13 Reasons to Vote for Jeita Grotto

You know what?

Lebanese suck.

We really do. We need to bash EVERYTHING. There’s NOTHING that can take place in the country that is not frowned upon or looked down upon or criticized.

The latest? People are criticizing the whole “Vote for Jeita” campaign, with about 3 weeks left on the vote. They can’t even accept that the competition is NOT scam.

“Jeita doesn’t deserve to be a wonder,” is one of the things I’ve heard. “Why charge for the SMS to vote?” is another. “If the government wants Jeita to win, why don’t they vote?”

All of us need to want Jeita to win. Not the government. Not anyone else. We, as a people, should be proud that our country has something that has gained enough international recognition from international panels that judged Jeita as being worthy of being one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Regarding the SMS vote: The New 7 Wonders committee DOES NOT accept free SMS votes.  The 10 cents charge we pay is one enforced by the New 7 Wonders committee. The government is not charging anything. I’ve voted 35 times so far and it barely caused a dent in my prepaid credit. And you know what, even if it did – I don’t care.

I recently stumbled on this blog post where they make out the vote for Jeita as some form of “national chauvinism,” saying that we need to study the other 27 finalists in order to make an informative vote. On that same post, a comment by “Noel” states that our “need” to have Jeita win is because we, as Lebanese, need “validation from some outside authority.”

Sure, our country is messed up in many ways. But I believe we have a lot to be grateful for. However, can we  – FOR ONCE – stop being so pessimistic about everything that has to do with Lebanon? Can we just chill for a bit, sit back, relax and not overanalyze everything? Can we seriously cut it with the know-it-all attitudes and for once feel good that Lebanon is actually getting a reputation for itself apart from the whole war-torn country now sex-capital of the Middle East?

But here are 13 reasons why we all need to vote for this wonder:

1) Jeita is spectacular

2) Jeita is wonderful

3) Jeita is grandiose

4) Jeita is brilliant

5) Jeita is gorgeous

6) Jeita is poetic

7) Jeita is angelic

8) Jeita is radiant

9) Jeita is exquisite

10) Jeita is majestic

11) Jeita is sublime

12) Jeita is elegant

13) Jeita makes me proud to be Lebanese. And so should you!

Also quick info for you out there:

Jeita is the only limestone cave among the 28 nominees. Most of Jeita cannot be accessed by visitors. For instance, the lower cave is over 6000 meters long, only 500 of which are accessible to visitors via boats. Moreover, the upper cave is over 2000 meters in length, only 750 of which are accessible to the public. Jeita also has the world’s longest stalactite at 8.2m high.

And for those of want to vote, you can go to this link or check out this picture:

And for those outside Lebanon, you can vote via the website: http://www.new7wonders.com or text Jeita to your country’s corresponding number:

Also check out this ad featuring opposing Lebanese politicians, beauty queens and actors to promote the vote:

Back in 2008, the US was invited to Barrack the vote. This is our time to rock the vote, Lebanese-style.

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51 thoughts on “13 Reasons to Vote for Jeita Grotto”

  2. I agree. Its like choosing to support Egypt over Lebanon in a basketball game today because the Egyptian team is better (though I know thats not true but anyway).. Like after I voted Jeita, everytime I’d put Bay of Fundy in Canada next because those are the two places that matter to me. The point of this is to bring tourism and all that- and why can’t we have a wonder just because we want to? 3anjad some Lebanese are something else.

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  4. Nice post you’re totally right, anything that gives us positive exposure and promotes Lebanese culture and economy we should back it with a full throttle. We have had our share of negative publicity it’s about time to have something different.

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  5. Elie ur damn right ! we need to stop nagging and take some effective decision w as u said we should be PROUD cos JEITA had taken a great reputation, and we should all put, at least for once, Hand in Hand for JEITA to win and be one of the 7 wonders.
    PS: I LOVED UR ARTICLE n ill definitely publish it on fb 😀

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  6. well done elie, yeslam hal tem!!

    pls I’d like u to correct one single word, it’s after yr list of 13 reasons when u said “Jeita is the only cave ‘formation’ among the 28 nominees” the word ‘formation’ means stalagmites and stalactites etc. the right word is “Jeita is the only limestone cave among the 28 nominees”

    thanks and keep voting 🙂

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  7. I truly admire your passion for the cause. But to be honest when I first read the title “13 reasons to vote for Jeita Grotto”, I was expecting 13 elaborated ideas on what concerns me, as a Lebanese, If I vote, rather than 12 descriptive adjectives (although they’re nicely selected I must say). Besides what bothers about this is that this competition seems far from being fair, since most of the voting is based on the voters’ nationalistic backgrounds, little of it has to do with the characteristics of the site itself. Also no or little information has been provided on the identity of the organizers, the destination of the fees being charged, the authorities concerned, the involvement of the UN, etc. And as a final remark on one of your ideas, I believe that our reputation as Lebanese has very little to do with what great landmarks we have, but rather with our culture and awareness about what interests us as a rising country and the way we show it.. and we’re really screwing up there…

