Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Stonehenge makes list in new seven wonders vote

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:

LINKS

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

7 comments:

CyberKitten said...

Some of those 'wonders' aren't really that 'wonderful' are they? Smacks of lack of imagination or just making sure every one gets at least something....

Stardust said...

Islam, is it really how the media portrays it?

admin - Much of the world's war and violence is because of religion and religious brainwashing and belief that an ancient mythology is real. In these modern times in muslim countries, people are still being stoned, mamed, hung, shot beheaded etc. in the name of Allah. I have read the Quran and like the bible is full of violence and hateful messages toward those who do not follow your religion. Look at all the religions in the world and each one claims that it is the only "true" religion. Once people get rid of the superstition, the world will be a more peaceful place. Religion was created by humans to control other humans.

Stardust said...

Some of those 'wonders' aren't really that 'wonderful' are they? Smacks of lack of imagination or just making sure every one gets at least something....

cyberkitten, I can agree with you on that one. While Stonehenge and the pyramids can be considered "wonders"...I don't think I would have put the Statue of Liberty, Eiffel Tower or the Sydney Opera house on the list.

Tommykey said...

I can't look at Stonehenge without thinking of "This Is Spinal Tap"!

Tommykey said...

Regarding Islam:

There is no Allah, and Mohammed was nobody's prophet.

Stardust said...

There is no Allah, and Mohammed was nobody's prophet.

Ramen!

I wonder if this admin is a new convert to islam (maybe once a xian???) Muslims usually aren't known to be evangelical.

Stardust said...

admin (In case you are still lurking)

Here is an Iranian documentary that shows your so-called religion of peace.