Seven Wonders

Seven Wonders

‘Seven Wonders’ Released.

Finally seventh July 2007 arrived and in a grand function held at Benfia Soccer Stadium at Lisbon, Portugal, the results were out marking the end of the hectic campaigns blowing in the cyber world for the last two years. Initially there were 200 nominations for this high status out of which 77 were selected by people which in turn got reduced 21. Finally on 7^th July Bernard Weber the Australian adventurer has released the list in a grand ceremony attended by celebrities like Hillary Swank, Bipasha Basu, Ben Kingsley as well as Portugal’s home-grown foot ball wizard Christiano Ronaldo. Shows by top artists like Jennifer Lopez, Jose Carreras, Dulce Pontes, Alessandro Saffina etc added color and glamour to the ceremony.

And The Winners of the New Seven Wonders of the World are !!!

Pyramids in Giza (there was no election as it was only surviving structure of the original Seven Wonders. Built 4500 years back these pyramids stands tall challenging the centuries which pass by. The tallest is 452 feet tall, the tomb of King Cheops nearby the limestone wonder statue of the Sphinx. As per the wish of the government of Egypt this structure was not nominated and it was given an honorary status. The names of the other seven winners are given below with brief descriptions.

Pyramids in Giza image courtsey: tourism-egypt.com.eg

1. Chichen Itza (at the mouth of the well of Itza) Pyramid Yucatan Peninsula Mexico was built in the 6^th century AD by the Mayans. It is a collage of various architectural styles happened due to cultural integration between different civilizations. Chichen Itza is Referred in the ancient chronicles as ‘Uucyabnal’ meaning Seven Great Rulers. The main structure is the Pyramid of the Kukulcan a step pyramid; its corners cast a shadow of a crawling serpent on the ground denoting fall and winter.

Chichen Itza image courtsey: wikipedia.org

2. The Great Wall of China. It is a massive 4150 miles long barricade built to block the invading armies of Huns, Mongols, Turks as well as numerous nomads who were engaged in looting and killing of people at random. It was built between 4^th and 7^th centuries and remains as the only structure that can be viewed from space.

Great Wall of China image courtsey: wikipedia.org

3. Taj Mahal Agra India was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan in the sixteenth century as mausoleum to his wife Mumtaz Mahal who died in her early age in a child-birth. It took 20,000 people about 16 years to complete the structure which involved extensive precision work. One of the best preserved Monument in India.

Taj Mahal image courtsey: wikipedia.org

4. Petra of Jordan located in an ancient city of Petra, Jordan built on a terrace in Wadi Musa (Valley of Mosses) was capital of Arab Kingdom of Nebastius. It had a promising past under the Romans who came after Nebastius in AD 106. Most of the structures as well as infra-structures like water tunnels are carved out of rock. The tomb of Ad dayer though incomplete its facade even served as a church to Christians who had to live there fearing repression.

Petra of Jordan image courtsey: wikipedia.org

5. The Coliseum of Italy. It was built in AD 80 is the forerunner in design of the modern stadium. Built by Emperor Titus for a 100 day long marathon game including the duel between gladiators, who had either to kill or die before the public spectators and there may be the emperor himself as the spectator. It was here Christians were thrown to hungry lions for their crime of embracing Christianity.

Coliseum of Italy image courtsey: kellogg.northwestern.edu

6. Machu Pichu of Peru represents a wonderful Incan culture that prevailed in South America around the 15^th century. Ruins of the giant walls, Palaces, temples, dwelling places are all there located at an altitude of 8000 feet above sea-level.

Machu Pichu of Peru image courtsey: wikipedia.org

7. Christ the Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro Brazil. A giant statue of Jesus Christ; standing straight (stretching his hands in the role of redeemer of souls) which is a 125 feet tall structure located on the Mount Covocado. This giant statue was built by Paul Landowski in 1926 and brought to Brazil to be assembled. The transportation of these heavy parts safely was a task which deserved equal merit as the construction, but all done successfully by building rail to the top of the mountain and carrying the parts using cog-wheels. The statue was opened on 1931.

Christ the Redeemer image courtsey: wikipedia.org

Seven is not eight!

There is a contradiction in selecting seven wonders other than Pyramids as the total number comes to eight. It would have been appropriate if six would have selected other than Pyramid of Giza as it is the only existing wonders of the original seven. Seven should have been kept as seven itself in 7 – 7 - 2007, Deferring to stretching to 8 – 8 – 2008!

Loss of wisdom!

The high profile canvassing via SMS also have made a balanced decision impossible, and number of structures lost the covetable status in the battle-cry. Kerala articles presented a list of 7 of which Taj Mahal alone emerged winner. The other six were Angkor Wat, Hagia Sofia, Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower, Neuschwanstein Castle and The Kremlin. All these were eligible but lost due to lack of back-support. It is said wisdom gets lost in the flood of knowledge and knowledge in turn gets lost in the flood of information. However the project could make some awareness in youth about the cultural heritage of the world so far so good.