  Later, he carved other faces and creatures into nearby rocks, depicting characters from Czech fairytales. Well, even if these heads are a little scary, I think they are fascinating and very creative.  

Decebalus Rex, Romania

And finally, we head to Romania for a stone portrait started in 1993.  Created in honor of King Decebalus who lived around 105 A.D., this carving shows the elderly king’s face jutting out of a grey stone cliff on a wooded mountain.  He wears a bushy beard and mustache, and his mouth is set in a firm, straight line.   On top of his head are the jagged peaks of the mountain, looking like a tall Santa’s hat.  And while the faces on Mount Rushmore in the United States are an impressive 60 feet high, this king’s face is three times that large, or 180 feet, with a 23-foot nose and 14-foot eyes!  King Decebalus was said to have battled a great Roman emperor on this site many centuries ago and was ultimately defeated.  To honor the king’s courage, an Italian sculptor was hired to carve this special memorial.

So, what do you think of all these rocky portraits?  Have you seen any of them?  Some are so old it’s hard to imagine how they were created or how the artists knew how to carve faces on such a large scale.  It just shows that every civilization had its amazing architects, engineers, and artists!  If you could carve anyone to be remembered hundreds of years from now, who would it be?

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To learn more about this unique city called Venice, let’s journey to the top of a country known today as Italy. To really understand the history of this city, we have to travel back in time about 500 years to a period known as the Renaissance. 

The Renaissance

The word “renaissance” comes from a French word that means rebirth. So, what exactly was being born again, and what did it have to do with a floating town?

Before the Renaissance, most people who lived in Europe had difficult lives. There were many attacks by Vikings and other invaders, and it was hard for rulers to keep power and maintain order. People were also battling a horrible disease called the Black Death that spread throughout Europe making a lot of people sick. Tragically, about one-third of the population of Europe actually died. Today, we call this period in history before the Renaissance the Middle Ages or Medieval Times. It lasted for about one thousand years.

Eventually, the rulers of Spain, England, and France had enough power to bring back some good old-fashioned order and control. At about the same time, an important new invention came along: the printing press. The printing press meant that books could be printed more easily, allowing more people to read and share them. And guess what? As more people learned to read, they discovered that learning new stuff was actually quite fun. And then, voila! A “rebirth” of learning took place, which we now call the Renaissance.

When the Renaissance first started, people in Europe were happy that their lives were better than they had been during the Middle Ages. They no longer had to fight against the Black Death plague or even each other! They had extra time to read books and think. Pretty soon, people were inspired to come up with new ideas. They began to paint and draw, write music, invent new technology, and discover new ways of doing things.  

Many of the most famous thinkers and creators of the Renaissance–like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo–were from Italy. Italian cities were filled with people just like these two guys, people creating art, writing poetry, and thinking up new stories. More importantly, they were filled with wealthy people who were paying for these pieces.

Venice Gets Its Start

One of these bustling Italian cities was Venice. Venice had already been around for more than one thousand years. There is evidence that people had been living on the islands that make up Venice since ancient times. However, it was not until nearly the end of the Roman Empire that Venice started really earning a name for itself, thanks to some unwelcome invaders.

In about 500 A.D., a bunch of power-hungry invaders swarmed into southern Italy causing chaos and terror. Many people escaped by fleeing to the north. Some of them discovered a shallow lagoon and a bunch of islands – 118 of them to be exact – in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea. It seemed like a pretty good place to wait out the chaos happening down south.

There was one big problem. It was basically a big old swampy marsh. How were they supposed to build anything in all that mud and muck?

These ambitious settlers came up with a plan. They would build the city on top of thick wooden pole sunk deep into the mud and sand of the lagoon. It seemed like a great idea–they would be protected and isolated by the surrounding water. However, as it turns out, mud was not a very  stable foundation to build on. And the city flooded. A lot. And it still does today!

Despite the soggy living conditions, people quickly figured out how to make Venice a flourishing city anyway. Not only was it a great place to hide from nasty invaders, but it was also an ideal location to set up a center of trade. 

