The seven wonders of the world are a series of architectural works or monuments that stand out for their stories, purpose, and unique appearance in the modern world.
In the year 2000, the corporation New Open World Corporation , started an international public contest, through a voting system by which people could choose those structures considered as the seven wonders of the modern world. There were over a hundred million votes. Participants could vote online or by text message.
The list was extensive and only admitted structures made up to the year 2000 and still standing. Twenty-one finalists were selected and on July 7, 2007, at the Estadio da Luz, Portugal, the winners were announced as the 7 Wonders of the Modern World.
Temple of Kukulkan (Mexico)
The temple of Kukulkan, worships the Mayan entity Kukulkan or feathered serpent, an image that can be seen in different parts of the pyramid. This temple is also known as “El Castillo”, a name given by the Spanish conquerors.
It is a pre-Hispanic religious structure built in the 12th century AD by the Mayan community that lived in Chichen Itza. This structure reflects the great knowledge of this civilization on astronomical, mathematical and geometric topics used to understand what happened in the seasons of the year and its influence on agricultural activities.
The temple is characterized by having a 30 m high pyramidal structure with a square base, nine levels and four stairways located on each of its sides with 91 steps, for which it is presumed that it served as a calendar system. At the top it has a temple (small temple).
Also noteworthy is the phenomenon of light and shadow that is observed in the temple during the equinoxes, which forms the figure of a snake that descends from the top of the temple to the ground.
In 1988, Unesco declared the Kukulkan Temple a World Heritage Site. This is part of Chichen Itza, a city and important political and religious center of the Mayan empire, located in the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. The Mayan civilization was one of the most important in Mesoamerica located in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Belize.
The Colosseum (Italy)
The Colosseum in Rome or Flavian Amphitheatre, is one of the largest, best preserved and representative architectural works of the Roman Empire. It is located in Rome and was built in the first century, by order of Emperor Vespasian, between AD 70 and AD 80.
The Colosseum is characterized by its oval shape, 189 m long and 48 m high. Different techniques and materials such as wood or stone were used in its construction. The floor was covered with sand and underground there are tunnels and rooms where gladiators, the condemned and animals were housed.
This amphitheater could be occupied by more than 50,000 spectators. It was a public space where fights between gladiators, animal hunting, fights between men and animals, executions, battles and plays were performed. It is also said that naumaquias were performed, a representation of naval battles, in which the floor of the Colosseum was flooded with water.
The Colosseum was in operation for about 500 years, so it was used until the 6th century. This architectural work was declared a World Heritage Site in 1980 by Unesco.
Christ the Redeemer (Brazil)
The Christ the Redeemer, or Cristo del Corcovado, is located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a colossal statue of Jesus of Nazareth built on top of Cerro Corcovado, about 710 m above sea level, in Tijuca National Park.
The idea of building Christ the Redeemer dates back to 1858, but the proposal came to fruition in 1921. Hector da Silva Costa was responsible for the execution of the work, and the French Paul Landowski for the sculpture, who had the collaboration of the Romanian sculptor Gherorghe Leonida, commissioned to sculpt the face of Jesus.
This work of sculpture and engineering was inaugurated on October 12, 1931. It is characterized by weighing more than a thousand tons, measuring 38 m in height and 28 m in the extension of the arms. The Christ the Redeemer is made with a piece of reinforced concrete and, during its construction, none of the workers who participated in the work died. It can be seen from much of the city.
Great Wall of China (China)
The Great Wall of China is recognized as one of the largest buildings ever built by humans. Its main objective was to prevent invasions and provide security for the Chinese Empire. The first constructions of this wall began in the 6th century BC.
The Great Wall of China is characterized by having had a very long construction process, which is why it was carried out during different Chinese reigns. Thousands of people participated in this process and different materials were used such as earth, sand, wood, stones, limestone or granite.
The Wall consists of watchtowers, barracks and parallel wall walls in various sections of its extension. It is estimated that its extension reached 21,196 km.
Currently, the best-preserved section dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), with a length close to 8,000 km, the rest is in ruins or has largely disappeared due to erosion. In 1987, Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site.
Machu Picchu (Peru)
Machu Picchu, which translates from Quechua as “Old Mount”, is one of the best preserved pre-Columbian constructions. It is located in the Cusco region, at about 2430 m above sea level.
The American professor Hiram Bingham, a scholar of the Incas, together with a group of people, was the first to recognize the importance of the ruins that he visited for the first time in 1911.
Two zones are distinguished: the agricultural zone made up of a series of terraces, and the urban zone made up of a temple, a square, the Royal Residence, residences, among other spaces.
In 1983, it was declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, and today it is a highly visited tourist destination in Peru.
Petra (Jordan)
Petra, whose name derives from the Greek and means “hewn out of stone”, was an ancient and important city, located in a valley near the Dead Sea. Petra is characterized by having temples and tombs with facades carved in sandstone rock.
Its foundation dates from the end of the 8th century BC by the Edomites, an ancient population of the Mediterranean Levant. Starting in the 4th century BC, it was occupied by the Nabateans, an Arab people, who managed to make Petra an important trade route, especially for spices.
In addition, the Nabateans built a water system that allowed the existence of gardens and agricultural activity.
The settlers began to abandon the city as new commercial routes arose and due to the occurrence of two earthquakes.
The ruins of Petra were discovered in 1812 by the Swiss explorer Jean Louis Burckhardt, and it was declared a World Heritage Site on December 6, 1995.
Taj Mahal (India)
The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India. It is a funerary monument built at the request of the Muslim emperor Shah Jahan, in honor of his wife Mumtaz Maḥal, who died during the delivery of her fourteenth child.
This mausoleum is one of the most emblematic of the architecture of the powerful Mughal empire that existed between the 16th and 19th centuries in India.
The construction process of the Taj Mahal took 22 years, in which about 20,000 workers participated. In its construction, materials such as white marble and semi-precious stones were used for decorations.
Its structure is composed of a large central dome and four smaller domes. In addition, it has a large garden that serves as a reflecting pool.
In 1983, Unesco declared the Taj Mahal as a World Heritage Site.
