Everything Great and Grand.

The INTERNET is USA Today’s wonder of the world. Who wouldn’t agree with them, right? I just love the internet and I don’t think I would last a day without it. I know that most of us already are familiar with internet but will define it formally. Wikipedia gave out the following definition of internet.

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast array of information resources and services, most notably the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail.

I so definitely agree with this being a wonder of the world!

According to USA Today, the third seven wonder of the world are the Polar Ice Caps. I was so curious about that I made thorough research and check out what I found from Wikipedia.

Polar Ice Cap is a high latitude region of a planet or natural satellite that is covered in ice. There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap, nor any geological requirement for it to be over land; only that it must be a body of solid phase matter in the polar region. This causes the term ‘polar ice cap’ to be somewhat of a misnomer, as the term ice cap itself is applied with greater scrutiny as such bodies must be found over land, and possess a surface area of less than 50,000 km²: larger bodies are referred to as ice sheets.

Amazing!! Definitely GRAND!

The Old City of Jerusalem is the second wonder of the world according to USA Today. It is a 0.9 square kilometre (0.35 square mile) walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem. It lies within the East Jerusalem. It has been popular not only for the catholics but also by other religions. It is home to several sites of key religious importance, like the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims. Yes, it is THAT popular. In 1980, it has become more popular since Jordan proposed the Old City to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site List. It was then added to the List in 1981.

Potala Palace is one of USA Today’s seven wonders of the world. It is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China and named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. You may be wondering why it has been considered one of the wonders? Me too. Aparently, Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, after an invasion and failed uprising in 1959. Now, you can see this personally since the Chinese government has converted this place into a museum.

The Taj Mahal located in Agra, India, is a mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. This was built in memory of emperor Shah Jahan’s favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. This has been popular ever since. It is one of the new seven wonders of the world.

“A white marble tomb built in 1631-48 in Agra, seat of the Mugal Empire, by Shah Jehan for his wife, Arjuman Banu Begum, the monument sums up many of the formal themes that have played through Islamic architecture. Its refined elegance is a conspicuous contrast both to the Hindu architecture of pre-Islamic India, with its thick walls, corbeled arches, and heavy lintels, and to the Indo-Islamic styles, in which Hindu elements are combined with an eclectic assortment of motifs from Persian and Turkish sources.”

—Marvin Trachtenberg and Isabelle Hyman. Architecture: from Prehistory to Post-Modernism. p223.

Quite magnificent knowing that it all started for the love of the emperor’s wife. Who would have thought that this would be really popular after all those years? A really wonder of the world, no doubt about it.

One of the seven new wonders of the world is Petra which means ROCK. It is also a World Heritage Site since 1985. Tourists has visited this tourist attraction many times. It is a historic and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma’an. It consists of a rock cut architecture and water conduits system.

Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited tourism attraction. It lies on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba.

* Photo and details from Wikipedia.

I have always known Machu Picchu because of Inca Trail. But it is more than that actually. Machu Picchu is one of the new seven wonders of the world. Machu Picchu is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 metres above sea level. Quite a view when you are up there. But I read that when you plan to climb it, you have to make it your job to do research because climbing Machu Picchu is not easy as it seems.

It is situated on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru, which is 80 kilometres northwest of Cusco and through which the Urubamba River flows. Most archaeologists believe that Machu Picchu was built as an estate for the Inca emperor Pachacuti (1438–1472). Often referred to as “The Lost City of the Incas”, it is perhaps the most familiar icon of the Inca World.

I have read tons of blogposts about climbers who were able to reach this. It was difficult yes, but I’ve noticed that no one had regrets and would want to climb it again sometime in the future.

The other day a friend of mine uploaded her photos of her Beijing trip. I can’t help but feel green with envy. It was marvelous. The view was breath-taking. Especially the Great Wall of China being one of the new seven wonders of the world. The Great Wall is built with stones and earthen fortications to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by the Xiongnu from the north. This was then rebuilt and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century. The Great Wall stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. This wall is made up of 6,259.6 km of sections of the actual wall. It is also made up of 359.7 km of trenches and 2,232.5 km of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

My friend had a great time there. According to her the food in Beijing was healthy so she didn’t have to buy diet pills anymore during her trip. Well at least she was healthy during the whole trip. What a perfect trip if that’s the case

Healthy food + fantastic view = GRAND Getaway.

The Roman Coliseum or previously known as the Flavian Amphitheatre is one of the new seven wonders of the world. It is an elliptical amphitheatre located right in the heart of of Rome, Italy. They consider it as the largest ever built during the Roman Empire. I remember this in the Gladiator movie. This is quite popular in the Hollywood movies. Because this was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles being capable of 50,000 spectators. It is also used for mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

* Details and Photo from Wikipedia.

Christ the Redeemer, a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is one of the new seven wonders of the world. It is considered to be the largest Art Deco statue in the world too. It stands 39.6 meters or 130 ft tall. That includes the 9.5 meter or 31 ft pedesdal. It is 30 meters wide and weighs around 635 tons. It is physically located at the peak of Corcovado mountain in Tijuca Forest National Park. It overlooks the city making it really huge. After all those years, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil.