By: Shelby S. Shelby S. 1
Introduction What makes a place qualify as a wonder of the world? There are many different lists out there that name what that author believes the wonders of the world are. Some people are amazed to believe that some places qualify for the list. You may ask, what is so special about it? Interpreted many different ways, all wonders of the world symbolize a greater meaning. Whether it is the significance to human history, a one of a kind, or has some sort of magic touch, the original 7 Wonders of the World and the New 7 Wonders of the World are magnificent places. I hope you enjoy reading this book to get the chance to learn and decide for yourself the true definilon to a wonder of the world. Shelby S. 2
The original list of the wonders of the world are now known as the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Out of all seven, there is only one that slll stands today! Shelby S. 3
1. The Pyramids of Giza The pyramids of Giza is the only wonder of the world ancient world that remains standing today. There are three pyramids total and each one, located in Egypt, are perfectly lined up to the four points on a compass. Shelby S. 4
The largest of the three, was constructed with an eslmated 2,300,000 limestone blocks, weighing about 2.5 tons each. Shelby S. 5
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon Located in Iraq, these hanging gardens were created by a man named King Nebuchadnezzar who made them for his wife. These gardens were in Babylon which is about 50 miles southwest of Bagdad in Iraq and contained plant and animal species from around the world. Unfortunately they no longer exist today. Shelby S. 6
3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus Dates back to the middle of the 8 th century to the middle of the 3 rd century B.C. The temple is located in Turkey in the ancient city of Ephesus which is now called Selkuk. It is named a^er the goddess Artemis and does not slll stand today. Shelby S. 7
4. Statue of Zeus This statue towers at 22 feet wide and 40 feet high. It was created in 432 B.C. and took an eslmated total of 12 years to build. The sacred Statue of Zeus was built to honor him in one of the Greeks most important feslvals, the Olympic Games. This statue does not slll stand today. Shelby S. 8
5. Mausoleum at Halicarnassus Halicarnassus is the name of the city in which the mausoleum was located to honor King Mausolus of Caria who died in 353 B.C.E. in the Peloponnesian war. The mausoleum was located in what is now Turkey but is no longer standing. Shelby S. 9
6. Colossus of Rhodes This statue stood over 2,000 years ago and is very similar to the modern day Statue of Liberty located in New York City. The statue pictured was located at a harbor on the island of Rhodes which is near the southwestern Lp of the Asia Minor in 408 B.C. and was built to signify freedom. This statue no longer stands today. Shelby S. 10
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria This magnificent lighthouse s localon was in Egypt on the island of Pharaos. There are 3 floors in the lighthouse, the first being square, the second octagonal, and the third cylindrical. The lighthouse in Alexandria was used to see ships up to 100 miles away! This lighthouse no longer stands today. Shelby S. 11
Since only one ancient wonder slll exists today, it only makes sense that a new list had to be made. In order to decide what localons would be on the list, a world- wide vote was taken where over 100 million people voted to decide! Coming up is our current Seven Wonders of the World. Shelby S. 12
1. The Great Wall of China The great wall of China started geing built nearly 2,000 years ago! For some reason, it has a common reputalon as being used for proteclon in war but that was not actually the case. About 20 dynasles together built this huge piece of history, mostly in peace, having to do with economics, culture, policies, etc. There is nothing else like this in the enlre world. Shelby S. 13
The Great Wall of China, as pictured above is a grand total of 13, 170.69 miles long! In the Ming dynasty there are 723 Beacon towers, 7,062 lookout towers, 3,357 wall plakorms, and 1,026 other ruins alone. Shelby S. 14
2. Christ the Redeemer Statue This GIGANTIC statue can be seen in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The statue, also called Cristo Redentor took 9 years to construct and is considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world. It was built in 1931 and is 130 feet tall! Shelby S. 15
3. Machu Picchu This next wonder of the world is located in Peru, in South America. In the 15 th century it was used as an Inca (South America Indian) site where many rituals were performed. Machu Picchu is posiloned 7,972 feet above sea level. Shelby S. 16
4. Chichen Itza Located in the Mexican state of Yucatan is this Mayan temple built out of stone. Archaeologists today believe that it was built in the pre- Columbian era around 600 A.D. Shelby S. 17
5. The Roman Colosseum Originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Roman Colosseum is located in centre city Rome, Italy. ConstrucLon started in A.D. 70 and is built out of concrete and stone. It has a height of 157 feet and was made to seat up to 50,000 people at a Lme! Luckily, this amazing wonder is slll available today for tours for the public. Shelby S. 18
6. Taj Mahal Made out of pure marble, the Taj Mahal was built by a Muslim emperor Shah Jahan in honor of his wife. The Taj Mahal is located in Agra, India. This 22 year project was finished in 1648 and it now slll stands at a mere 561 feet tall. This one building cost 32 million rupees which is equivalent to over 500,000 U.S. dollars! For it s Lme, talk about an expensive project! Shelby S. 19
7. Petra, Jordan The ancient city of Jordan is commonly called the lost city of stone. Temples, houses, halls, altars, and aqueducts were all carved precisely out of the sandstone cliffs. Nearly 20,000 Nabataeans, descendants from an Arab tribe made this wonder their home. Preoy neat, isn t it? Shelby S. 20
Whether new, old, or even nonexistent, the wonders of the world are jaw-dropping, mystical places that almost everybody wishes they could see. You may even think of one that you consider to be a wonder of the world that is on the list. Hopefully this list has helped you decide what you, individually define as a true wonder of the world. Shelby S. 21
Growing up as a only child with divorced parents, I had a ton of 8me to roam around and go on many adventures. I have always wanted to travel and visit all the sights that there are to see in the world. Inspired by these thoughts, this book about the Wonders of the World was wri@en. Present day, at age 15, I live in northeastern Pennsylvania and am no longer an only child. My baby sister is a huge part of my life. In my free 8me I like to play sports (especially sofball), be with my friends, and listen to music. School is a ton of fun and I enjoy learning something new everyday, with my favorite subject being either English or History. Congratula8ons on gemng the opportunity to read my first wri@en book! Coming from other parts of the world, I hope you enjoy learning about the many Wonders of the World as much as I did. Some of these wonderful places I hope to visit someday maybe are even near you! Shelby S. 22