From the Machu Picchu to Jerusalem - Wonders of the World

Thanks to its spectacular, even mystical location, Machu Picchu, meaning Old Mountain or Old Bird, is undoubtedly the most famous archaeological site on the American continent. Thanks to its remote location, it was never found by the Spanish conquistadors and lay undiscovered until the early 20th century. In 1911, American historian Hiram Bingham discovered the abandoned site by chance when he was visiting the local area. Despite years of studies and recent works, our knowledge of Machu Picchu continues to be largely superficial. Even today, archaeologists are still forced to rely on hypotheses and speculations about its probable function. On the site, more than 170 buildings have been discovered, giving us an idea of the sumptuous epic of the Inca Pachacutec. A sacred rock, seven meters wide and three meters tall, crafted in the image of the mountain behind it and dedicated to the mountain spirit. In the industrial area, we find mortars which would have been used to grind the corn. This area was probably devoted to domestic activities and craftsmen. Further on, the prison area is made up of a labyrinth of cells, niches and passages, some of which are underground. Here again, the precision and the enormous work involved in transporting and adjusting the stone leaves archaeologists baffled. It doesn't help that the Incas had no form of writing and therefore left no written records of the work. It remains a mystery. When the American explorer arrived on the site in 1911, his guide was a 10-year-old child. Together, they climbed up the Inca terraces and arrived at the walls of Machu Picchu. The tropical vegetation had almost entirely covered the ruins, but the city had been well preserved. Bingham wrote astounded, it was difficult to see the walls because the stones had been covered for centuries by trees and moss. But in amongst the shrubs and plants, some of the walls were visible, made of blocks of granite shaped with incredible precision. I saw temples, royal residencies, a grand palace. It was like a dream. The only piece of circular architecture on the site of Machu Picchu is the Sun Temple. This tower was probably used to study the stars. Under it is a natural cave, which was probably a royal tomb. It contains an altar in the form of a staircase and some beautifully crafted sacred niches. The Incas were certainly the world's greatest experts in lithic architecture. The Condor Temple, for example, contains a sculpture of a condor head placed in front of two rocks which represent his open wings. In Inca culture, the condor symbolized punishment. This rock was undoubtedly a place of sacrifice. Animal or human, no one knows. The Incas only practiced human sacrifice in times of great trouble. When the Inca was ill or died, for example, or when they faced major natural disasters, their objective was to appease the gods. The men, women, or children they sacrificed were taken from the occupied provinces. They were always in good health and of great physical beauty. Before the sacrifice, the chosen child was given beer and coca to drink in order to deaden the senses. In honor of the child, the priest would carry out ritual ceremonies so as to accompany his spirit on its journey. The main temple and the high priest's house stand on either side of the sacred square, giving us an idea of the power of religion in Incan culture. The deteriorated state of the back right-hand side of the temple reminds us that this site is in the middle of a seismic zone, a fact which causes some concern for the future of tourism in Machu Picchu. The Intihuatana is the city's highest point and its most mysterious. This is the final destination, the reason for traveling here to the ends of the earth. The Quechua word Intihuatana, which can be roughly translated as mooring point of the sun, refers to the pillar sculpted in the rock. The Incan astronomers used the faces of the pillar to predict the solstices and so organized the agricultural calendar around the return of the long summer days. At the top is the hut of the guardian of the funerary rock, one of the few buildings to have been restored. This building served as a guard post controlling the entrance to the citadel. As it served as a lookout, it provides a magnificent view over the whole site of Machu Picchu. The colossal site of Karnak is one of the largest religious complexes in the world, with an incredible architectural diversity. Situated on the right bank of the Nile River, to the north of Luxor, the complex extends over two square kilometers. The complex, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is made up of a number of temples which are grouped into three separate enclosures. In former times, there was a landing jetty to which tugboats and vessels used for the animal grand ceremonies on the Nile would moor. The jetty extends into the dromos. This is a processional alleyway, on either side are cryosphinxes and between their legs are statuettes, which originally bore the names Thutmose IV and Amenhotep III, Ramses II had them replaced with his own name. To pass through the enclosure wall, you have to go through the first pylon which leads into the first courtyard. In a site of this sort, where time and space gradually start to blur, archaeologists struggle to unravel the puzzle, to understand which of the stones from the ancient monuments have been reused and where. Here and there, we find the ruins of two small temples, a courtyard or even more ancient monuments. Of the many buildings of the complex, only a few