ARCHITECTURE

The Seven Wonders of the World

Antipater of Sidon, a Greek living in Lebanon, wrote the well – known list ‘the seven wonders of the world’ 2200 years ago. Since then, six have disappeared. Only the Great Pyramid at Giza, in Egypt, remains.

We asked an architect what he could tell us about the seven wonders of the ancient world?

‘Well, four were Greek monuments, but they didn’t last for long, and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon in Iraq are a bit of mystery, but The Pharos Lighthouse at Alexandria, in Egypt, was incredible. It was as tall as a 40-storey building and for 1500 years, sailors in the Mediterranean Sea could see its lights 50 kilometers away. The Great Pyramid is amazing as well. The ancient Egyptians buried King Khufu in it. It’s already survived for 4500 years, and for 3500 of those years it was the tallest building in the world. But there were other wonders that Antipater didn’t know about. He didn’t realize that the Chinese were building The Great Wall Of China 2200 years ago, and he didn’t know about the stone circle at Stonehenge in England, either. That’s been there for more than 5000 years.’

What are The Seven Wonders of the Modern World?

‘Well, there isn’t an official list. The Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, and the Sydney Opera House are my favorites. Then there’s the 50 kilometers Channel Tunnel, between England and France… and Malaysia’s famous Petronas Twin Towers. In fact, my list changes every day!’

What is at the top of your list today?

‘Well, in Dubai they’ve just built three-holiday islands in the sea, each in the shape of a palm tree. They’re absolutely enormous and have hundreds of attractions as well as villas and hotels. On another man-made island, there’s a 60- storey hotel in the shape of dhow’s sail. Burj al-Arab is the world’s tallest hotel- it’s 320 meters tall- and the most luxurious. It’s got seven stars! Then there’s Burj Dubai tower. They haven’t completed it yet, but it’ll soon be another ’wonder’: the world’s tallest skyscraper.’

Before we start our new lesson let’s see this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8UMNb5yKJg

Do you know anyone of these places?

Which one of these wonders still exist?

What is architecture?

While reading questions:

What type of object were the seven wonders of the world?

What did the pharos do?

Why did the ancient Egyptians build the Great Pyramid?

Why didn’t the Antipater’s list include all of the wonders of the ancient world?

Why is Burj al-Arab a wonder?

Why will the Burj Dubai tower be special?