AMMAN -- The Kingdom initiated a nationwide promotional campaign on Monday to garner support for an intensive global voting competition that could render Petra one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World."
The rock-carved ancient Nabataean city of Petra, also known as the "Jewel of Jordan," is currently up against 20 other world heritage sites competing for the distinguished title.
The winners will be announced on a live global broadcast from Lisbon on July 7, 2007.
The competition, organised by the Swiss-based, nonprofit New 7 Wonders (N7W) Foundation, is the first global voting campaign seeking to highlight leading cultural and historical treasures deemed worthy of global recognition.
A panel of architectural experts involved in intensive preparations for the competition since last year, short-listed 77 nominations by millions of voters and announced the 21 finalists at the end of last year.
They include the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal, the Acropolis, the Pyramids of Giza and Britain's Stonehenge.
The Kingdom began its own promotional effort to raise the profile of Petra with promotional pictures of the ancient site and information on the different ways people can cast their vote splashed across the country's four Arabic dailies.
Votes can be cast by telephone, online or by sending an SMS with the word "PETRA" through Fastlink and MobileCom.
Fastlink has offered a special price of 100 fils for each vote made at 91181, while MobileCom users can cast their vote at 92381 for 200 fils.
Citizens can also cast their vote through a landline by calling 090009300 with the charge of 300 fils per minute or vote free of charge through the website www.visitjordan.com.
Public schools across the country have also been raising awareness of the competition among students to garner support.
The Jordan Tourism Board, the country's primary agency for marketing the Kingdom abroad, has promoted the site extensively in international exhibitions over the past two months.
Jordan Tourism Board Managing Director Mazen Homoud said the agency has invested in the campaign through ongoing promotional efforts as well as the design of advertisements posted in newspapers, adding that the ad campaign will be followed by broadcast promotions on FM radio and television.
N7W founder and Swiss-Canadian adventurer Bernard Weber explained earlier that the Seven New Wonders competition was not intended to replace the Ancient Seven Wonders declared by Philo of Byzantium in 200BC, but rather to create awareness of, preserve other historical landmarks and enhance global cultural heritage awareness.
Weber, who is also a film producer, curator and aviator, said half of all net revenues raised by the competition will go towards restoration efforts worldwide, including a major project for the reconstruction of a giant statue of Buddha in Afghanistan destroyed in March 2001.
As part of the competition, the foundation began a world tour of the sites of the 21 finalists in September to allow them to showcase their cultural significance.
They have already visited the Acropolis in Athens, made a stop in the Alhambra in Granada last month and are scheduled to be in the Great Wall of China today.
A similar stop will be made in Petra in early January.
Nominated sites for New 7 Wonders of the World
The New 7 Wonders Panel of experts selected 21 finalists from a long list of hundreds of nominations proposed by over 19 million votes worldwide. The nominations in alphabetical order are as follows:
1 Acropolis, Athens, Greece
2 Alhambra, Granada, Spain
3 Angkor, Cambodia
4 Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
5 Christ Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
6 Colosseum, Rome, Italy
7 Easter Island Statues, Chile
8 Eiffel Tower, Paris, France
9 Great Wall, China
10 Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey
11 Kyomizu Temple, Kyoto, Japan
12 Kremlin/St.Basil, Moscow, Russia
13 Machu Picchu, Peru
14 Neuschwanstein Castle, Fssen, Germany
15 Petra, Jordan
16 Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
17 Statue of Liberty, New York, USA
18 Stonehenge, United Kingdom
19 Sydney Opera House, Australia
20 Taj Mahal, Agra, India
21 Timbuktu, Mali
By Dalya Dajani
© Jordan Times 2006
