Jeita

Lebanon's Jeita grotto finalist in New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign

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• published: 23 Jul 2015
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22 July 2009 1. Wide shot panning roof of Jeita Grotto 2. Mid shot tourists walking inside the grotto 3. Mid shot tilt down of grotto 4. Mid shot tourists looking at a map 5. Various of grotto 6. Mid shot train shuttling people to the grotto 7. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Um Mohammad, Qatari tourist "It is beautiful, it deserves to be seen because of it's unusual scenery. When you see it you feel the glory and the endurance of God. When you go into it you come out feeling different". 8. Wide of tourists walking. 9. SOUNDBITE (English), Paula Mokdari, Canadian tourist "The most beautiful, magnificent thing that I have ever seen in my whole entire life. I think as a tourist everyone should go to Jeita. It is absolutely gorgeous" 10. Wide of tourists walking. LEADIN Lebanon's Jeita Grotto has been selected as one of 28 finalists in a worldwide campaign to choose the "New 7 Wonders of Nature". Jeita was chosen from 77 nominees by a panel of experts who assessed 261 international landmarks picked by the public. STORYLINE The beauty and magnificence of nature - revealed here in the Jeita Grotto. These caves and galleries have been known to man since Palaeolithic times. The action of water has created cathedral-like vaults beneath the wooded hills of Mount Lebanon forming magnificent caverns. The Cave is made of two levels, the Lebanese speleologists (cave experts) have penetrated about 4.5 miles (7 km) from the entry point of the grotto to the far end of the underground river and about 1.3 mile (2.2 km) of the upper galleries. Now this amazing location has made it as one of the finalists in a worldwide beauty competiton. It's competing with such natural landmarks as the Galapagos, the Dead Sea and the Amazon. Finalists are selected according to their diversity, importance to human life and geographical balance by a jury panel chaired by former UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) chief, Federico Mayor. Jeita Grotto is often referred to as the "Pearl of Nature in Lebanon". It's made up of two crystallized limestone caves and an underground river. Umm Mohammad, a Qatari tourist says "It is beautiful, it deserves to be seen because of it's unusual scenery. When you see it you feel the glory and the endurance of God. When you go into it you come out feeling different". While Paula Mokdari , a Canadian tourist says "It is the most beautiful magnificent thing that I have ever seen in my whole entire life. I think as a tourist everyone should to Jeita. It is absolutely gorgeous" The wonders will be chosen by mobile phone and internet users across the world. The Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef have been named finalists alongside 26 other world-famous natural landmarks in a global poll to choose the "New 7 Wonders of Nature." The Amazon rain forest, Dead Sea and Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa were among the other finalists announced Tuesday by the organization led by Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. Weber also organized the recent poll that collected 100 million votes for choosing seven man-made wonders to replace the largely destroyed ones from antiquity. People can vote for the new poll by Internet or phone. The winners will be announced in 2011. Weber's organization says a panel of experts chose the finalists from 77 nominees that gained the most votes in an early round of polling. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/b0d76ef422529a1fd8f5a9fd3f9edcf5 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork