From Reuters:
LISBON (Reuters) – Peru’s Machu Picchu, Jordan’s Petra and the Acropolis were among the top contenders to be picked as the new seven Wonders of the World with just a few hours to go in a massive poll to pick the winners.
Voting in what may be the biggest ever global online poll closes at midnight on Friday ahead of the announcement of the winners at a ceremony on Saturday in Lisbon. More than 90 million people have voted so far.
Organizers say the contest is a unique exercise in leveling the global cultural playing field by putting hallmarks of European civilization on an equal footing with other cultures such as Mexico’s Mayas.
“We live in a Eurocentric world,” said Tia Vering, spokeswoman for the New 7 Wonders of the World (www.new7wonders.com) organization.
“When have we ever compared symbols of European civilization with, for instance, Mayan civilization?”
Europe’s leading contenders are the Acropolis in Athens, Rome’s Colisseum and the Eiffel Tower. They are competing with Machu Picchu, Mexico’s Chichen Itza ruins, India’s Taj Mahal, Petra in Jordan, Christ Redeemer in Brazil and the statues of Easter Island.
What would you vote for and why?
OOPS! Wow, that’s what this elf gets for working quickly and taking shortcuts and not following Kendall’s well-known advice to “read it all” BEFORE I posted the story!!! :red:
I was just skimming through a bunch of news items and thought this was a nice light non-controversial little piece for a Friday afternoon based on what I excerpted above. But, true confession time, I didn’t read beyond the excerpt above. So, I missed the big controversy which appears in the very next line of the article! (I only saw it after I posted this and was ready to close the window with the original article.)
[blockquote]The list prompted irritation in Italy, where leading Roman Catholic newspaper Avvenire criticized the lack of Christian sites among the contenders.
NO CHRISTIAN SITES
“How is it possible that 2,000 years of great Christian civilization — for many centuries the civilization full stop — have not managed to produce a single ‘wonder’?” Avvenire said in an editorial.[/blockquote]
Very interesting indeed! Hmmmm. And perhaps not quite the light little frivolous blog entry I intended it to be!
I did vote. My Vote #1 was for Petra, because it is important to at least some Christians. I have read that (but can’t swear in court that) the Israelites passed through there between Egypt and Gilgal. And some people believe Petra will one day be the home of the Children of Israel when they flee during the tribution. I know that isn’t the belief of most Anglicans. But I still hope to visit Petra some day!
Nancy,
Petra was one of the true highlights of my visit to the Middle East twelve years ago (when it was still moderately safe) and has my vote as well. I wonder just exactly what the Roman authorities consider the Christus Rex in Rio, folk art?
No Christian sites? What about the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio, which can be seen from virtually anywhere in the city and is manifestly a sculpted representation of…um…Jesus, and with a title that refers overtly to his salvific work. Sounds pretty “Christian” to me. (But, being a Rio native, I’m prejudiced in favor of this candidate.)
I would vote for a series of pictures of the development of a child in the womb. We are wonderfully and fearfully made and there is nothing to compare with how God has knit us together.
Fr. Dan+ Yikes! Duh! how did I miss that? First I didn’t read the full article. And then when I DID read it, I didn’t miss a glaring error?
Clearly this elf has blogged WAY too long this week. Time to call it a day, I think… The computer has turned my brain to mush, clearly.
I did vote, but can’t recall which seven I chose. I know Angkor Wat, the Great Wall, Petra, Mechu Pichu, were on my list, but I can’t recall the others. The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio is superb – I recall the impact it has when one is actually in Rio and it’s always visible (unless obscured by smog). Just not sure it’s a “wonder of the world” in the same category as the other sites.
How are Machu Pichu, Petra, the Mayans, inter alia, “modern”?
1. Kalamazoo Cathedral
2. The Crystal Cathedral
3. Oral Roberts University
4. The London Millennium Dome
5. Le Centre Pompidou
6. The Shanghai waterline
7. Most 1960s schools, universities, ‘public housing’.
I wonder why they were built and I wonder why they didn’t get the perps.
I should add England’s huge rusty ‘Angel of the North’, which is strangely inspiring, in the manner of a Nuremburg rally.
[blockquote]How are Machu Pichu, Petra, the Mayans, inter alia, “modern�[/blockquote]
Father, they are “modern” in the same way that the Pyramids or the Hanging Gardens were “modern” when ancient Greek historians compiled the first list. The list was a tourist guide; but only one of the Seven original “wonders” is still standing.
So the idea is to compile a modern tourist guide.
Incidentally, my vote goes to the interior of a little monastery church in Ottobeuren, Germany, which Michelin calls the grandest baroque church in Europe. (Since the Pyramids are not in the voting.)
Incidentally, if you haven’t been to Cairo and Giza, you have no idea how truly impressive the Pyramids are. For best effect, you go find an observation tower in Cairo before going to Giza.
They don’t look like much from a distance, because there’s no sense of scale. But up close…
Remember the Seven Wonders of the [Ancient] World? One was in Europe. Two were in Africa. Three were in Asia. One was on a Greek island right off the coast of Asia. Not exactly a Eurocentric list.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
My unorthodox candidate is the Chrysler Building, a skyscraper of elegance and grace
http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en/3/3b/Chrysler_building-_top.jpg
My more conventional candidates include:
— The Taj Mahal: in my view, the world’s single most beautiful structure
— Chartres Cathedral, to choose arbitrarily from among the many fine Gothic cathedrals
— The Eiffel Tower