IELTS Cue Card 14: A Historical Place

IELTS Speaking Cue Card with Sample Answer. Describe A Historical Place Cue Card. IELTS Speaking Part 2 With Model Answer.

Describe A Historical Place That You Know About.

You should say:

• what the place is
• where it is located
• what is the historical significance of the place
• and describe your experience of the place.

Tips for answering this cue card topic:

Model Answer 1:

An interesting historic place in my country is (…say a name of a historic place…). It is situated at (…area name…) in (…city/town name …). In my opinion, this is a very interesting historic place as it is almost two thousand years’ old and it was discovered in the middle of the last century. This was the centre of the (…say a civilisation name…) civilisation and was one of the most prominent cities of our country. More than several hundred feet had to be dug to discover it.

Now the place has been renovated to reflect the city it once been. There are more than hundred acres of places on this site and most of them are the remaining of the lost civilisation and city of that time. There are several old buildings, castles, fortress, monuments, rivers, canon, cryptic houses, under paths and sculptures are there. A museum was built as recently as 10 years ago for the visitors to learn more about this lost city and people. The museum is a really good one in terms of its collection and reflection of that civilisation.

To me, this was interesting because of the proof of advancement this civilisation had. I have read a lot about this civilisation and cultures of these people and visiting this place was a really good experience. The museum was very rich in terms of learning history. The city was more than 2 thousand years old and yet it has many amazing artworks, tools, intricate designs, buildings with amazing work, finest canon and many more proofs of their advancement. They had been a flourishing civilisation that dominated that part of the country. The idea of our civilisation being found by future generation was an interesting idea and this historic place just reminded me that. The museum, the fine airmanship and advancement of that civilisation are all amazing historic proof and interesting to explore.

 Model Answer 2: Historical Place (Golden Temple)

 India is a diverse country.
 It has a rich historical background.
 The place I am going to talk about here is the golden temple or Harimandir
Sahib or the temple of the god .
 It is a place of stupendous beauty and sublime peace.
 It is situated at Amritsar in Punjab.
 The sikhs all over the world daily wish to pay obeisence at Shri Harimandir
Sahib.
 Although the 4TH guru of Sikhs guru ram dal had the idea of this temple , but it
was made by the 5TH guru Guru Arjan Dev ji .
 It look 16 years (from 1588-1604)to complete this temple.
 The temple is surrounded by a large lake of water, known as the sarover which
consists of amrit (holy water or Immortal vector).
 There are 4 entrances to the temple which signifies openness and acceptance.
 People of all castes ,creed ,religion and sex are welcome here .
 However, everyone must cover their head as a mark of respect, remove their
shoes and wash feet in the small pool of water .
 People from all nooks and corners of the world flock to see the golden temple .
 I go there once a month to prostrate before the god.
 Whenever we have guests, then a visit to the golden temple is always on our
agenda.

Model Answer 3:

I have a special interest in visiting famous places and on my list historical places always get preferences. I have visited many historical places like Machu Picchu in Peru, The Pyramids at Giza, Taj Mahal, Parthenon in Greece and many more. The historical significance and the site attractions sometimes mesmerised me. The historical place that I would like to talk about today is Colosseum (also known as Coliseum, also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre) which is situated in Rome, Italy.   It is basically an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy which is the largest amphitheatre in the world and is made of concrete and stone. The construction of Colosseum began under emperor Vespasian in 70 AD and was completed under Titus in 80 AD.

The Colosseum could hold approximately 50,000 to 80,000 spectators and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles etc. The Colosseum was listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 and was also included among the New Seven Wonders of the World. It is 189 meters long, and 156 meters wide, with a base area of 6 acres .The height of the outer wall is 48 meters. The Colosseum nowadays is one of the major tourist attractions in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena.

I have heard and seen of this famous place a lot and when I witnessed it for the first time, I became speechless. The huge architect, the overwhelming interior and exterior decoration was beyond appreciation. The place kept reminding me the classical mythological and historical facts I have read and heard about.

Model Answer 4:

The Taj Mahal, located in Agra, India, is one of the wonders of the world and symbolises love of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to his wife Arjumand Banu Begum, commonly termed as Mumtaz Mahal. This is a unique building in the world that has gained attention from the global travellers and I went there in last year as a team member of German Cultural Affairs.

The Taj Mahal is, in fact, a tomb located on the south bank of Yamuna River in Agra in India. This is a mausoleum and has been made in remembrance of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal to make her memory immortal. The body of Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan lies under the large dome. This is the only historical building in India that has been placed on the list of Wonders of the World. The construction date is exactly not known but it is estimated that the construction began around 1600 century. The entire building is made of white marble. Besides, the structure took over 20 years to complete while 20,000 workers were involved with the construction. It is rumoured that the emperor had cut the hands of the workers who made the structure so that they cannot make another such building on the planet. Though the event is highly brutal, it shows the deep love and respect to his wife. One of the important factors about the building is that the colour of the building changes with the change of time in the day time and it looks best on a moonlit night.

The Taj Mahal is also considered as the Crown of Palaces for its huge dome and white marbles. It is a beautiful structure and looks pretty awesome for the construction style and exterior design. The entire complex is situated on around 42 acres of lands and bounded by walls on sides. The traditional Persian designs have been applied here in line with the Mughal architecture. The ideas of the structure have been derived from several Mughal structures and have been customised according to Shah Jahan’s will. Before the construction of the Taj Mahal, the Mughals used red sandstone on their structure while this was the exception from their traditional construction style. The entire building has been made of pure white marble and the tomb has been refined perfectly with precious stones that resemble the choice and preference of the emperor. The top dome is about 35 meters high and cylindrical. The central dome is accompanied with four smaller domes and those are placed at a corner of the roof. The main dome is frequently termed as onion dome for its shape and visually it is great to look at. The minarets are similar to those used in Mosques. So far it is known that the construction of the structure was done by 1643 and it costs over 30 million rupees.

The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, under the northern part of Uttar Pradesh state in India. The building is placed by the side of the Yamuna River. This is around 204 kilometres away from Delhi. This is also a World Heritage Site and has been selected in 1983 after the UNESCO declaration. Agra is an influential city in India and been playing a great role. The place has also been recognised in some of the Hindu scriptures and epics like Mahabharata. Besides, Agra was the capital of Mughal Empire in the medieval age and been ruled by several powerful emperors like Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan. The city is now one of the major tourist spots in India and the Taj Mahal is playing the leading role here. Despite being a crowded city the site for the Taj Mahal has been picked carefully and always calm and quiet. The location was also picked smartly for some strategic reasons and the most important thing was the view of the building from his palace – Agra Fort.

The Taj Mahal has been related to the Indian history immediately after its construction in the 16th century. This is considered as one of the Muslim art of India that has been globally recognised. Besides, during the construction process, a varied number of incidents took place which is also remarkable in terms of historical importance. Besides, the entire complex took 20 years to complete which is a rare incident. The most important historical fact is that the Taj Mahal was made when the Mughals were at the peak of their power and wealth. As a result, Shah Jahan has used precious stones and gems to decorate the tomb. After his death, the Mughal Empire started declining and could not stand back like the former days. To make the structure, artists, masons and other workers were recruited from different nations including India, Iran and Turkey. So, this is a great place of historical importance.

Similar IELTS Cue Card Topics

If you can talk about the cue card topic “Historical Place” you should be able to talk about the following IELTS cue card topics as well:

• 1.    Describe a historical place you have visited.
  2.    Describe a worth visiting tourist spot in your city.
  3.    Describe a famous spot in your country.
  4.    Describe an interesting place you have been to.