The Wonder of Wonders

The new Seven Wonders of the World were announced on 07/07/07 in Lisbon, Portugal. These modern marvels replaced the ancient septet via an internet poll managed by a filmmaker.

The Bangkok Post later listed the modern Ancient Wonders.

Millions of people were the jury as opposed to Philon of Byzantium choosing the ancient Seven Wonders. One man with one vote picked what existed in his world i.e. the Mare Nostrum or Mediterranean Sea.

Only the Pyramid remained out of the original Magnificent Seven. The rest have vanished from the face of the Earth.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt had been built to guide ships through the labyrinth of sandbars to reach the port of Alexandria in Egypt. The Lighthouse, or Pharos of Alexandria, was the only ancient wonder to have served a practical purpose. Built between 299 and 79 BC, the lighthouse stood some 166 metres above the city's western harbour and was financed by the Greek merchant Sostratus who wanted to help ensure the safety of shipping traffic. Polished bronze mirrors were specially devised to reflect sunlight out to sea during daytime, and fires were lit to serve as a beacon for lost ships at night. The tower stood relatively intact until a series of earthquakes and gradual deterioration from natural elements caused the structure to collapse and eventually be dismantled for its stones.

The Temple of Artemis stood as the most magnificent accomplishment of Greek civilization and Hellenistic culture, built as a tribute to Artemis - the Greek goddess of the hunt, mistress of Nature, protector of wild beasts and the sister of Apollo. The Temple of Artemis was located in Ephesus, the richest seaport in Asia Minor. It once consisted of 127 marble columns each standing 20 metres tall. First built in the 6th century BC, the temple was destroyed by fire 200 years later and then rebuilt under the supervision of Alexander the Great.

The great temple was eventually destroyed successively by invading Gothic hordes, earthquakes, and plunderers. Today, only a solitary column remains of this once-glorious structure.

The Statue of Zeus was commissioned in 438 BC by the Council of Olympia in reverence for Zeus, the ruler and most powerful of the Olympian gods. The great statue was the work of the Athenian sculptor Phidias and was constructed inside the Parthenon, the great temple overlooking the city. According to Phelon of Byzantium, this was the most inspiring of all the seven wonders of the ancient world. The statue of Zeus was later destroyed along with its temple after an earthquake in 170 BC.

The Colossus of Rhodes stood 32 metres high on a marble plinth built to revere the Sun God Helios who supposedly helped Rhodes to ward off Demetrius of Macedonia. Constructed by the engineer Chares of Lindos, the Colossus of Rhodes was completed after 10 years of meticulous work so that the legs would sustain the enormous weight of the giant statue's balls. Unfortunately, in 227 BC, an earthquake caused the Colossus to crack at the knee and set it in motion so that it collapsed into pieces.

Even so, the statue was so admired that it was left lying in huge fragments for over 900 years until its valuable parts were brought to Syria.

The Hanging Gardens of Babylon had been built in 7th century BC in the middle of the arid Mesopotamian desert, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon were testimony to one man's ability to, against all the laws of nature, create a botanical oasis of beauty amid a bleak desert landscape. King Nebuchadnezzar created the gardens as a sign of esteem for his wife Semiramis, who, legend has it, longed for the forests and roses of her homeland. The gardens were terraced and surrounded by the city walls with a moat to repel invading armies. There remains doubt, however, amongst historians and archaeologists as to whether this lost paradise ever existed, given that excavations at Babylon have left no definitive trace of this mythical oasis.

The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus was dedicated to King Mausolus of Caria by his grieving wife, Queen Artemisia, as a memorial to their great love. According to Plinius the Mausoleum once stood 50 metres high and was surrounded by 36 columns, standing atop a marble pedestal at the intersection of the two main streets of Halicarnassus.

The Mausoleum stood relatively intact until 1522 AD, when the Vatican ordered the tomb's destruction to rid the world of another example of pagan art. Just another reason why I hate the Catholic Church.

The Pyramids of Egypt are only surviving Wonder of The Ancient World. Built between 2600 and 2500 BC, the three pyramids at Giza encompass more than 5 million limestone blocks which were painstakingly transported via timber sleds and by being rolled over the top of logs.

As cranes were yet invented, each block had to be dragged via ramps up to its designated place. According to Herododus, the largest of the three pyramids, known as the Great Pyramid, about 146 meters high took 20 years to complete and served as the tomb for the Egyptian Pharoah Khufu. The pyramids represented the link between heaven and earth and were a signal to Horus, God of the World.

sic gloria mundi transit or all glory flees this world.

ps All that Bible crap about the Jews being slaves was bullshit.

As for the modern wonders, I voted for the Alhambra, Stonehenge, Timbuktoo, Chichen Itza, Taj Mahal, Sophia Hagia, and the Easter Island Statues, the last, because my late Cousin, David Barry and I called ourselves the Easter Island Head people.

We never decided who had the bigger head.

Him or me.

Unfortunately there were no write-in spaces for Sophie's Phnom Penh.

It was a wonder of wickedness.

And home for the wicked.

Sophie's Bar Phnom Penh - a touch of darkness

Entry by Ty Spaulding

This Phnom Penh landmark is located on an unlit side street. It is not easy to find. The taxi motorcyclists on the sidewalk eye your entrance as you’ve had your ticket stamped by the devil. You climb up a decrepit set of stairs, which look like the Khmer Rouge might have executed cadres against the walls. The second floor door is double-bolted. A knock opens it. The main room is a bar about the size of a Holiday Inn suite. Only there’s no bed, just six stools and a few tables.

But you didn’t come here for the decor.

The girls are 18-30. The number about 20. The attire is flimsy. Young and old, beautiful and ugly. Something for everyone’s taste. They swear to be Khmer and not Vietnamese, as if working at Sophie’s fulfills a patriotic duty.

Once inside the red-lit bar four hostesses will seat you before auditioning to star in a remake of DEEPTHROAT. Your permission is not asked. Resistance is futile.

At this point the old hag behind the bar asks if you want a drink.

You order a beer, because you can’t tell who’s been drinking out of the glasses.

The male clientele are NGO pervs fighting off a heroin habit, incurable drunks, balding sex tourists on a Viagra binge, Euro-trash libertines, and missionaries seeking to save souls somewhere other than Sophie’s.

You exchange glances. This is a very compromising situation and you check the ceiling for VDO cameras to make sure you aren’t being spied on by the NSA or worst your friends porno surfing the net.

I couldn’t find any.

About two minutes after your first breath in Sophie’s (the smell of cigarettes, cheap liquor, and man sweat) the girls break their crotch huddle and ask who you thought was best and do you want to retire to a side room for more research.

As sinful as it may seem, saying no was more damnable than saying yes. Two or three girls will drag into a back room, where you will be their darling for however long it takes. The shabby rooms are decorated with cracked walls and soiled sheets to maintain the atmosphere. You can hold conversation with your friend in the next room or at the bar. The walls are thin as cheap pizza and almost as greasy.

The ménage-a-trois cost $20 and beers at $2.

The price for your soul. Eternal damnation.