In the Game of Thrones books, Tyrion Lannister is a fan of Lomas Longstrider – an adventurer
who travelled [round] the world.
Lomas wrote books about the wonders he saw – and named nine wonders made by man . They
include the Wall in the north, the Titan of Braavos , the bells of Norvos, the Bridge
of Volantis, the roads of Valyria, the Palace of Sarnath and the walls of Qarth.
That’s seven wonders, so there should be two more – and fans have speculated on what
they could be.
So what are the wonders of the world of Game of Thrones?
The Wall is huge wall of ice that divides the kingdoms of Westeros from the wildlings
in the north.
Author George Martin says this was inspired by Hadrian’s Wall, which divided Roman Britain
from the Scots in the north – in fact George pretty much copied the map.
But Hadrian’s Wall was only seventy miles long – Martin’s wall is three hundred
miles long , and up to seven hundred feet tall , which is half an Empire State , or
two Big Bens , or over a hundred Hodors tall . According to legend, the Wall was built
thousands of years ago by humans and giants and the children of the forest , to keep out
the white walkers . But some fans believe that the Wall was built by the walkers, maybe
part of an agreement with the humans.
So the Wall is ancient and magic and mysterious – Melisandre says it’s “one of the hinges
of the world” . She says “If the Wall falls”, there’ll be a “night that never
ends” . And in Season 7 of the show, the Wall falls.
In the books, the Wall still stands, but there is this magic horn with the power to “break”
the Wall – go watch that video . The next wonder is the Titan of Braavos.
The Titan is a “fortress” “in the shape of a warrior”, who stands across the entrance
to Braavos . He’s carved of stone, with bronze armor, and long hair made of green
ropes . The Titan’s eyes blaze with fires to light the way for incoming ships – and
to intimidate invaders.
Inside the Titan are rooms with arrow-slits – defenders can drop stones, and burning
pitch.
It’s said that if Braavos is attacked, the Titan will come to life, wade out to sea,
and smash his enemies – but for hundreds of years, no invader has been brave enough
to attack . The Titan makes a loud roaring sound every sunrise and sunset , and people
keep track of time by its roar . Each year, Braavos has a festival where everyone wears
masks, and at midnight, the Titan roars and everyone takes off their masks together – the
Titan is a symbol of pride for the people of Braavos.
The Titan might be inspired by the Colossus of Rhodes, a statue who guarded the Greek
island thousands of years ago . Next are the bells of Norvos.
Norvos is an eastern city known for its bears and axes . It’s ruled by the bearded priests,
a sect so mysterious that even the name of their god is secret . But their religion runs
the city – with these three bells.
Their ringing tells the Norvosi when to wake, when to sleep, to work rest and pray, and
even when to have sex.
The bells are named Noom, Narrah, and Nyel, each with its own distinct voice . Areo Hotah
is from Norvos, and his memories of the bells remind him of home . The bells of Norvos sounding
the time to pray might be inspired by Islamic and Christian calls to prayer .
The next wonder is the roads of Valyria.
Valyria was an empire of the ancient dragonlords.
They ruled a huge chunk of the world , and bound it together with sorcery and technology.
They used dragonflame to melt and fuse stone, shaping it into structures stronger than steel
. And with this dragon-stone, they built a network of long, straight roads, from Valyria
to Volantis to Meereen.
This helped transport trade and armies – extending the dragonlords’ reach.
Four hundred years ago, Valyria was destroyed in an apocalyptic Doom.
The dragonlords died, and their cities collapsed.
But their roads remain – unmarred and unchanged, four centuries later . It’s like how some
roads of ancient Rome remain today.
Next is the Long Bridge of Volantis.
Volantis was founded by the Valyrians as a military outpost on the river Rhoyne . It
grew into a town on the east bank – while on the west bank, a “shadow city” grew,
attracting criminals and vice . It was difficult to cross between these two halves of Volantis,
so the city was united with the Long Bridge.
It took forty years and millions of honors, but they constructed the biggest bridge in
the world – said to be able to hold a thousand elephants . There are buildings on the bridge
– shops, temples, taverns and brothels.