The Perfect Location

Why was Venice a great place to trade goods? Well, first, ships sailing in from the Mediterranean Sea could easily reach the ports of Venice. Second, all of Europe was just a quick boat ride to the north. And third, traders from Asia were regularly stopping by having just made a long trek across the desert on a well-known route called the Silk Road. They brought with them unusual spices and beautiful silks carried on the lumpy backs of camels. Cool, right?

Venetians had a brilliant idea. If they could control the trade of things like spices, silk, silver, copper, and cloth, they could make a lot of money. They were right. By the 15^th century, Venice was both very rich and very powerful. I guess it was worth all of that building on top of the water!

And the people who lived there wanted it to stay that way. So, they declared themselves their own city-state and set up a government ruled by a series of leadersdukes called doges. Doges were supposed to be elected officials who could rule until they died. In reality, like most things related to government, it was a little more complicated. When the people in Venice–mostly the rich and powerful ones–decided that they weren’t happy with the job a doge was doing, they forced him to resign or quit. Then, they made him go live all by himself in a church to think about how badly he had failed. Not the best way to build a political career.

Despite the ups and downs of the doge system, Venice had some really cool stuff going on within its constantly-flooded buildings. The city became home to some of the world’s best, most skilled glassmakers. But what Venice really became known for were its gondolas. 

Banana-Shaped Boats?

Not surprisingly, Venice didn’t have roads like we know them today. It would have been pretty hard to build roads in a floating city, right? The buildings of Venice were close together, separated by weaving, narrow alleys, broken up only by the occasional courtyard called a piazza.  Instead of roads, Venice had a maze of shallow waterways called canals.

Today, Venice has more than 150 canals with over 400 bridges crossing them. Can you believe that!? When the city was first built, the canals were just sort of there: natural waterways between all of those squishy, marshy islands in the lagoon. Over time, more canals have been dug out and added to the city’s maps of water and land. And the canals have been strengthened through the addition of bricks and stone.

With all this water weaving in and out of buildings, it’s not surprising that flooding is common. But the Venetians figured they might as well make use of all the water. Who needed roads when you could sail everywhere instead? What they needed was a shallow, narrow boat that could easily maneuver through the canals. So, according to most historical evidence, they invented the gondola. 

A gondola is a boat with a flat bottom that is shaped sort of like a banana. During the Renaissance, thousands of gondolas could be seen sailing along the canals of Venice. The early gondolas had a small cabin called a felze (fel-zey) where people could ride and be protected from wind, rain, and sun. Each gondola had a person, known as a gondolier, who stood up to row it using a single oar. 

For a while, gondolas came in all sorts of colors. In fact, rich Venetians competed with each other by making gondolas in bold colors and adding expensive gold-plated siding and decorations to “show off” their wealth. Then, the doge passed a law that required all gondolas – except for his own massive golden one – to be painted black. Not a bad plan to make sure he stood out in the crowded canals!

Each gondola took about 500 hours to build. That’s almost 21 straight days of work! Master boat builders would build and repair these wooden boats in a boatyard called a squero. There were strict rules to follow regarding the boat’s design and size. In fact, there were rules governing everything about gondolas and gondoliers, such as how much money a gondolier could charge a passenger and how gondolas had to be passed down from father to son. Venetians back then–much like Venetians today–took their gondolas very seriously. 

When in Venice

Gondola-making wasn’t the only thing that the people of Venice took seriously. By the 1200s, the city’s top industry was glassmaking. And much like gondola-building, Venetians had strict rules about this art form, too.  First, the glassmakers in Venice had to keep their processes of making glass a secret. Another important rule required that the extremely hot furnaces that glassmakers used be moved out of Venice to the nearby island called Murano. This was probably a smart idea since nearly all of the buildings in Venice were made of wood. And as you probably already know, wood burns pretty quickly! If you’re going to have fires, better keep them separate, on an island, from the rest of the city!

Besides gondolas and glass, there was one final thing that made Venice a good place to visit, even 500 years ago: the food. 

Since they are surrounded by water, you might think that Venetians would make use of the sea’s large selection of tasty fish. And you’d be right. In fact, a modern-day Italian writer even noted that, when seen from above, Venice is shaped sort of like a fish!

