Middle Six Wonders

With the 07.07.07 reveal coming up soon, I need to get back on the ball and finish up my list. Here are my middle six wonders from Bernhard Weber's list.

1. Kremlin, Red Square, and St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow, Russia
In addition to the criticism that these three structures have little of anything to do with one another, there really isn't all that much to this nominee. The Kremlin is little more than a fort and Red Square is little more than a flat plaza. What's left is St. Basil's, and one psychotropic multi-colored building does not a wonder make.

2. Acropolis, Athens, Greece
Location, location, location. While the Acropolis features an impressive collection of Greek ruins, the reason why it's so famous it because it sits atop a hill in the middle of the largest city on the Balkan Peninsula. It is impressive to see the Parthenon tower of this thriving metropolis, but my list will only consider location if it adds to the engineering difficulties.

3. Tombouctou, Mali
Looking at pictures of Tombouctou online, it certainly appears to be a fascinating place. It was an oasis of learning in the middle of the Sahara Desert, complete with mosques and libraries constructed out of mud. While it sounds really cool, it is the nominee I know the least about, so I have trouble selecting it for my final list.

4. Alhambra, Granada, Spain
Like Tombouctou, I don't know too much about this sprawling palace in Granada, Spain. It is a prime example of Moorish architecture, showing the confluence of Spanish and Islamic influences. The intricate carvings in the pink stone are what distinguish this structure. But from an icon standpoint, if someone like yours truly doesn't know what it looks like off the top of his head, it's not going to make the list.

5. Chichen Itza, Mexico
The world's other pyramids were a ceremonial site for the Maya people. Unlike the Giza pyramids, the structures at Chichen Itza are step pyramids with staircases on the outside. The site also includes flat-topped temples, an observatory, and a court where an ancient sport resembling basketball was played, with the losing team being sacrificed to the gods. The reason why Chichen Itza does not make my final list is because there are only seven slots.

6. Easter Island, Chile
This nominee was the final cut from my list. While it is a bunch of stones arranged in one place like Stonehenge, these stones are actually carved in the shape of faces, which multiplies the spooky factor. And yeah, there are a lot of them -- 394 still standing, to be exact, though at one point, there were 887.