Have you ever wondered where the term ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ originated? Being the travel geek I am, I have!
The original “Seven Wonders of the Ancient World” was compiled by a Greek travel writer around 225BC. There were seven defined themato, Greek for “things to be seen”. I guess you could call this the first “Bucket List”.
The original seven ancient wonders were:
Great Pyramid of Giza
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Statue of Zeus at Olumpia
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Colossus of Rhodes
Lighthouse of Alexandria
Naturally, people being people, there was disagreement at the time whether these were the top seven. But this list of seven did endure through the ages. Only the Great Pyramid remains today.
During the Middle Ages, there came an “updated” list: I am not sure how this one was compiled, but it was generally accepted at the time.
Stonehenge
Colosseum
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
Great Wall of China
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
Hagia Sophia
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Probably the most debatable, albeit best known, is the “New” Seven Wonders list that was determined by a global vote initiated by a Swiss marketing group in 2007. Controversially, the finalists didn’t include the Great Pyramid and the voting itself was unscientific with no limitation set on number of votes by individuals or entities. Robo-voting, cries of voter fraud and scandals ensued!
Chichen Itza
Christ the Redeemer
Colosseum
Great Wall of China
Machu Picchu
Petra
Taj Mahal
Great Pyramid of Giza*
*Added as honorable mention due to the uproar. Did I mention Voter Fraud? 😊
Any list will be subjective. But they’re great conversation starters and for adventure dreaming.
You may be like me in that my “bucket list” is more than seven. But in the spirit of this article, I trimmed down to seven. This list includes places I have not yet experienced. Maybe in another article I will list my top seven that I’ve already experienced.
Petra
Victoria Falls
St. Basil’s Cathedral
Great Wall of China
Taj Mahal
Antarctica
Galapagos Islands
What is on your list? I would love to hear from you!
tglenn@sevenwondersclub.com or 408-705-4127