THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The world is full of amazing places, cities and also old building that are very important tourist attraction but seven of  them  are considered the most beautiful in the world. In 2000 a Suisse society called “New Open World Corporation” organized an online survey to choose the most beautiful seven places in the world. About 90 million of people parteciped in the competition. The list of  wonders isn’t approved by UNESCO but the competition was successful and in 2004 NOWC got results and in 2007 the list was completed.

What are the seven world wonders?

THE CHINESE WALL

The Chinese wall was built in 215 B.C. by the Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang to defend the empire from the north population’s attacks. The materials were bricks and stones. It extends for 22, 000 kilometres. Thousands of people worked to build it.  Today there are parts of wall in good conditions and people can visit it,  but there are also parts of it that were demolished to build new constructions and others that were ruined by vandalism.

PETRA

Petra is a special city: it is carved in the rock. It is situated in Jordan near the Dead Sea.

The Suisse explorer Johann Burckhardt discovered it. The graves of Petra were carved in rocky mountain walls and the urban part of the city wasn’t rich of plants and vegetation so the ruins of it are visible everywhere. Petra was abandoned in 18th century because of some natural catastrophes that compromised the business. Petra’s water system was compared to Rome’s and it was very efficient. Petra’s door is situated on an old route of a river and it is well preserved.

THE COLISEUM

The coliseum was built between 72 and 80 b.C. and it is situated in the centre of Rome. This amazing amphitheatre was built to host the gladiators’ battles. Romans liked them. The Coliseum has about 75,000 seats. Gladiators usually fought against bigger and stronger men and sometimes against animals like bulls, tigers, lions and other beasts. The earthquake in 1389 destroyed the southern side of the external ring.

Today it is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world.

 CHICHEN ITZA

Chichen Itza is an important archeologic complex in Yutacan, Mexico and it was built by the population that lived there for about five centuries,  the Mayas. This site is full of different architectural styles. In the photo you can see one of the most important buildings,  Kukulkan Pyramid.

MACHU PICCHU

Machu Picchu,  which means “old mountain”,  is an important archeologic site situated on the Peruvian mountains at 2, 430 mt. It is the third biggest site in the world after Pompeii and Ostia Antica.

It is situated on a seismic fault so in the region  many earthquakes happen. Incas were very intelligent engineers because they invented a drainage system because in the site the weather is frequently rainy.

They were genius because they succeeded to build on this hard ground and they lived there for centuries.

TAJ MAHAL

Il Taj Mahal is an important mausoleum in Agra, in India that was built by emperor Mugul Shah Jahan to remember his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It was probably  designed by Ustar Lahauri. The materials are white marble, lapislazuli and jade and workers used about 1,000 elephants and buffaloes to bring these precious materials to Agra. It is the biggest buddhist mausoleum in the world and it is one of the most visited tourist attraction in India and all over the world.

CHRIST THE REDEEMER

The Redeemer  is a big statue in Rio de Janeiro situated on the Corcovado mountain at 700 mt on the sea level. The statue is made with concrete and soapstone and  is 38 mt tall. It is the city symbol . It was designed by Paul Landowski and Heitor da Silva and it was inaugurated in 1931 when Guglielmo Marconi switched on the lights of the statue from Rome with a radio command.

These amazing places are a small part of the wonders in the world but these are in the opinion of many people the best of the best in the world. I prefer the Coliseum because I visited it and it is amazing but Petra or Machu Picchu and all others are truly fascinating!

DAVID