Seven+wonders+of+the+modern+word

The [|new seven wonders] are:

(Quechua : //Machu Pikchu//, "Old Peak"; pronounced ['mɑ.tʃu 'pik.tʃu ] ) is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres (8,000 ft) above sea level. It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Cuzco and through which the Urubamba River flows. The river is a partially navigable headwater of the Amazon River. Often referred to as //"The Lost City of the Incas"//, Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire. The Incas started building it around 1460 AD but was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a hundred years later, at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Although known locally, it was said [//who? //] to have been forgotten for centuries when the site was brought to worldwide attention in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, an American historian. Since then, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist attraction. It has recently come to light that the site may have been discovered and plundered several years previously, in 1867 by a German businessman, Augusto Berns. In fact, there is substantial evidence that a British missionary, Thomas Payne, and a German engineer, J. M. von Hassel, arrived earlier than Hiram, and maps found by historians show references to Machu Picchu as early as 1874. Machu Picchu was declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO <span class="wiki_link_ext">World Heritage Site in 1983. Since it was not plundered by the Spanish when they conquered the Incas, it is especially important as a cultural site and is considered a sacred place. Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished <span class="wiki_link_ext">dry-stone walls. Its primary buildings are the //Intihuatana//, the //Temple of the Sun//, and the //Room of the Three Windows//. These are located in what is known by archaeologists as the //Sacred District// of Machu Picchu. In September 2007, Peru and <span class="wiki_link_ext">Yale University reached an agreement regarding the return of artifacts which Hiram Bingham had removed from Machu Picchu in the early twentieth century.
 * Machu Picchu** [[image:270px-Vista_de_Machu_Picchu.jpg width="206" height="206" align="left"]]

"petra-πέτρα", //cleft in the rock// in <span class="wiki_link_ext">Greek ; <span class="wiki_link_ext">Arabic : البتراء, //Al-Batrāʾ//) is an <span class="wiki_link_ext">archaeological site in the <span class="wiki_link_ext">Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, <span class="wiki_link_ext">Jordan , lying on the slope of <span class="wiki_link_ext">Mount Hor in a <span class="wiki_link_ext">basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the <span class="wiki_link_ext">Dead Sea to the <span class="wiki_link_ext">Gulf of Aqaba . It is renowned for its <span class="wiki_link_ext">rock-cut architecture . Petra is also one of the <span class="wiki_link_ext">new wonders of the world . The <span class="wiki_link_ext">Nabateans constructed it as their capital city around 100 BCE. The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced to the West by <span class="wiki_link_ext">Swiss explorer <span class="wiki_link_ext">Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a <span class="wiki_link_ext">Newdigate prize -winning <span class="wiki_link_ext">sonnet by <span class="wiki_link_ext">John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." In 1985, Petra was designated a <span class="wiki_link_ext">World Heritage Site.
 * Petra**[[image:petra.JPG width="204" height="264" align="left"]]

(pronounced /tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː/ ; from Yucatec Maya: //Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha'//, "At the mouth of the well of the Itza") is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Yucatán state, present-day Mexico. Chichen Itza was a major regional focal point in the northern Maya lowlands from the Late Classic through the Terminal Classic and into the early portion of the Early Postclassic period. The site exhibits a multitude of architectural styles, from what is called “Mexicanized” and reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico to the Puuc style found among the Puuc Maya of the northern lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of cultural diffusion. The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (//National Institute of Anthropology and History//, INAH). The land under the monuments, however, is privately-owned by the Barbachano family.
 * Chichen Itza**

//**Christ the Redeemer**// (Portuguese: //O Cristo Redentor//) is a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The statue stands 38 metres (120 ft) tall. It weighs 635 tonnes (700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700 metres (2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. It is the tallest of its kind in the world. Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue; it was sculpted by French sculptor Paul Landowski A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.

The **Colosseum** or **Roman Coliseum**, originally the **Flavian Amphitheatre** (Latin: //Amphitheatrum Flavium//, Italian //Anfiteatro Flavio// or //Colosseo//), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96). The name "//Amphitheatrum Flavium//" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (//Flavius//, from the //gens Flavia//). Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. As well as the gladiatorial games, other public spectacles were held there, such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine. It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games. Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined due to damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and its breakthrough achievements in earthquake engineering. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession to the amphitheatre. The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

The **Great Wall of China** (simplified Chinese: 长城 ; traditional Chinese: 長城 ; pinyin: Chángchéng; literally "long city/fortress") or (simplified Chinese: 万里长城 ; traditional Chinese: 萬里長城 ; pinyin: Wànlǐ Chángchéng; literally "The long wall of 10,000 Li ( 里 )" ) is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in China, built, rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from Xiongnu attacks during the rule of successive dynasties. Several walls, referred to as the Great Wall of China, were built since the 5th century BC. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang; little of it remains; it was much farther north than the current wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty. The Great Wall stretches over approximately 6,400 km (4,000 miles) from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia, but stretches to over 6,700 km (4,160 miles) in total. At its peak, the Ming Wall was guarded by more than one million men. It has been estimated that somewhere in the range of 2 to 3 million Chinese died as part of the centuries-long project of building the wall.

The **Taj Mahal** (pronounced /tɑdʒ mə'hɑl/ Hindi: **ताज महल**; Persian/Urdu: **تاج محل**) is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Ottoman, Indian , and Islamic architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component, the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Building began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, and employed thousands of artisans and craftsmen. The Persian architect, Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer of the Taj Mahal.


 * Portulated by me**: **Burj Al Arab - Dubai**







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