A presentation on the Seven Wonders of the World, Reaction of the Countries and other Competitors who competed to achieve a Position in the Wonder List

3. This immense mausoleum was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, the fifth
Muslim Mogul emperor, to honor the memory of his beloved late wife. Built
out of white marble and standing in formally laid-out walled gardens, the Taj
Mahal is regarded as the most perfect jewel of Muslim art in India. The
emperor was consequently jailed and, it is said, could then only see the Taj
Mahal out of his small cell window.

4. On the edge of the Arabian Desert, Petra was the glittering capital of the
Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV (9 B.C. to 40 A.D.). Masters of water
technology, the Nabataeans provided their city with great tunnel constructions
and water chambers. A theater, modeled on Greek-Roman prototypes, had
space for an audience of 4,000. Today, the Palace Tombs of Petra, with the 42-
meter-high Hellenistic temple facade on the El-Deir Monastery, are
impressive examples of Middle Eastern culture.

5. In the 15th century, the Incan Emperor Pachacútec built a city in the clouds
on the mountain known as Machu Picchu (“old mountain”). This
extraordinary settlement lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the
Amazon jungle and above the Urubamba River. It was probably abandoned by
the Incas because of a smallpox outbreak and, after the Spanish defeated the
Incan Empire, the city remained ‘lost’ for over three centuries. It was
rediscovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911.

6. Chichén Itzá, the most famous Mayan temple city, served as the political and
economic center of the Mayan civilization. Its various structures – the
pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand
Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners – can still be seen today and are
demonstrative of an extraordinary commitment to architectural space and
composition. The pyramid itself was the last, and arguably the greatest, of all
Mayan temples.

7. The Great Wall of China was built to link existing fortifications into a
united defense system and better keep invading Mongol tribes out of
China. It is the largest man-made monument ever to have been built
and it is disputed that it is the only one visible from space. Many
thousands of people must have given their lives to build this colossal
construction.

8. This great amphitheater in the centre of Rome was built to give favors to
successful legionnaires and to celebrate the glory of the Roman Empire. Its
design concept still stands to this very day, and virtually every modern sports
stadium some 2,000 years later still bears the irresistible imprint of the
Colosseum’s original design. Today, through films and history books, we are
even more aware of the cruel fights and games that took place in this arena, all
for the joy of the spectators.

9. This statue of Jesus stands some 38 meters tall, atop the Corcovado mountain
overlooking Rio de Janeiro. Designed by Brazilian Heitor da Silva Costa and
created by French sculptor Paul Landowski, it is one of the world’s best-known
monuments. The statue took five years to construct and was inaugurated on
October 12, 1931. It has become a symbol of the city and of the warmth of the
Brazilian people, who receive visitors with open arms.

11. •United Nations : The New 7 Wonders campaigns aim to contribute
to the process of uplifting the well being and mutual respect of citizens
around the world, through encouraging interaction, expression opinion
and direct participation by voting and polling on popular global issues
which are understandable to everyone.
•Brazil : One morning in June, Rio de Janeiro residents awoke to a
beeping text message on their cell phones: "Press 4916 and vote for
Christ. It's free!" The same pitch had been popping up all over the city
since late January—flashing across an electronic screen every time city-
dwellers swiped their transit cards on city buses and echoing on TV
infomercials that featured a reality-show celebrity posing next to the city's
trademark Christ the Redeemer statue.
•Peru : An intensive campaign led by the Peruvian Ministry of
Commerce and Tourism in Peru had a great impact in the media and
consequently Peruvian people voted massively for its national wonder.
The announcement of the new World Wonders generated great
expectation and the election of Machu Picchu was celebrated nationwide.
•Chile : The Chilean representative for Easter Island's Moais, Alberto
Hotus, said Weber gave him a letter saying that the Moais had finished
eighth and were morally one of the New Seven Wonders. Hotus said he
was the only participant to receive such an apology.

12. •India : A campaign to publicize the campaign in India gathered
speed and it reached a climax in July 2007 with news channels,
radio stations, and many celebrities asking people to vote for
the Taj Mahal.
•Jordan : Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan joined the
campaign to back Petra, Jordan's national treasure. Despite Jordan
only having a population of under 7 million people, it has been
claimed that over 14 million votes were made from the
country. This number is estimated as the New 7 Wonders
Foundation never released such details about the campaign.
•Mexico : There was a campaign on the news programs to
encourage people to vote for Chichen Itza.

14. Although N7W describes itself as a not-for-
profit organization the company behind it—the
New Open World Corporation (NOWC)—is a
commercial business. All licensing and
sponsorship money is paid to NOWC and
correspondence sent to entrants uses the
address of a Panama-based law firm.
On 11-11-11, the final “New 7 Wonders of Nature” list was released to the
public, after years of a slow winnowing process of nominations and voting.
This followed the announcement of the “New 7 Wonders of the World” by
this same organization on 07-07-07.
The list is pretty horrible and there are plenty of reasons why that is the
case: internet voting, developing countries with large populations that
wanted to win, and more.

16. Alhambra
Granada, Spain
1333
Acropolis of Athens
Athens, Greece
447 BC
Angkor Wat
Angkor, Cambodia
1113
Moai
Easter Island, Chile
1250
Hagia Sophia
Istanbul, Turkey
360
Neuschwanstein
Füssen, Germany
1869

17. Eiffel Tower
Paris, France
1887
Kiyomizu-dera
Kyoto, Japan
1633
Red Square
Moscow, Russia
1561
Statue of Liberty
New York, U.S.
1886

18. Stonehenge
Amesbury, United Kingdom
2400 BC
Timbuktu
Timbuktu, Mali
1327
Sydney Opera House
Sydney, Australia
1959