Wonders of the world

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World And its modern alternatives

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World were a collection of remarkable constructions listed by various Greek authors . The classic list consisted seven wonders located in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Great Pyramid of Giza

Constructed during 2584 BC and 2561 BC, the Great Pyramid of Giza which is 230.4 metres wide at its base and 146.5 metres tall is the only surviving ancient wonder.  It was named the tallest man-made structure for more than 3,800 years.

Examples of Modern pyramids

Louvre ,Paris
(urbanfragment.wordpress.com)

*Glass entrance to the Louvre in Paris

*Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California 

*Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas 

*colossal Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea being the world's tallest pyramid-shaped structure (330 metres)

*The Shard in London (309.6m tall- 2nd tallest)

colossal Ryugyong Hotel(www.rustourismnews.com)

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

 It was damaged during a Goth raid in 268AD, after which the ruins temple was rediscovered during 1869, and fragments of it can be seen in the British Museum.

Examples of Modern temples:

 *Wat Rong Khun,Chiang Rai, Thailand

Wat Rong Khun(www.amusingplanet.com)

*Golden Temple, Amritsar -India

*Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto, Japan

*Sagrada Familia - Barcelona 

*Lotus Temple, New Delhi- India

Lotus temple(www.huffingtonpost.in)

Hanging Gardens of Babylon

Although some believe it was mythical, sources suggest it was built by King Nebuchadnezzer II in 600BC. The site comprised series of tiered gardens which resembled a large green mountain rising from the centre of ancient Babylon, near present-day Hillah in Iraq. The exact location of this ancient wonder  has not been established and If the gardens did exist at all, it was destroyed soon after the first century AD.

Examples of Modern gardens:

*Dubai Miracle Garden

(www.miraclegardendubai.net)

*Kew Gardens

*The Keukenhof Gardens

*The gardens at Versailles

*Villa d'Este in Tivoli, Rome

(www.mejplacehostel.com)

Lighthouse of Alexandria

Built between 280BC and 247BC by the Ptolemaic Kingdom, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was 137 metres in height. It was damaged by three earthquakes between 956 and 1323, surviving as a ruin until 1480, the last of its stones were used in the construction of the Citadel of Qaitbay, which still remains.

Examples of Modern lighthouse:

*Lindau in Germany 

*Key Biscayne in Florida

*Andenes in Norway

*Jeddah Light (tallest being 133-metre)in Saudi Arabia

Statue of Zeus at Olympia

Giant seated representation of the Greek god Zeus built by the sculptor Phidias in 435BC in the Temple of Zeus made of wooden framework covered with ivory plates and gold panels and the throne was decorated with ebony, ivory, gold and precious stones.which was lost in fire.

Examples of Modern alternative:

*Golden Buddha in Bangkok (world's largest solid gold statue of 5.5 tons)

(www.giganticstatues.com)

*Spring Temple Buddha in Henan, China (128 metres-tallest in world)

*Statue of Liberty

*Motherland Calls

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

Built between 353BC and 350BC, a tomb for Mausolus 45 metres in height and covered in ornate reliefs by four different Greek sculptors.It was located near Bodrum, Turkey.

destroyed by successive earthquakes between the 12th and 15th centuries.

Examples of Modern alternative:

*Taj Mahal, Agra -India

*Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square, Moscow

Colossus of Rhodes

This statue to the Greek god of the sun, Helios, 30 metres tall and made of bronze and iron with a marble pedestal, stood at the entrance to the harbour at Rhodes, on the Greek island. It was destroyed by an earthquake

Examples of Modern alternative:

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro 

Refrence:

Smith, O. (2015). What are the seven wonders of the world?. [online] Telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middleeast/11752712/What-are-the-seven-wonders-of-the-world.html [Accessed 09 Dec. 2015].