Lucifer of Liège: The Devil in the Cathedral

Inside St Paul’s Cathedral in Liège, Belgium, a remarkable marble figure sits beneath the arches of the church. With bat-like wings, chains around his body, and a troubled expression, the sculpture looks unlike the usual images of the devil. He is young, handsome, and almost sorrowful. This unusual figure is Le Génie du Mal, or The Genius of Evil, created by Belgian sculptor Guillaume Geefs in 1848. It is often known as the Lucifer of Liège. The sculpture has an unusual story involving two brothers, a controversial earlier statue, and a religious message about the triumph of virtue over evil. Its beauty is perhaps the most surprising part of all.

Guillaume Geefs’ Le Génie du Mal, the famous Lucifer sculpture inside St Paul’s Cathedral in Liège.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur: The Ancient Monument of Mesopotamia

The Great Ziggurat of Ur (Ziggurat Etemenniguru) is the best-preserved temple complex in ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq). It was constructed early in the 21st century BC (about 2047 BC) in the city of Ur by the local kings Ur Nammu and Shulgi. The Ekishnugal Sanctuary was built to honour the lunar god Nanna. In the following years, it was restored several times and was substantially expanded by the New Babylonian king Nabonidus.

The Great Ziggurat of Ur, or Ziggurat Etemenniguru, is one of the best-known surviving monuments of ancient Mesopotamia.

Strange Places in Jerusalem: Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Immovable Ladder Church of the Holy Sepulchre: A wooden step ladder leaning over a balcony against the right window at the Church of the Sepulchre's second-tier facade in Jerusalem's Old Town. The cornice is where the ladder rests, and it is placed against the window. The Armenian Apostolic Church owns this window. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre ladder is the symbol of Christianity's interfaith conflict. The six Christian denominations owning the Church agree to place the immovable ladder in their proper places. They are forbidden from moving, repairing, or changing anything inside the Church without their consent.

The famous immovable ladder rests against the façade of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Colossi of Memnon

Two giant statues of the 18th Dynasty of Egypt, Amenhotep III (1386-1353 BCE), are known as the Colossi of Memnon, or el-Salamat (also el-Colossat and el-Salamat). They lie west of Luxor, Egypt, overlooking the Nile River. The statues show the seated king on a throne with emblems of his mother, his wife and the god Hapi. Each figure weighs 720 tons and is 18 metres tall. They were carved from a single block of sandstone.

The massive Colossi of Memnon stand near ancient Thebes in Luxor, Egypt.

Larabanga Mosque: Ghana’s Ancient Mud Mosque

In the quiet village of Larabanga in northern Ghana is a mosque unlike any other in the country. One of Ghana’s most important religious-architectural sites, the Larabanga Mosque was built from sand, wood, water, and centuries of local knowledge. Its whitewashed mud walls, timber beams, and sculpted towers make it instantly recognisable and an integral part of the surrounding landscape.

Larabanga Mosque, a historic earthen mosque located in Ghana’s Savannah Region, is a significant religious and architectural site.

Vasa Museum Sweden: The Warship That Sank on Its First Voyage

In Stockholm, Sweden, an extraordinary museum stands around a ship that was never meant to become a museum attraction. The Vasa Museum is home to the Vasa, a seventeenth-century Swedish warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628. More than three centuries later, the remarkably preserved wreck was raised from Stockholm harbour and became one of the world's most famous maritime archaeological discoveries.

The remarkably preserved Vasa warship displayed inside the Vasa Museum in Stockholm, Sweden.

Hanging Pillar of Lepakshi Temple

Veerabhadra temple, a Hindu temple, is located in Lepakshi in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Virabhadra is the temple's emanation, and it is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple was built in the 16th century and featured Vijayanagara architecture. There are various carvings and paintings on almost every surface. A huge Nandi (bull), the mount of Shiva, is located approximately 200m from the temple, and It is made from one block of stone, which is believed to be the largest of its kind.

Hanging pillar

Glastonbury Abbey

Glastonbury Abbey was a monastery in Glastonbury, Somerset, England. In grade I enumerated by an ancient structure and monument, its ruins areas open for tourist attractions. Glastonbury Abbey, the oldest in England, was once one of the country's largest, wealthiest, and most influential monasteries.