remain, a triple bark shrine for the barks of Amun-Ra, Mut and Khonsu, attributed to Sedi II, and the remains of a kiosk, that of Tarko, a Nubian pharaoh of the 7th century BC. The 21-meter column which stood in the center of the courtyard is the last remaining trace of the kiosk, which once had ten papriform pillars connected by stone architraves supporting a simple wooden floor. Pharaoh's sacred bark was kept under this. The second pylon is preceded by a vestibule in front of which stood colossal statues in pink granite. One was usurped by Pinidzem, a high priest who later became pharaoh, but it is actually thought to date back to the era of Ramses II, the golden age of the temple. The left-hand statue is 15 meters high and at its feet stands another smaller statue showing pharaoh's wife or daughter. At the back of the great courtyard stands the second pylon, it is about 100 meters wide and close to 30 meters tall. Undertaken by Horemheb in around 1300 BC with some of the stone coming from an earlier structure in the Akhenaton, construction of the second pylon was completed by Ramses II and its decoration by Ramses III. It was restored and extended 1,000 years later during the Ptolemaic period. Like the temple of Sedi II, the temple of Ramses III was built well before the construction of the final external wall of the site of Karnak. At the time it stood outside of the religious complex. On the facade we see a depiction of the king massacring his defeated enemies as well as an image of the god Amun to whom the temple is dedicated. The entrance to the temple is by way of the small pylon framed by two royal colossi. The building is made up of a courtyard surrounded on three sides by a peristyle decorated with 16 statues of the pharaoh. Besides the courtyard, the temple of Ramses III consists of a vestibule, a hypostyle hall and three chapels intended to house the sacred barks of the triad of Amun. The most majestic part of the temple of Amun is the hypostyle hall located between the second and third pylons. Made up of 134 monumental columns, it resembles a gigantic papyrus thicket carved in stone. Originally it would have been covered by a roof with light filtering in through latticed windows, some of which are still in place. The inscriptions are still visible on the columns, most of which are still standing. An incredibly rich source of information for historians. The columns are perfectly aligned on the central axis of this immense hall, 103 meters long and 53 meters wide. The columns were roughly 23 meters tall. They increase from a circumference of 10 meters to 15 meters at the top where the capitals open up into flowers. The supports for the side aisles are 15 meters tall with a circumference of about 8 meters. In other words, lots of space for text. The inscriptions on the columns recount the sagas and exploits of several pharaohs. Engraved into the stone, they are there for all to read, the challenges deciphering them. In the time of Thutmose I and Thutmose II, the area beyond the third gateway was the forecourt of the temple of Amun with a monumental pylon, the fourth, and two pairs of obelisks. The obelisk, which is still standing, the work of Thutmose I, is an immense block of monolithic granite, 22 meters high and weighing around 140 tons. The other monoliths were pulled down and transferred to the major cities of the Roman Empire, where they were shattered by earthquakes. Then, after a string of rooms, some better preserved than others, we arrive at the Holy of Holies. The chapel altar of Amun-Ra was built during the Greek era in the 4th century BC. It replaced another identical one in pink granite, which was probably severely damaged. It opens on to the divine axis at both ends. At the height of his popularity, Amun was associated with Ra, the sun god, forming the cosmic god Amun-Ra, the eternal, the lord of Karnak, and creator of all things, who exists permanently in all things. Jerusalem, in Israel, holds a central spot in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The old city is surrounded by ramparts. It has two predominantly Muslim quarters, including the Christian quarter, an Armenian Orthodox quarter, and a Jewish quarter. Many different religions, peoples, and socioeconomic groups mingle in the city. You enter the city through one of eight gates carved from the rock. The Damascus Gate stands between the Christian and Muslim quarters. Jerusalem is a Mediterranean city. She can drift into a midday nap to reawaken in a religious fervor. You have to pass before the Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall. Worshippers can be seen there at all hours of the day and night. This remnant from an ancient wall surrounding the Jewish temple built by Herod in the first century A.D. is arguably the most sacred site for the Jewish faith. Tradition has it that while praying at the Wailing Wall or Kotel, worshippers write down their wishes in prayer form. They fold up their writings and slide them between the rocks of the wall. The sepharim, the rolls of the Torah used in prayer, are kept below the Kotel, in a room that is forbidden to women. The rolls are stored in different holy arches. Religious scholars devote their days to studying Jewish law. The esplanade in front of the wall is a place for celebration in the Jewish faith, and many religious holidays are celebrated here. The Mount of Olives rises east of Jerusalem. It is a mountain ridge engulfing two hills. It is an important site for all three monotheistic religions. For Catholics, the summit of the mount represents the site of