THE 7 WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD

Once upon a time (200 BCE), there were 7 classic Wonders. All of them were located around
the Mediterranean Sea, as the World wasn’t exactly as we know it today. These 7 wonders
were:
Colossus of Rhodes
Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Time has passed and from these 7 Wonders, the  great Pyramid of Giza , the most ancient of
them all, is the only one that truly remains and can still be admired today.
For the other wonders, fate and time haven’t been kind.
There is a lonely column still standing from the  Temple of Artemis.  
It is possible to see the ruins of the  Lighthouse of Alexandria  but you have to go diving in
the bay of Alexandria.
With regards to the  Mausoleum at Halicarnassus , some of its marble blocks can be spotted
into the walls of the  Knights of St. John castle in Bodrum. On the site of the Mausoleum,
there are only the foundations of this, once impressive, structure. Fragments of some of its
statues are at the British Museum.
For the last 3 ones, it’s simply impossible to admire them.
No one really knows the exact location of  Colossus of Rhodes  and the Statue of Zeus at
Olympia  was completely destroyed.
As for the  Hanging Gardens of Babylon?  These are the biggest mystery of the list as  there
are no archaeological evidence these have even existed.
So what do you do when the items on your list don’t exist anymore? You create a new list!

THE NEW 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD

The  New 7 Wonders of the World  was a private initiative launched by a private Swiss
foundation. It started in 2000 and the winners of the popularity poll were announced on 7 July
2007. Something like 100 Million people, from all over the World, voted for their favorite sites
amongst a pre- selected list.
The New 7 wonders of the World chosen are :
Chichén Itzá , Mexico
Machu Picchu , Peru
The Christ Redeemer , Brazil
The Colosseum , Italy
Petra, Jordan
The Taj Mahal , India
The Great Wall , China
To celebrate such Wonders, I have created the below map! You can click on it and download
it for free. Print and frame if you wish! (No commercial use, thank you). I also created a few
other designs which you can see below.
 

A CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD WONDERS  

S ince the New7Wonders of the World project, the Swiss foundation launched similar
initiatives for the New7Wonders of Nature, the New7Wonders Cities and the most
recent one, the New7Wonders Symbols of Peace.
You can check the official website for more info:  https://new7wonders.com
AND NOW FOR THE FUN PART: THERE IS NOW A NEW OBSERVANCE
DAY ON THE UNIVERSAL CALENDAR AND IT IS THE  7 WONDERS DAY,
ON THE 7TH OF JULY EACH YEAR! THAT’S PRETTY
COOL! #7WONDERSDAY, OF COURSE!
“IF WE WANT TO SAVE ANYTHING, WE FIRST NEED TO TRULY
APPRECIATE IT.” — BERNARD WEBER (FOUNDER
OF NEW7WONDERS)
The New7Wonders project was not linked in any way to the UNESCO and its World Heritage
list, although all the sites chosen are on such list. It seems that, at the time, there were a bit
of a controversy on such project. I don’t want to fall into such controversy, but I would still
say this:
Every project that brings attention to our World Heritage and its  preservation  is a
worthy project.

THE NEW 7 WONDERS OF THE WORLD MAP 

Here it is!
Again, you can click on the one you like below. A new window will open with the high
definition version JPEG of the map. Save, print and frame if you wish! No commercial use
allowed.