Potala Palace: 'Constructed by Angels'

Nov. 9, 2006 — -- Where does a flag have no nation ... a wheel is not only for earthly travel ... and lying down is not for rest?

Climb through the forbidding cliffs of the Tibetan Himalayas to an altitude of more than 12,000 feet above sea level and you will find golden prayer wheels spinning, Tibetan Buddhists in prayer, colorful prayer flags waving, and the answer to this clue -- the Potala Palace.

And this morning, in an unprecedented event, "Good Morning America Weekend" anchor Bill Weir will be the first American journalist to broadcast live from Tibet as he takes you on a tour of the stunning Potala Palace, the first of the 7 New Wonders of the World.

Perched 2½ miles above sea level overlooking the Tibetan Capital of Lhasa, the palace is beyond imposing -- it is otherworldly.

Ringed by snowcapped mountains, under deep cobalt blue skies, the Potala is unlike any other structure on the planet. Built in the seventeenth century, over 7,000 workers and 1,500 artisans labored for almost a decade to construct this architectural marvel.

"Part of the magic and really the mystery of the Potala is that it seems to come out of nowhere. It has no precedent, it has no parallel. The Tibetans used to believe that it was constructed secretly by angels working all night long while people were sleeping," said panelist and travel writer Pico Iyer.

The 13 stories, peaked by golden turrets, reach into the thin, crisp air for over 400 feet.

The palace base spreads for 1,000 feet across the rock face of the mountain covering nearly 32 acres. Inside the compound, flickering candles made from yak butter illuminate more than 10,000 altars, filled with centuries of Tibetan history.

Our international panel of experts agreed without much debate to include the Potala Palace on the list of the Seven New Wonders of the World.

"If you want to talk about something that inspires sheer awe -- it's the Potala," said Iyer

Centuries before the construction of the Palace that stands today, the Maar-po-ri or Red Mountain, a rocky cliff 425 feet above the Lhasa River Valley, was home to the seventh century palace of Tibetan King Songsten Gampo. The king named his palace Potala ("pure land"), many scholars believe, in homage to Mount Potala in India.