Jordan Times
Monday, February 19, 2007
Petra on course for New 7
Wonders title
Ramsey G. Tesdell
AMMAN — Petra is currently on course to become one of the new 7 wonders of the
world after a shortlist of candidates released by the organisers earlier this
month placed the ancient Nabataean city in the top seven.
According to New7wonders.com, votes polled from across the world currently place
Petra among the top seven sites competing for the illustrious title, along with
the Coliseum, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, Taj Mahal, the Pyramids of
Giza and the statues of Eastern Island.
On January 16 Her Majesty Queen Rania accepted the official certificate of
candidacy announcing Petra as one of the 21 finalists competing for the title,
which is organised by the privately funded New7Wonders Foundation founded by the
Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber.
The competition was not intended to replace the Ancient Seven Wonders declared
by Philo of Byzantium in 200BC, according to Weber, but rather to preserve other
historical landmarks and enhance global cultural heritage awareness.
Petra was first revealed to the Western world by the explorer Johann Ludwig
Burckhardt in 1812 and described in poetry as “a rose-red city half as old as
time.”
The once bustling city was the capital of the Nabataean Arabs, who controlled
the trading routes which passed through Petra to Gaza in the west, Basra and
Damascus in the north, Aqaba in the South, and across the desert to the Persian
Gulf.
In November last year, Jordan initiated a nationwide promotional campaign to
garner support for the ancient city’s bid to join the ranks of the world’s
wonders.
Votes can be cast online (www.visitjordan.com), by telephone (090009300), or by
SMSing the word “Petra” through MobileCom and Umniah (92381), and Fastlink
(91181).
The New7Wonders Foundation will announce the winners at an official ceremony in
Lisbon, Portugal on July 7.