New Seven Wonders of the World?

[Earniel]

There has been a lenghty campaign to choose seven new wonders of the world. The old wonders being mainly European, slightly outdated and some slightly no longer existant. I have to say I kind of like the idea of choosing new ones.

You can see the competition and 'finalists' at this website: new 7 wonders People can even vote on line for the monument of their choice.

So which would be your personal choice of World Wonders?

Feel free to discuss choices or give your reasons for picking a specific monument.

These would be mine:
1. Machu Picchu, Peru
2. Piramids of Gizeh, Egypt
3. Aragghiu, Corsica (Pretty much no one knows this site, or finds any importance in it. It's a late bronze-age settlement, or what's left of it. But I have never seen a site that managed to impress me so.)
4. Petra, Jordan
5. Angkor, Cambodia
6. Great Wall, China
7. Atomium, Belgium (heck, if the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty can get nominated, why not this? )

[hectorberlioz]

* Ahem* let's see some picture links for visual proof... , especiall if you're going to nominate Belgium

[Earniel]

Well then, go here for one of my photos of Aragghiu. And go here if you want to see the Atomium. Considering both the Atomium and the Eiffel Tower were built as features for the World Expo, and now are pretty much the symbol of both their home cities, Brussels and Paris, I don't see why the Eiffel Tower only should get nominated. Really how can you not like a giant iron crystal?

Why don't you give your favourites, Hector? (And I'm quite sure you'll be pleased to see the Opera Building of Sydney ranking among the last nominees on that site.)

[hectorberlioz]

Speaking of the Sydney Opera House...why have I never heard of any opera recordings done there? Is it famous ONLY for the architecture? Maybe the singers have thick accents for Wagner operas?

Hmmm...nominating the Mammoth Caves would be pretty fair I guess...

[Nurvingiel]

I would like to nominate bicycles.


What?


I'm kidding. The Mammoth caves look like they should be a World Heritage Site, along with Trollveggen, if it isn't already.


I agree with your list Eärniel, I mean, why not? It's impossible to think of only seven wonderous human contructions.

Also, what were the old wonders?

[hectorberlioz]

Pillars of Hercules...

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

Hmmm...nominating the Mammoth Caves would be pretty fair I guess...

They look awesome, but they're not exactly man-made, are they? Same with the Trollveggen. (although I must say I love the name and its meaning.)

But you remind me I have overlooked a particular sort of man-made wonder: La grotte Chauvet. (Although Altamira and Lascaux put up a tough competition) It'd probably replace Aragghiu on my list.

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by Eärniel

They look awesome, but they're not exactly man-made, are they? Same with the Trollveggen. (although I must say I love the name and its meaning.)

But you remind me I have overlooked a particular sort of man-made wonder: La grotte Chauvet. (Although Altamira and Lascaux put up a tough competition) It'd probably replace Aragghiu on my list.

Well King Kong is the Eighth Wonder of the World, and he isn't man-made is he?

[Earniel]

I suppose if this was about the World Wonders of the Natural World they'd fit right in. But the Seven Wonders of the World always have dealt with man-made monuments. (remember, the Colossus of Rhodos, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Lighthouse of Alexandria ect...) I'm sorry if I did not make the distinction clear earlier.

[Falagar]

Of the finalists I've only been to Castle Neuschwanstein and Colosseum, and of the two I think Neuschwanstein was the most beautiful by far.

Picking only seven...I'd think I go for:

Castle Neuschwanstein
Machu Pichu
Taj Mahal
Great Wall of China
Pyramids of Giza
Angkor
...and..hm. Not sure. Hagia Sophia, Alhambra or Stonehenge. Stonehenge, probably.

[hectorberlioz]

How come there are aren't any American achievements on that list? We've done plenty of awesome stuff. Mount Rushmore!

[jellyfishannah]

What about the Nazca Lines?!

[GrayMouser]

Originally Posted by hectorberlioz

How come there are aren't any American achievements on that list? We've done plenty of awesome stuff. Mount Rushmore!

I was going to say the Statue of Liberty, but of course, that's French


Put FDR on Mt. Rushmore and you might get my vote- after Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, Teddy's a bit of a letdown.

My picks, not in any order:

1-Acropolis
2-Taj Mahal
3-Eiffel Tower
4-Great Wall
5-Angkor Wat
6- Machu Picchu
7- Great Pyramids, Egypt

But it's a tough choice.

