Eiffel Tower - 120 years of pride.
1889 March 31, 1:30 PM.
Gustavo Eiffel stepped at the top of the tower in his dream ascending One thousand seven hundred and ten ( 1710 ) steps. He had a flag in his hand. It was none other than the flag of France , one of the developed and powerful countries in the world. Gustavo Eiffel flagged the French National Flag at the top of the tower. Then he told to the world " World's only flag post having an height 300 ft will be France's ". Yes , he made the occasion too good through this funny statement , but a true statement also.
Do you know which was that Himalayan tower that Eiffel ascended on ? Being French flag in hands of Gustavo Eiffel a wild but intelligent guess may make you to answer this question. It was nothing but the world famous Eiffel Tower.
Now 120 years ( One hundred and twenty years ) had passed after the erection of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. You know Paris is the capital city of France. Any one who visit Paris will see the marvellous Eiffel Tower since it has been constructed in such a way that , it can be seen from any side of Paris. If you reach Paris you can see Eiffel tower by looking in any one of your direction – say north , south , east or west. So one will not feel sorry that I hadn’t seen Eiffel tower even though I visited Paris.
In the world some countries have their own structure icons. You might know some famous among them. Our mother land India has so many such icons. But world considers one of them as the icon of the country which comes into our memory when ever we mention the name of the country. Here is a list of such world icons . United States has Statue of Liberty in New York , England had Big Ben in London , India had Taj Mahal at Agra , Italy has Coliseum in Rome , China has Great Wall extending through a long distance of the country and France has Eiffel Tower in Paris. It is one of the marvellous construction of not only France but also the whole world.So Eiffel toweris one of the historical places and best tourist spot of the world also.
Eiffel Tower was a golden quill on the crown of Eiffel. As I told earlier USA had the famous Statue of Liberty . Eiffel was already famous by designing the iron cover of Statue of Liberty in New York. Actually the Eiffel Tower was created as a temporary structure. But that temporary structure remained there for this much years and had survived through all seasons without any destruction. Now its age is 120 years . The creator had gone behind the curtain years ago. But still the name of creator is in the minds of people through the name of the tower.
Eiffel Tower is now the global icon of France and is one of the most recognisable structure in the world. You might have heard about the French Revolution in 1789. In 1889 the French Government decided to conduct a world fair. The fair was to memorise the historic activities of French Revolution .This 1889 world fair named as Exposition Universalla by the French Government. To attract all people of France to the fair government also took decision to built a huge , marvellous and worth seeing entrance arch. The famous architect of that period Gustavo Eiffel was decided to be the man to design and built the entrance arch.
Soon after submission of the model plan the French Government reviewed the plan. They coined it as a beautiful structure of the world to be made in steel. Soon after reviewing the plan got approved. The construction also started immediately. The construction of the tower was completed within two years.
Actually the design was made for some other fair in Barcelona of Spain. But the model was not accepted by the festival committee. So Eiffel had no need neither to throw his dream structure nor to design a new one for this great event. Thus Eiffel Tower came into existence. The height of Eiffel tower is 1063 ft. It was the tallest building in the world till 1930. After that a number of new buildings taller than Eiffel Tower were constructed. Now all of you know the recently opened Burj Khaleefa of Dubai is the tallest building in the world. Still Eiffel tower remains as one of the tallest tower in the world.
The Eiffel Tower is fully made of steel and is a free standing tower. The actual place of location of Eiffel tower is Champ de Mars. Champ de Mars means the Field of Mars. This is a famous location in Paris. The total weight of the tower is approximately 10000 tons ( Ten thousand tons . 1 ton = 100 quintals and 1 quintal = 100 Kilo Grams )
I had told the height of Eiffel tower is 1063 Ft. Can you imagine how many floors or levels will be there for such a high tower. Those who seen the picture of Eiffel tower may be able to say it easily. Surely a guess will make you to say a number ten or higher than ten. But there are only three levels for Eiffel Tower !! One can access the first and second levels either by lift or by foot. These first two levels have only restaurants. Yes , dining by sitting in such a height may be a great experience. Also when the levels are ascended by foot surely you will need some refreshment on reaching the first level. For those lazy men and aged people lift is provided. The entry tickets for entering the third level are sold in stairs and lifts. The third layer is not accessible by foot. It is permitted to access the third layer through lift only.
Now guys , when you see the picture of Eiffel tower just bow your head considering its age. It is 120 years old !!! Hope once any one of us also will have a chance to visit this best tourist spot in the world.
-Abid Areacode
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