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    • Whatever reasons I mention to vote for Jeita will be objective. Lots of it is barely discovered and most of it is unavailable for visitors, which is probably a good thing. It also has the world’s longest stalactite.
      As Lebanese people, we should vote for Jeita regardless. Back when Jordan had Petra nominated, their whole country became a voting army to win. Leave it to the Lebanese to start overthinking stuff.
      This is the same committee that chose the new 7 wonders that were announced in 2009 I believe. The competition has been going on for more than 2 years now. If those two years weren’t enough to give this traction, I don’t know what is.
      If the committee had been fraudulent, I’m sure someone would have spoken up by now.
      What remains is that we, as a people, tend to question everything. Sometimes it’s justifiable. This time, it’s definitely now.
      Why would I care to examine the other 27 nominees? Should I make an informative vote? Are those other countries making an informative vote?
      Jeita was selected as one of the 28 nominees by a panel that judged it as worthy of becoming one of the new 7 wonders of nature. That panel knows more about the qualifications of those sites than I will ever know. I’m pretty sure nonexistent Lebanese lobbying didn’t get Jeita the nomination.
      And I didn’t correlate our reputation as Lebanese with how awesome Jeita is. I was saying that this is a golden opportunity for us to attach a new feature to our country, one that can only be viewed positively. It’s sad that people are questioning that.

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      • Hello Georges, you can check the identity of the committee and that of its president on the website http://www.n7w.com

        The competition has been going for 4 years now!
        There’s just something i’d like to add, the 28 finalists were chosen by a jury of experts who examined the characteristics of the top 77 candidates 2 years ago before keeping 28 finalists.. so you see this competition is not only based on people’s votes and their nationalistic backgrounds…

        Yalla halla2 eveyone we need more votes, there are only 20 days left! Don;t forget that you can vote online, by SMS, by telephone and on Facebook!

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      • If Jeita’s nomination (as well as for the other candidates) was determined by a panel of qualified judges, I am led to believe that the winner should also be selected by a similar panel, since (and as i have already mentioned), most people will choose to vote according to their nationality.. I fall in that category .. You see what you’re failing to understand is that I do want Jeita to win, (I’ve voted several times myself), it’s not my decision to which finalist I am to vote that I’m ‘overanalysing’ , neither is the integrity of the competition; but rather the fairness of the voting process. I believe it is biased to the country with the denser ‘voter base’! and concerning your last idea, I was just clarifying that the transition of our reputation as Lebanese from the ‘post-war country’ and ‘sex capital of the middle east’ should be more about reforming our behavioral, cultural and social habits ..
        And to Joe, thank you for the link and the info, they are of good use 🙂

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  8. Hello Georges, you can check the identity of the committee and that of its president on the website http://www.n7w.com

    The competition has been going for 4 years now!
    There’s just something i’d like to add, the 28 finalists were chosen by a jury of experts who examined the characteristics of the top 77 candidates 2 years ago before keeping 28 finalists.. so you see this competition is not only based on people’s votes and their nationalistic backgrounds…

    Yalla halla2 eveyone we need more votes, there are only 20 days left! Don;t forget that you can vote online, by SMS, by telephone and on Facebook!

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    • We need to refrain from useless political commentary on this non-political post or they will not be approved anymore. This is for any future person who would like to profess their love for any politician, min ma kein.

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  20. This nasrallah monologue is hilarious! Whatever it is, I think it is commendable he showed his patriotism and asked for people to vote for Jeita. Again, a sign that we should all unite in helping Lebanon gain international exposure.
    I do agree with previous comments that your thirteen reasons should have been more scientific (it’s ok if one of the reasons is “because I am lebanese” but there are other reasons that really make Jeita worthy of being a nature’s wonder). Plus, we are four million Lebanese, so we can’t alone change the outcome. We need to give our Lebanese compatriots abroad with enough arguments for them to use with their foreign friends / colleagues to convince them to vote for Jeita.

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    • Yeah I said I command him on asking people to vote for Jeita, even though I disagree with him about almost everything else. Well, with all these wonders, you have a panel which judged them scientifically. I have mentioned a few facts about Jeita. But the fact of the matter remains, a picture is worth a thousand words. And I’ve put 12 pictures :p
      Moreover, if we vote, there’s no way we won’t win. And we are voting. We are asking people to vote. Just look at Jordan. They’re not a much bigger country and they got Petra to win.

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  28. Its believed that it is bigger than what has been discovered yet. I think there could be people who discovered that part of the jeita grotto lies under their houses, but chose instead not to declare it to the state. Lebanon is a failed state.

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