Okay… I have to admit that when I first read about this, I took a bit of the “Who cares” stance. But, apparently, there is an international initiative to select Seven New Wonders of the World. Not new as in recently constructed, but new as in newly deemed “wonder-worthy”. This is where my ignorance comes into play… I didn’t realise that most the original ancient seven wonders of the world no longer exist. They were…
- the Temple of Artemis;
- the Hanging Gardens of Babylon;
- the Colossus of Rhodes;
- the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus;
- the Lighthouse at Alexandria;
- the Pyramids at Giza; and
- the Statue of Zeus.
Of these, only the ancient Pyramids at Giza are still in the game.
According to documentation on the official vote-for-the-new-seven website, www.new7wonders.com, the original seven were all man-made monuments, selected by one man, Philon of Byzantium in 200 BC, and therefore all from the pre 200 BC eras. All seven wonders were apparently within travelling distance of the Mediterranean Sea covering, literally, the whole world as the people of his place and time knew it.
Now, instead of one man determining what the worlds seven wonder should be, a team of people (primarily historians and architects, I think) origianlly considered over 200 possible new man-made wonders that they have managed to widdle down to a fierce 21 potential candidates. Any and all structures/monuments pre-2000 AD were considered, including our dear ol’ pyramids.
The potential candidates for the New Seven Wonders of the World are…
- The Acropolis;
- Alhambra;
- Angkor;
- Chichen Itzá;
- Christ Redeemer;
- The Colosseum;
- Easter Island;
- Eiffel Tower;
- Great Wall of China;
- Hagia Sophia;
- Kiyomizu Temple;
- Kremlin;
- Machu Picchu;
- Neuschwanstein Castle;
- Petra;
- Pyramids of Giza;
- Statue of Liberty;
- Stonehenge;
- Sydney Opera House;
- Taj Mahal; and
- Timbuktu.
Now, I’m not going to pretend to think I’m the right person to be deciding something of this magnitude (semicolon) however (comma) in the spirit of the reality TV shows of the world… we the viewers get to vote. That’s right we can all go to www.new7wonders.com and vote for seven that we feel ought to be honoured. I’m not sure why the Pyramids are included included in the selection process… this whole thing should be called “Okay, So We Have One of the Original Seven Wonders Still in Existence… Help Us Pick the Other Six. Thanks.”
So, after all that, for what it’s worth, here are steelie’s picks for the Seven New Wonders of the World:
- Pyramids of Giza (big surprise);
- Easter Island;
- the Great Wall of China;
- the Acropolis of Greece;
- the Roman Colosseum;
- Petra, Jordan; and
- Stonehenge.
The final New Seven, will be revealed on the seventh day, of the seventh month, of the seventh year, of second millenium (wait a sec… seventh… seventh… seventh… second… AH CRAP). Okay never mind… they will be announced on July 7, 2007. Which, also happens to be the day (Muggles rejoice) that next installment of the Harry Potter movies comes out… which, oddly, has a storyline closely tied to… THE NUMBER SEVEN!
Okay… new seven:
Pyramids of Giza (big surprise);Hogwarts;- Easter Island;
- the Great Wall of China;
- the Acropolis of Greece;
- the Roman Colosseum;
- Petra, Jordan; and
- Stonehenge.
There. That’s better.
—
steelie