In the period of over more than 125 years from the beginning of the 19th century the creation of some of the world’s most remarkable adventures of engineering were identified. These are now popular as great wonders of the world explaining so much about human creativity and the determination of the human spirit as they create out of technological effort.
Ancient Seven Wonders:
The beginning for the idea of Seven Wonders of the World occurred earlier during Herodotus (484 BC – 425 BC) and Callimachus (305 BC – 240 BC). According to their analysis, Seven Wonders of the World included the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria. Among them, only the Great Pyramid of Giza still exists. The other six were ruined by earthquake, fire, or other causes. They were evolved from various ancient Greek lists.
Moreover in the middle age several lists for ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ had been created, but modern-medieval historians did not generate those lists, so they are not genuine or credible. In the modern age wonders of the world had been organized into various categories namely Modern Wonders, Natural Wonders, Underwater Wonders and Tourist Travel Wonders, which were again sub-divided into man-made travel wonders and natural travel-wonders. Then, the Wonders of the World were chosen according to the research and suggestions of scholars and historians.
New Seven Wonders of world:
The New 7 Wonders campaign was originated in 2000 by Swiss film producer, author and aviator Bernard Weber to choose the seven new wonders of the world through the global voting campaign. His foundation said it would donate 50 percent of net revenue from the project to global good causes for restoration and preservation of monuments. The organizers had said that the competition is not planned to replace the Ancient Seven Wonders, but rather to care for other historical landmarks and improve global cultural heritage awareness.
In the year 2001 a Swiss Corporation, New Open World Corporation started the process of selecting New Seven Wonders of the World. Finally on January 1, 2006 after studying and analyzing several criteria it announced 21 finalists from nearly 200 nominations from around the world. One among them, the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, an exclusive original Wonder of the Ancient World to survive, was designated as an honorary (celebratory) wonder. From the remaining 20, seven sites were selected by worldwide vote, through Internet and phone polling. Finally, on July 7, 2007 (7/07/07, a pretty special day) seven new wonders of the world were declared in a grand ceremony in Lisbon.
The final poll produced this list of the world’s top human-built wonders The Great Wall of China, Petra in Jordan, Brazil’s statue of Christ the Redeemer, Peru’s Machu Picchu, Mexico’s Chichen Itza pyramid, The Colosseum in Rome, India’s Taj Mahal. Online voting and SMS system were used for the first time to select New Seven Wonders of the World. Organizers said more than 90 million votes were casted for 21 sites.
But the new wonders campaign was not recognized universally. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) announced a statement saying it has “no link whatsoever” to the vote.
Related Readings:
Pyramids – A Wonder of Constructions
Ancient Wonders Are Also Miraculous
The Seven Wonders of the World
NASA Launches First Weather Mission Into Space
Stephen Hawking’s New Time Piece
Sun Takes a Nap