Descriptive Text Part 1, 2, dan 3
Descriptive Text
Borobudur Temple
Borobudur Temple is an immense ancient monument that lies near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The temple fuses the symbolic appearances of stupa (a shrine mound of Buddhist which is typically containing sacred relics), the mountain of temple (based on Hindu mythology, Mount Meru), and the mandala (a spiritual Buddhist representation of cosmos that fuses the rectangular part as world and the circular part as paradise). The Borobudur’s style was profoundly influenced by Gupta architecture from India. The temple was designated as one of World Heritage sites by UNESCO.
The Borobudur Temple was built between the year of 778 and 850 AD, under the dynasty of Shailendra. It was deeply buried under a layer of volcanic ash and overgrown by plants for about several centuries, until discovered in 1814 by Thomas Stamford, an English lieutenant governor. The restoration was performed by a group of Dutch archaeologists which took 4 years, starting from 1907. The subsequent restoration was ended by 1983.
The construction of the Borobudur Temple took about 56 thousand cubic meters of ashen volcanic stone. The temple is designed alike a stepped pyramid that consists of three main levels, surrounded by a small hill. These levels are comprised of a rectangular base, 5 rectangular terraces at the middle level, and 3 circular terraces at the upper level. The center part is 35 meters above the bottom level which contains of a major single stupa.
Each of all three major levels of the monument represents a phase of way to gain the ideal enlightenment of bodhisattva. The spiritual journey is symbolized by the east section stairway, where the pilgrim begins, and walks clockwise round every single of the nine levels of monument before getting the top which takes about 5 km distance.
The lowermost level of the temple, which is somewhat hidden, contains several hundreds of worldly desire’s reliefs. These reliefs illustrate kama-dhatu or the realm of sense which is known as the bottom-most sphere of Mahayana Buddhist universe. On the next level, there will be a sequences of reliefs portray rupa-dhatu or the middle sphere and realm of form which tells the complete events in Gautama Buddha’s life and the scenes from Jataka (his previous life’s story). The three upmost levels portray arupa-dhatu or the realm of amorphousness which means disengagement from the physical world. This level contains a little decoration; however the terraces are lined by 72 bell-shaped stupas. Most of these stupas still contain a statue of Buddha which is fairly observable through its perforated stonework.
During the annual ceremonial of Waicak throughout full moon, there will be more than a thousand Buddhist monks in saffron-robed who walk solemnly in the procession to Borobudur Temple to venerate the three phase of birth, death, as well as enlightenment of Buddha.
Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower is an early model of wrought-iron construction on an enormous scale. The tower was named after the designer, Gustave Eiffel, a French engineer who was also designed the Statue of Liberty’s framework in New York. As the time of its completion in 1889, the tower was the world’s highest man-made structure and now it’s still the tallest structure of Paris. Having a great attraction with more than six million every year, Eiffel Tower is considered as one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world.
The tower consists of three levels which is about 300 meters (984 feet) high. It also has a TV antenna on the top of the tower which gives 22 meters of additional height. The tower’s base platform consists of four semicircular arches. It’s also installed with glass-walled elevators and stairs which lead up to the first and second deck. There are also some elevators that go from the second level to the third platform which is close the topmost part of tower. Visitors can see a great panoramic view extends for about 80 km (50 miles) on a clear day. Along with the viewing areas, there also museum, restaurants and a souvenir shop on first and second platform.
The Eiffel Tower initially was a result of a contest that held by the French Government. At the time the government was organizing the 1889’s International Exposition, a fair to celebrate a one hundred year French Revolution’s anniversary. There was a huge enthusiasm from the people around, and more than 100 ideas were submitted. Eiffel’s idea was selected among the others with some controversy. The plan required a tower which was constructed almost completely of a series of metal strips. The structure was largely criticized in the planning phases since there was nothing like it had ever been built before. Still, the tower was built with a minor labour force and at a slight cost. The construction took only two years, between 1887 until 1889.
The Eiffel Tower was nearly torn down a few times right after the 1889 fair ended. However, Eiffel then managed changes to the structure that made it more beneficial. There were several additions of changes to the tower, first a weather station and a military telegraph in 1890 and 1903. It continued with some changes for fairs that were held in 1900, 1925, and 1937. The tower was renovated in the early of 1980s for its a hundred year anniversary right in 1989. Now, this landmark of Paris becomes a popular tourist stop from all over the world.
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