But what could possibly be so great about eating fish all the time? Actually, it wasn’t the fish that made Venetian food so tasty. It was the spices used to cook the fish. Remember that whole thing about Venice being a center of trade? This meant that new and delicious spices were always passing through the city. Cinnamon from Ceylon, cumin from North Africa, and pepper from India were all benefits of being a port city. Plus, there were raisins, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, and dates from Asia. That may not sound super exciting today when you can pop on over to a grocery store or order takeout anytime you want to. But in the 1500s? These foods were luxuries!

Because of the appreciation for art and literature during the Renaissance, Venice today is a popular place for tourists who want to view beautiful artifacts of the past. Much like 500 years ago, you can still take a ride through the canals on one of the roughly 400 gondolas in operation.  A few years ago, my wife and I had the opportunity to visit Venice. We rode on a gondola, visited the beautiful cathedral, and tasted its delicious food. And yes, by midday they had to lay boards out because the piazza was starting to take on water! If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend the visit to one of the most fascinating cities in the world.You can still buy some of the most beautiful glass in the world in Venice. And if you get hungry, you only need to pop into a bacaro, or small tavern, and order ciccetti, a bite-sized piece of bread, often served with a bit of salted cod fish on top.  

But if you are planning a trip to this amazing city, you may want to bring some waterproof shoes. Just in case. 

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Big Ben, the tower, is one of the most iconic – or recognizable – landmarks in the world, just like the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Great Sphynx of Giza in Egypt, or the Statue of Liberty in New York.  It was completed in 1859 and stands 316 feet – or 96 meters – tall.  It has four sides measuring 40 feet each, and to get to the top of the tower you need to go inside and climb 393 steps.  

At the top of the tower are four clock faces measuring 22.5 feet in diameter.  How tall or wide is that?  Well, take four or five of your friends and have them stand on each other’s shoulders!  That’s a tall stack – and a tall clock!  The clocks are lit by electric lightbulbs but in the 1800’s they were lit by gas lamps.  It is said that Queen Victoria used to look out of Buckingham Palace at night and see the clocks lit up, meaning that her ministers were still working late into the night.  There was no sneaking out early when Queen Victoria was watching those clocks!  

So, we now know that the tower and the four clocks are big – and so are the clock hands!  The hour hands are almost 9 feet (or 2.7 meters) long and the minute hands are 14 feet (or 4.3 meters) long!  Can you imagine if you had to set those clocks by leaning out of a window 300 feet in the air?  Luckily, the clocks are run by mechanisms, like pendulums, wheels, gears, and rods.  They even use pennies as weights!  The clocks are wound inside the tower by hand every three days, taking 1.5 hours each time, kind of like winding large metal hamster wheels.

Inside the tower, there are four bells that chime every 15 minutes.  The fifth and largest bell, called Big Ben, weighs over 13 tons and bongs every hour.  When it was installed in the 1800’s, it took a cart and 16 horses to bring it to the site.  Then a team of workmen spent 18 hours pulling on ropes to raise the humongous bell 300 feet in the air and place it inside the tower.  The first bell made for the tower cracked before it was even installed, so a new one had to be made.  After that bell was installed, it cracked, too!  The engineers weren’t about to remove a 13-ton bell and lower it 300 feet to the ground for repairs, so they did something else.  They turned the cracked bell slightly to one side so the hammer would strike in a different place on the bell – and, thus, it was never repaired.  Big Ben continues to ring to this day, although with a slightly different sound since cracking.  Big Ben was the largest bell in England for over 20 years until “Great Paul,” an even more ginormous bell, was put into Saint Paul’s Cathedral in 1881.

And while the bell was never repaired after its big crack, the four clocks have been repaired, including at least 6 paint jobs over the last 160 years.  Originally, the clocks and their hands used to be blue, but they were painted black at one point to cover damage from air pollution.  Many years ago, London used to burn a lot of coal to heat houses and factories, and the smoke turned all the buildings black with soot.  In 2017, the clock faces and hands were cleaned and repainted.  They are now back to their original blue and look amazing.

