We just got a whole new set of 7 Wonders of the World.
This is a result of an online global election where people all over were invited to submit their sites or monuments of choice, and once finalised, invited to vote on it. This is the result.
I’m just wondering if this is necessary. I mean there were already 7 wonders of the world in place before this right? I grew up learning that the 7 wonders of the world were:
- The Pyramids in Egypt
- The Great wall of China
- Stonehenge in England
- The leaning tower of Pisa, Italy
- The Hanging gardens of Babylon (extinct)
- The Taj Mahal, India
- The Parthenon, Greece
Ok, so maybe the list was a tad jumbled up from the ancient and modern world. I would have loved to see the Wonders of the Ancient world though. Only the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt still remains from the ancient world so its do-able I guess.
Now, my question is:
Why aren’t the Pyramids of Egypt deserving of a place as one of the purported New 7 Wonders of the World?
Until today, no one can explain the pyramids - how they were built or how they got here. Is that not a wonder in itself? Or did they think that having the pyramids in the list is too trite. Pyramids are so last season dah-ling!
Honestly, I don’t think the Taj Mahal deserves to be on the list. The Taj Mahal was built as a symbol of love of a Sultan for his queen. It was not even completed in his lifetime, and in the process of building it, he put the architect to death so he would never build another. I don’t think that makes it a wonder of the world. Other than it being a white marble elephant, there isn’t much to wonder about it. Our Dayabumi might as well be on the list - white elephant that it is LOL…
Ditto the colloseum. Its impressive, I don’t deny it. When I visited it, my overactive imagination transported me back to the glory days of Rome when the colloseum was still in use - I could hear the roar of the crowd, the roar of the lions, the screams of the gladiators. I could smell the sweat in the arena and the sharp metallic smell of blood. But I don’t think its a wonder of the world.
In fact, looking for a representative of Italy, I would vote the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is testament to defiance of all laws. It has survived earthquakes and the law of gravity to keep standing till today ever since Galileo did his gravity experiments on it. Its a “wonder” its even standing at all!
Oh wait! I think I know why these sites are on the new 7 wonders of the world list. Hands up how many people now want to travel to see these sites? How many people have heard of Machu Picchu (no, not Pikachu) before this? How many have seen Petra outside of Indiana Jones?
Aha! Its a tourism thing! Its time to make Mexico, Jordan, Peru and Brazil sexy and attractive for travellers who want to tell their friends “I have sen the New 7 Wonders of the World!” Aha! I’ve broken the code.
Its ok, Egypt, I’ll still go and see your great Pyramids. For me, they will always be one of the Wonders of the World.
15 comments ↓
How about the stone heads on Easter Island? No one knows how they got there… but yeah, I agree with you that these picks aren’t impressive enough to be Wonders of the World.
Yeah, I agree. Quite a disappointing pick as candidates for the new seven wonders. Err, why new, when the old ones were just fine? Other than the Great Wall of China, all the rest - REJECT!!
Look, I think all this “new seven wonders” stuff is rubbish, but, really, the list you posted is far from being the original one (the pyramid of Giza, the statue of Zeus, the hanging gardens, the colossus of Rhodes, the lighthouse of Alexandria, the Artemis temple and the persian mausoleum of Halicarnassus; 6 of which exist no more).
About “How many people have heard of Machu Picchu (no, not Pikachu) before this?”, well people who actually read… and no, grabbing a novel from time to time is not reading.
Rinnah: Yep the Easter island heads should deserve a mention.
Tine: LOL yeah… Just doesn’t strike the fancy does it?
Victoria: I did not pick them and if you read my post properly, I did say my list was jumbled and I never said it was the original 7. Thank you for enlightening us and I did post a link to the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World out of which as you correctly pointed out, 6 no longer exist. As for Machu Picchu, maybe its familiar to you in the Latin American world, but to the rest of the world, it was only recently that it was popular. So, don’t judge and just lighten up yeah?
I would love to have seen Stonehenge make it to the wonders list, and I would have loved to visit it. It’s still a wonder how that structure became the way it is.
i think among the new 7 wonder of the world, the best i can see in person is the great wall of china. the others are too far and expensive to go to see them!
I vote for the Kop in Liverpool as the 8th wonder!
Does this list really matter? The UN agency that takes care of heritage sites has refused to be associated with it, so I guess it’s just a matter of making yourself feel good about your country’s stuff!
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I agree with you 100%.
I’m disappointed that Sydney’s Opera House isn’t there…
*cries buckets of crocodile tears*
Giddy Tiger: Stonehenge is awesome! Best seen on a cold blustery day to appreciate the mystery but on a hot summer’s day for comfort.
Leonard: Yep our closest is the Great Wall.
Cheesey: Apa tu Kop?! And notice we have nothing unless an abundance of white elephants count?
SA: Thank you I’m glad someone does
May: LOL… it was a shortlist no?
the Pyramids is the only remainder of the original (or old) 7 Wonders; so it is listed as a Special Honor wonder instead of among the 7 new wonders.
There is actually a long political story behind the decision…
Hope that explained your question.
And I wonder why AngKor Wat and Parthenon (Greece) didn’t make it.
It is the greatest disappointment for me that pyramids is not in wonders of the world even it wonders world most
I stilll think that pyramids should be in the wonders-they’re so ancient!