Glastonbury Abbey

The staircase of King Aragon - Escalier du Roi d’Aragon

The staircase of King Aragon (in French Escalier du Roi d’Aragon) is regarded as one of the fascinating places in the Corsican city of Bonifacio, France, and one of the most unusual stairs in the world. The history of its origin is surrounded by legends and has at least two versions of its head. Bonifacio, because of its advantageous location on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, has been attacked more than once. One of the conquerors was Alphonse of Aragon, who in 1420 began a war with Genoa for the possession of Corsica.

The stairs of King Aragon - Escalier du Roi d’Aragon

Pyramid of Cestius | Rome, Italy

Cestius pyramid is an Egyptian-style pyramid found in Rome, near Porta San Paolo, and in the cemetery of Protestant city. It was built around 18 and 12 BC. C. as the tomb of Cayo Cestio Epulón, magistrate. Its square base is 100 feet on the side, and it reaches a height of 125 feet. It is covered with marble, although the interior design is made of bricks. On both the east and the west sides are inscriptions in Latin that contain both Cestius' names, as well as architectural details, which for 330 days were completed. 

Pyramid of Cestius

Al Naslaa Rock: Saudi Arabia’s Mysterious Split Rock

In the desert near the ancient oasis of Tayma in northwestern Saudi Arabia, a large sandstone formation stands divided into two striking halves. Known as Al Naslaa Rock, the formation looks almost impossible at first sight. A narrow, remarkably straight gap cuts through the rock, while each half appears to rest on a small natural pedestal.

Al Naslaa Rock, the famous naturally split rock formation near Tayma, Saudi Arabia.

The Sacred well of Santa Cristina

Well of Santa Cristina — Historical experts still debate the purpose of the mysterious Nuragic or sacred wells from the ancient era. The most mysterious objects that belong to the Nuragic culture are the sacred wells on the island of Sardinia. There are approximately 70 wells in Sardinia. Santa Cristina, Paulilatino near Oristano, is one of the most well-known wells, The sacred well of Santa Cristina.

Khatt Shebib: The Mysterious Wall in Jordan

In 1948 Sir Alec Kirkbride was a British diplomat living in Jordan who first noticed the structure from an airplane. He also saw a strange stone structure. It was the Khatt Shebib wall. During a recent study, scientists found that the length of the wall, which stretches from north-east to south-west, is 106 km, according to Live Science. Its total length includes its branches and parallel, sessions its total length is about 150 km. The ruins are currently being constructed. Scientists claim that the wall was initially small. Its height was just over a meter and its width about half a mile.

Agrasen ki Baoli, New Delhi

Agrasen Ki Baoli, Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, India, on Hailey Road, close to Connaught Place. The Archeological Survey of India has designated this monument as a protected monument. Baoli can be used to refer to step well. It is believed that it was built by Maharaja Agrasen in Mahabharat's epic era. This is almost more than 5000 years ago. However, there are no historical records to support this legend. In the 14th century, the Agrawal community rebuilt it.

Borobudur Temple

Borobudur Temple is the largest Buddhist temple in the world and the most important Buddhist monument. At the heart of the city is the Borobudur temple complex, Island Java, Indonesia. The temple compound is composed of six square platforms, topped by three circular platforms. It has a total area of 2,520m2 and is decorated with 504 Buddha statues and 2,672 relief panels. The main dome is located in the middle of the top platform and surrounds 72 Buddha statues that are each placed inside a perforated stupa.

Stupa Borobudur

Extraction of Mammoth tusks in Siberia

About 10 thousand years ago, northern Siberia was inhabited by shaggy giants, called mammoths. Now extinct genus of mammals affected by the rise in temperature at the end of the last Ice Age and Ancient hunters killed woolly mammoths for their meat, which resulted in their habitat was flooded and reduced. Animals caught in limbo on an isolated island, where there was not the slightest chance to return to the mainland. Some populations, sharpened on these land areas to the east and north of Siberia, delayed and became extinct about 3,700 years ago.