Melancong ke New York 6: Statue of Liberty

Sambung lagi (bila nak habis daaa)...  sesi Melancong ke New York.

Bot meneruskan perjalanan. Kali ni ke Statue Of Liberty.

Away we go...

The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States and is a universal symbol of freedom and democracy. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, designated as a National Monument in 1924 and restored for her centennial on July 4, 1986.

Tapi bot cuma lalu dekat je. Tak berlabuh. Kalau nak, kena naik bot lain dan ada extra fee. Tak mahal pun. Yang mahal ialah masa.

Ramai orang nak naik atas crown tu tapi kena reserve dan ada quota: Reservations to Visit the Crown are limited to 240 people per day.

Dan ada security screening. Tak tau le kot ada orang nak mengebom patung ni. Logik juga sebab ia adalah simbol US yang bermakna.

• Security Screening: Visitors to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island must pass through security screening (similar to airport security procedures) before boarding the ferry system and again before entering the monument. Visitors with Pedestal or Crown reservations must complete their second security screening before 3:30 PM. We encourage visitors with reservations to board a ferry before 1:00 PM.

Siapa yang mengukir?

Artist Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi, who was known for large-scale work, was commissioned to design this sculpture. Nothing happened for some time, but finally (in 1874) Bartholdi came to the United States to look for a location for his monument. He saw Bedloe's Island from his ship as he sailed into the New York Harbor, and realized it would be a perfect location - since here his statue would always have an audience.

The Statue was completed in France in July of 1884, then disassembled and shipped to the United States. She arrived in NY In June 1885.

"Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World", which is the full title of Bartholdi's work was fashioned in the style of Greco-Roman art. Bartholdi used a technique called repousse to create her copper skin - hammering out each piece of copper until it was only 3/32 of an inch thick.

Bartholdi recruited French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel to build a skeleton for his statue. Eiffel designed a massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal framework which allows the Statue's copper skin to move independently- yet stand upright. This flexibility is needed to allow the Statue to sway in the sometimes violent harbor winds.

Tapi sebenarnya patung ni tak lain dari berhala juga la ni. Islam melarang. Tengok kat US boleh la. Nak bina kat Malaysia - hopefully not.

Efek tragedi 9/11?

The tragedy of September 11, 2001 resulted in the closure of Liberty Island. The island re-opened after 100 days, however the Statue remained closed until August 3, 2004 when the pedestal level was opened for visitation. On July 4, 2009, the Crown of the Statue of Liberty was reopened to the public. Visitors must make a reservation to climb to the top of the Pedestal or to the Statue's Crown.

Bye!