The New 7 Wonders of the World

Welcome to I Am Your Target Demographic. This is a follow-up to some of my most popular videos, highlighting the seven wonders of the ancient world, the middle ages, and the modern world. I didn't create these lists. They were already established, but people still got pretty upset when some of their favorite monuments didn't appear. Well, I found a new list of seven wonders that may please most of them. The New Seven Wonders Campaign was organized by an organization in Switzerland called the New Seven Wonders Foundation, which collected 200 global monuments and allowed the public to vote, receiving over 100 million votes. There was some controversy, however, as it was possible that voters could vote multiple times, maybe inflating some of the decisions. Anyways, they ended up recognizing seven wonders across the world, and we're going to highlight them here. Two of them have already been featured, so I'm going to be brief about these first two. In no particular order, we begin with the Great Wall of China. Stretching over 13,000 miles, these massive fortifications were built throughout a period in Chinese history beginning back in the 7th century BCE and more recently up into the 1600s. That is a big span of time in which different Chinese leaders would develop different stretches of the wall. This was typically to defend themselves but also served as funnels to help inspect trade goods as they entered and left China. The second wonder that we've already covered in videos is the Roman Colosseum. In the center of Rome, this is the largest amphitheater ever built, once serving as a place to see theater, public executions, gladiator bouts, and more. It also holds the title of most popular tourist attraction in the world with 7.4 million visitors in 2018 alone. It gets its name, Colosseum, from a nearby gigantic statue that has since been torn down which represented first Emperor Nero but then was reworked throughout time to represent each current emperor and sometimes even Roman gods. It's unsure how the statue eventually crumbled or when, but it's no longer standing. All that remains is a few blocks from its foundation. And now we dive into wonders that are new to this list. They weren't included in the prior three videos. We start with the city of Petra, located in Jordan. Petra is a city believed to be settled as early as 9000 BCE. It was built as a trading hub for nomadic tribes nearby to use as a central location. Petra was attacked and was attempted to be invaded many times, but its unique placement in the mountains made it nearly impenetrable until eventually the empire conquered this place. It was abandoned and left alone, aside from small nomad tribes, until the 1800s when it was rediscovered by the wider world. The area now relies on commerce and tourism which is made difficult by the political instability of the area. And now we travel to the city of Chichen Itza in the Mexican state of Yucatan. This city was built by the Mayan people in what's believed to be around 750 BCE. Up through the 10th century, the city became an important regional capital. The most prominent feature of Chichen Itza is the temple of Kukulkan, who is a serpent god worshipped by the Mayans. This temple used to be open for visitors to climb on until a woman fell down the stairs to her death in 2006. Surrounding the temple, there are also 13 ball courts where sports used to be held, including the most well-preserved ball court in Mesoamerica. You can see other buildings and landmarks in the area, though some are much more well-preserved than others. This is a major tourism site in the area now with many official shops as well as local vendors who travel to the site to sell their goods. We now head to Peru, to the Inca site of Machu Picchu, originally built as a royal estate for its rulers in the 1400s. It seemed to be abandoned after only about 80 years, after the Spanish conquest which brought an outbreak of smallpox that seemingly killed most of its inhabitants. It was overgrown and hidden from civilization until the late 1800s or early 1900s, and it wasn't until 1981 that Peru declared the site a historic sanctuary. It's often celebrated for its unique geographic layout, embracing the mountainside surrounding it. To boost tourism in the area, there are plans by the Peruvian government to construct a cable car that would take tourists to the site, though these plans are often protested by people who might see an influx of tourism as a danger to the site. And now we're off to Brazil, to Rio de Janeiro and the Christ the Redeemer statue. Built over the course of nine years, it was completed in 1931. It was truly a global project, built as a collaboration between Brazilian and French engineers, with the face sculpted by a Romanian artist. It's located at the top of Mount Corcovado, and it has taken some severe weather damage, prompting regular restoration work. The winds cause erosion, and several lightning strikes have caused details to chip off, so stone from the same quarry was brought in to repair it. A chapel was even consecrated beneath the statue by the Catholic Church, allowing weddings and baptisms to take place there. The last wonder voted onto this list is India's Taj Mahal. It was built in the mid-1600s by the then emperor Shah Jahan. He had multiple wives, but built this mausoleum to bury himself and his favorite wife. It's a massive complex, also containing a mosque, living areas, and gardens, totaling about 42 acres. This place is considered a wonder because of the pure artistic value, every corner intentional and intricate. While most of it is elaborately decorated, the actual graves in the lower level are simple, per Muslim law. So which of these sites would you like to visit? Let me know down in the comments, and look forward to next week when we cover the new seven wonders of nature, focusing on now wonders created without the help of man. If the video is already up, you can find it here. Otherwise, we'll see you next week.