The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World The Temple of Artemis, Turkey

Color engraving by Ferdinand Knab/The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

The great marble temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis was completed around 550 B.C. at Ephesus, near the modern-day town of Selçuk inTurkey.

In addition to its 120 columns, each standing 60 feet (20 meters) high, the temple was said to have held many exquisite artworks, including bronze statues of the Amazons, a mythical race of female warriors.

Today the temple’s foundations have been excavated and some of its columns re-erected.

Full article found: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/seven-wonders/#/new-old-7-wonders-temple-artemis-turkey_18315_600x450.jpg

“And there is no doubt that the temple was indeed magnificent. “I have seen the walls and Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon,” wrote Philon of Byzantium, “the statue of Olympian Zeus, the Colossus of Rhodes, the mighty work of the high Pyramids and the tomb of Mausolus. But when I saw the temple at Ephesus rising to the clouds, all these other wonders were put in the shade.” -  http://www.unmuseum.org/ephesus.htm

Today the site of the temple near the modern town of Selçuk is only a marshy field. A single column has been erected to remind visitors that once there stood in this place one of the wonders of the ancient world.

 (Licensed through Wikipedia Commons courtesy Adam Carr)

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, Turkey

Painting by The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

The famous tomb at Halicarnassus—now the city of Bodrum—was built between 370 and 350 B.C. for King Mausolus of Caria, a region in the southwest of modern Turkey. Legend says that the king's grieving wife Artemisia II had the tomb constructed as a memorial to their love.

The tomb was most admired for its architectural beauty and splendor. The central burial chamber was decorated in gold, while the exterior was adorned with ornate stone friezes and sculptures created by four Greek artists.

The mausoleum stood intact until the early 15th century, when Christian Crusaders dismantled it for building material for a new castle. Some of the sculptures and frieze sections survived and can be seen today at the British Museum in London, England.

At the British Museum is a fragmentary horse from the colossal four-horses chariot group which topped the podium of the the Mausoleum at Halicarnassos. H. (7 ft. 7 ½ in.)

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus at Bodrum in 2009

 Wikimedia Commons by Dorushiva 2009