Bonjour Paris: #1. Arc de Triomphe

In the picture: (Standing left to right) Jonathan, Wai Lum, Boon, Li Lin, May, Rong, Chang, Joshur (Sitting): Wai Xuet, Jennifer, Ee Lin, Wai Xin, Jess, You Min, Jia Yi, Charis.

Jennifer, Jia Yi and Wai Lum, MERCI, for organizing it for us!!

Ok, here is our 1st destination.

Arc de Triomphe.

'The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes.'

Sunset view of the Arch.

Night view of Arc de Triomphe.



'The triumphal arch honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.'

'The inside walls of the monument list the names of 558 French generals; the names of those who died in battle are underlined.'



'It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years, and in 1810 when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. ' 'Napoleon's body passed under it on 15 December 1840 on its way to its second and final resting place at Les Invalides.'

Napoleon's tomb i Les Invalides. The tomb has 3 layers, each made of different types of wood.





The ox and the rope in this sculpture looks like associated with the Gordion Knot legend.

'The Gordion Knot is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem, solved by a bold stroke ("cutting the Gordian knot")'

Here goes the story...

'At one time the Phrygians were without a legitimate king. An oracle at Telmissus (the ancient capital of Phrygia) decreed that the next man to enter the city driving an ox-cart should become their king. This man was a poor peasant, Gordias, who drove into town on his ox-cart. He was declared king by the priests. This had been predicted in a second way by a sign of the gods, when an eagle had landed on that ox-cart. In gratitude, his son Midas dedicated the ox-cart^[1] to the Phrygian god Sabazios (whom the Greeks identified with Zeus) and either tied it to a post or tied its shaft with an intricate knot of cornel (Cornus mas) bark. The ox-cart^[2] still stood in the palace of the former kings of Phrygia at Gordium in the fourth century BC when Alexander arrived, at which point Phrygia had been reduced to a satrapy, or province, of the Persian Empire.

In 333 BC, while wintering at Gordium, Alexander attempted to untie the knot. When he could find no end to the knot, to unbind it, he sliced it in half with a stroke of his sword, producing the required ends (the so-called "Alexandrian solution"). Once Alexander had sliced the knot with a sword-stroke, his biographers claimed in retrospect that an oracle further prophesied that the one to untie the knot would become the king of Asia.

Plutarch disputes the claim that Alexander sliced the knot with his sword, and relates that according to Aristobulus, Alexander pulled the knot out of its pole pin rather than cutting it. Either way, Alexander did go on to conquer Asia as far as the Indus and the Oxus, fulfilling the prophecy.'

Photos with French soldiers.


A dizzy walk up to the arch.



from top : Boon, You Min, Jia Yi, Jennifer, May, Wai Xin, Li Lin, Chang, Charis, Joshur.



From right : Jonathan, Chang, Joshur, Rong, Boon.
You can see Eiffel Tower at the background.

Majestic view from top of Arc de Triomphe.

There are 14 roads like this, all heading towards this Arc of Triumph!

Look at the traffic! You would'nt want to drive in this area. Certain car insurance company even state in their terms and conditions saying that they won't compensate if accidents occur in this area. (according to Paul)


Pizza-like state of the city.

Eiffel tower seen from here.

*Italic words- found from Wiki.*

**Thanks, Rong, Boon and Jonathan for the picts.**

***The rest reserved for following posts...***