All of these bell and clock facts then got me thinking:  Have they ever stopped?  And the answer is yes.  Both the clocks and the bell have stopped on occasion throughout the centuries.  Several times the clock hands have stopped due to the weight of so much snow sitting on them, stopping their movement.  Sometimes all the snow would cause the hands to hit each other and grind to a stop. During both World Wars, the clock lights were turned off so enemy planes could not bomb the tower or use its lights to find their way across London.  And the bell was silenced on January 30, 1965, during the funeral of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who led England to victory during WWII.  There have also been repairs here and there through the years, causing them to be stopped for short periods of time.  

Also, in 2012, Big Ben’s regular chimes were reprogrammed to ring 30 times on the morning of July 17 to welcome the 30^th Olympic Games to London.   

By now you may be wondering how Big Ben actually got its name – both the tower and the bell.  Nobody knows for sure about the bell.  It might have been named after the man who supervised its installation, Sir Benjamin Hall, or after a British heavyweight boxer at that time named Benjamin Caunt, who was also nicknamed “Big Ben.”   But somewhere along the line, someone gave the bell the nickname “Big Ben” and it stuck.  It’s similar to when you get a nickname as a baby and it stays with you as you grow up.  As for the tower, it was originally called “The Clock Tower.” Then it was called “St. Stephen’s Tower” because the government used to meet in St. Stephen’s Hall below it.  Then people started calling the tower “Big Ben” like the bell inside it.  Finally, in 2012, the tower’s name was changed to “Elizabeth Tower” in honor of Queen Elizabeth II and her Diamond Jubilee.  

But there’s even more interesting history on the outside of the tower.  If you look at it from the street, you will see six shields above the clocks with a red cross on them.  This is St. George’s Cross.  During the Middle Ages, there was a crusading warrior who was killed for his Catholic faith and was later named Saint George.  His emblem was a red cross on a white background.  He was so respected and admired for his bravery and faith that his emblem was incorporated into the flag of England and you can still see this red cross on the British flag today. 

Also on the tower are 52 shields showing other emblems of the United Kingdom: a thistle for Scotland, a leek for Wales, a shamrock for Ireland, and a rose for the Tudor kings of England.  There are pomegranates, a symbol of King Henry VIII’s first wife, Catherine of Aragon; a metal gate symbolizing the Houses of Parliament; and the French fleurs-de-lis.  And why a French emblem on a British building?  Well, at one time the English kings claimed they also ruled France!  Under the clocks is an inscription in Latin that reads, “O Lord, keep safe our Queen Victoria the First.”  Truly amazing!  Everywhere you look in England, you will see hidden – and not-so-hidden – emblems, images, and insignias.  They are like a secret, long-forgotten code revealing bits of history in pictures and words.  You just have to know how to read the code!

Standing outside the Elizabeth Tower, you will see it is attached to a large rectangular building called the House of Parliament.  This is where government officials conduct business every day.  It is a very ornate, gothic building.  And you may wonder why a government building is so fancy.  Well, many centuries ago it used to be a royal palace called the Palace of Westminster!  It was built over a thousand years ago and was one of the first royal palaces in England.  Kings, queens, princes, and princesses lived there for over five hundred years, long before Big Ben and the Clock Tower were built.  Unfortunately, the palace was destroyed twice by fire, most recently in 1834.  When the palace was rebuilt after the second fire, the iconic Clock Tower and bell were added.

So, if this building used to be a royal palace, what else did it have besides towers, bells, and clocks?  Why, a prison, of course!  Yes, it’s true!  There is a prison at the bottom of the Elizabeth Tower! It was last used in 1880 when a government official was locked inside after he refused to swear an oath of allegiance to Queen Victoria!  

And if a tower prison isn’t sketchy enough, you should also know that the tower LEANS!  Yes, it’s leaning to one side!  Maybe not as much as the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy, but it leans!  The tower was built on soft clay ground covered by gravel.  Over time, the tower shifted – or started to lean – by about 9 inches. Then, about 20 years ago, London started digging a new underground subway line nearby.  The engineers knew that this drilling might make Big Ben lean even further, so they poured thousands of tons of concrete under the tower to support it.  It now leans about 20 inches at the top but no one seems too worried about it.  They say it should stand for another 4,000 to 10,000 years.  Hmmm, I wonder who will be around at that time to check on it or fix any problems?  Martians maybe?

