The 7 Wonders of the World, Classic and Modern

The wonders of the world are remarkable structures which were constructed by man himself. There are normally seven wonders in the list. The wonders of the world are essentially divided into three categories. They are the ancient wonders of the world, the medieval wonders of the world and the modern wonders of the world. The ancient wonders of the world, as the name implies, refers to the manmade structures built during the ancient period and located around the tip pf the Mediterranean Sea. They include Great Pyramids if Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Mausoleum of Mausollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and the Light House of Alexandria. In the original list of the ancient wonders of the world, Light house of Alexandria was replaced by Ishtar Gate. But by the 6^th century AD, Light House of Alexandria came in the place of the Ishtar Gate. Out of the seven wonders, only one has still survived the present day. All the others have been destroyed one way or the other either by natural disasters or by invasions. The one that remains is the Great Pyramids of Giza.

After the ancient period, a new list of the wonders of the world was created. This was named 'The wonders of the world', instead of the usual 'seven wonders of the world'. So there is no specific number for the list. The wonders of the world during the medieval period included Stonehenge, Colosseum, Catacombs of Kom el Shoquafa, Great Wall of China, Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, Hagia Sophia and Leaning Tower of Pisa. Other sites included Cairo citadel, Ely Cathedral, Taj Mahal and Cluny Abbey. Yet another list includes the Forgotten Wonders of the Medieval period which includes Abu Simbel temple, Anglor Wat, Taj Mahal, Mont Saint Michel, The Shurdagon Pagodan.

The list of the Modern Wonders of the world was made by the American Society of Civil Engineering. The seven wonders of the modern world include Channel Tunnel in between England and France; CN Tower in Ontario, Canada; Empire State Building in New York, USA; Golden Gate Bridge in California, USA; Itaipu Dam in Parana River between Brazil and Paraguay; Delta Works in Netherlands, Europe and the Panama Canal in Central America. Other lists are present for the Tourist Travel Wonders, Natural Winders and underwater wonders. The famous Taj Mahal in India comes under the tourist wonders of the world.