Magnificent Seven Wonders of the World

Magnificent Seven Wondersof the World

Compiled by Asiapac Editorial

Publisher’s Note

How often do people stop to admire the beauty of man-madestructures and think about what meaning or purpose they have?By understanding the history and significance of each structure,people can increase their appreciation of the structure in waysthat go beyond appearance.

The phrase “Seven Wonders of the World” is often used todescribe a few of the most well-known and admired places aroundthe world. In 2007, a list for the New Seven Wonders of theWorld was unveiled, based on a global vote. Although seven ofthe world’s greatest monuments were highlighted in this list, manypeople remain unaware of the cultural, religious and historicalsignificance these places have.

Magnificent Seven Wonders of the World is a guidebook thatinterweaves story and fact to highlight the backgrounds of theNew Seven Wonders. It aims to promote greater understandingof these monuments by providing a clear, factual account of howeach of the Wonders came into existence, in a fun manner. Ineach chapter, the culture and time period of each Wonder isdiscussed. Along the way, there are also guides who point outinteresting things to note.

We hope that reading this book will help you gain a sense ofmarvel and pride in these man-made structures that have stoodthe test of time. At the same time, we hope that your knowledgeof different cultures and history will be enriched much further.

So sit tight and get ready to journey around the world andthrough time. Your trip to different cultures and eras is aboutto begin… Enjoy!

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The New Seven Wonders of the World

Contents

Introduction........................................................................................5

Chichén Itzá: City of the Maya......................................................9

Statue of the Christ Redeemer......................................................21

The Great Wall of China................................................................33

Machu Picchu: Lost City of the Inca............................................45

Petra: City in the Desert................................................................57

The Roman Colosseum......................................................................69

The Taj Mahal: Tomb of an Empress............................................81

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World................................93

Gateway to International GreetingsLearn greetings and simple phrases from 56different cultures to equip you to talk to yourpals and contribute to world harmony andpeace. Say “I love you” in 56 languages!

Gateway to Southeast AsiaRead this book to appreciate the history,heritage and culture of Southeast Asia,including the 10 ASEAN nations.

NEW

Also from Asiapac:

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The most famous list of monuments inthe world is the Seven Wonders of theWorld. This list has been around formore than 2,000 years!

But what exactly are the SevenWonders, and what makes themwonderful?

IntroductionDo you know

what the most famouslist of monuments in

the world is?

The original Seven Wonders of the World were seven man-made monuments which either had great cultural and religioussignificance, or were great artistic works. Beautiful temples,gigantic statues and marvellous gardens were on this list.

The idea of what makes a Wonder has changed in modern times,however. Many different lists of wonders have been published,including Medieval Wonders, Modern Wonders, IndustrialWonders, Natural Wonders and so on. There is even a list ofthe Seven Wonders of the Internet!

Hmm, I wonder ifall these are real

Wonders...

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In 2007, yet another list of greatmonuments came out. This one was made bythe Switzerland-based New Open WorldFoundation, and it is called the New SevenWonders of the World.

The New Seven Wonders of the World weredecided by a global vote. Between 2001 and2007, more than 100 million people from allaround the world voted for their favouriteseven monuments by phone and the Internet.

There’s yet anotherlist of Wonders now. Thisone is called the NewNewNewNewNew

Seven Wonders ofthe World!

The original list of Wonders was made by Greek scholars in200 B.C. This list is now known as the Seven Wonders of theAncient World, to distinguish it from all the other lists thathave been made.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World are:The Great Pyramid of GizaThe Hanging Gardens of BabylonThe Statue of Zeus at OlympiaThe Temple of Artemis at EphesusThe Mausoleum of HalicarnassusThe Colossus of RhodesThe Pharos of Alexandria

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The New Seven Wonders of the World

Here are the New Seven Wonders and the countries they arefound in.

Chichén Itzá (Yucatán, Mexico)The Christ Redeemer (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)The Great Wall of China (China)Machu Picchu (Machu Picchu, Peru)Petra (Ma’an, Jordan)The Roman Colosseum (Rome, Italy)The Taj Mahal (Agra, India)

Just like the original Seven Wonders, the history of each NewWonder is closely interwoven with the history of its countryand with the culture of the people who built it.

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Why have a new list?

Despite being famous and inspiring, the original Seven Wonderslist cannot really be called a list of “Wonders of the World.”This is because the list is a very limited one. It contains onlylandmarks in the Mediterranean region. Monuments in otherparts of the world, such as the Taj Mahal and the Great Wallof China, are not included despite being more impressive thansome of the landmarks on the list. In fact, the Greek scholarswho made the original list probably did not even know thatgreat monuments existed in other countries!