Christ's ascension to heaven, 40 days after his death. The world's oldest and biggest Jewish cemetery lies here. According to Judaism, the Messiah who will resurrect the dead will first come to the Mount of Olives before going into Jerusalem. Therefore, the first people to have been buried here would be the first resurrected. Opposite the Mount of Olives, the Lion's Gate is the only gate entrance on the wall's eastern side. Its name is derived from the feline sculptures decorating both sides. Christians call this Saint Etienne's Gate. The anointing stone at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the site where the body of Christ was prepared for burial. This site is very holy in the Christian faith. It has been a site of pilgrimage since the 4th century. The Dome of the Rock is one of the most sacred sites in the Muslim faith. It enshrines the rock from which Muhammad is said to have ascended to heaven. The octagonal walls that support the mosque's gold-covered dome were built in the 7th century. During the Crusades, in the 12th century, the site was changed into a church bearing the name Templum Domini. It was restored to Muslim worship in 1187 following Saladin's takeover of Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock is located on a rectangular man-made platform. Eight staircases rise to the platform in the middle of which stands the monument. Four entrances corresponding to the four cardinal points lead inside the dome. The Syrian Byzantine architect who designed the mosque chose an octagonal shape with two concentric walls in the tradition of Christian architecture. The central wall, built around the sacred rock, is topped by a double wooden cupola covered in bronze. Blue tiles on a gold back group, dating back to the Ottoman era, decorate the walls. It has a great visual appeal. The first fortifications around Jerusalem were built during the time of King David in 1004 BC. Designed to reinforce a weak spot in the defense constructions around the old city, the Tower of David was built in the 2nd century BC. The tower is near the Gate of Jaffa. After the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70, the site was converted to military use. The city was conquered and rebuilt by many different groups. First the Arabs, starting in the 7th century, then the Crusaders during the Middle Ages, the Mamluks in the 13th century, and finally the Ottomans. The ramparts that you see here today were built in the 16th century by the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. The Ottomans also built a mosque and minaret that are still visible today. The citadel contains important remnants and is a remarkable archaeological site in and of itself. Over a period of 500 years, the Forbidden City in Beijing was the residence of 24 Chinese emperors. From the balcony overlooking Tiananmen Square, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China on October 1st, 1949. The site has long been venerated by the Chinese people. The palace, which stretches out over 72 hectares within the imperial city, was the personal residence of the emperor. It was built by the third Ming emperor between 1406 and 1420. It is one of the oldest and best preserved palaces of China. Today it has been converted into a museum, the Imperial Palace Museum. It holds the imperial treasures of ancient Chinese civilization and many important Chinese artworks such as paintings, liqueurs, ceramics, musical instruments, and bronze sculptures. The construction split the Forbidden City into two parts. One part was devoted to public affairs and the other was devoted to private life. The outdoor courtyard, which contains the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Perfect Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony, made up the official part of the city where the sovereign received his ministers and presided over ceremonies. The inner courtyard made up the private section and thus held both the emperor's work cabinet, the imperial family's apartments, and the concubine's apartments. The Forbidden City is a true city within a city. The emperor and his entourage were basically under house arrest. They would go out only on very rare occasions. The dragon represents the emperor. According to legend, the emperor was the sun dragon of the sky. And in keeping with legend, the city contains 9,999 rooms. This number is meaningful. According to tradition, only divinities had the right to build a palace containing 10,000 rooms. Thus, in building 9,999 rooms, the men were aiming for the ideal of perfection. The inner courtyard includes the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, and the Hall of Union. These buildings are surrounded respectively by the six eastern palaces and the six western palaces. According to the historical documentation, construction of the Forbidden City, dating back to the beginning of the Ming dynasty, employed some 100,000 artisans and artists and a labor force of nearly one million. The city's main buildings are situated on the central axis, which is also the axis of Beijing. The other buildings line both sides of the axis in symmetrical fashion. The city is majestically laid out. Most of the buildings were made of wood. The columns rising from the marble bases support the beautiful decorative roof, covered in yellow-glazed tiles. According to historical documents dating back to the Ming and Qing eras, the government ruled that only the imperial buildings, the palaces, tombs and monasteries built on order of the emperor, could use yellow-glazed tiles. Those who dared to break