On the 7th of July 2007 new seven wonders of the world were announced! They were determined due to online polls and telephone; more than 100 million of people participated in this voting! This day in Lisbon, Portugal, in the stadium Luz took place a great gala-concert, devoted to this occasion! More than 60 000 people visited this stadium! Jennifer Lopez was among guests!

There is one missing detail in this ideal picture – UNESCO’s attitude! On June 20, 2007 this organization officially confirmed, that it has no connection to this event, and its results will be based only on the opinions of people, who have an access to the Global Network! Pyramids in Giza were removed from the voting list and they were given a status of an Honorary New7Wonders Candidate! Egyptian authorities treated it as a completely unacceptable event and its results are biased and unscientific.

So, it is up to you to decide what opinion to follow, but, at least, we can get acquainted with these “New Wonders”.

The first one is Chichen Itza, one the most popular Mayan temple city. You can find it on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. It was a large political and economic center. Nowadays, it includes a lot of buildings: the pyramid of Kukulkan, the Temple of Chac Mool, the Hall of the Thousand Pillars, and the Playing Field of the Prisoners. They still exist today. Because of John Lloyd Stephens’s book, a lot of people found out about this place and made their minds to visit it. The pyramid can be treated as the greatest building of all Mayan temples. By the way, it was built before 800 A.D.

Christ Redeemer, situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. As for me it can be called a symbol of Brazil and hospitality of its people! It is a 38 meters tall statue of Jesus. This statue stands atop the Corcovado Mountain and looks at a beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro. Five years were spent onto its building and finally it was opened on October 12, 1931. Designer – Heitor da Silva Costa and this intent was realised by French sculptor Paul Landowski.

The Great Wall of China (220 B.C and 1368 – 1644 A.D.). Nowadays, it is a peculiar feature if the China Republic and it links the past, the present and the future! Originally, it was built to connect all the fortifications into a common defence system. Also there are two another reasons for its popularity: it the biggest man-made monument in the world and it can be seen from space. It took lives of thousands of people who were erecting it.

Peru, Machu Picchu (1460-1470). It can be viewed as the most significant heritage of the Inca Empire. Have you ever heard about “The Lost City of the Incas”? It is here. It was built by the Incan Emperor Pachacutec on the mountain Machu Picchu (“an old mountain”). This place was chosen because of its extraordinary location. This settlement was lost till 1911.

Petra (9 B.C. – 40 A.D.), Jordan. During the Ancient Times, Petra was rich capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV. It was developing with a blistering pace and had perfect tunnel constructions and great water chambers. There it is possible to find even a theater, that could hold 4,000 people. Today it serves as a decent represantative of Middle Eastern culture.

The Roman Colosseum (70 – 82 A.D.), Italy. In the center of Rome was built the biggest amphitheatre in order to render honours to successful legionnaires and to emphasize the fame of the Roman Empire. It is difficult to count, how many times its design was used in films, books, monuments, post cards and so on. By the way, it is the only representative from Europe!

And the last one can be seen in Agra, India – the Taj Mahal (1630 A.D.). It was built on the orders of Shah Jahan, as a mausoleum, to reverence the memory of his adorable late wife. It is made from – white marble and gardens surround it. Soon, the emperor was put into the prison and saw his creature – the Taj Mahal exceptionally through the cell window.