The towering inferno

Intrigue, murder, mystery, swords, muskets, cannons and royal splendour -- no, we're not talking about the The Sword of Tipu Sultan', we're...

Intrigue, murder, mystery, swords, muskets, cannons and royal splendour 8212; no, we8217;re not talking about the The Sword of Tipu Sultan8217;, we8217;re talking about the famous, or should I say infamous, Tower of London. Famous for its medieval history, having been the residence, storehouse, armoury and prison to many a British monarch, and for its current exhibition of the Crown Jewels and infamous for its bloody history, rife with executions, murders and plots, the Tower of London is a totally enthralling experience, not likely to be forgotten for a very long time by any visitor. The fortress with its exhibits on weapons of war used in the 17th and 18th centuries, the fabulous collection of jewels that comprise the Crown Jewels, its legends and the aura of mystery and splendour that shrouds it, was the monument that I enjoyed the most during our seven-day stay in London.

Although it would be impossible to put down on paper every last detail of our trip, I shall endeavour to present a brief outline of my visitto the Tower of London.

The Tower is probably one of the only places in the world where one can see working symbols of a bygone era 8212; the guards. The Yeoman Wardens 8212; nicknamed the quot;Beefeatersquot; were the caretakers and the guards of the Tower of London as well as the reigning British monarch centuries ago. Amazingly, they still are!!

At first glance, the large number of ravens in the fortress courtyard gave one the impression that some careless tourist has littered food around for these scavengers to pick up but, herein lies another bit of history! One of the British monarchs was told that the departure of the ravens from the Tower of London would signify the end of the British monarchy! He had a very simple solution: have ravens bred within the fortress, thus ensuring that there will always be a few in the Tower of London.

The Tower has a more gruesome and cold-blooded side as well 8212; excavations in the chapel on the grounds of the fortress revealed as many as 2,500 bodies thrown over each other. Thefortress was the site of the executions of people like Queen Anne Boleyn, Lady Jane Grey, Katherine Howard and Lord Hastings.

The Tower of London has captured my imagination and has left me with the thought that history would pass unnoticed if our forefathers did not bequeath monuments to generations that followed.

The Tower of London is not the only monument that we saw during our stay in London. We visited world famous, awe-inspiring places such as Buckingham Palace, Madame Tussaud8217;s, Westminster Abbey, The Royal Observatory, The Planetarium, Lord8217;s Cricket Ground, The Victoria and Albert Hall, The Thames Barrier and The Museum of Moving Image.

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London with its sights, sounds and people has left a lasting impression on me 8212; an impression that will not be wiped out for a life time.