this law risked being sentenced to death. The city's real full name is the Forbidden Purple City. Since ancient times, the Chinese have considered yellow to be a noble color, and red as the color of happiness and joy. Its name is also a reference to the North Star, which in Chinese astronomy is called Little Purple Star. Since the imperial palace was located at the center of Beijing and represented the state's administrative center, it was named to evoke the star which is at the center of the sky's rotation. The imperial garden is located north of the Forbidden City. It is usually called the Back Garden because it is at the back of the inner courtyard. It includes a palace and over 10 halls, kiosks and belvederes, symmetrically placed. There are also rock formations, planted areas, sculptures, and many trees including cypress trees that are hundreds of years old. In this area, architecture and nature stand together in a peaceful balance, the result of a quest for harmony. During these opulent eras, the Chinese valued all the arts. From the time of its construction in 1420 until 1644, the Forbidden City was the seat of 14 emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The last of these emperors hung himself during the Peasant Rebellion of 1644. The following Qing Dynasty also resided within the Forbidden City, breaking with the tradition since previously new dynasties were to reside in new palaces. Ten Qing emperors succeeded one another at the Forbidden City from 1644 to 1912. The Forbidden City ceased being the political center of China after the abdication of Puyi, the last emperor, on February 12, 1912. After having been the residence of 24 emperors over a period of 500 years, the Forbidden City is now a magnificent museum and is constantly under renovation. Listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987, it is the world's largest wooden structure. Located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, Cape Town is considered as the mother city of South Africa. The city was named after the Cape of Good Hope, located some 50 kilometers from the city's historical center. Today, Cape Town is a major tourist destination. Visitors can enjoy a variety of nautical activities, like surfing, boating, and line fishing. The sheltered bay creates a natural harbor that protects boats from strong winds. At Noble Square on the seafront stand the bronze statues of the four South African Nobel Peace Prize winners, including Nelson Mandela. The Castle of Good Hope is the city's oldest existing building. It was built by the Dutch East India Company in 1670, immediately following their arrival. The castle is a fort in the shape of a star, with five bastions. It was meant to protect Dutch interests from the English. It was declared a national monument in 1936, and today it is a museum. Inside the Cat Balcony, the portal to the governor's residence, is remarkable. The fortress used to hold shops, a church, various workshops, and homes. Opposite the Market Square, Cape Town City Hall is an English-styled construction, built in 1905, after the English had taken over the country. It is made of honey-colored limestone rock, imported from England. The tower has a clock that rings out the hours, like the bells at Westminster Abbey. The city centre, called City Bowl, owes its name to its location at the foot of Table Mountain, between Devil's Peak in the east and Lion's Head in the west. Even though Cape Town is the country's oldest city, it willingly introduces visitors to its historical past, using Western methods. Cape Town is famous for its Victorian and colonial architecture, called Cape Dutch. Long Street is without a doubt the liveliest street in Cape Town. Its Victorian architecture and ornate, iron-worked balconies make it one of the most preserved historical areas of Cape Town. Slave Lodge and Church Square, both located on Adderley Street, recall the history of Cape Town. Slave Lodge was built in the late 17th century, at the peak of the Dutch slave trade. Church Square is the specific site where slaves awaited their masters on Sundays during Mass. The company's garden was created by Cape Town's founding father, Jan van Riebeck, at the request of the East India Trade Company. The garden ensured that settlers be supplied with vegetables and fruit. Today, it is a major recreational park and a botanical garden. You come here to get closer to nature and to get away from the hubbub of the big city. The Parliament stands at the entrance to the company's garden. The South African Parliament has been fully democratic since 1994 and the creation of the new constitution. The Delville Wood Memorial is located in the heart of the garden. It commemorates the death of the nearly 3,000 South African soldiers who died on the battlefield at Delville Wood during World War I. Away from the busy city centre, the Malay Quarter Bokap stretches out on the foothills of Signal Hill. The Cape Malay is a South African ethnic group descending from slaves brought from Indonesia to South Africa, starting in 1667. The Malay neighbourhood is one of the most picturesque areas in the city, with its cobbled streets, its brightly coloured houses and its mosques. Robben Island is less than seven kilometres away from South Africa's coastline. The first Dutch settlers established a prison on the island in 1658. After having been used as a military prison in the early 19th century, Cobben Island became a psychiatric centre and a leper colony. The island contained disease propagation since it is isolated from the continent, while offering the sick a healthy environment. Fortifications and military outposts started being built only during the Second World War. In 1959, Robben Island was annexed by the prison department and became a high-security penitentiary centre. It held long-term convicts, mostly members of the ANC and members of anti-apartheid movements. