NEW WONDERS OF THE WORLD 070707

Out of the seven man-made monuments that have been voted the New Seven Wonders Of The World, three are in South America while one is in the Middle East. We tell you some interesting facts about them

MACHU PICCHU, PERU
It is a city built in the 15th century by the Incas. Its name means "old mountain"
Its buildinga are made of blocks of stones that were cut to fit together tightly without mortar. Not even a knife can be slotted between the stones
Its lies halfway up the Andes Plateau, deep in the Amazon jungle, and above the Urubamba River
It was rediscovered in 1911. The city was lost for centuries after the Incas fled when a wave of smallpox out in the area

CHICHEN ITZA, MEXICO
Probably the greatest site left behind by the Mayans, this was built as early as the sixth century. Its name means "at the mouth of the well"
The main attraction is the pyramid temple El Castillo. You have to climb 365 steps to get to the top. The number of steps is the same number of days in a year in the Mayan Calendar
The temple is a place for worshipping Kukulcan, a feathered serpent deity that was believed to have had a part in creating the Earth and humans

CHRIST THE REDEEMER, BRAZIL
The statue stands at 38m tall on top of the Corcovado Mountain, overlooking Brazil's capital city Rio de Janeiro
Designed by a Brazilian and a French, it took five years to build and was opened to the public in 1931
At the base of the statue is a chapel for holding Catholic baptism and wedding ceremonies

PETRA, JORDAN
Built by the Nabateans in 9BC, many buildings in the city were carved ubti rocky mountains
It is famous for having created an oasis by saving water from floods to survive in the desert
It was badly damaged by an earthquake in 363AD

The other three wonders are India's Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China and Italy's Colosseum