I think it is a marvel that this tower is still standing, especially after the repeated bombings during the blitz of WWII.  Two of the clocks, the tower roof, and part of the parliament building were damaged during those fiery raids, but the tower stood and Big Ben chimed through it all – and still does to this day, keeping its amazing history alive!  

I don’t know about you, but I find these bits of British history truly fascinating.  England is full of amazing stories, legends, and wonders.  And what about your town or city?  Are there buildings where you live that have hidden history or are decorated with murals, emblems, or inscriptions?  Maybe you can plan an outing with your parents or friends to look at these buildings and discover their stories.  Generations of people before us have left their marks on buildings to memorialize their times and beliefs.  I’d love to hear from you and learn more about the historic buildings in your area.  Click this link to leave your comments and you just might be mentioned in a future episode.

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Imagine you are walking through the forest…

Imagine you are walking along a path in the forest.  Around you are beautiful mountains covered with lush green trees.  You see tall bamboo trees and birds in the sky. Nearby is a small mountain village where families are cooking dinner and playing in common areas.  As you walk further along the path toward the mountain range, you suddenly look up and see a gigantic stone wall cutting through the forest. You place your hands on it and look up. It is incredibly high. When you look left and right you see that it stretches in both directions as far as your eye can see.  You are at one of the most famous structures in the world: the Great Wall of China! 

The Great Wall of China was built over 2,000 years ago and runs more than 13,000 miles across northern China.  But why was this wall built?  And how has it lasted so long?

Emperor Chin Shi Huang

The Great Wall of China was constructed by Emperor Chin Shi Huang in the 3rd century B.C.  Well actually, parts of the wall were built earlier than that and it is doubtful that Emperor Chin did any of the actual construction work himself.  

Emperor Chin united a number of different independent states in China and was the first emperor to unite all of these different communities together as one Chinese country.  This happened around 220 B.C.  Before that, there were many different kingdoms throughout China and different groups of people living on their own.  The land that the Chinese people lived on was very fertile. Fertile means the land is good for growing lots of food. Over time, the people that lived in the area started to farm and grow crops.  As more people farmed the land, they needed to create systems of order and government to help manage the land and how it was used.  

Warring States Period

At this time, Chinese people developed and irrigated fields and grew crops near the Yellow River valley. Farming large areas of land required people to work together and form a government to work the land peacefully.  That is why the Chinese formed one empire and also built walls around them to protect their communities against attacks by the nomads.  Nomads mean someone who doesn’t live in one place but moves from place to place. The nomads didn’t farm, but instead moved around and herded animals. They used the food from these animals to survive. They also hunted instead of staying in one place and farming. 

Since the nomads needed to move with the animals, they had a completely different type of society and order. They needed to hunt animals or trade for them.  This led to the nomads trading with the Chinese or in many cases attacking them. 

The nomadic tribes often came into contact with the Chinese farmers.  Sometimes it was friendly and they would trade with each other.  But often, they did not get along.  The nomadic people wanted to use the farmland to hunt and move around, but the farm people wanted more land to farm. This led to battles between the farmers and the nomads.  The farming kingdoms also often fought each other for control of different territories. This is why this period of history in China is known as the “Warring States Period.”

To help avoid attacks, many of the kingdoms built walls to defend themselves.  The walls were made out of rocks and compacted dirt that was tamped very tightly to form the structure.  These walls were shorter versions of the Great Wall of China that were later built.  They stretched between the border of different regions and often included towers, block houses for soldiers, and beacons to send smoke signals.

When Emperor Chin became emperor, he wanted to put a stop to the fighting between different farming kingdoms.  He declared that all of these kingdoms were now part of one country called China.  But the nomadic people that lived outside the area didn’t care about this.  They continued to attack the farming areas. 

