World Wonders- In Brief
Lists of World Wonders have existed as far back at 484 BCE and were called not ‘Wonders' but by the Greek word "thaumata", or "things to be seen". Each World Wonder is based on man's most remarkable creations, the original listing included the classical antiquities, but the more recent listings include many other amazing man made creations. Each lists contains seven locations. They Greeks used the number seven because they believed that this number represented perfection and plenty.
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was the first of many lists that have been created over the centuries. Included in the original listings that historians still know about today are the Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, the Ishtar Gat (later replaced in the list by the Lighthouse of Alexandria). Only the Pyramid of Giza still stands today. By the time the list was officially compiled in the Middle Ages, many of the sites were no longer in existence. As one can also see, these Ancient World Wonders were all located in the Mediterranean rim.
Later came the Wonders of the Medieval World, which span a much larger area of the world and includes Stonehenge, the Colosseum, the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, the Great Wall of China, Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, Hagia Sophia and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Some others that have been added to this list include the Taj Mahal, Caira Citadel, Ely Cathedral and the Cluny Abbey.
In terms of the new Modern Wonders of the World, there are a few listings. The two most famous are those composed by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the second by the New 7 Wonders Foundation. The American Society of Civil Engineers has listed the Channel Tunnel, the CN Tower, the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Itaipu Dam, the Delta Works/Zuiderzee Works and the Panama Canal.
The New 7 Wonders Foundation stated an initiative to select from nearly 200 existing monuments that were for profit. With 21 finalists in 2006, the list was completed in 2007 and included: the Great Wall of China, Petra, Christ the Redeemer, Machu Picchu, Chichen Itza, the Roman Colosseum, Taj Mahal and the Honorary Candidate, the Great Pyramid of Giza. Other large organizations such as USA Today have created their own lists with judges and viewer voting.
In November of 2006, the created their own list consisting of Potala Palace, the Old City of Jerusalem, the Polar Ice Caps, Papahanaumokauakea Marine National monument, the Internet, Maya Ruins, Great Migration of Serengeti and Masai Mara and the viewers choice award, the Grand Canyon.
CNN created a highly debated list of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. This list includes the Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro, Mount Everest, Aurora, Paricutin Volcano and Victoria Falls. The organization Seven Natural Wonders, is a non profit organization created to preserve these established natural wonders. CEDAM International also created the Seven Wonders of the Underwater World dedicated to preservation and research. Listed you will find Palau, Belize Barrier Reef, Great Barrier Reef, Deep-Sea Vents, Galapagos Islands, Lake Baikal and the Northern Red Sea.
These are only the largest of lists, as in the past, these lists have been debated, sometimes changed, or challenged by new lists. You can also find lists of Industrial Wonders, Travel Wonders, Natural Travel Wonders- and even Wonders per country! One can only hope that they can travel to a small fraction of these ever expanding listings.
Danielle Lane - About the Author:
This guide to World Wonders and Peru vacations was written by a Peru travel expert at Peru For Less, specialists in high value, fully customizable tours and packages.
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives
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