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned here for nearly 18 years, starting in 1964. The prison closed its doors definitively in 1996, but not its memory. It has since become a World Heritage Site and Museum, holding a great part of South Africa's history. Located in the middle of the Southern Hemisphere, between the equator and Antarctica, South Africa enjoys a varied temperate climate. In the south, the Cape boasts a Mediterranean climate, with dry, hot summers with temperatures in the 30 degrees Celsius. Located at the intersection of the Indian Atlantic Oceans, the city has magnificent white sand beaches. Clifton is one of the city's most affluent suburbs. Clifton's four beaches are said to be the world's most beautiful. A true paradise. Havana, the capital of the island of Cuba, is a lively city, full of energy and buzzing with activity. Protected from the sea by El Malecon, an embankment seven metres wide, the city has a population of 2.4 million, making it the biggest city in the Caribbean. Since being listed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1982, Habana Vieja, the historical heart of Havana, has undergone a vast restoration program after two centuries of quasi-abandonment. The Plaza de la Catedral is the most harmonious and homogenous architectural complex of the colonial era. The Colonial Art Museum and a number of palaces are located here. The cathedral was built by the Jesuits in the 18th century. Its elegant and ornate façade is reminiscent of Italian architecture. The cathedral is dedicated to San Cristóbal, the city's patron saint. The Cuban author Alejo Carpentier remarked that this cathedral was music set in stone. Music is everywhere in Cuba, the country of salsa music. On every street, in every restaurant, on every square, a group is heard playing. Crossing the great garden of the Plaza de Armas, located in the center of the old town, you reach the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales, a stunning Baroque palace. Currently home to the Museum of the City of Havana, the palace was built in the 18th century for the Spanish colonial government of Cuba. The majestic interior patio holds the statue of Christopher Columbus. Cuba is also the land of revolution. On the Plaza de Armas, there are thousands of books narrating the lives of Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, and many other characters who played a part in the country's struggle for freedom. Under the city's characteristic arcades, the Santa Isabel Hotel is an old colonial residence built in 1710. The style is sober, both inside and outside. A patio decorated with tropical plants and a beautiful fountain holds the central spot. Here, restoring the country's cultural heritage rhymes with luxury tourism. On Calle Obispo, one of the city's main streets, stands a bright pink building. Tourists pass it indifferently. Yet the Ambos Mundos, the aptly named Both Worlds Hotel, is where the globetrotting writer Ernest Hemingway came to relax between two books, two women, or two continents, between 1930 and 1940. As a writer, Hemingway had a disciplined work ethic. He would wake very early, around 5.30, and would write until noon. Then he would go out, often to have a drink, at the bar El Floridita. El Floridita is known as the Cradle of the Daiquiri. This is where the barman Constante brought renown to the local cocktail made of Cuban rum, lime, and sugarcane, which the writer enjoyed. As a cocktail aficionado, Hemingway was a regular at both El Floridita and at Bodeguita del Midio, another famous bar in Havana. Here, the Mojito, another rum-based cocktail, is the bar's specialty. American cars from the 50s can be seen everywhere in the streets of Havana. This is not the result of a penchant for vintage cars, but the result of necessity. Since the embargo and the oil crisis, the sale of cars to individuals is forbidden. So old existing cars are preserved, restored, and renovated, nearly made immortal. The Capitolio, inaugurated in 1929, is a replica of the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The former House of Representatives is the most imposing building in Havana. Its dome rises over 90 meters high, and on the monument's facade, the two bronze statues rising seven meters high and weighing 15 tons each symbolize the guardian of virtue and work. Among the city's urban symbols, the Capitolio combines neoclassical elegance with elements of Art Deco. Cigars are undoubtedly one of Cuba's main economic sources, the Habano. The Fabrica Patagas, one of the leading cigar factories, is established in the city of Havana. Know-how is transmitted from generation to generation to the sound of radio programs and news bulletins read by the foremen over loudspeakers, in keeping with communist tradition. In the factory, cigars are rolled, pressed, wrapped, and checked for quality. All the necessary steps are taken to create a luxury product. The cigar industry brings in over $350 million to Cuba each year, and the country has over 70% of the world market. In 1510, the first Spanish colonists arrived on the island and began the conquest. Havana underwent a period of major economic and cultural growth in the 17th century. Then the winds of revolutionary change blew down on