They’re stacked three or four stories tall, leaning inwards, so crossing the bridge feels
like going through a tunnel . It’s said you “can buy most anything on the Long Bridge”
– from gloves to monkeys to slaves . The Long Bridge in the show is based on a real
Roman bridge in Spain.
In the grasslands of Essos, there was once a kingdom called Sarnor, whose “gleaming
cities were strewn across the grasslands like jewels across … green velvet” . The “greatest
of these cities was Sarnath”, “where the High King dwelt” in a fabled “Palace With
a Thousand Rooms” . We don’t know anything about this Palace, but eventually Sarnath
was destroyed by the Dothraki – the Palace was burned , and Sarnath renamed the “City
of Worms”.
Hundreds of years later, in Book 1, Daenerys passes its ruins on her way through the Dothraki
Sea . In Book 2, Daenerys visits Qarth.
It’s a “city of splendors” , with colourful buildings, fountains and towers, and archways
decorated with gems . But the wonder of Qarth is its triple walls – the three layers of
walls that encircle the city.
The outer wall is red sandstone, decorated with carvings of animals – snakes, elephants,
wolves and zorses.
The middle walls are grey granite, carved with scenes of war – clashing swords, heroes
at battle, pyres of the dead.
And the inner wall is black marble, carved with scenes of sex that make Dany blush . These
triple walls protected Qarth from the Sarnori and Dothraki – leaving Qarth the last surviving
city of the Qaathi people . So these are the seven known wonders – but
Lomas Longstrider listed nine.
Fans have speculated on what his other two could be.
The Hightower in Oldtown is “the tallest structure in the Seven Kingdoms” – even
taller than the Wall . It’s a lighthouse to guide ships into port, but it’s also
a castle, home to House Hightower.
The Hightower is mysterious cause it’s built on top of an ancient fortress of strange black
stone so old that no one knows who built it . The stone seems fused like dragonstone , but
the style of the building doesn’t seem Valyrian . So some maesters say it was built by the
mazemakers of Lorath , or by the Lovecraftian Deep Ones . Or maybe it was the Great Empire
of the Dawn.
Whatever its strange origins, the Hightower is impressive, and could be one of Lomas’
wonders.
The Hightower’s inspired by the Lighthouse of Alexandria – but George made it twice
as tall . Another possible wonder is the Great Pyramid
of Ghis.
Ghis was an ancient slave city.
And their Great Pyramid was “colossal” – thirty-three levels high, with red marble
halls inside.
Five thousand years ago, Valyria conquered Ghis, and burned their city, leaving the Pyramid
in ruins.
But descendants of Ghis founded the cities of Slaver’s Bay – and the Great Pyramid
of Meereen was built as an “echo” of the Pyramid of Ghis.
So five thousand years after the fall of Ghis, Daenerys still struggles to erase its legacy
of slavery.
Lomas Longstrider did visit the ruined Pyramid in Ghis , so maybe it’s one of his wonders.
Another possibility is the cities of Yi Ti.
Yi Ti is a great empire inspired by China . Lomas visited Yi Ti, and was “awestruck
by its marvels” . He said its cities are far larger and more magnificent than any in
Westeros – that “Even their ruins” put Westerosi cities “to shame” . The current
emperor of Yi Ti lives in a palace that’s even bigger than all of King’s Landing – so
that might be one of Lomas’s wonders.
Finally, beyond Yi Ti, are the Five Forts.
These mysterious, ancient fortresses are described as “godlike” and “demonic”.
Each Fort “is large enough to house ten thousand men”, and “their massive walls
stand almost a thousand feet high” – all built of fused black dragonstone.
We don’t know if Lomas made it this far east.
But if he saw the Forts, he must have thought them wonderous – or “monstrous”.
So these are the wonders of the world of Game of Thrones.
Author George Martin basically nicked them from the real world – took Hadrian’s Wall
and Rhodes’ Colossus and Alexandria’s Lighthouse and just made’m bigger and bit
magic.
So this shows not only of the wonders of Game of Thrones – but it’s a reminder of the
wonders of our own world.
Thanks to the artists for their work in this video.
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