Monday, May 21, 2007

7 Wonders

There's a movement afoot to create a new 7 wonders of the world and apparently more than 45 million people have already voted. I like the idea of the New 7 Wonders and I even appreciate that anyone with an e-mail address can vote for them. The original 7 wonders had their titles conferred on them by academics in ancient times, only one is still standing, and there hasn't been much agreement on what should replace those wonders that have fallen, which means there hasn't really been a list of 7 wonders in well over a thousand years. It's about time there was a new list.

I do find it odd that one of the criteria for the new wonders is they have to have been built or discovered prior to 2000. That opens it up pretty wide, allowing for the inclusion of the Sydney Opera House (built in 1954) among the possible contenders. I'm not saying the Sydney Opera House isn't a fascinating piece of architecture, and I haven't seen it up close so maybe I shouldn't say anything, but it's not exactly awe inspiring. Also, included on the list of candidates are the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower, which are, perhaps, slightly more awe inspiring than the Sydney Opera House, but not much.

I would think the candidates would be structures that are grand in scope and have been around for ages. For me the architecturally interesting factor is multiplied exponentially if it's old, perhaps ahead of it's time, perhaps spanning multiple architectural styles and time periods. Having an interesting, and long, history was the main criteria I used in deciding what to vote for. I see the appeal of the iconic, though less historically significant, but I don't think that's what the list is about.

The only two of these prospective new wonders that I've actually been to are Schloss Neuschwanstein and Alhambra. Neuschwanstein is beautiful and has a pretty interesting history, plus it's iconic (of course a lot of people aren't entirely sure Neuschwanstien isn't modeled after the Cinderella castle at Disneyland rather than the other way around), but it's not that old relative to a lot of the other monuments on the list of possible wonders. The day I went to Neuschwanstein was the highlight of my travels on a personal level but from a tourist perspective, Alhambra, was definitely the highlight of my 7 week sojourn in Europe. It's massive and has such a rich history, plus it's beautiful and has been around almost a millennium. So, all of this is designed to get you to go vote for the Alhambra and which ever 6 other wonders strike your fancy. Before you go though, check out some pictures of the incomparable Alhambra:

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