| Apparently, it's time to turn the page on the | | | | which stood for 1500 years before falling |
| original Seven Wonders of the World ... | | | | victim to an earthquake in the 1300s; and |
| | | | |
| Since only one of them is left standing, and | | | | 7. The Pyramids of Egypt, the lone wonder |
| since most people can't remember what the | | | | still standing. |
| rest of them are, anyway, this is a good idea | | | | |
| for someone who has too much time on their | | | | Once Weber confirmed there was no official |
| hands and the ability to raise money. | | | | Seven Wonders of the World being sanctioned |
| | | | by any recognized bodies, he established a |
| In this instance, that would narrow the | | | | website, gathered an impressive list of |
| candidates down to one Bernard Weber. He's a | | | | professionals --- architects, engineers and |
| Swiss idealist who is behind the New 7 | | | | the like --- and began the process of |
| Wonders Foundation, which he founded in 2000. | | | | nominating structures worldwide as potential |
| | | | Wonders. During the subsequent years, |
| Weber's motivation is simply to call | | | | visitors to his site answered his call to |
| attention to the marvels made possible when | | | | vote and the nominees were pared to 77. |
| mankind applies positive energy. In fact, | | | | |
| should his foundation actually generate | | | | Recently, these were winnowed to 21 --- |
| profits, he intends to use at least a portion | | | | another multiple of seven, if you hadn't |
| of them to rebuild lost marvels. | | | | noticed --- with the voting set to continue |
| Specifically, he cites the Bamiyan Buddha | | | | throughout 2006. The new Seven Wonders will |
| statue, a cultural masterpiece which dated to | | | | then be announced on New Year's Day, 2007. |
| the Fifth Century AD and was senselessly | | | | |
| destroyed as a blasphemous icon by the | | | | I've gone to Weber's site, perused the |
| Taliban when their stilted act tyrannized | | | | finalists and did my cyber-duty by voting. |
| Afghanistan. | | | | All are truly worthy choices, but I didn't |
| | | | find it difficult at all to quickly make my |
| The original Seven Wonders were so anointed | | | | decisions: |
| by an ancient geek, Philon of Byzantium, and | | | | |
| an ancient Greek, Antipater of Sidon. Those | | | | - The Great Wall of China, where the term |
| were the days before travel agents and tour | | | | 'breathtaking' is an understatement; |
| guides, so perhaps each felt a need to fill | | | | |
| the void. Whatever their inspiration, they | | | | - The Easter Island Statues, also known as |
| were not the first to get the idea. | | | | Stone Clones Gone Wild; |
| | | | |
| The concept of such a list was first | | | | - Petra in Jordan, for its mixture of |
| mentioned by Herodotus in his seminal 'The | | | | intricacy and magnitude in its status as the |
| History' in the Fifth Century BC. Later, | | | | world's most spectacular city carved out of |
| around the Third Century BC, Callimachus of | | | | sandstone; |
| Cyrene, the top logster at the legendary | | | | |
| Museum of Alexandria in ancient Egypt, wrote | | | | - Stonehenge, a Druidic version of the |
| "A Collection of Wonders around the World." | | | | ultimate perpetual calendar with a timeless |
| These lists varied in content, but Philon's | | | | design; |
| prevailed, due in part to its mention in | | | | |
| engravings by the Dutch artist Maerten van | | | | - Neuschwanstein Castle in Fssen, Germany, |
| Heemskerck (1498-1574) and Johann Fischer von | | | | because that's the way castles are supposed |
| Erlach's 'History of Architecture.' | | | | to look; |
| | | | |
| Here are Philon's seven wonders: | | | | - The Taj Mahal at Agra, India, because |
| | | | Richard Halliburton said so in one of my |
| 1. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, although | | | | favorite childhood tomes, 'The Book of |
| some historians believe they were an ancient | | | | Marvels,' and his vivid description therein |
| urban legend and never really existed; | | | | sold me on it forever; and |
| | | | |
| 2. The Statue of Zeus, which honored the | | | | - The Hagia Sophia cathedral at Istanbul, |
| first Olympic games, was later moved to | | | | because I think at least one Wonder should |
| Constantinople and ultimately destroyed by | | | | contain Viking graffiti, and Halfdan did the |
| fire; | | | | honors --- which are still prominently |
| | | | visible --- during his stint with Byzantium's |
| 3. The Temple of Diana at Ephesus, the | | | | Varangian Guard. |
| largest known building in ancient times which | | | | |
| took a century to build and was subsequently | | | | One interesting twist to Weber's foundation |
| senselessly destroyed as a blasphemous icon | | | | is that its home is cited as the Heidi Weber |
| by Christians when their intolerance | | | | Museum in Zurich, which also happens to be a |
| tyrannized southern Turkey; | | | | landmark structure designed by the Swiss |
| | | | architect and visual artist Charles Edouard |
| 4. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, which | | | | Jeanneret, who became famous under his |
| stood for 1500 years until the Maltese | | | | nom-d'art of Le Corbusier. This building was |
| Knights of St John used its stones to build | | | | commissioned by Mrs Weber, to be named after |
| their own mega-castle nearby; | | | | its designer and to house various artworks |
| | | | created by him. It was completed and opened |
| 5. The Colossus of Rhodes, which towered 120 | | | | to the public in 1962. However, disputes |
| feet high at the city's harbor entrance until | | | | arose between the two parties, and when Le |
| it was destroyed in an earthquake, and which | | | | Corbusier died, the entity which survived him |
| later served as the inspiration for French | | | | took up the case against the Webers. Among |
| sculptor Auguste Bartholdi when he created | | | | other things, this resulted in a |
| the Statue of Liberty as a gift to the USA; | | | | re-christening of the building to its current |
| | | | title and legal squabbling over everything |
| 6. The Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt, | | | | from exclusivity for artwork sales rights to |
| whose beacon had a range of 100 miles and | | | | website domain names. |