What is a mausoleum? This is a special kind of architectural structures, examples of which can be found today in different parts of the world. When and where was the first mausoleum built? What are the features of this type of structure? And where are the most famous mausoleums of the world?
What is a mausoleum?
In the middle of the IV century BC. e. in the territory of modern Turkey, the first ever construction of this type was erected. It was the mausoleum of the Mausoleum in Halicarnassus - the famous ruler of the Carians. The giant building was included in the list of Seven Wonders of the World. It stood before the Middle Ages and was destroyed by a powerful earthquake. Today, from the grand tomb of Tsar Mavsol there are only ruins, and once it looked quite majestic.
So what is a mausoleum? The term itself comes from the Greek word mausoleion, which, in turn, is associated with the name of the Carian king Mausoleum. This is a monumental burial structure with a special chamber designed to store the remains, ashes or the embalmed body of the deceased. In one such structure, there may be several burials or crypts. Mausoleums can be separate buildings or be part of a temple or cathedral.
These funerary structures were very popular in ancient Rome, as well as in the Middle Ages (in eastern countries). In the twentieth century, many pompous mausoleums appeared on the planet dedicated to famous political figures and totalitarian leaders. Among them are the mausoleums of V.I. Lenin (USSR), C. Gotwald (Czechoslovakia), Mao Zedong (China), Ho Chi Minh (Vietnam), Enver Khoja (Albania) and others.
We figured out what a mausoleum is. Now let's take a virtual tour of the most famous mausoleums in the world.
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi
This outstanding monument of oriental architecture is located in the south of Kazakhstan, in the city of Turkestan. It was erected on the grave of the poet Khoja Ahmed Yasawi, who made a huge contribution to the spread of Islam in Central Asia. The poet died in 1166, but the construction of the current mausoleum began only two centuries after his death.
According to archival materials, the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was built under the leadership of Tamerlane himself. The famous commander personally determined the parameters of the future structure and even made recommendations regarding its decor and interior decoration.
The mausoleum is a massive rectangular structure with huge portals and domes. The central door of the tomb is decorated with highly artistic wood carvings and ivory. This monument of architecture and history is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
The fiery revolutionary Ho Chi Minh did not live up to the historical moment of the formation of a single and independent Vietnam. However, the grand opening of his mausoleum took place in 1975, when Saigon, controlled by the southern troops, had already capitulated.
The architects of the grandiose building in the city of Hanoi admitted that they were inspired to work by the Lenin Mausoleum in Moscow. This is noticeable in a similar pyramidal foundation of the Vietnamese structure. However, the upper part of the mausoleum is quite authentic. It is a massive cubic structure with rectangular columns and a three-tier, typical Vietnamese, roof.
Embalming the Vietnamese ruler helped Moscow experts. The body of Ho Chi Minh lies in a small and dimly lit room, which can be entered only in two. Talking or taking pictures in this room is strictly prohibited.
Mausoleum of Kim Il Sung
In the north-east of the most closed capital of the world lies the body of the "great leader" and "eternal president" of the DPRK Kim Il Sung. The mausoleum of the ruler is located within the magnificent palace of Kym-Susan. The few foreign tourists are impressed not so much by the mausoleum in Pyongyang itself, but by the ceremony of visiting it. Everything here is much tougher and stricter than in the same Hanoi.
Cameras and video cameras must be removed from everyone who wants to visit the tomb of the leader. Then each tourist is carefully examined and checked with a metal detector. After all these procedures, visitors are given players with headphones and escorted from room to room.
During this excursion, mournful stories about the great loss of the Korean people sound in headphones. Finally, in the last room, lit in red, is a glass sarcophagus with the embalmed body of Kim Il Sung. According to the rules, he needs to bow three times.