São Paulo – The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (Unesco) included 26 new sites to the World Heritage List during the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee, ended this Wednesday (25th) in Doha, Qatar. Three of them are located in Arab countries: the Erbil Citadel, in Iraq, the historic centre of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia, and the Land of Olive and Vines, in Palestine.
With the additions made during the ten-day meeting at the Qatari capital, the World Heritage list is now comprised of 1007 cultural, natural and mixed sites in 161 countries.
The Erbil Citadel dominates the landscape of the central region of Iraqi Kurdistan’s capital, in the northern part of Arab country. The local is inhabited since ancient times, it used to be an important political and religious Assyrian centre, according to the Unesco, but evidence found there seem to suggest the place’s inhabiting is much older.
The fortified urban settlement lies atop a hill and the junction of the walls and the hillside gives one the impression of facing a huge wall. The hill, according to Unesco, was manmade, after generation upon generation have erected and re-erected on the same location. It is considered one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited sites.
Up until the past decade, there were still people living in the citadel’s stone and mud houses, but the last families were removed to enable restoration works. For this reason, a good part of the site is now closed to the public. Facing the fortress, at the bottom of the hill, stands Erbil’s central bazaar, a busy popular trade hub.
Since the beginnings of Islam, the city of Jeddah is regarded as the gateway for pilgrims headed for Mecca. In the past, travellers would arrive at the Red Sea port; now, their entry point is the international airport.
The centuries spent as a rendezvous and a trade hub are reflected by the historical centre, where wealthy merchants have built their limestone and coral houses. The ancient city gates harking back to the city’s walled period are still there, as are the hectic “souks” (markets) and even a cemetery where Eve is said to be buried. The faces of local people denounce Jeddah’s cosmopolitan character.
The Palestinian site included in the list, according to Unesco, is located a few kilometres southeast of Jerusalem, in a mountainous area between the cities of Nablus and Hebron. The locality, where the village of Battir is, is composed of farmed valleys whose highlights are stone terraces, some irrigated, others dry, where vines and olive trees are grown. The irrigation is made via galleries, and the water comes from underwater springs.
Whereas Erbil’s Citadel and Jeddah’s historic centre are cultural heritage sites, this is a mixed heritage site, i.e. both cultural and environmental. The Palestinian site has also become a part of the list of endangered world heritage sites.
During the meeting in Doha, the Qatari prime-minister, Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al Thani, also announced a US$ 10 million donation to a new fund designed to protect protected World Heritage Sites from conflicts and natural disasters.
*Translated by Rodrigo Mendonça and Gabriel Pomerancblum
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