The Wonders of the World

Did you notice that I didn't say 7 wonders? That's because it isn't that easy. People have been making lists of natural and manmade phenomena for ever, with Herodotus a Greek scholar (484-425BC) first writing down the 7 Wonders. Side comment: 7 was considered a rich and lucky number in a lot of traditional societies. So, what's the story today? It was in the 1990's that the idea was reignited by a Swiss filmmaker and people really got into the idea of 7 wonders. It was hoped that the recognition of something as a wonder might offer it some protection. Sadly, in the past war and neglect has shown that isn't enough and most of the early listed places are no longer here. But we can hope that today the status attached to such a title might carry some weight and help preserve these amazing sites. If like me, you want to see them all, here is list to get you on the right track.

Today we have a few 7 Wonders lists. These Include:

The Original 7 Ancient Wonders: This list is much disputed but seems as close as we get to the original list made by Herodotus thousands of years ago.Of these wonders, 4 were destroyed by earthquake, 2 were destroyed by fire, and only 1, thee Pyramids of Giza remains.

1. Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon- Iraq

3. Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Greece

4. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus- Turkey

5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus- Greece

6. Colossus of Rhodes- Greece

7. Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt

The New 7 Wonders: There is an actual Swiss society called New7Wonders who in 2001 gathered votes to come up with this list.

1. Great Wall of ChinaChina700 BC

2. PetraMa'an, Jordan312 BC

3. ColosseumRome, ItalyAD 80

4. Chichén ItzáYucatán, MexicoAD 600

5. Machu PicchuCuzco Region, PeruAD 1450

6. Taj MahalAgra, IndiaAD 1643

7. Christ the RedeemerRio de Janeiro, BrazilAD 1931

8. Giza Pyramids and Giza Necropolis (honary status only- ) Egypt2560 BC

The 7 Natural Wonders: Not to be outdone in response to the New7Wonders in 2008 a group got together to make the first global list of natural wonders. And you guessed it, it is now suggesting another 7 so that those that missed out are recognised . The current list is:

1. Aurora Borealis (also known as the northern lights)-

2. Harbor of Rio de Janeiro- Brazil

3. Grand Canyon, USA

4. Great Barrier Reef-Australia

5. Mount Everest- Nepal

6. Victoria Falls- Zimbabwe

7. Parícutin, Mexico

Good luck checking them all out and adding a few more personal fav's to the list!