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21 candidates for new Wonders of the World list
11/18/2006 7:39:00 p.m.
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GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) - Here is the description of the 21 candidates in the "New 7 Wonders of the World" competition. The public may vote at www.new7wonders.com.
Acropolis, Greece: A million people come here every year to see the marble temples - including the ruins of the Parthenon - columns and statues of Greek gods and goddesses dating from the fifth century BC.
Alhambra, Spain: The palace and citadel, perched above Granada, was the residence of the Arab caliphs who governed southern Spain in all its glory until 1492, when the city was conquered by Christian forces of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, ending 800 years of Muslim rule. Superb features include mosaics, arabesques and mocarabe or honeycomb work.
Angkor, Cambodia: The archaeological site in Siem Reap was the capital of the Khmer (Cambodian) empire from the ninth to 15th centuries. It served as administrative center and place of worship for a prosperous kingdom that stretched from Vietnam to China and the Gulf of Bengal. The ruins of the 12th century Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.
Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil: The statue of 38 meters of Christ the Redeemer with outstretched arms overlooks Rio de Janeiro summit of Mount Corcovado. The statue was built in pieces in France starting in 1926, and shipped to Brazil. A railway carried it to the mountain 714 meters to the inauguration of 1931.
Colosseum, Italy: The 50,000-seat amphitheater in Rome was inaugurated in the year 80. Thousands of gladiators fought to the death here, and Christians were fed to the lions. The arena has influenced the design of modern stadiums.
Easter Island, Chile: Hundreds of massive stone busts, or Moais, are all that remains of the prehistoric Rapanui who designed between 400 and 1,000 years to represent deceased ancestors. Some statues are over 20 meters high. They look on the south Pacific Ocean more than 1,600 kilometers off the Chilean mainland.
Eiffel Tower, France: The tower 300 meters, built in 1889 for the International Exposition, symbolizes Paris. Virtually all of the Open-Network of wrought iron and built in just two years, with a small workforce, the tower - Paris tallest structure - demonstrated advances in construction techniques, but some initially criticized as unsightly.
Great Wall of China: The barricade 6700 km from east to west, is the structure of the world's longest man-made. The fortification was built to protect various dynasties from invasion by Huns, Mongols, Turks and other nomadic tribes. Construction took place over hundreds of years, from the seventh century BC.
Hagia Sophia, Turkey: The soaring cathedral, also called the Church of Holy Wisdom, was built in 537 BC at Constantinople, now Istanbul. In 1453, when Constantinople fell to the Ottomans, it became a mosque minaret. When Turkish President Kemal Ataturk turned it into a museum in 1935, Christian mosaics covered by the Muslims were revealed.
Kiyomizu Temple, Japan: Kyoto Kiyomizu-dera, which means Clear Water Temple, was founded by a Buddhist sect in 798 and rebuilt in 1633 after a fire. Drinking, its waterfall three rivers is estimated to confer health, longevity and success.
Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, Russia: bulbs with golden cupolas surrounded by red brick walls are at the heart of the Moscow Kremlin, a Medieval fortress converted into a center of Russian government. The Kremlin once symbolized Soviet communism. The Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed on adjacent features Red Square nine t.
Posted on May 6, 2010.