Imperial Order

To help stop these attacks and to continue to unite the new country, the Emperor ordered that the walls between different states be removed and that the shorter walls that existed along the northern border of China be joined together to form one long wall.  Emperor Qin thought that this would also help protect them against attacks from the north where China’s biggest enemy lived — Mongolia. The Mongolians were fierce fighters and very dangerous to the Chinese.

Construction

The project of building the Great Wall was a huge task requiring a lot of work.  Emperor Qin ordered his army to work on the wall, so much of it was constructed by soldiers.  But they needed even more workers to get the job done.  So Emperor Qin ordered that prisoners work on the wall as well.  This is called “forced labor,” which is when someone is forced to do a job without getting paid. It was hard work and estimated that around 400,000 workers died while building the wall.  

Conditions were probably very difficult due to the long stretches of mountains and desert where the Wall was built.  Today, there are some areas of the Great Wall where no one lives because the conditions are so difficult and there are some parts where the winters are so cold that no one goes there in the winter.  Can you imagine having to work on building a large wall in those conditions?

Manual Labor

Because much of the wall is built with rammed earth, most of the materials that they used to build the wall could be found right where they were building it.  However, some additional supplies and workers had to travel a far way to get to the wall. This made construction even more difficult. Sometimes the young men that were forced to build the wall had to haul boats loaded with baggage upstream in rivers in order to bring food to the workers.  The work was so hard that many people tried to escape and sneak away back to the city or to their hometowns.  Many individuals died in the wilderness trying to escape because the conditions were hard to survive and the journey home was so long. 

Eventually, people living in the newly united China started to revolt against the Qin dynasty.  To revolt means to fight against and overthrow.  Emperor Qin was a strict ruler and not everyone agreed with his rules. As Emperor Qin lost the support of the Chinese people over time, there were fewer and fewer soldiers that were willing to go out to work on the wall.  They stopped listening to his orders and as a result, the construction of the wall slowed down. 

Construction Continues

Later Chinese rulers carried on the construction and eventually the wall was finished.  This included the Han, Sui, Northern, Jin, and Ming Dynasties.  Each repaired, rebuilt or expanded the wall.  During the Ming Dynasty, major rebuilding work took place and sections of the wall that were originally built with dirt were replaced with bricks and stone instead.  These new materials helped the wall to last longer in good shape. 

One of the first mentions of a wall built against northern invaders is found in a poem, dated the seventh century BC.  It is recorded in the ancient Chinese book of Classic Poetry. 

In 221 BC, when Qin Shi Huang united the Chinese states, the walls were known as “Changcheng” which literally means “long walls”.  The walls were mostly constructed of tamped earth, which some parts built with stones. Where natural barriers, like ravines and rivers, worked enough for defense, the walls were erected sparingly.  Often in addition to the wall, defensive systems like garrisons and beacon towers were built inside the wall, and watchtowers were on the outside at regular intervals. 

Unfortunately the Great Wall never totally prevented invaders from coming into China.  It was a useful way to stop raids.  But at several points throughout its history, the Great Wall failed to stop enemies.  This included in 1644 when the Manchu Qing marched through the gates of Shanhai Pass and replaced the Ming dynasty as the new rulers of China.  But the Great Wall came to be seen as a symbol of the ongoing power and strength of the Chinese civilization. 

Genghis Khan

Eventually, the Chinese were forced to move back from the northern part of China when the Mongolian people attacked the north and conquered and took control of China.  The Mongols were led by Genghis Khan, a famous, violent leader. The Mongols didn’t need the Great Wall as much as the Chinese had in the past, but they assigned soldiers to man the wall in order to protect merchants and travelers traveling along the Silk Road trade routes. 

Eventually, the Ming Dynasty took control of the area again.  During the Ming Dynasty, the Ming rules were very strong leaders, and Chinese culture grew stronger. They built a lot of additional parts of the Great Wall including bridges, temples, and pagodas.  Pagodas are like western gazebos or covered areas that people can sit under.

Conclusion

Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the Great Wall became the most common symbol of China for the Western world. Today, the Great Wall is generally recognized as one of the most impressive building feats in human history. In 1987, UNESCO, an international heritage organization, designated the Great Wall a World Heritage site.  At the time, it was the only man-made structure that could be visible from space!

