The last remaining original world wonder faces stiff competition on the New Seven Wonders list
LONDON: Only one of the ancient wonders of the world still survives. History buffs are being invited to choose a new list of seven. Among 21 locations shortlisted for the worldwide vote is the last remaining original wonder, The Great Pyramids of Giza. The Pyramids will be facing tough competition from the Acropolis in Athens; the Statue of Liberty in New York; and 5,000-year-old Stonehenge on England s Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. 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. 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 criterion for the new list is that the landmarks were built or discovered before 2000. -Reuters
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
Votes can be made online, at www.new7wonders.com.
