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2200 years is a long time to get around renewing anything, but we say better late than never. Forget the seven wonders of the ancient world, it's time, in the 21st century, to let the people of the 42nd century know what we consider to be the seven wonders of the world. The Great Wall of China is one of the top 10 finalists:
According to the most recently published data, on May 7, the top 10 were the Great Wall of China, the Acropolis in Greece, the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico, the Coliseum in Rome, the Eiffel tower in Paris, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, Petra in Jordan, the statues on Easter Island, Britain's Stonehenge and the Taj Mahal in India.Which seven make the final cut is decided by world-wide voting. If you want to join the millions of people around the world that have already voted, try visiting the official Seven Wonders site and casting your vote online.Following the destruction of Afghanistan's giant Buddha statues at Bamyan by the Taliban, a Swiss filmmaker, curator and traveller Bernard Weber decided to set up the "New Seven World Wonders" contest in 2001.
The results are currently being tabulated,but this information is not available to the public. This fact is worrisome for many in China, because they don't know where the Great Wall, the only entry from China, ranks, and now some people are worried: one report we read suggests that the Great Wall might have dropped out of the top 7, and remember, history will not remember who placed eighth through tenth.
The voting ends on 7.7.07 or July 7, 2007. That gives you another 38 days and 16 hours, according to the official site.
Photo from yuan2003's Flickr page
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Where is Angkor Wat? I am surprised it's not a top 10 contender.
This is a popularity contest. Everyone knows the Eiffel Tower, therefore it is a wonder. A true wonder like Angkor Wat deserves a spot.
For obvious reasons, Islamic cultural wonders are under-represented here (Petra probably got in for its Nabataean and Roman legacies, as reflected in the ruins). Where is, say, the Blue Mosque, or Hagia Sophia in Istanbul? The latter is particularly worth including because of its alternating associations with Christianity and Islam.
There is not even one site that qualifies as a "cultural cross-road" in the last 2000 years of immensely interactive human history. It is a sad reflection of this time of paranoid and isolation that we live in.
Angkor Wat is sacred for both Hindus and Buddhists. Can you give us any other examples of 'cultural cross-road' sites - I'm not sure the Hagia Sophia qualifies, since the 'cultural crossroading' that occurred was the capture of Constantinople by the Turks.
I guess the real problem with the lists is that I don't understand what the criteria is . . . . is it simply a popularity contest (Eiffel Tower - which when it was built was considered to be very ugly), a cultural symbol (Statue of Liberty), or an actual feat of architectual magnificence (especially given the abilities of their respective periods) that still inspires awe today. I would vote for the latter, and would choose as the wonders such sites as Angkor Wat, the Great Wall, Petra, Stonehenge, the Pyramids, etc. I mean, otherwise in a hundred years someone might be voting the Pearl Tower (gag) onto the updated list . . .