Have personally visited:

Acropolis, Alhambra, Colosseum, Eiffel Tower, Haga Sophia, Stonehenge, Great Wall, Sydney Opera House.

Would also put the city of Pagan, Burma (Myanmar) on the list of nominees, and maybe the Imperial Palace in Beijing

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by jellyfishannah

What about the Nazca Lines?!

Those were on my initial list too. But I dropped them for Machu Picchu.

[Elfmaster XK]

I think that everyone is forgetting the traditional wonders are all wonders of the ancient world. And they are/were:


Great Pyramid of Giza, build c. 2550 BC by the Egyptians. Incidentally, the only one still standing.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon build c.600 BC by the Babylonians. Destroyed after 1st century BC by an earthquake.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus built c. 550 BC by the Lydians and destroyed by the Greeks 356 BC, who set fire to it.
Statue of Zeus at Olympia built c. 435 BC by the Greeks, and destroyed around 5th-6th centuries AD by a fire.
Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus built c. 351 BC by the Persians. Destroyed mostly by Greeks by 1494 AD, and finished off by an earthquake.
Colossus of Rhodes built c. 292-280 BC in Hellenistic Greece, destroyed 224 BC by an earthquake.
Lighthouse of Alexandria built in 3rd century BC Hellenistic Egypt and destroyed in 1303-1480 AD by an earthquake.

As these were all built in BC I think they should stand still as the wonders of the ancient world. I would then divide the list into wonders of the new (didn't know how else to name it) world, and of the modern world. So then Machu Picchu (1440) and the Taj Mahal (1600's) could come under new world, and things like the statue of liberty (1884) can come under modern. Or something similar.

I don't think it works to compare say Angkor (900AD) with the Sydney Operan house (1973).

All dates here are approximate and possibly wrong as many have been filched from other sources other than my brain, which apart from some of the ancient ones, is none the wiser.

[Falagar]

True that, but I don't think the point of the project was to modernize the whole thing, just create a "democratic" version. I like your idea better though.

[Anglorfin]

I think it's only fair that we not repeat wonders that are already on the list. Given that I'm surprised nobody said Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain. It's fairly contemporary and definately a marvel of art and engineering. So here's what I'd like to add to the list . .

1. Sagrada Familia - Barcelona, Spain
2. Petronas Towers - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
3. Hoover Dam - Boulder City, Nevada USA
4. Machu Picchu
5. Statue of Liberty New York, NY USA
6. Palm Islands - Dubai, United Arab Emirates (not only was the making of these islands really awesome but they hold some of the most lavish hotels in the world as well)
7. Great Wall of China

[hectorberlioz]

Originally Posted by GrayMouser

I was going to say the Statue of Liberty, but of course, that's French

I was going to say "it's too American"

Put FDR on Mt. Rushmore and you might get my vote- after Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln, Teddy's a bit of a letdown.

Teddy?! I like both Roosevelts for lots of different reasons...can't see the Big Letdown of Teddy's though...I mean, the guy was pretty tough on business...I suppose if you're really pro-business he might rankle you a little...

Gosh, off topic already...time to dig up some thread for Presidents...

Btw, This is our Lady Liberty..., for anyone who doesn't know, it's by Delacroix

[Elfmaster XK]

Originally Posted by Falagar

True that, but I don't think the point of the project was to modernize the whole thing, just create a "democratic" version. I like your idea better though.

I know I agree completely. I don't think having a more 'democratic' version works for this though. The wonders of the world were not picked out because of where they were, or fairly so each country had one. They were named because they became famous for what they are; often amazing feats of art or engineering as Anglorfin said.

I think it's only fair that we not repeat wonders that are already on the list.

Why? The new list isn't to add on it is to replace, so I think if wonders on the old list are still considered so they should be left on.

Problem is seven is a small number now that there is so much around the world that is awesome and man made.

Personally, I think changing the list at all is pointless since it was something that was (supposedly) created a long time ago by ancient travellers. The first reference to it is in Herodotus' Histories. Consequently it included only things they could see and reach. What would we use the list for? These days there are loads of books about the best places in the world to see, and we have pictures and news to tell us about them.

Pointless. (IMO)

[Rían]

I think it'd be cool to have 7 natural wonders, too, but that would be pretty hard - there's so many beautiful places in the world!