KMK: New Seven World Wonders

Over the weekend in Lisbon, Portugal a new set of World Wonders became finalized.

From USA Today:

The campaign to pick the seven new wonders was begun in 1999 by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. His Switzerland-based foundation, called New7Wonders, received almost 200 nominations from around the world. The list of candidates was narrowed down to 21 by early last year. Voting took place over the past six years, but gathered pace only in recent months.

Personally, I wonder why there can’t be more than Seven Wonders. Whats wrong with twenty one wonders of the world? In any case here are the final winners. Do you agree with the choices?

GREAT WALL OF CHINA:
The 4,160-mile (6,695-kilometer) barricade running from east to west is the longest man-made structure in the world. The fortification, which largely dates from the 7th through the 4th century B.C., was built to protect the various dynasties from invasion by the Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes.

TAJ MAHAL, INDIA:
The white marble-domed mausoleum in Agra, Uttar Pradesh state, was built by Mogul Emperor Shah Jahan between 1632 and 1654 for his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died in childbirth. The complex — an outstanding example of Mughal architecture combining Indian, Persian, and Islamic styles — houses the graves of the emperor and his wife, as well as those of lesser Mogul royalty.

STATUE OF CHRIST REDEEMER, BRAZIL:
The 125-foot (38-meter) statue of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro on Brazil’s Atlantic coast from atop Mt. Corcovado (the “Hunchback”). Created by Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski, the statue weighing more than 1,000 tons was built in pieces in France starting in 1926 and shipped to Brazil. The pieces were carried by cogwheel railway up the 2,343-foot (714-meter) mountain for assembly. The statue was inaugurated on Oct. 12, 1931.

MACHU PICCHU, PERU:
Built by the Incan Empire in the 15th century, the giant walls, palaces, temples and dwellings of the Machu Picchu sanctuary are perched in the clouds at 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) above sea level on an Andean mountaintop overlooking a lush valley 310 miles (500 kilometers) southeast of Lima. It remains a mystery how the huge stones were moved into place for the construction of the remote city.

PYRAMID AT CHICHEN ITZA, MEXICO:
This step pyramid surmounted by a temple survives from a sacred site that was part of one of the greatest Mayan centers of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Built according to the solar calendar, it is placed so that shadows cast at the fall and spring equinoxes are said to look like a snake crawling down the steps, similar to the carved serpent at the top. An older pyramid inside features a jade-studded, red jaguar throne.

PETRA, JORDAN:
The ancient city of Petra in southwestern Jordan, built on a terrace around the Wadi Musa or Valley of Moses, was the capital of the Arab kingdom of the Nabateans, a center of their caravan trade, and also continued to flourish under Roman rule after the Nabateans were defeated in A.D. 106. The city is famous for its water tunnels and numerous stone structures carved in the rock, the most impressive of which is probably Ad-Dayr, ‘the Monastery,’ an uncompleted tomb facade that served as a church during Byzantine times.

COLOSSEUM, ITALY:
The giant amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in A.D. 80 by the Emperor Titus in a ceremony of games lasting 100 days. The 50,000-seat Colosseum, which has influenced the design of modern sports stadiums, was an arena where thousands of gladiators dueled to the death, and, as tradition would have it, Christians were fed to the lions.