Guangzhou, neighboring Hong Kong and Macao, is the capital of Guangdong Province, and the largest city in South China . Guangzhou has been listed in China’s 24 historic and cultural cities. It has long been one of China’s ports of foreign trade and he past decade has seen great economic achievements in the city owing to a policy of reform and opening to the outside world.

Rapid progress has also been made in the tourism industry. Many hotels, restaurants and night markets have been opened in the city. A continuous stream of visitors including overseas Chinese, compatriots from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao and foreign travelers come to the city every year.

So the city itself is not on seven hills – but Yuexiu Park is the largest park in Guangzhou, including the cities seven hills. I was in Guangzhou as part of a very crazy but incredibly fun amazing race, scavenger hunt, round the world for charity back in 2003 – which is another entire blog all in itself – but we had to find the place where SARS started and take the picture of five live animals – little did we know that meant scorpions and other creepy crawlers..

This great painting by Jason Jeffers is inspired by her. I love it and I love Flickr for allowing me to share. Thank you. Jason’s website is at http://www.jasonlincolnjeffers.com

Anyway, when Inanna descended into Hell, she was forced through seven gates where she had to remove an item of clothing or jewelry at each gate, stripping her of power, until she stood before her evil sister of the underworld, naked and defenseless. She then was struck dead by seven plagues.

By the way, Sumer was a collection of city states around the Lower Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now southern Iraq. Sumer may very well be the first civilization in the world starting a collection of farming villages around 5000 BC. Sumerian cuneiform was the earliest written language, borrowed by the Babylonians. We forget the history of this region sometimes.

Other references in Sumerian Mythology to the number seven are abundant. In addition to the four main dieties, there were another group of seven gods who “decreed the fates” , there were seven weather “heroes” who defend that land, seven judges of the netherworld and Ereshkigal is the queen of the underworld with a palace with seven gates. Gilgamesh travelled over seven mountains.

Oh yes, In the Sumerian version of the flood story, the pious Ziusudra is informed of the gods decision to destroy mankind and weathers the deluge and wind-storms aboard a huge boat – and guess what surprise…the flood lasts for seven days

Boggles my mind -

Olinda is one of the best preserved colonial cities in Brazil. With an enviable prominent location overlooking the Atlantic, the historical district is concentrated on its winding upper streets. Olinda is very much a living city, with a cultural scene which is alive and kicking, and its beautiful enclave of preserved colonial buildings, populated by artists, students and bohemians.

Churches, museums, art galleries and convents vie with outdoor restaurants and craft markets, attracting locals and tourists alike..Olinda was the first capital of Pernambuco. It was burned down by the Dutch and later rebuilt, and is considered one of the cradles of Brazilian culture. Its imposing churches and monasteries show the modern onlooker something of the rich and dynamic cultural life of the period. The old city is built on seven hills and a walk through its steeply inclined streets is an enchanting experience.

Olinda always was and still is synonymous with the avant-garde, irreverence and bohemianism. I’d be happy with all of those adjectives as ways to describe me – in fact this is not the first city on seven hills to have that description – think Lisbon, Rome, Moscow – perhaps that explains something deeper than synchronicity

46/365: Seven of Hearts*, picture by btang7.

Seven appears to be wired into the human brain. It appears in myth, religion, science, music and history. Just take movies and books for example. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Seven Year Itch, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Seven Habits of Successful People, Seven Samurai, Magnificant Seven, Seven Years in Tibet. People use the number seven to grab attention and organize concepts. When you search for book titles on amazon.com there are over 200,000 that appear with the number seven in their titles.

Seven appears thematically in all the world’s major religions. Many have the number seven deeply interwoven in their symbolism. The seven deadly sins and virtues, Hindu chakras, heavens of Islam, candles on the Jewish menorah, wonders of the ancient world, and then of course colors of the rainbow, notes in a musical octave and days in the week. Seven seems to almost define the scope of the way we process information.

