Taj Mahal - The New Seven Wonders Of The World

India's white-domed marble Taj Mahal made it to the list of new seven wonders of the world after competing with 20 other monuments.

The Swiss-based New 7 Wonders Foundation announced the global poll results early today, which also included the 6,400km Great Wall of China, another architectural marvel.

Taj Mahal, the world-famous love monument built by Mugul Emperor, Shah Jahan, in honour of the memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, was selected through a global poll that began in 1999 and ended on Friday.

After much fanfare, the results were announced in a star-studded televised ceremony from Lisbon, Portugal, that included the other winners -- Coliseum in Rome, Ruins of Petra in Jordan, Statute of the Chrit the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Incan ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru and Mexico's Mayan city of Chichen Itza.

Voters had to pick the final seven from 21 sites via internet and telephone after the jury pruned the long list of 77.

The private campaign, a brainchild of Swiss filmmaker, Bernard Weber, had attracted almost 100 million voters when the polls ended at midnight on Friday.

There was much euphoria in the Indian media after the Taj Mahal, located in Agra, was named as one of the world's new wonders.

Construction of the grandiose Taj Mahal began in 1632 and was completed in 1648, which blends a mixture of architectures -- Islamic, Persian, India and Turkish.

In 1983, it was listed as Unesco's World Heritage Site and described as a "universal admired master piece of the world's heritage".

Initial reports indicated that Taj Mahal received the highest number of votes during the long campaign.

Source: Bernama
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