New7wonders !

[Reem H.]

Stonehenge makes list in new seven wonders vote Tue Oct 17, 8:34 AM ET



LONDON (Reuters) - Only one of the ancient wonders of the world still survives -- now history lovers are being invited to choose a new list of seven.


Among 21 locations shortlisted for the worldwide vote is Stonehenge, the only British landmark selected.

The 5,000-year-old stones on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, will be up against sites including the Acropolis in Athens; the Statue of Liberty in New York; and the last remaining original wonder, the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo.

An original list of nearly 200 sites nominated by the public was narrowed to 21 by the organizers and experts, including the former director general of Unesco Professor Federico Mayor.

The vote is organized by a non-profit Swiss foundation called New7Wonders which specializes in the preservation, restoration and promotion of monuments, and the results will be announced on July 7, 2007, in Lisbon.

About 20 million votes have already been lodged, including many from India, for the Taj Mahal; China, for the Great Wall and from Peru for Machu Picchu, the fortress city of the Incas.

The other original seven wonders of the ancient world were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon ; the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.

Tia Viering, spokeswoman for New7Wonders, said: "Apart from the Pyramids, the seven ancient wonders of the world no longer exist."

The only criteria for the new list is that the landmarks were built or discovered before 2000.

"People of England, it is now your turn to be heard," added Viering. Support Stonehenge to become one of the New Seven Wonders of the World."

Votes can be made online, at www.new7wonders.com. The 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World, alphabetically:

1. Acropolis, Athens, Greece
2. Alhambra, Granada, Spain
3. Angkor Wat temple, Cambodia
4. Chichen Itza Aztec site, Yucatan, Mexico
5. Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6. Colosseum, Rome
7. Easter Island Statues, Chile
8. Eiffel Tower, Paris
9. Great Wall, China
10. Hagia Sophia church, Istanbul, Turkey
11. Kyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan
12. Kremlin/St.Basil's, Moscow
13. Machu Picchu, Peru
14. Neuschwanstein Castle, Fussen, Germany
15. Petra ancient city, Jordan
16. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
17. Statue of Liberty, New York
18. Stonehenge, Amesbury, United Kingdom
19. Sydney Opera House, Australia
20. Taj Mahal, Agra, India
21. Timbuktu city, Mali

[m7md7atem]

Sounds pretty intruiging...I'm looking forward to hearing about this topic more and more.. I hope you guys post more links and articles about the worlds7wonders...

It really hurts to hear that the hanging gardens of Babylon no longer exists.. but after all it is a part of this injured country so no wonder...basically because no1 is paying attention.. such site needs constant renovation and care..

Thank you Reem for this terrific article