Cuba, and its people between the 19th and 20th centuries, and naturally, leading Havana to develop itself around a special kind of economic power. A special combination of history, culture, and heritage. The Plaza Vieja, built in 1559, used to be called Plaza Nueva. It was a prestigious site in the 17th and 18th centuries. The plaza is surrounded by buildings that were built over a period of four centuries. Today, however, an unfavorable economic situation which arose from the crises, the embargo, and hurricanes has brought this culturally rich country to its knees. The smiling faces of the Cuban people hide the ruins of the old opulent facades that have fallen prey to the passage of time and sea spray. And therein lies the charm of Havana. The Chateau de Vaux-le-Vicomte, located 50 kilometers southeast of Paris, France, is a 17th century chateau built for Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances of the Sun King Louis XIV. Nicolas Fouquet called on the best artists of the time to build his chateau. The architect Louis Le Vaux, who went on to become the first architect to the king, the painter Charles Le Brun, founder of the Royal Academy of Painting, and the landscape architect André Le Nôtre, who also became the king's head gardener. The chateau, an architectural and decorative masterpiece from the mid-17th century, is today the biggest private property to be listed as a historical monument. Nicolas Fouquet held an important role within the French state, and the architect Le Vaux thought of him as a Roman emperor. He drew on the Italian architecture of Roman palaces and integrated it into his design of the French chateau. Le Vaux was the technical supervisor, but he sought approval on all aspects from the two other artists, the decorator Le Brun and the landscape architect Le Nôtre. They truly worked hand in hand. And when Le Vaux decided that the 30-meter high facade would be reflected in a pond 400 meters further down, they had to perform detailed calculations. Another tangible sign of the partnership between the architect and the landscape architect who worked to create this harmonious ensemble resides in their use of a see-through architectural technique, which requires that no wall obstruct the view. The three arches cross through the chateau, enhancing its see-through appearance. The hall which overlooks the gardens is the centerpiece of this see-through architecture. It is a beautiful ensemble running from the floor to the ceiling. A big oval room on two levels. It is a unique room in terms of decoration, with a domed ceiling that the decorator Le Brun unfortunately did not have time to complete. In the chateau, the decorator put his talent to Fouquet's service. Coffered ceilings in pure Louis XIII style, tapestries, nothing is too beautiful. Nicolas Fouquet's room, or the Hall of Muses, includes an alcove and furnishings from the cabinet maker Boule. Molière staged theater performances here. The alcove was turned into a stage. The room ceiling was decorated by Le Brun himself. The eight muses are portrayed here. The walls are covered in five tapestries that depict the story of Diane. The Hall of Hercules is one of the antechambers to Fouquet's apartment. The antechamber is the first of three rooms that traditionally make up a private apartment. It precedes the cabinet and the bedroom. The superintendent of finance has worked here, in his private apartment. Fouquet was the minister of finances. He supplied money and maintained financial networks. He was officially in charge of collecting money and loaning it to the king through complicated and certainly remunerative contracts. This desk with an ebony veneer and a beautiful leather interior is the work of Jean Massé. Seated at his Mazarin-style desk, Nicolas Fouquet dispensed orders throughout the kingdom, and the statue of Oran, the man in prayer, oversaw the choices of this extremely powerful man. The rooms of the former owner are very well restored. You can get a sense of the past inhabitants' daily lives. Here was the room of the more or less Jean de La Fontaine, who was often invited to the chateau during its opulent period. He remained a family friend for a long time. The chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte became a reference for many architects. They copied its style, which is so particular both in terms of interior decoration and which is especially seen in the French-style gardens. The gardens located to the south of the chateau are remarkable because of their dimensions and their style. The trimmed trees, the ponds, the statues and orderly alleys make it a French-style garden. To design the gardens, André Le Notre drew on optical effects and the laws of perspective. He used the forced perspective technique. This technique consists in increasing the size of all the elements in the garden the beds, statues, ponds and topiaries. The further away they are from the chateau, the greater they become. This alters one's visual perceptions due to natural perspective and enables a global and harmonious view of the sprawling gardens around the chateau. A majestic work centred on the techniques of transparency and light devised by its creators the chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte stands in testimony to centuries of history. While admiring the talent of the chateau's architects, gardeners and designers who made it what it is you are immersed in an aura of royalty between the majestic hall of the guards the elegance of the antechambers and the formal reception halls as well as the sumptuous gardens. you