Shakespeare identified Seven Ages of Man, the World Trade Center had seven buildings and seven basements. As I have been discussing there are over 50 significant cities around the world built on 7 hills including Istanbul, Moscow, Bath, Seattle, Prague, Rio, Kampala, Rome and Lisbon. Netball and water polo are both played with teams of seven players. In Britain, the 20p and 50p coins both have seven sides and Japanese pagodas have seven tiers. Telephone numbers have seven digits. There are seven colors in a rainbow, seven notes in an octave, seven days in a week. It goes on and on.

There is no denying that the number seven permeates our world, unlike any other number. The number seven is mysterious, hypnotic and intriguing.

Why? Who knows. Synchronicity is a defining aspect of our human condition. We are attracted to familiar people and places, embrace experiences that resonate at a collective level. We search for people we call “soul mates”; and are magnetically drawn to places that remind us of “home”. Drawn to those who understand our own language and cultural rhythm, invisible radar connects archetypes of common understanding. Like attracts like. Passionately seeking individuality, change and evolution, we are also grounded in a search for a common denominator, for harmony and balance. Seven somehow seems to be an organizing number, one that unites us at a subconscious level.

Perhaps the number seven is engrained into the biological neurological structure of the human brain from the very beginning of evolution. Whatever the source, the rhythm of seven is very fundamental concept that has become wired in the human brain and which has permeated religions, mythologies, ancient and modern. It seems to be encoded in the basic structure of the universe and the natural world. Perhaps the body vibrates to the very structure of the universe.

What other sevens am I missing?

The lovely Lotus temple, originally uploaded by Rick Vohra.

This picture of the stunning Lotus Temple in Delhi really captures its magic. I was in Delhi last year and took a similar shot from many angles – it was a hypnotic experiences. This is a much better picture! I’ve always been intrigued by Baha’i faith – it seems so gentle, personal and sincere. It  is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá’u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá’ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.

Truly I don’t know a lot about the faith, so my research reveals…The Bahá’í writings describe a single, personal, inaccessible, omniscient, omnipresent, imperishable, and almighty God who is the creator of all things in the universe. Three core principles establish a basis for Bahá’í teachings and doctrine: the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of humankind.

From these comes the belief that God periodically reveals his will through divine educators, whose purpose is to transform the character of humankind and develop, within those who respond, moral and spiritual qualities. The religion is thus seen as orderly, unified, and progressive from age to age Learn more here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_Faith

Now how does this relate to the number seven? Well central to the Bhai faith is the concept of the Seven Valleys – describing the soul’s journey to God.  7 is a grouping of three around the concept of truth, poverty and absolute nothingness.

1.Search
2.Love
3.Knowledge
4.Unity
5.Contentment
6.Wonderment
7.Truth, Poverty and Absolute Nothingness

Here from wiki is a description of the Seven Valleys… The Seven Valleys is considered Bahá’u'lláh’s “greatest mystical composition.” It was written to a follower of Sufism, in the style of `Attar, a Muslim poet,and sets forth the stages of the soul’s journey towards God. It was first translated into English in 1906, becoming one of the earliest available books of Bahá’u'lláh to the West.

Mosteiro de St. Teodoro Tiron em Chisinau Moldávia Julho 2009, picture by  joaoleitao.

I honestly did not know where Moldova was. But it also has a beautiful city on seven hills. Chisinau, the capital of Republic of Moldova, is located on seven hills, near the Bic River. It is the economic, political, social, cultural and the administrative cente of Moldova and has numerous architectural, historical and cultural sights.

Chisinau is situated in the very center of the country (also called “the White City”, as many of the older building are of white limestone). The first historic evidence of the name Chisinau goes back to 1436. The name derives from a word meaning “spring”. Chisinau is positioned on the seven hills and stretches over 120 killometres.

The capital is crossed by two rivers –Bik and Isnovat. Chisinau has almost one million citizens – so it is not a village. It is situated in the area with mild, moderate-continental climate, under the Black Sea influence.

