Pick your favorite ancient wonder of the world

October 26, 2006
Wonders never cease

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? The Colossus of Rhodes? The Lighthouse of Alexandria? They're all ancient history. So are the Temple of Artemis, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Statue of Zeus. Of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, only the Pyramids at Giza are still standing. Time to get a new Seven Wonders of the World, right? Enter a massive online voting campaign to do just that.
Randy Salas, Star Tribune

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? The Colossus of Rhodes? The Lighthouse of Alexandria? They're all ancient history. So are the Temple of Artemis, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Statue of Zeus. Of the ancient Seven Wonders of the World, only the Pyramids at Giza are still standing. Time to get a new Seven Wonders of the World, right? Enter a massive online voting campaign to do just that.
Vote now

New7Wonders (www.new7wonders.com), a nonprofit Swiss foundation, has organized the online campaign to pick the new Seven Wonders of the World under the motto: "Our heritage is our future." Even landmarks that don't receive the most votes can benefit.

"Monuments in jeopardy, perhaps in a dangerous state of decay, can be saved by publicizing their beauty and highlighting their plight to the international community," the foundation says.

As part of the awareness campaign, the foundation has been visiting each of the 21 finalist sites. The tour stopped at Alhambra in Spain this week and will be at the Great Wall of China next, on Nov. 7. The tour concludes March 6 at the Statue of Liberty.

To vote online, go to www.startribune.com/a1860. You can vote for seven of the 21 finalist landmarks until the winners are announced on July 7 -- "07/07/07," as the foundation puts it -- in Lisbon, Portugal.

21 candidates

Here, in alphabetical order, are the 21 finalists for the new Seven Wonders of the World. The New7Wonders website includes fact sheets for each, as well as photos, kids' activities and more. The ones in bold got Web Search's votes. Don't agree? Then go to the website and vote.

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, England

19. Sydney Opera House, Australia

20. Taj Mahal, Agra, India

21. Timbuktu city, Mali

The forgotten seven?

Fear not for the original Seven Wonders of the World. Their place in history, even if ancient, is assured. The New7Wonders website includes fact sheets for each of the ancient monuments (under Kids & Schools). Check out these other websites to find out more about the storied historic landmarks:

• Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/wonders

• UnMuseum

www.unmuseum.org/wonders.htm

• CNN Destinations

www.cnn.com/TRAVEL/DESTINATIONS/9705/seven.wonders