What’s more, most of the Ancient Wonders no longer exist.They were destroyed by natural disasters, wars or vandalism.The only Ancient Wonder which still stands today is the GreatPyramid of Giza, in Egypt.

Perhaps the originalSeven Wonders listshould be called the

Seven Ex-Wonders ofthe World?

Let’s find outabout the New

Wonders.

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Chichén ItzáCity of the Maya

Yucatán, Mexico

The New Seven Wonders of the World

A UNESCO World Heritage Site

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For about 200 years between A.D.900 and A.D. 1100, a great citystood on the Yucatán peninsula insoutheastern Mexico. This city wasChichén Itzá: the capital city of theancient Maya.

Then in the 12th century, a civil warbroke out and the city wasabandoned. But Chichén Itzá wasnever really forgotten. It was toolarge, and its location was tooprominent, for people to just leaveit like that.

Did you know that therewere multicultural, multiethnic cities

in as early as A.D. 900?

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Although Chichén Itzá is called a Mayan city, it was actuallybuilt by a mix of people from all parts of the region. They hadcome to the Yucatán to escape wars taking place elsewhere,and decided to settle down there. This made Chichén Itzáunique among other cities of the period, which usually had onlyone culture. Chichén Itzá, however, had a mix of manydifferent cultures, very like modern-day cities.

The government of Chichén Itzá was also unique. In that era,most of the governments in the world were ruled by a singleperson. But Chichén Itzá was ruled by a number of leadersfrom different cultural groups.

MeMeMeMeMexxxxxiiiiicococococoChichén Itzá

You didn’t need to be fromany particular tribe to live in Chichén

Itzá. Everyone was welcome!

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Who Were the Ancient Maya?

The ancient Maya were the most culturally developed peoplein Mesoamerica during the first millenium. They built manygreat cities including Chichén Itzá, and influenced many ofthe other societies in the region.

Mesoamerica, or “middle America”, is an area in between thetwo American continents. The people living in this area arefrom many different tribes and ethnic groups, but theircultures and languages were very similar. Besides the Maya,some other ancient Mesoamerican peoples were the Olmec,the Aztec and the Zapotec.

In the present day, the Maya peoples are minority groups livingin several different Mesoamerican countries, such as Mexico,Guatemala or El Salvador. Some have integrated into modernsociety, while others have kept their traditional culture.

My ancestors werethe people who built

Chichén Itzá!

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Fast Facts about Chichén Itzá

The name Chichén Itzá means “beside the well of the Itzá.”The Itzá are said to have been the people who founded thecity.

When Chichén Itzá was nominated as a Wonder of the World,the whole city wasn’t chosen at first – just its main building,the Pyramid of Kukulkán. Later, the whole city was included.

The ground area of Chichén Itzá is 30 square kilometres. Thiswas very large in ancient times, but it is very small today.Modern cities have a ground area of hundreds of squarekilometres!

There are seven main buildings still standing in Chichén Itzá.They are:The Pyramid of KukulkánThe Great Ball CourtThe Temple of the Warriors and the Plaza of the ThousandColumnsThe ObservatoryThe OssuaryThe Deer House and the Red HouseThe Nunnery

If the Itzá are thepeople who foundedthe city, then what isthe well of the Itzá?

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The Well of the Itzá

The “well of the Itzá” is not really a well. It is a large cenotenorth of the city, called the Sacred Cenote. Cenotes are deepsinkholes containing fresh water. They are formed when rockdissolves underground and water fills the hole left behind.

The Sacred Cenote is the largest cenote in the Yucatán. It is60 metres in diameter and about 40 metres deep. Cenotesbecome shallower with time, however, so it is likely that theSacred Cenote was at least twice as deep 1000 years ago!

The ancient Maya believed that cenotes were holy places. Forhundreds of years after Chichén Itzá was abandoned, itsSacred Cenote was still a great pilgrimage site.

People used to makeritual offerings to the gods at

cenotes. They threw valuable itemsof gold and carved stone into

the water.

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The Pyramid of Kukulkán

The Pyramid of Kukulkán is the biggest building in ChichénItzá. It is right in the middle of the city, and it is a temple,palace and calendar all in one!

On the top of the pyramid is a temple to the god Kukulkán.The people of Chichén Itzá worshipped this god. They believedthat he looked like a feathered serpent, so they made manycarvings of feathered serpents all over the city. For instance,there are two huge serpent heads at the bottom of the mainstair on the Pyramid of Kukulkán.

The pyramid has a square base, with four sides. It has nineterraces on each side, with a total of 52 carved panels on allthe terraces. A wide stair leads up each of the four sides,and each stairway has exactly 91 steps.

Why are allthese numbers

important?