New 7 wonders of the World.......

[deemabrouk 0]

Hmm... this is interesting...

http://www.new7wonders.com/

http://www.new7wonders.com/index.php?id=426

LISBON, Portugal - The Great Wall of China, Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal and three architectural marvels from Latin America were among the new seven wonders of the world chosen in a global poll released on Saturday.

Jordan's Petra was the seventh winner. Peru's Machu Picchu, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid also made the cut.

About 100 million votes were cast by the Internet and cellphone text messages, said New7Wonders, the nonprofit organization that conducted the poll.

The seven beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.

The pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, were assured of retaining their status in addition to the new seven after indignant Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace they had to compete.

The campaign to name new wonders was launched in 1999 by the Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. Almost 200 nominations came in, and the list was narrowed to the 21 most-voted by the start of 2006. Organizers admit there was no foolproof way to prevent people from voting more than once for their favorite.

A Peruvian in national costume held up Macchu Piccu's award to the sky and bowed to the crowd with his hands clasped, eliciting one of the biggest cheers from the audience of 50,000 people at a soccer stadium in Portugal's capital, Lisbon.

Many jeered when the Statue of Liberty was announced as one of the candidates. Portugal was widely opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

Another Swiss adventurer, Bertrand Piccard, pilot of the first hot-air balloon to fly nonstop around the world, announced one of the winners — then launched into an appeal for people to combat climate change and stand up for human rights before being ushered off the stage.

The Colosseum, the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and Petra had been among the leading candidates since January, while the Statue of Christ Redeemer received a surge in votes more recently.

The Statue of Liberty and Australia's Sydney Opera House were near the bottom of the list from the start.

Also among the losing candidates were Cambodia's Angkor, Spain's Alhambra, Turkey's Hagia Sophia, Japan's Kiyomizu Temple, Russia's Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, Britain's Stonehenge and Mali's Timbuktu.

Weber's Switzerland-based foundation aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, keeps a list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 851 monument. But the agency was not involved in Weber's project.

The traditional seven wonders were concentrated in the Mediterranean and Middle East. That list was derived from lists of marvels compiled by ancient Greek observers, the best known being Antipater of Sidon, a writer in the 2nd century B.C.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria have all vanished.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070707/ap_on_...w_seven_wonders

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

i want my pyramids back on the list!!!

[Jamie76 0]

How did Super Wal-Mart miss the list??? B)

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

How did Super Wal-Mart miss the list??? B)

LOL.

[Cassie 8]

Personally, for me, Easter Island and Stonehenge inspire more "wonder" in me than some of the "winners" on the list.

[Marilyn. 340]

Personally, for me, Easter Island and Stonehenge inspire more "wonder" in me than some of the "winners" on the list.

yeah, me too... we know how most of those things on the list were built etc... no one really has any idea where the stone hedge or the statues on Easter Island came from....

[Cassie 8]

Personally, for me, Easter Island and Stonehenge inspire more "wonder" in me than some of the "winners" on the list.

yeah, me too... we know how most of those things on the list were built etc... no one really has any idea where the stone hedge or the statues on Easter Island came from....

exactly!

[Ladylethal 12]

All I know is that I voted for Cristo, for obvious reasons, but I voted pretty much 'cus I am brazilian, and I am from Rio. Most of the others I voted for made the list as well.

[Aymerlu 3]

i want my pyramids back on the list!!!

Were you disappointed with the pyramids and how they don't really take care of them? All my life I was infatuated with them and when I finally got to see them up close I wanted to cry. It was just sooooo dirty there. I think if they cleaned them up it would make a world of difference.

[~Jackie~ 30]

Go Jordan! Mabrook!

[~PalmTreeGurl~ 154]

i didnt even go into the pyramids or too close to them... i just saw them from the bus in the distance... so i didnt see all the trash and grafitti around it ...

cairo was sooo hot and we spent the day running around looking for the US embassy... the next time i went back to cairo was to go home

[jodee 30]

The pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, were assured of retaining their status in addition to the new seven after indignant Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace they had to compete.

Uuumm..the Pyramids didnt have to compete. They are the sole surviving original 'wonder of the World'. The ones just voted for are the NEW 7 wonders.

Edited July 8, 2007 by jodee

[aya*abouelnasr 0]

Yay Petra!

[sereia 0]

the pyramids are full of trash and graffiti. it was really sad to see. see the MENA pictures post for a photo i took of the trash near the giza pyramids.

also INSIDE the pyramids (not sure about the giza pyramids, didn't go in there) but in other pyramids i went inside smelled overwhelmingly like pee!!!! *barf*!!!

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

Personally, for me, Easter Island and Stonehenge inspire more "wonder" in me than some of the "winners" on the list.

yeah, me too... we know how most of those things on the list were built etc... no one really has any idea where the stone hedge or the statues on Easter Island came from....

I absolutely agree with you. I was just saying the same thing in another conversation. Things like the Christ the Redeemer statue, the Eiffel Tower, the Kremlin, even the Taj Mahal -- these are all very very beautiful, certainly impressive and well deserving of their fame. But to me, they're not really "wonders" -- the technology used to build them was well known at the time, and there is no mystery as to "why" they were built.

Ah well.... as I said earlier, the people have spoken.