The Daily Mail has published a list of the World’s Top 12 Most Breathtaking yet Bizarre roundabouts and Karachi’s Chaar Minaar (a replica mosque of the Chaar Minaar) Chowrangi at Main Bahadurabad has made it to the list as well.
Roundabouts are mainly a very technical and functional feature which form an integral part of a city’s transportation system.
However, sometimes architects go overboard and beautify and add such an aesthetic to the roundabouts that they become an important, symbolic landmark of the cities.
This exclusive list, compiled annually, is by the UK-based Roundabout Appreciation society and it has been drawn from inspirational road junctions across the globe that are reflective of culture and a diverse heritage.
At the top of the list is the Railway Roundabout in Hobart, Austrailia which features a glorious color-shifting fountain and a beautiful garden. Originally this roundabout was built in order to be placed at the city’s main railway station.
The second roundabout to the list is a roundabout located in Morbier, France. This is the Giant Cheese and Grandfather Clock Roundabout. It features a giant wooden carving of Morbier cheese which is a local delicacy and the clock is made out of plants and looks very appealing.
The third in the list is a Duck Pond Roundabout in Otford, Kent, UK. The pond located at this roundabout is said to be dating back to the Anglo-Saxon times. The roundabout is also termed as the Duckingham Palace. This is the only UK-based roundabout which made it to the cut, despite the fact that this society is from the Great Britain.
Read More:
The Sixth position in the list is bagged by our very own Karachi’s Mosque Replica roundabout located in Bahadurabad. Surrounded by the busy marketplaces and local restaurants, this is a very familiar site for the residents of the Pakistani Metropolis.
Some of the unique roundabouts included in the list included a flower and fountain roundabout located in Indiana USA, a roundabout that features swimming dolphins located in Portugal, another that has dancing dolphins which are in Thailand and a Mexican roundabout boasts the Angel of Independence placed on top of an 118 ft. column.
View the complete list here:
TOP 12 ROUNDABOUTS OF THE WORLD 2015
- Railway Roundabout in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia – features a colour-changing space-age fountain.
- Morbier giant cheese and grandfather clock roundabout in France
- Duck pond roundabout in Otford, Kent, UK – a roundabout with a listed duck pond in the centre. This residence is known as Duckingham Palace.
- Chavez roundabout in Managua, Venzuela – image of former president Hugo Rafael Chavez and curly whirly trees
- Angel of Independence roundabout in Mexico City – has an 118ft victory column in the centre
- Mosque roundabout in Karachi, Pakistan – features a replica mosque in the middle
- Dancing dolphin roundabout in Pataya, Thailand – dolphins dance in the fountain and red and green flowers encircle the roundabout
- Sculpture roundabout in Switzerland – an entwined sculpture on a grassy mound in the mountains
- Flower and fountain roundabout in Indiana, USA – a double kerber roundabout with ornate fountain and flowers
- Swimming dolphins in Algarve, Portugal
- Sekigata roundabout in Shizuoka, Japan – one of the few in the country
- Pearl roundabout in Manama, Bahrain – the pearl structure consists of six supports holding a giant pearl. The six supports represented the Gulf Co-operation Council’s six member nations, while the pearl symbolizes their synchronized heritage and famous history of pearl cultivation.
