Hitting the Wall Trivia Quiz

Answer: It can be seen from the moon

The Great Wall of China is located in Northern China. Originally the wall was built to keep out nomadic groups from the Chinese Empire in the 5th century BC. It is not just one wall, but more a group of walls collectively known as the Great Wall of China. The original wall was built by the first emperor, Qin Shi Huang. Most of the wall that remains today, was built during the Ming Dynasty, the ruling dynasty from the 14th century until the 17th century.

One of the persistent myths surrounding the wall is that it can be seen from the moon. References to it can be traced back as far as 1754, in a letter by a British antiquary William Stukely. Scientists have consistenly proven however that it would require an eyesight approximately 17.000 better than the average eyesight to see the wall from space.

Answer: Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe you can find the ruined city of Great Zimbabwe, once the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. The name of the complex refers to the ruins, the adjective "Great" was added to distinguish it from other complexes. Construction on the complex started in the 11th Century. It once housed the palace of the king of Zimbabwe and was long seen as the centre of political power for the kingdom, until the city eventually fell into decline in the fifteenth century.

A famous feature of the city are the walls, which were over five metres high and constructed with mortar. Its most prominent feature, the Great Enclosure, even had walls up to 11 metres high. The site has been an UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986.

Answer: Sacsayhuaman

The walled complex near the city of Cusco in Peru is commonly referred to as Sacsayhuaman. The city of Cusco used to be the capital of the Incan Empire. The complex features a series of dry-stone walls around the great plaza. The walls are terraced. A common suggestion for this type of layout is the fact that the city of Cusco may have resembled a puma, an animal symbolising the Inca culture. The series of terraced walls were said to be the teeth of the puma's head.

Currently the complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The citizens use the complex for instance for traditional Inca festivals, such as the festival of Inti Raymi, the celebration of the winter solstice.

Answer: Gum

In Seattle you can find one of several walls worldwide that is covered in chewing gum. It can be found in Post Alley, near the Market Theater. The tradition started when in 1993 guests of the theatre company playing there started placing their gum on the wall. After attempts to stop this practice proved unsuccessful, the wall was officially declared a landmark in 1999, with people creating genuine works of art with their gum on the wall.

In 2009 the wall was chosen as one of the germiest attractions worldwide, in a list made by travel website TripAdvisor, coming second in the list, right after the Blarney Stone. The wall is also featured in a 2009 movie starring Jennifer Aniston called "Love Happens".

Answer: Scotland

Construction on Hadrian's Wall started in 122 AD. Its most likely goal was to keep out tribes coming from Scotland, although some historians claim that Scotland was not all that populated at the time. It is also possible the wall made it possible to have border posts, so some control could be had over such issues as immigration, smuggling and customs. Since construction started during the reign of Roman emperor Hadrian, the wall is named after him.

The wall was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. There is a footpath that follows the wall, as part of the National Trail system, a series of long distance footpaths in England and Wales.

Answer: East Side Gallery

In the year 1961 construction was started on the wall. The German Democratic Republic felt that East Germany needed to be protected from facist powers wanting to create a socialist state in East Germany. The wall became a symbol of the Cold War going on at the time between the Western World (as led by the USA and its allies) and The Communist World (mainly the Soviet Union and its allies). Due to political changes in the Eastern Bloc the wall was eventually torn down in 1989. A year later West and East Germany were reunited.

Only a few parts of the original wall remain to this day. One of them is the East Side Gallery, a part of wall about 1,3 kilometres long. It is a memorial for freedom. It is filled with 105 paintings by various artists.

Answer: Croatia

The Walls of Ston are a series of defensive walls that once surrounded the city of Ston. They were constructed in the 14th and 15th century, when the city was part of the region of Dalmatia, which is now located in Croatia. The region formed a part of the Republic of Ragusa. When the republic fell, the walls were partially demolished, using the stones for public buildings for instance.

Originally the wall was approximately 7 kilometres long and connected Ston to Mali Ston, a town north to Ston. One of the reasons for the wall was supposedly to protect the sand pans that can be found in this region.

Answer: Heinrich Schliemann

The city of Troy is a legendary city found among others in the famous poem by Homer, "Illiad". It was the location of the Trojan War. Many archeologists have tried to prove that the city actually existed and it is believed that the city may have been located in northern Anatolia in Turkey. It was the British archeologist Frank Calvert that first found the remains of an old city near Hisarlik. Later he was joined by German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann. Schliemann was responsible for discovering several layers of the old city believed to be Troy.

If you visit the site of Troy, you will find it is divided into nine subdivisions. They represent the various time periods in which the city was in existence. The subdivisions were discovered over time. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1998.

Answer: Wailing Wall

The Western Wall is the name given to the wall surrounding the Temple in the old part of Jerusalem. The original wall is said to have been constructed in 19 BCE, as part of the reconstruction of the temple. It has been an important place for the Jewish community for centuries, often used by pilgrims and those who have come to pray. The wall has been a source of conflict as well, however, with the muslim community also claiming the wall as part of their history, as they feel that the wall forms part of the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

The wall is also known as the Wailing Wall. This dates back to the practice in the Jewish community to come to the wall and lament the destruction of the temple.

Answer: Pergamon Museum - Berlin

Babylon is a former city state located in the country of Iraq. All that currently remains of the city is a series of ruins. References to the city of Babylon with its famous walls date back to approximately the 23rd century BC. It was located in Mesopotamia, the area between the rivers of Euphrates and Tigris. The city eventually fell into ruin and was surpassed by cities like Ctesiphon and Baghdad.

Part of the Walls of Babylon was the Ishtar Gate. It was the eight gate to the city and was dedicated to the goddess Ishtar. The gate is said to have been constructed in 575 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar II. A reconstruction of the gate can be found at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.