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Jeita Grotto
Vying to Make 'New 7 Wonders of Nature' List
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Lebanon's Jeita Grotto is vying to make the "New 7 Wonders of
Nature" list and needs the internet votes of the Arab world, the
general manager of the company which operates the facility has
said.
The Grotto is currently number 59 on the list of 77 candidates
to the New 7 Wonders of Nature. Votes can be cast until the
December 31 deadline on www.new7wonders.com, Kuwait's Kuna news
agency quoted Nabil Haddad as saying.
"A large media campaign will soon be launched under the auspices
of the Lebanese government, to back internet voting for Jeita
Grotto in the world competition," Haddad added.
He urged all Arabs to vote en masse because he said the grotto
represents the Arab nation as a whole.
The limestone grotto is located 18km north of Beirut in the
valley of Nahr al-Kalb. It has an upper and a lower cave. In the
upper cave, visitors can have a walking tour while people in the
lower grotto can take a cruise by small boat on a river which
reflects stalactites and stalagmites.
A ropeway carries visitors to the upper cave, or visitors can
use the train shuttle that runs back and forth between the upper
and lower caves.
The New7Wonders Foundation, of Swiss-born Canadian filmmaker,
aviator and explorer Bernard Weber, launched the campaign for
the new natural wonders.
Twenty-one finalists will be announced in January 2009, and the
top seven winners will be declared in mid 2010.
The current seven wonders of nature are Mount Everest, Nepal;
Victoria Falls, Zambia/Zimbabwe; Grand Canyon, Arizona (United
States); Great Barrier Reef, Australia; the Northern Lights;
Paricutin volcano, Mexico; and the Harbor of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil.
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