Welcome to I Am Your Target Demographic and
today we’re continuing our discussion on the seven wonders of the world. In our last video, we covered what are considered
the ancient wonders, all based around Greece and Turkey and the Mediterranean. Today, we’re diving into seven wonders of
the quote unquote middle ages. Some of these may be very ancient as well
but it wasn’t until people began to actually travel the world that this list could be compiled. There isn’t a single author of this list
but these are the seven wonders from this era that are mostly represented on various lists. We begin in Rome, with the Colosseum, built
in around 70 AD. This giant amphitheater could hold around
50 to 80 thousand spectators at once, for all sorts of entertainment. It was known for gladiator contests and mock
battles that were almost like a theater performance. Occasionally they’d also hold executions
or other spectacles for mass audiences. The name Colosseum came from the Colossus
of Rhodes, for its immense size. Colossal is still used today as an adjective
in this way. While the colosseum has been wrecked by earthquakes
over the years, most of it still stands and it is one of Rome’s most popular tourist
attractions. Also in Italy, we head to the city of Pisa
to visit the Leaning Tower. This 185 foot tall (or 55 meter tall) belltower
was not intended to be leaning but as the construction progressed, soft soil led to
the foundation sinking. They corrected what they could but ultimately
the tower was left leaning at a 5 degree angle. It’s unproven who actually built the tower
but continual efforts are being made to maintain the tower and restore its exterior. It’s even open to the public now that you
can climb the interior staircase, for a small fee. We now head to China, for the Great Wall. This massive fortification runs about 13,000
miles from end to end, though not all of it is still standing, many sections have fallen
apart. Why was the wall built? Some sections were especially focused on protection
against raids and attackers, though later sections were built as almost border controls,
to be able to control who was entering and leaving the country when trade and commerce
worldwide became possible. This is a massive undertaking and it took about 2,000 years for the entire thing to be completed, though empires built it little by little,
with huge gaps in between. The latest sections were built in the 1600s. Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall
is not visible from space though it is still quite impressive to see in person. China has a second world wonder, the Porcelain
Tower of Nanjing. This pagoda was about nine stories tall and
was planned to be built larger but the original tower was mostly destroyed during the Taiping
rebellion in the 1800s. It was built with white porcelain bricks that
reflected sunlight. While the original was destroyed, there is
a life-size replica that stands today in Nanjing, built because of a donation of $156 million
in US dollars. This was donated by one single donor and is
the largest single donation in Chinese history. We now travel to Instanbal, Turkey to discuss
the Hagia Sophia. This building was originally built as a church
and cathedral and for a long time was the largest cathedral in the world, for nearly 1,000 years. It’s said to have changed the history of
architecture forever and people still flock to it to take it all in. Over the course of time, it’s also changed
purposes many times from Christian and Catholic church to mosque and back again, based on
who was ruling the region. It now stands as a museum for all to enter
and enjoy, no longer serving any religious purpose. Not everyone is happy about this though, drawing
protests and petitions from people that want it rededicated as a church and those
that want it rededicated as a mosque. For this next wonder, we go back to Egypt,
to the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa. This series of tombs, also called a necropolis,
is from after the Egyptian, Greek, and Roman worlds collided, as all three cultures influence
the statues and decorations of this space. It was seemingly meant for only one family
and slowly expanded to include other families and even animals, including an entire room
for the bones of horses that faithfully served their master, the Emperor Caracalla in 215
AD. These catacombs are still being excavated
and researched, some of it being inaccessible and some being underwater. Our last wonder for this list takes us to
England, where we find Stonehenge. This monument features 13 foot high statues
arranged in a circle. It was believed to be built as early as 3000
BC, meaning it’s stood now for over 5,000 years. “Why isn’t this on the ancient wonder
list?” you ask. Again, that list was created by the Mediterranean
people and consisted of only regional landmarks, so they wouldn’t know of other monuments
like this one. In terms of the site’s purpose, it’s mostly
believed to be a burial site and place for celebration of the dead. Many researchers have studied this site and
the various steps in its creation, down to indentations in the ground and remnants of
stones and trees that no longer exist. Some restoration has been done in the last
hundred years, helping to right stones that have fallen and put things back into their
supposed places. As a tourist, you can visit the stones and
look from afar or you can try to schedule a special access tour that allows very small
groups to cautiously walk amongst the site itself. And that is it for our seven wonders of the middle ages! We have one more video left, that is a little more technical, you know, modern day things that changed the way the world works. If it's been a week, you can check out part three right here. If there's nothing there, it means maybe we have to just wait. So in the meantime... Subscribe. Check out more videos, I would appreciate it and thanks for watching IAYTD.