7 Wonders

인류가 만든 가장 위대한 건물이나 문화유산은 어떤 것들 일까요?

개인적으로 세계에서 가장 높은 빌딩은 뉴욕의 엠파이어스테이트 빌딩, 우리나라에서 가장 높은 빌딩은 삼일 빌딩이라 배운 적이 있습니다. 사십여 년 전 일이지요. 지금은 우리나라만 해도 백층이상의 건물들이 곳곳에 들어서고 있으니 격세지감을 느낍니다.

2년 전인 2007년 지구촌에 사는 사람들에게 인간이 만든 가장 훌륭한 건물이나 문화유산이 어떤 것일지 물어보았습니다. 인터넷을 투표를 통하여 일곱개의 문화유산을 뽑았습니다. 약 백만 명의 사람들이 투표에 참여하였답니다.

결과는 다음과 같았지요. 이탈리아의 콜롯세움, 중국의 만리장성, 인도의 타지마할, 요르단의 페트라, 브라질의 예수부활상, 페루의 마츄피츄, 멕시코의 피라미드였습니다.

지금은 지구상에 있는 놀라운 자연 유산은 어떤 것인지를 묻고 있습니다. 가장 위대한 자연 유산 일곱 개를 뽑는 작업을 진행하고 있는 데 28개의 공식적인 후보지가 발표되었습니다. 그랜드 캐년, 아마존, 갈라파고스 섬, 사해, 하롱 베이, 마테호른 등이 눈에 띄는데 우리나라의 제주도도 포함되어있습니다. 앞으로 인터넷 투표를 통하요 최종 일곱개 지역을 선택할 예정입니다. 놀라운 자연의 그 장대함을 상상하는 것만으로도 신이 납니다. 크고 작은 자연과 현상을 바라보며 놀라움을 경험합니다. 자연을 느끼고 자연 가운데 누리고 사는 것 자체가 축복이라 생각됩니다.

기회가 된다면 이 스물여덟 개 후보지 가운데 많은 곳을 다녀 보고 싶습니다.

<Natural Wonders' Idol>

GENEVA - The Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef are competing with 26 other spectacular natural landmarks in the final phase of the global poll to choose the "New 7 Wonders of Nature," organizers said Tuesday.

The Amazon rain forest, the Dead Sea, Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa and Ecuador's Galapagos islands are also among the finalists, according to the organization New 7 Wonders led by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber.

People can vote by Internet or phone. The winners will be announced in 2011 and share in the glory already enjoyed by the seven man-made wonders chosen two years ago.

Over 1 billion people are expected to join in the voting, said Weber.

"This campaign should contribute to the appreciation - to the knowledge - of our environment and not just the one in our country but worldwide," he told The Associated Press. "If we or our children want to save anything, we should first appreciate it."

A panel of experts chose the finalists among the 77 nominees that gained the most votes in an early round of polling. People had suggested 261 landmarks in countries all over the world.

The panel chaired by Federico Mayor, former chief of UNESCO, the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, picked the finalists depending on geographical balance, diversity and the importance to human life, Weber said.

He said he was happy to see that the nominees include places that lie in more than one country, such as the Dead Sea or the Amazon rain forest, which makes people work together across borders.

"Already from the nomination phase, we see the enthusiasm of big countries," Weber said, adding that particular high numbers of votes have come in from Indonesia.

High voter participation has come from other Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh and Vietnam, as well as from Latin America, he said.

Weber declined to give any numbers of votes so far. But the organization plans to release detail about voter profiles later, he added. Registration on the Web site aims to prevent people from voting twice.

"U.S. voters' participation is always quite high up," he said.

Africa, where most people vote by mobile phones, has had the biggest increase in votes over the last few weeks, Weber said.

The finalists also include Azerbaijan's Mud Volcanoes, Lebanon's Jeita Grotto, Ireland's Moher Cliffs and Germany's Black Forest.

Around 100 million people voted in the selection of the seven man-made wonders in 2007. The winners were the Colosseum, Italy; the Great Wall of China; the Taj Mahal, India; Petra, Jordan; Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil; Machu Picchu, Peru; and the Pyramid at Chichen Itza, Mexico.

Choosing world wonders has been a continuing fascination over the centuries. UNESCO keeps updating its list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 890 places.

The New 7 Wonders campaign aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments and natural sites. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.

(The following sites are the 28 official New 7 Wonders of Nature finalists, which were nominated from hundreds of sites around the world:

Amazon

Angel Falls, Venezuela

Bay of Fundy

Black Forest

Bu Tinah Shoals,UAE

Cliffs of Moher

Dead Sea

El Yunque, Puerto Rico

Calapagos

Grand Canyon

Great Barrier Reef

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Iguazu Falls

Jeita Grotto

Jeju Island, South Korea

Klimanjaro

Komodo, Indonesia

Maldives

Masurian Lake District

Matterhorn/Cervino

Milford Sound, NZ

Mud Volcanoes, Axerbaijan

Puerto Princesa Underground River, Philippines

Sundarbans, India

Table Mountain

Uluru, Australia

Vesuvius

Youshan, Chinese Taipei

Full list of the finalists on: http://www.new7wonders.com/

(Source: TORONTO SUN WEDNESDAY JULY 22, 2009. page 32 by Eliane Engeler, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)