But what about the Pyramids of Giza? Nevine El-Aref investigates The Pyramids of Giza may be the only wonder of the ancient world still standing, but they are soon to be joined by other, newer upstarts, as the 2001 poll launched by a Swiss organisation to vote for seven new wonders of the world reaches its conclusion. Chosen from an original shortlist of 21 nominated sites, The New Seven Wonders of the World are due to be announced on 7 July. Originally the Giza Pyramids were on the shortlist, only to be removed three months ago. Their sudden removal provoked a flurry of rumours. Had they been taken off the list because Egypt's authorities, in the shape of Zahi Hawass, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, had been a vociferous opponent of the popular poll organised by Bernard Weber? Or was it because, when Weber arrived in Egypt, he was received less than cordially, with the press conference he had planned cancelled at short notice owing to "security concerns". Whatever the reasons, the Pyramids of Giza are off the candidate list. Or, more precisely, they will become an ex officio wonder for, according to a statement posted on the New Seven Wonders Foundation website, "after careful consideration, the New Seven Wonders Foundation designates the Pyramids of Giza -- the only remaining of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World -- as an Honorary New Seven Wonders Candidate. Therefore you cannot vote for the Pyramids of Giza as part of the New Seven Wonders campaign." "The Pyramids are a shared world culture and heritage site and deserve their special status as the only Honorary Candidate of the New Seven Wonders of the World campaign," the statement added. Hawass had long been opposed to the Swiss initiative to identify seven new wonders. He told Al-Ahram Weekly three months ago, when Weber was in Egypt, that the Giza Pyramids, as the only surviving seven ancient wonders, did not need to be put up for election. "How can ordinary people who do not have experience or any knowledge of history vote on sites?" Hawass asked. Belittling the notion of a "people's list", he insisted that such a poll should be restricted to archaeologists, historians and scientists and held under the umbrella of UNESCO. Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni echoed Hawass's complaints, describing the project as "absurd" and its creator, Weber, as a man "concerned primarily with self- promotion". A number of Egyptologists also expressed opposition to the scheme. Ali Radwan, head of the Arab Union of Archaeologists, rejected the project, while German Egyptologist Rainer Schudleman said he was opposed to an organisation which was attempting to forge history. Egyptologist Christian Leblanc, head of the French mission at the Ramessium Temple in Luxor, takes a more pragmatic approach. He told the Weekly that the ancient wonders are related to a specific epoch, and that it was unfair to compare them to those built in modern times with the benefit of new technologies. Sabri Abdel-Aziz, head of the Ancient Egyptian Department of the SCA, described the campaign as nonsensical. "How can people compare ancient edifices to huge buildings constructed with the latest technology? If they want to list seven wonders of the modern world they can do so, but they should leave the old ones alone," he said. Such was the extent of Hosni's and Hawass's ire that letters were fired off to UNESCO, the World Heritage Organisation, the World Heritage Centre (WHC), the Swiss ambassador to Egypt and local and international newspapers, denouncing the organisers of the poll as "a for-profit entity seeking to make money from launching a campaign in which a random sample of the general public is asked to vote for monuments that they consider the seven wonders of the world." Hawass wrote to UNESCO Director Koichiro Matsuura suggesting that, as the global institution charged with the protection of the world's cultural heritage, both ancient and modern, UNESCO step forward to offer an alternative poll. "We are still in the early years of the new millennium, and this would be an excellent time to convene a committee of 300 of the world's greatest scientists, thinkers, writers and philosophers to produce a list of the seven current wonders [ancient or modern] of the world," waxed Hawass. UNESCO has yet to respond.
