UNESCO adds 21 sites to its list of World Heritage Sites

In July 2017 UNESCO announced an additional 21 sites to the list of locations it has deemed World Heritage Sites. To date there are now 1,073 UNESCO World Heritage Sites throughout the world.

The additions include England’s Lake District, which became the United Kingdom’s first national park to receive the distinction. It also includes India’s 15^th century walled city of Ahmedabad, India’s first city on the list. Other 2017 honorees include Valongo Wharf in Rio de Janeiro; the

The news channel CNN noted the controversies: Israelis did not agree with UNESCO adding the city of Hebron in the West Bank as a Palestinian World Heritage Site instead of an Israeli one; and the International Campaign for Tibet did not agree with UNESCO’s decision to grant heritage status to the Hoh Xil plateau.

Currently, all UNESCO World Heritage Sites are determined by a vote of the World Heritage Committee. The group met for the 41st consecutive year last week in Krakow, Poland, in July 2017.

The new sites are:

1. Aphrodisias, Turkey

2. Asmara, Eritrea

3. Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of Sviyazhsk, Russia

4. Caves and ice age art in the Swabian Jura, Germany

5. Hebron/Al-Khalil Old Town, Palestine

6. Historic city of Yazd, Iran

7. Kujataa Greenland, Denmark

8. Kulangsu, China

9. Mbanza Kongo, Angola 

10. Sacred Island of Okinoshima, Japan

11. Taputapuātea, center of the Polynesian Triangle, French Polynesia

12. Tarnowskie Góry, lead-silver-zinc mine, Poland

13. Sambor Prei Kuk temple zone, Cambodia

14. English Lake District, United Kingdom

15. Valongo Wharf, archeological site, Brazil

16. Venetian Works of Defense, Croatia, Italy, Montenegro

17. Khomani Cultural Landscape, South Africa

18. Landscapes of Dauria, Mongolia, Russia

19. Los Alerces National Park, Argentina

20. Qinghai Hoh Xil, China

21. Historic city of Ahmedabad, India

http://whc.unesco.org/en/newproperties/

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...

The Knight in the Panther Skin by Shota Rustaveli (2015 translation): book review

The Knight in the Panther Skin (12th century, this edition 2015) is a recent translation by American poet and author, Lyn Coffin. The author, Shota Rustaveli, is Georgia’s most loved poet. This poem is mammoth, a magnum opus – it is 1,656 verses long, separated by chapters. But readers, don’t give up, because every verse is worth reading. It is akin to 1001 Arabian Knights, Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, or Shakespearean poetry. King Rostevan of Arabia has a daughter, Tinatin. She loves the knight Avtandil and he loves her. Verse 368 from Avtandil: ‘The doctor’s could do nothing. A dark twilight on my heart now pressed, I was on fire because of love, but nobody knew or guessed. They blamed my blood. The king decided bleeding my arm would be best; I let it be done to hide the suffering I had not confessed.’ But a knight in panther skin is seen weeping, and subsequently kills the king’s soldiers, sparing the king. Before Tinatin weds Avtandil she r...

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog