The New Seven Wonders of the World
Today, on the 7th Day of the 7th Month of the [200]7th year, the new inductees to the Wonders of the World were revealed. These are the first to be inducted since the widely-regarded original seven ancient wonders. Those are:
In addition to Egypt's Great Pyramids of Giza, the seven wonders of the world as decided by a global contest are:
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Lighthouse of Alexandria
The Great Pryamid at Giza; the only ancient wonder to exist today.
Thankfully, this new list doesn't override the old one (otherwise Egypt would've felt totally screwed), but rather, supplements it.
Great Wall of China: The 4,160-mile barricade running from east to west is the longest man-made structure in the world. The fortification, which largely dates from the 7th through the 4th century B.C., was built to protect the various dynasties from invasion by the Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes.
Petra, Jordan: The ancient city of Petra in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around the Wadi Musa or Valley of Moses, was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans, a center of their caravan trade, and also continued to flourish under Roman rule after the Nabateans were defeated in A.D. 106. The city is famous for its water tunnels and numerous stone structures carved in the rock, the most impressive of which is probably Ad-Dayr, 'the Monastery,' an uncompleted tomb facade that served as a church during Byzantine times.
Statue of Christ Redeemer, Brazil: The 125-foot statue of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro on Brazil's Atlantic coast from atop Mt. Corcovado (the "Hunchback"). Created by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski, the statue weighing more than 1,000 tons was built in pieces in France starting in 1926 and shipped to Brazil. The pieces were carried by cogwheel railway up the 2,343-foot mountain for assembly. The statue was inaugurated on Oct. 12, 1931.
Machu Picchu, Peru: Built by the Incan Empire in the 15th century, the giant walls, palaces, temples and dwellings of the Machu Picchu sanctuary are perched in the clouds at 8,000 feet above sea level on an Andean mountaintop overlooking a lush valley 310 miles southeast of Lima. It remains a mystery how the huge stones were moved into place for the construction of the remote city.
.jpg)
Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico: This step pyramid surmounted by a temple survives from a sacred site that was part of one of the greatest Mayan centers of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Built according to the solar calendar, it is placed so that shadows cast at the fall and spring equinoxes are said to look like a snake crawling down the steps, similar to the carved serpent at the top. An older pyramid inside features a jade-studded, red jaguar throne.
Colosseum, Italy: The giant amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in A.D. 80 by the Emperor Titus in a ceremony of games lasting 100 days. The 50,000-seat Colosseum, which has influenced the design of modern sports stadiums, was an arena where thousands of gladiators dueled to the death, and, as tradition would have it, Christians were fed to the lions.
Taj Mahal, India: The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. The complex-an outstanding example of Mughal architecture combining Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles-houses the graves of the emperor and his wife, as well as those of lesser Mogul royalty.
I was very pleased to see that with one exception (Christ the Redeemer), all of the new inductees were either ancient or at least hundreds of years old. I think I may have chosen the statues on Easter Island - or the Acropolis in Athens - in the place of ol' Jesus for this vote, but apart from that, all my choices were selected. I'm pretty pumped; I know kangaroop is pretty pumped about Chichen Itza being there. Hell, so am I; I've actually been there. :)
Here's the rest of the short-listed nominees that didn't make the final cut; anything in bold is another choice I would have been very pleased with.
1) Acropolis of Athens
2) Alhambra
3) Angkor Wat
4) Easter Island Moais
5) Eiffel Tower
6) Hagia Sophia
7) Kiyomizu Temple
8) Kremlin, Red Square, Saint Basil's Cathedral
9) Neuschwanstein Castle
10) Statue of Liberty
11) Stonehenge
12) Sydney Opera House
13) Timbuktu
14) Great Pyramids of Giza (the automatically retain their title)
In addition to Egypt's Great Pyramids of Giza, the seven wonders of the world as decided by a global contest are:
Thankfully, this new list doesn't override the old one (otherwise Egypt would've felt totally screwed), but rather, supplements it.
Great Wall of China: The 4,160-mile barricade running from east to west is the longest man-made structure in the world. The fortification, which largely dates from the 7th through the 4th century B.C., was built to protect the various dynasties from invasion by the Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes.
Petra, Jordan: The ancient city of Petra in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around the Wadi Musa or Valley of Moses, was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans, a center of their caravan trade, and also continued to flourish under Roman rule after the Nabateans were defeated in A.D. 106. The city is famous for its water tunnels and numerous stone structures carved in the rock, the most impressive of which is probably Ad-Dayr, 'the Monastery,' an uncompleted tomb facade that served as a church during Byzantine times.
Statue of Christ Redeemer, Brazil: The 125-foot statue of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro on Brazil's Atlantic coast from atop Mt. Corcovado (the "Hunchback"). Created by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski, the statue weighing more than 1,000 tons was built in pieces in France starting in 1926 and shipped to Brazil. The pieces were carried by cogwheel railway up the 2,343-foot mountain for assembly. The statue was inaugurated on Oct. 12, 1931.
Machu Picchu, Peru: Built by the Incan Empire in the 15th century, the giant walls, palaces, temples and dwellings of the Machu Picchu sanctuary are perched in the clouds at 8,000 feet above sea level on an Andean mountaintop overlooking a lush valley 310 miles southeast of Lima. It remains a mystery how the huge stones were moved into place for the construction of the remote city.
Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico: This step pyramid surmounted by a temple survives from a sacred site that was part of one of the greatest Mayan centers of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. Built according to the solar calendar, it is placed so that shadows cast at the fall and spring equinoxes are said to look like a snake crawling down the steps, similar to the carved serpent at the top. An older pyramid inside features a jade-studded, red jaguar throne.
Colosseum, Italy: The giant amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in A.D. 80 by the Emperor Titus in a ceremony of games lasting 100 days. The 50,000-seat Colosseum, which has influenced the design of modern sports stadiums, was an arena where thousands of gladiators dueled to the death, and, as tradition would have it, Christians were fed to the lions.
Taj Mahal, India: The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. The complex-an outstanding example of Mughal architecture combining Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles-houses the graves of the emperor and his wife, as well as those of lesser Mogul royalty.
I was very pleased to see that with one exception (Christ the Redeemer), all of the new inductees were either ancient or at least hundreds of years old. I think I may have chosen the statues on Easter Island - or the Acropolis in Athens - in the place of ol' Jesus for this vote, but apart from that, all my choices were selected. I'm pretty pumped; I know kangaroop is pretty pumped about Chichen Itza being there. Hell, so am I; I've actually been there. :)
Here's the rest of the short-listed nominees that didn't make the final cut; anything in bold is another choice I would have been very pleased with.
1) Acropolis of Athens
2) Alhambra
3) Angkor Wat
4) Easter Island Moais
5) Eiffel Tower
6) Hagia Sophia
7) Kiyomizu Temple
8) Kremlin, Red Square, Saint Basil's Cathedral
9) Neuschwanstein Castle
10) Statue of Liberty
11) Stonehenge
12) Sydney Opera House
13) Timbuktu
14) Great Pyramids of Giza (the automatically retain their title)