see the seven wonders of the world

Victoria Falls

David Livingstone, the African explorer described his first encounter with Victoria Falls as ‘A Scene Gazed Upon by Angels in Their Flight.’ Indeed it is so beautiful.

Flying into Zimbabwe, one sees from a distance a white mist cloaking the horizon. For those unfamiliar with the scene, one could easily mistake it for billowing smoke – so pronounced is its form. Yet as the ground draws closer and the horizon becomes all the more familiar, the white mist is seen more clearly as an evaporating spray rising like an upward reflection of the plummeting falls below.

It is a surreal experience standing but a distance from the great floodgates of Victoria Falls. The assailing mass of water that cascades over the Zambezi ridge ignites a deep thunder that echoes through the still rainforest like resounding drums, and the gathering mists which hover above the swirling waters adorn every leaf and stone in sight with sparkling droplets of water. I will always remember standing before the plunging waters in awe-evoked wonder, unable to speak, unable to shift my gaze, trying to comprehend the magnificence of the sight before me.

I crossed the border into Zambia by way of a local bicycle peddler and some arm-twisting negotiations with the border patrol and was opportuned with the experience of seeing the falls from the great dividing bridge that separates the two countries. Climbing down to the undercarriage of the bridge system, I sat in reflective silence. A translucent rainbow suspended itself from the skies and was shadowed only by the cascading backdrop of the falls… an unforgettable moment.

One can not help but feel decidedly small when surrounded by the thundering glory of Victoria Falls and be somehow enchanted by the impression that we are modern-day visitors stepping into a world that knows no age nor time. A great wonder of the world that has been there since the dawn of man and is oft gazed upon by angels in their flight.

Angkor Wat

The new sun of the 21st century, rising above a civilization over 1000 years old is quite a paradox, yet I think it’s the only way to really see Angkor in its true antediluvian beauty. The blackened silhouette of the ancient kingdom mirrors upon a perfectly still lily-clad lake and the first light of morning breaks forth in a glorious rendition of golden light.

There is a mystical wonder that avails itself upon those who see Angkor in its first light. One is impressioned with a deep respect for the civilizations of old and an irrepressible feeling that our modern age has lost something of the enchanting beauty that exudes from these ancient walls. The hour of reflective solitude that I spent at Angkor Wat will ever be counted as one of my fondest memories, sitting on a white plastic chair with a cup of condensed milk dowsed coffee and my thoughts assailed by an aura of enchanted wonder.

Everywhere we look the world presents us with exploits of wonder and breathtaking beauty. It is hard indeed to categorize the world�s greatest monuments into a short list but were it not defined so strictly, the mind would boggle with the number of spectacular wonders canvassed upon the earth.

I hope this list can act as a prompting to try in my lifetime to see as much as the world as possible, to partake in the earth’s history and medieval beginnings, to embrace the beauty of its lands and seas and to capture snapshots of those wonders that may not exist for much longer on earth but will forever be ingrained upon our memory.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World:
The Great Pyramid of Giza
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia
The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
The Colossus of Rhodes
The Pharos of Alexandria

The Seven Wonders of the Medieval Mind:
Stonehenge
The Colosseum
The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
The Great Wall of China
The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
The Hagia Sophia
The Leaning Tower of Pisa

The Seven Natural Wonders of the World:Mount EverestThe Great Barrier Reef
The Grand Canyon
Victoria Falls
The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro
Paricutin Volcano
The Northern Lights

The Seven Underwater Wonders of the World:
Palau
The Belize Barrier Reef
The Galapagos Islands
The Northern Red Sea
Lake Baikal
The Great Barrier Reef
The Deep Sea Vents

The Seven Wonders of the Modern World:
The Empire State Building
The Itaip� Dam
The CN Tower
The Panama Canal
The Channel Tunnel
The North Sea Protection Works
The Golden Gate Bridge

The Seven Forgotten Natural Wonders of the World:
Angel Falls
The Bay of Fundy
Igua�� Falls
Krakatoa Island
Mount Fuji
Mount Kilimanjaro
Niagara Falls

The Seven Forgotten Modern Wonders of the World:The Clock Tower (Big Ben)
The Eiffel Tower
The Gateway Arch
The Aswan High Dam
Hoover Dam
Mount Rushmore National Memorial
The Petronas Towers

The Seven Forgotten Wonders of the Medeival Mind:
Abu Simbel Temple
Angkor Wat
Taj Mahal
Mont Saint-Michel
The Moai Statues
The Parthenon
The Shwedagon Pagoda

The Forgotten Wonders:
The Aztec Temple
The Banaue Rice Terraces
The Borobudur Temple
The Inca City
The Statue of Liberty
The Mayan Temples
The Temple of the Inscriptions
The Throne Hall of Persepolis
Petra
The Suez Canal
The Sydney Opera House
The Red Fort in India