In modern times, thousands of tourists visit the Great Wall of China.  The most popular part of the wall and the most famous is called Badaling.  It runs 43 miles northwest of Beijing.  Would you like to see the Great Wall of China one day?  If you do, think of all of the people that worked to build and maintain the wall throughout time.  Walking along the Great Wall of China, you will surely be walking along part of history!

Check out these great books!

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Imagine…

Imagine you are walking down a wide street overlooking a glittering blue lake. At the end of the lake is a tall, bronze statue of a woman holding a staff and staring out over the lake. Surrounding the lake are sparkling, white buildings. The street is crowded with people all heading in the same direction. Many of the people are from different countries around the world. Some of them are exotic clothing and colorful clothing. As you walk further down the street you see a gigantic Ferris Wheel stretching into the sky. It’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen. It’s turning slowly then suddenly stops. You see people below standing in a line and waiting for a ride. Along the road, you see circus performers, musicians, new food being sold, and sights you’ve never seen before. It’s one of the most exciting days of your life as you visit the Chicago World’s Fair. 

Planning the Fair

In 1890 planning started for what became known as the World’s Columbian Exposition or Chicago World’s Fair. Similar world fairs had been held in cities like Paris and London. But the United States wanted its own fair to show off its recent progress and bring people from all over the country, and the world, together to put it all on display. Many leaders met together to plan the fair. They argued over which city should have the fair. St. Louis, New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago were the different options, but in the end, Chicago won because it raised more money to spend on the fair. Some argued that Chicago also made more sense because it had more open spaces and was closer to the West. It was also a major railroad center and was easy to access from places all over the United States.

They decided to hold the fair in 1893. One reason was to celebrate 400 years since Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World. For this reason, the fair was named “The World’s Columbian Exposition.” Columbian for Columbus, and “worlds” because the leaders wanted people from all over the world to attend. The United States had experienced a time of great progress. Businesses were doing well and people were being paid more. The country was becoming more wealthy. More people were immigrating (or moving) to the United States. Also, the country was industrializing — which means humans and machines were working together to create more things that people needed. It was also a time of many advances — which included railroads, steel production, oil production, mining, and the many inventions of engineers and business people such as Thomas Edison. This period became known as The Gilded Age. 

Architect, Daniel H. Burnam

An architect, Daniel H. Burnam was hired to be the chief planner of the Chicago World’s Fair. An architect is someone who designs buildings. Frederick Law Olmstead was another architect asked to design the landscape of the fair. He also designed New York’s Central Park. The fair’s landscape included grass, flowers, trees, and the gigantic man-made lake at its center to give beauty to the grounds. Surrounding the lake they built tall white buildings with columns in the classical style. Constructing the fair was a huge project that covered 686 acres, took 3 years, and cost $28 million dollars. But finally, it was ready to open on May 1st, 1893.

Opening Day

Opening day began with a parade led by the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, who entered the fairgrounds first. Crowds of visitors came next, traveling by foot, horse and carriage, steamboats, railroad, and cable cars. Over 400,000 people visited the fair on opening day. 46 countries were represented in different areas of the fair. Ambassadors traveled from all around the world and people dressed up in costumes to represent the different cultures. Walking around the fair you might see someone dressed in Chinese traditional clothes, a Native American dressed in a feathered headdress, or a Turkish soldier with silk pants and carrying a huge curved sword. 

A newspaper wrote, “It was not only the supreme moment in the history of the land and the west but the moment of moments in the lives of a vast majority of the beholders. It was the most beautiful spectacle which man has ever created to please his own sensibilities or satisfy his vanity.”