Now this summer I am planning on spending a few weeks hopping from hill to hill – and Chisinau is on my list – Moldava you are on my list

Parc Güell – Barcelona, picture by MorBCN.

Barcelona is peppered with small hills, most of them urbanized but seven are mentioned as predominant. They are Mont Tàber, La Rovira, El Coll, El Carmel, La Peira, El Putxet and Montjuïc.. Barcelona also has seven beaches, totalling 4.5 km (2.8 mi) of coastline.

I adore Barcelona. I love its bohemian nature, its ecclectic (and that is an understatement) architecutre – Antoni Gaudi’s spirit encircles and permeates every street corner – from gorgeous private residences he designed with balconies filled with lush flowers to the incredible ever evolving urban landscape, Barcelona is one of Spain’s most beautiful treasures and for me one of the most seductive cities on the planet. And of course it would be on seven hills. Along with Bath, Edinburgh, Moscow, Istanbul, Seattle and over 60 more.

There is a word in spanish “duende’ which kind of means the spirit of flamenco – the spirit of the dance and music – but i feel “it” in every fibre of Barcelona – its life and passion and that sense of deep spiritual connection to the human love of life, the deep visceral connections between people and nature. The search for connection and love. From the winding streets and medieval buildings of the Barri Gòtic to Las Ramblas, it has one of the best known promenades in Spain (Alicante is another) and on to the Eixample district that houses the world’s greatest collection of Art Nouveau, or Modernisme, architecture,

Barcelona has captured my heart on more than one occasion and it is very fitting to be a city on seven hills – it is truly a magical place that epitomizes the blend of old and new.

And this picture from Flickr is absolutely outstanding! Thank you MorBCN whoever you are – its a gorgeous gorgeous shot.

Mytilini, originally uploaded by angelsgermain.

Seven hilled cities appear even in the Greek Islands. Mytilini is the capital of the island of Lesvos which is in the NE Aegean Islands cluster, located in the Aegean Sea and very close to the Turkish coastline. I adore Greece and have many wonderful memories of the people, food, sparking sea and sun and a sense of timeless serenity. Greece for me is a place where hours slip away into the clear skies and the values taught by history imbue relationships. Think Troy, Helen, the battle for love.

In Lesvos, olive groves, extended pinewoods, long beaches and the amazing petrified forest are the main characteristics. In addition it has a strong archaeological and historical heritage,

Mytilini is outspread on seven hills and the castle at the top of the pinewood, the mansions along the waterfront and the church of Agios Therapondas at the center. It is a town with an old area, densely populated with narrow alleys and scenic houses, and the new town with beautiful quarters with elegant mansions.

There are many churches of interest and renowned neo-classical mansions scattered throughout the city, particularly in the old aristocratic neighborhoods. Mytilini has been a prominent intellectual center in the Aegean from ancient times to the present. Another seven hilled city on my growing list.

You can learn more about Lesvos here http://lesvos.com/mytilini.html

Cherokee, originally uploaded by Lakshmi Eyes.

Seven is a number that the Cherokee Indians from the Tennessee area celebrate in thier seven sacred ceremonies. Seven is one of their most sacred numbers. It is represented in the seven directions: north, south, east, west, above, bellow, and “here in the center” which the place of the sacred fire.

Seven also represented the seven ancient ceremonies that formed the yearly Cherokee religious cycle. Six of the ceremonies took place every year; the seventh was celebrated every seventh year. They were held between March and November, based on the phases of the crescent or new moon

Seven Sacred Ceremonies of Ancient Cherokee

1.First New Moon Ceremony-March
2.Green Corn Ceremony – August
3.Ripe Corn Ceremony – September
4.Great New Moon Ceremony – October
5.Atohuna (Friends Made) Ceremony – November
6.Bounding Bush Ceremony –
7.Uku Dance (every seven years) – Thanksgiving