6 of the World's Most Famous Towers

Famous architecture has always been a reason to visit a city. Below are six of the most famous towers in the world.

1. The Tower of Babel:

According to the Book of Genesis, a group of people migrated to the land of Shinar after the Great Flood and built a city within a tower, with its top in the heavens. The only problem was they spoke one, united language, and therefore were unable to plan or do anything without everyone knowing. God decided to come down, scatter them upon the face of the Earth and confuse their languages.

2. Tower of Silence:

A Tower of Silence, commonly referred to as a 'Dakhma', is a circular, raised structure used by Zoroastrians for exposure of the dead. The Zoroastrian tradition believe a dead body to be unclean, as a result bodies of the dead are placed atop a tower - a tower of silence - where they are exposed to the sun and birds of prey. This tradition is thought to prevent the chances of putrefaction.

3. Hassan Tower, Morocco:

In 1195, when the building of the Hassan Tower began, the idea was that it would be the largest minaret in the world along with the world's largest mosque. When Sultan Yacoub al-Mansour died four years later, construction of both the tower and the mosque stopped and was left incomplete. Still the structures are considered an important part of Rabat.

4. Tower of London

The Tower of London was built in the early 1080s by William the Conqueror. Through the centuries various monarchs added to the fortress. Some very important events in British history took place at the Tower, including, the beheading of Queen Anne Boleyn at Tower Green, the execution of Lady Jane Grey, the 'nine days queen', and the imprisonment of Elizabeth I.

5. The Leaning Tower of Pisa:

Construction of the tower occurred in three stages across 177 years. After construction had progressed to the third floor in 1178, the tower began to sink. The design was doomed from the beginning. The subsoil was weak and unstable and the foundation far too small. The Tower however, has become famous for the fact that it leans and has yet to completely topple over after all of these years.

6. The CN Tower, Toronto:

In 1995, the CN Tower was classified one of the Seven Wonders of the World, along with the Itaipu Dam on the border of Brazil and Paraguay, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the Panama Canal, the Chunnel under the English Channel, the North Sea Protection Works off the European Coast, and the Empire State Building.

These are six of the most famous towers around the world. If you could have any of them in your backyard which would you choose? Hmmm… probably go for a subtle pagoda.


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Fabric Architecture Ltd has been specialising in the design, engineering, manufacture and installation of tensile fabric structures since 1984. Learn more about Pagodas at http://www.fabricarchitecture.com/signature-structures/pagoda