CAIRO: Organizers of the New Seven Wonders of the World vote-based ranking of a new set of world wonders, recently announced 21 finalists in the first-ever global poll. The seven winners will be announced at a gala show in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 7, an event that will be broadcast live worldwide. Citizens the world over can vote online or through landline or mobile phones. Mobile phone users can also text message their votes. Telecommunication companies in Egypt and Jordan, whose Pyramids of Giza and Petra are have been short listed among the 21 most voted for sites, have deals with the foundation to facilitate voting in both countries. Although Jordan welcomed the competition and received its representatives in Petra, Egyptian antiquities officials were reluctant to show their support for the initiative, believing that the competition was a conspiracy against the Giza Pyramids. The competition includes: Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid, Rome's Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, Peru's Machu Picchu, Jordan's Petra ruins, the Pyramids of Giza, India's Taj Mahal, the Greek Acropolis, the Alhambra in Spain, Cambodia's Angkor Wat temple, Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer, The Effiel Tower in Paris, Chile's Statues of Easter Islands, Stonehenge in the UK, Turkey's Hagia Sophia, Kiyomizu Temple in Japan, Moscow's Kremlin and St. Basilca Cathedral, Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, New York's Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Opera House and Timbuktu in Mali. According to the foundation, votes for the Statues of Easter Island and the Kremlin have dropped markedly. The Easter Island Moai figures are not longer in the top seven and the Russian cathedral and Kremlin are now in the bottom seven. On the other hand, the Alhambra in Spain has moved from the bottom group to the middle, and the Pyramid at Chichen Itza is now among the top seven. The New Seven Wonders World Tour, which began at the Acropolis in tribute to the ancient Greek concept of the Wonders of the World, ended at the Statue of Liberty on March 7. At time of press 109 days and eight hours were left to vote. You can vote online at new7wonders.com or by phone from Egypt by calling landline number 09009201, or call 2059 on you mobile phone. Send a text message with the word ahramat or Pyramids to 9372 (Mobinil) and 9372 (Vodafone).
