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Kashmir Valley
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Li River Cruise
Lijiang Shargri-La
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Mt. Everest
Petronas Twin Towers
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Qin Terra Cotta Warriors
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Yangtze River Cruise
Africa & Middle East
Abu Simbel
Burj Al Arab
Damascus Old City
Egyptian Museum
Jerusalem Old City
Karnak Temple
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Pyramids of Egypt
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Valley of the Kings
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The Colosseum of Rome is truly colossal - it stands 50 meters (165 feet) high and measures 185 meters (600 feet) long. It was large enough to hold 50,000 roaring spectators when it was inaugurated in 80 AD.
Today, it is one of the most dramatic, historic and recognized archaeological monuments on earth.
The picture on the upper right depicts the wonder in its youth. I drew and superimposed its awning over the Caen model. This illustrates how the Colosseum of Rome appeared when its massive awning was temporarily mounted to shield spectators on raining and hot sunny days.

The wonder is in a partially ruined state, but it is in remarkable condition when you consider it was built nearly 2000 years ago.
The Flavian Roman emperors built the Colosseum of Rome for entertaining their subjects (and to distract their minds from the woes of the time).
There were bloody contests pitting gladiators against gladiators - and against wild beasts. Even naval battles were staged in the Colosseum of Rome (the arena's floor was flooded for those events. Non-martial events were staged, too, including lavish theatrical productions and tamed animal acts.
Hollywood movies reinforced some widespread false impressions about the Colosseum of Rome.
All three are all correct. However, the first two spellings are more widely used.
Learn conversation pieces. Grasp the history timeline. Know the best and worst times of the year to visit.
Interesting
Colosseum tidbits
Colosseum
history in brief
Rome weather &
tourist-crowd charts

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