Trifter

The privately owned New7Wonders Foundation conducted a worldwide poll asking people to vote for the new or modern Seven Wonders of the World. The only restriction was that each Wonder had to be man made. The poll ended in 2007 and the winners were announced on July 7, 2007.

A few notes about the polling. Reportedly over 100 million votes were cast by phone or on the internet which makes this poll the largest ever conducted. No limits were placed to prevent multiple voting so people could vote more than once. (Much like the “voting” in American Idol. Idol would brag that more people voted for its contestants than voted in the Presidential elections but one person can vote multiple times in Idol’s vote so the claim was really bogus.) Many countries like Brazil, Jordan, India and Peru ran ad campaigns to get people to vote for their own Wonders. So how serious you want to take this list is up to you but here are the Modern Seven Wonders of the World presented in no particular order since vote totals for each individual site were not announced.

Taj Mahal

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Located in Agra, India, the Taj Mahal took 21 years to complete and was finished in 1653. The Taj Mahal was built as a mausoleum for emperor Shah Jahan’s 3rd wife who died giving birth to their 14th child. It is arguably the most recognized building in the world today and is visited annually by some 4 million people.

The Great Wall of China

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The Great Wall of China stretches over 4,000 miles and was built beginning in the 5th century BC and added to and maintained until the 16th century to keep China’s northern border safe from attacks. Despite erroneous reports the Great Wall cannot be seen from the moon but some 1 million plus people visit the Wall annually here on planet earth.

Machu Picchu

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Located in the Andes Mountains in Peru, Machu Picchu (”old mountain”) was built by the Incas in the 15th century and is over 8,000 feet in elevation. This city in the clouds was only inhabited for around 100 years and then was abandoned possibly due to a smallpox epidemic. Once the Spanish defeated the Incas the city was lost to the world until the latter part of the 1800’s when it appears in references on historical maps. Hiram Bingham was officially given credit for rediscovering Machu Picchu in 1911 and in 2007 Yale University agreed to give back the artifacts Bingham took from the site. Some 500,000 tourists visit Machu Picchu annually.

Christ the Redeemer

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Located on top of Corcovado Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Christ the Redeemer is a 120 foot tall statue designed by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and created by French sculptor Paul Landowski. It took five years to build and was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. Overlooking the city of Rio and the bays and ocean beyond and easily accessible via a railway Christ the Redeemer is a very popular tourist attraction and offers stunning views in all directions.

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Rio de Janeiro is a beautiful but crime ridden city. In February of 2008 the statue was struck by lightning but due to its composition of soapstone, which is an insulator, Christ the Redeemer suffered no damage.

The Roman Colosseum

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Completed in 80 AD, the Roman Colosseum seated some 50,000 spectators and was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as battle re-enactments including naval battles, animal hunts, plays and dramas based upon mythology and the feeding of Christians to the lions. It is believed that some 1.5 million people and animals died in the Colosseum entertaining the spectators.

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Over time the structure has been heavily damaged by earthquakes and stone-robbers but remains a lasting symbol of what was the Roman Empire and is a popular tourist attraction today.

Chichen Itza

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Chichen Itza is a famous Mayan Temple City located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico about 100 miles west of Cancun. Chichen Itza served as the political and economic center of the Mayan civilization. Structures in the city include the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars and the Playing Field of the Prisoners.

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They were built between 600 AD and 1,000 AD as the Mayan civilization flourished. The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property today though the land under the monuments is privately owned. Chichen Itza is a popular tourist attraction and at one time visitors were allowed to climb the pyramid but that is no longer allowed.

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Petra

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Located on the edge of the Arabian Desert in modern day Jordan, Petra was the glittering capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.). The key to this ancient city was the Nabataeans great tunnel constructions and water chambers which allowed the Nabataeans to control the water supply and make Petra an oasis. When a flash flood occurred in the area the Nabateans would capture the water using dams, cisterns and water conduits and thus be able to handle the desert conditions until the next flash flood.

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In a desert, water is a highly valued commodity. The site has been used in recent times to film such movies as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Tourism to Petra is greatly effected by the political instability of the region.

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