I've Been Everywhere Trivia Quiz

Uluru is a large sandstone formation located centrally in Australia. Uluru is the indigenous name for the formation, while the English name was Ayers Rock after Sir Henry Ayers who served as the Chief Secretary of South Australia. In 2002, the official name was changed to Uluru / Ayers Rock.

This formation is commonly incorrectly referred to as a monolith. Geologists instead prefer the term inselberg which refers to an island mountain. An inselberg is a large hill or mountain that is surrounded by flat land. At a height of 348 meters, Uluru is taller than the Eiffel Tower, however, since it is surrounded by flat land, this is not immediately discernible. Even more interesting is the fact that the formation extends a further 2.5 km below the surface of the earth.

Sometimes wrongly referred to as "Big Ben", that is in fact the nickname for the hour bell of the clock inside the Clock Tower at Westminster, London, England. Until 2012, the tower was officially known simply as the Clock Tower, but was formally renamed the Elizabeth Tower to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee that year.

The tower was designed by English architect Augustus Pugin in the Gothic Revivalist style he is known for pioneering and was completed in 1859. This was the last structure designed by Pugin before his mental health degenerated further resulting in his death in 1852. Standing at 96.3 meters high, it is the third-tallest clock tower in the UK.

The Statue of Liberty was a gift from the people of France to the United States of America in 1886. The statue was created to commemorate the centennial of the USA's declaration of independence and as a memorial to the country's continued commitment to the principle of democracy.

It was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi after the Roman Goddess of Liberty. The tablet in her left hand is inscribed with the date of the US Declaration of Independence - July 4, 1776. Located on Liberty Island in the New York City harbour, the statue is seen as a sign of welcome to new immigrants to the country.

Stretching across the northern part of China, the Great Wall is the longest wall on earth. At a length of slightly over 21,000 km, it is almost half as long as the equator. Construction was started by the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, to protect the kingdom from invasion by the northern tribes. Subsequent rulers kept adding fortifications to the structure. Apart from security, it also helped the Chinese empire regulate the trade of goods along the Silk Route.

The Taj Mahal is one of the most well-known monuments of India. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a mausoleum for his wife, Mumtaz. Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore famously described it as "a teardrop on the cheek of eternity". Built out of white marble, it is one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture.

The monument was meticulously designed with each of the four minarets surrounding it, built slightly tilted outward so that if they did collapse, they would not fall over the main structure.

The entire complex is a masterclass in symmetry with the only item disturbing this being Shah Jahan's own tomb as he never intended for himself to be buried here.

Officially named the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile which translates to 'Triumphal Arch of the Star', this French monument was built in the 19th century. It was built to commemorate the soldiers who lost their lives in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Beneath the arc lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The arc stands at the end of the Champs-Élysées, the most famous street in Paris. Designed by French architect Jean Chalgrin, the monument was inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy. In turn, the Arc de Triomphe has inspired many other such monuments including the Gateway of India in Mumbai and the Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest, Romania.

Since its construction in the 6th century AD, the Hagia Sophia has served many different functions. It was first built as a Greek Orthodox church by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. After the Fourth Crusade in the 13th century, it served for some decades as a Roman Catholic cathedral. It reverted soon after to being an Orthodox church until the Ottoman conquest in the 15th century when it was converted to an Islamic mosque. It continued as a mosque until 1931 when it was closed to the public for a period of four years. When it reopened in 1935, it was as a museum, since Turkey had declared itself a secular republic. This status stayed for over 80 years till the Council of State, Turkey's highest administrative court, reversed this decision in 2020 and re-established the mosque.

Regardless of its actual function, the Hagia Sophia is a fascinating monument to visit. Its various roles throughout history are evident within the structure and add to its magnificence with visitors treated to a unique sight of the juxtaposition of Catholic images of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus alongside Islamic inscriptions in Arabic.

Overlooking the Greek city of Athens, the Parthenon is an ancient temple complex that was built in the 5th century BC. Dominating the Acropolis that overlooks the city, the Parthenon was built during the Golden Age of the Ancient Greek Empire, at a time when the Greeks ruled a vast stretch of the known world from the Black Sea to the western Mediterranean.

The main temple is dedicated to the Greek goddess, Athena, the patron of the city. For some time during its long history, the structure served as a Christian church, and later a mosque under the Ottoman Empire.

It is now a historical monument and UNESCO designated World Heritage Site.

Overlooking the Danube, the Fisherman's Bastion is a popular tourist attraction of Budapest located adjacent to the Buda Castle. Built in the 1700s, these originally formed part of the castle walls. It is commonly acknowledged that the structure is named after the fishermen's guild who lived under these walls.

The seven stone towers are believed to symbolize the seven chieftains or original Magyar tribes who founded Hungary in 895.

Officially named the Flavian Amphitheatre, this structure is more famously known as the Colosseum. Its official name is a homage to the Roman emperors of the Flavian dynasty who patronized its construction. Located in the centre of Rome, this amphitheatre is the largest of its kind built in the ancient times and is the largest such structure still standing. Built largely out of limestone, the amphitheatre could hold up to 80,000 spectators at a time.

In the medieval era, it was used mainly for entertainment purposes hosting events ranging from gladiatorial contests to enactments of dramas.