African Wonders

Pyramids of Giza

I found the Pyramids of Giza to be very interesting and very spectacular that people could have created such a wonder in during their time and to such an accurate degree. The were built over four thousand years ago and the website said that the blocks angle were only within 0.1% of error. When I think of Africa I usually do not think of Egyptians because their culture seems so much more diverse than what I think of the norm African culture. I think that fact made this wonder so much more interesting. "...Great Pyramid can accommodate St Peter's in Rome, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, and Westminster and St Paul's in London combined." This quote made me realize that Africa might not be so problematic as they are compared to great western powers.

City of Great Zimbabwe

I found this stone settlement to be very interesting as it gave reason to a name that I did not understand before and it also revealed a lot of history that I did not know about Africa. The shrine was one of the most notable among Africa and it stood the test of time since the eleventh century. This is very prominent to me because it still maintained its importance regardless of the new resources that were found. This truly shows its spiritual importance.

Sankore Mosque

When I looked at the picture of the mosque I had trouble visualizing what it was. It was like nothing I had ever seen especially in comparison with Middle Eastern mosques we saw in the previous chapter. I thought it was just an interesting piece of architecture until I discovered that it was the center for the academics of Timbuktu. I also read that it was partially destroyed in the 1500's by the Moroccans which I can only assume that will foreshadow on a large portion of African history.