WHEN IT COMES TO naming the world’s greatest hits, seven seems like an awfully small number. Especially considering only one of the seven original, ancient wonders is still standing — the Great Pyramid of Giza. In 2007, a Swiss foundation put it to the public to nominate a new crop of modern wonders, seizing the long overdue opportunity to recognize some of the most iconic sites on the planet today.
Millions voted, declaring the following wonders worthier than the rest — unsurprisingly, all seven are UNESCO World Heritage sites. From South America’s most famous,
citadel to the former stomping grounds of Rome’s fiercest gladiators, these are the historic, iconic, and immensely photogenic new Seven Wonders of the World.
The Taj Mahal is a labor of love. Emperor Shah Jahan built it in honor of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who bore 14 children but died in labor. Jahan was lost without her, and in 1631,
he began construction on what is probably the world’s most elaborate and expensive mausoleum (though the tomb itself is unadorned per Muslim law).
Construction required a rumored some 20,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants, who hauled marble from all over the region. The Taj is famously symmetrical,
which is part of why it’s so beautiful to look at and photograph. It you go, go for sunrise before it gets overwhelmed with visitors.
