Where have Seven Wonders of the world gone?

We have often heard about the seven great wonders of the world. Would you like to know what are these seven wonders? They are: The Pyramids of Egypt, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Tomb of Mousolus, The Temple of Diana, the Colossus of Rhodes of Helios,

The Statue of God Zeus and The light House of Pharos near Alexandria. Out of these seven wonders, the Pyramids of Egypt are preserved only. The story behind their construction is very interesting.

The only preserved wonder-The Pyramids of Egypt were made some 5000 years ago. In fact, these are the tombs of the Egyptian ruler. The biggest pyramid is located at Gizeh, a small town near Cairo. This is the tomb of Pharaoh Cheops and his queen. Its area is 750 sq.ft. Its base forms a square and its height is approximately around 451 ft. 2 million stone slabs are fitted in this tomb. It is said that it was completed by more than one lakh labourers who worked for 20 years.

The second wonder was the hanging gardens of Babylon. Around 2500 years ago, the king of that place, Nebuchadnezzar made beautiful gardens on the walls on all sides of a palace to fulfil his queen's wishes. These gardens were quite high from the normal surface and they had to be watered by hot water. Up to the year 514 A.D., these gardens were intact, but Persia attacked Babylon that year and destroyed these walls and gardens.
The third wonder was the tomb of Mousolus, theruler of Halicarnassus which was constructed by his queen after his death. This was approximately 30 metres high and had on its top statues showing the king and queen riding a horse driven chariot. Within a short period of its construction, this tomb was demolished in the attack by Alexander the Great. Later in 1857, an English traveller went there and brought back wth him the statueof the king which is still preserved in the British museum.

The fourth wonder of the world was the temple of Diana at Ephesus with its roof resting on 19 metres high pillar. This temple was constructed in the year 350 B.C. in Eastern Turkey. At that time this temple was considered so sacred that people would feel secure after depositing their wealth and precious possessions in this temple. In the year 262 A.D. Goths burnt down this temple.

The fifth wonder of the world was a bronze statue colossus of Rhodes of Helios. Approximately 30 metres high, this was located at Rhodes island. This was constructed in the year 280 B.C. but 56 years after its construction, this statue was destroyed in an earthquake.

The sixth wonder of the world was the statue of God Zeus situated at Olympia. This was made by the famous sculptor Phidias in the year 450 B.C. The clothes of this 9 metres (over 30 feet) high statue were made of gold. Its body was made of ivory and the eyes of precious diamonds. This statue was destroyed by the followers of Christianity.

The seventh wonder of the world was the famous light house constructed in Pharos, a peninsula near Alexandria, Egypt. The tower of white marble was completed about 280 B.C. From pictures it seems to have been over 120 metres high with a ramp leading to the top where a beacon was kept during day and night. It remained standing until the 12th cent. A.D.