Exhibits

On opening day, after the parade, President Cleveland stood before a huge crowd that had gathered at the center of the fairgrounds. The ceremony was so crowded that people began to climb up light poles and on balconies to watch. The President gave a speech and then finished by pressing a button that turned on nearly 10,000 electric lamps that lit up the city. Electricity and using electricity to create light was a new invention, so the crowd gasped as the buildings around them lit up and the machinery of the fairgrounds powered on. Electricity was also used to show off new inventions by people like Thomas Edison. Some of the inventions on display were the Morse code telegraph, a searchlight, a moving walkway, an electric dishwasher, an electric automobile, and a device that printed books in braille. Braille is a series of bumps on a page that someone who is blind can use to read. Helen Keller, who was blind and deaf, and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, were at the fair to show off this new device. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, visited the fair with them. Thomas Edison was there to show off his kinetoscope, which was one of the first ways to watch movies. Most people had never seen a movie! Can you believe that? But with the kinetoscope, they could look into this incredible machine and watch some of the first moving pictures or movies.

At night the center of the fair, also called The White City because of the beautiful white buildings, was lit up with thousands of electric lights. For some visitors, it was the most amazing thing they had ever seen. Before this time candles were the only way they could see at night.  

Ferris Wheel

One of the biggest and most exciting attractions at the Chicago World’s Fair was the very first Ferris wheel. If you’ve ever visited a fair or amusement parks like Disneyland you may have seen or been on a Ferris Wheel. A Ferris wheel is a huge wheel that rotates on its side above the ground. People can ride up and around the wheel in passenger cars. It’s a thrilling experience if you ever get the chance. The last time we went on one my kids loved it, but as we got higher and higher my wife was very nervous and kept saying “I want out!” 

George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. designed and built the first Ferris wheel for the fair. It was 264 feet tall with 36 passenger cars, which could each hold up to 60 people — in each car — holding a total of 2,160 people! That’s a huge wheel. From the top of Ferris’s wheel, visitors could look out at the breathtaking sites of the park below. 

I also learned that after riding the Ferris Wheel, one of the visitors loved it so much it inspired him to create America’s first major amusement park, Steeplechase Park in Coney Island, New York.

Exhibits

Famous artists and sculptors from around the world showed off their artwork and sculptures. There were also many talent shows such as a famous bodybuilder showing off his amazing strength. And Harry Houdini, the famous escape artist, put on a magic show. Musicians from far and wide came to perform at the fair and show off their variety of talents. This included Scott Joplin, hula dancers, a soprano, violinists, hula dancers, the Chicago Symphony, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. 

“Buffalo Bill” Cody was a famous showman who traveled to the fair. He and his Wild West Show didn’t get a spot inside the fair, but they came anyway and set up nearby. Visitors watched in fascination as soldiers and Lakota Sioux warriors rode around on horses and had a fake gun battle.

At the fair new foods were also on display. These included bubble gum, brownies, and Milton Hershey was there to show off his latest style of chocolate bar. 

The United State’s new pledge of allegiance, the one you might say in school, was first recited by school children at the Chicago World’s Fair.  

A football game was played in the evening and visitors could take hot air balloon rides.  

Christopher Columbus

The fair was called the World’s Columbian Exposition after Christopher Columbus. In his honor, three life-size versions of his ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and Santa Maria were shown at the fair. These ships were actually built in Spain and then moved all the way across the ocean to be put on display. They were a very popular exhibit. Even one of Christopher Columbus’s descendants, the Duke of Veragua, traveled from Spain to represent his family.  

The fair was open for 6 months, from May 1st until October 30th. During that time over 27 million people attended the fair from across the United States and the world. After the fair ended some of the buildings were removed and the Ferris wheel was relocated, but the lake, the statue, and the landscape are still there in what is now known as Jackson Park, which you can visit today.

Conclusion

Would you have liked to visit the World’s Columbian Exposition? I know I would have. Think of all of the amazing inventions shown at the fair and how advances like electricity have changed the world. We live in a time where we already have all of these inventions, which are easy to take for granted. This means we’ve always had them so we don’t realize how special they are and that many humans didn’t have them for thousands of years. The World’s Fair was also a good chance for people around the world to come together and meet each other and appreciate their unique culture, artwork, dress, music, and ideas. If you were to design your own fair what would it be like? What attractions would it have? Think of all the time and effort that went into designing and building the fair. Great things take time and effort, but like the fair, they end up being worth it!  

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