During the 37th annual session of UNESCO held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia, five natural sites and 14 cultural sites were added on Sunday to its list of World Heritage Sites 2013.
Now, all these countries will be receiving advice and financial support from UNESCO to preserve these global treasures. UNESCO updates its World Heritage List on an annual basis in recognition of their outstanding universal value to humanity and to encourage citizens and states to preserve them for future generations.
So, what are these new global treasures? Let’s have a look some of them!
New Cultural World Heritage Sites 2013
1. Six Forts of Royal Rajasthan, India
- Sawai Madhopur Fort
- Chittorgarh Fort
- Jaisalmer Fort
- Jaipur Fort
- Jhalawar Fort
- Kumbhalgarh Fort
Rajasthan – Six royal forts of Rajputana kings, famous for loyalty, sacrifices, dignity, honor, and discipline, that influenced British colonel Todd to write “Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan”, has suddenly been recognized by UNESCO.
These six majestic forts in Chittorgarh, Kumbhalgarh, Sawai Madhopur, Jhalawar, Jaipur, and Jaisalmer are the stuff of legends.
2. Al Zubarah Archaeological Site
The walled coastal town of Al Zubarah is a site that is located in Qatar. It was at its peak during the late 18th century, enjoying the prosperity that came with pearling and otherwise trading. Unfortunately, it was destroyed in 1811 and subsequently abandoned at the beginning of the 20th century.
3. Ancient City of Tauric
The ancient city of Tauris Chersonese and its Chora is located in Ukraine. The site is home to several residential neighborhoods, accompanied by old Christian monuments. These structures of cultural significant rest alongside the remains of Bronze age settlements. There are also telltale signs of peoples of the Stone age inhabiting Tauric. Aside from these, some public building complexes still stand to this day, and remains of what appear to be Roman vineyards and dividing walls.
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4. Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe
The site is located in Germany. The great size of the park and its waterworks along with the towering statue of the great Hercules constitute an expression of the ideals of absolutist Monarchy while the ensemble is a remarkable testimony to the aesthetics of the Baroque and Romantic periods.
5. Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces
The place is located in China. No doubt China has lots of beautiful places to see. Honghe Hani Rice Terraces cover 16,603 hectares and they are located in South Yunnan. They are recognizable by cascading terraces descending down the majestic Ailao Mountains all the way to the banks of the Hong River.
6. Golestan Palace
The site is located in Persia (Iran). Its Golestan Palace is a true embodiment of the Qajar era. It represents a mixture of architectural influences from the west with local traditions.
7. Historic Centre of Agadez
The historic center of Agadez is located into Niger, Africa. It is known as the gateway to the desert. In its core, you’ll find such well-preserved culture that builds upon the foundations laid by their ancestors, focusing on handicrafts and trade.
The historic center of the city, an important crossroads of the caravan trade, is divided into eleven quarters with irregular shapes.
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8. Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong
The site is located in Korea. The integration of Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist and geomantic concepts is manifested in the planning of the site and the architecture of its monuments.
9. Levuka Historical Port Town
Levuka Historical Port Town is located in Fizi. To this day, you can still see how a 19th century Pacific port town looked like in Levuka. It merges the local architectural style with that of modern naval ports, resulting in a spectacular port town that you can see today.
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10. Medici Villas and Gardens in Tuscany
The site is located in Italy. I personally have been here once and liked it much. Dotted with villas and gardens strewn about, Tuscany is one of the most beautiful provinces in Italy and has attracted tourists for decades now.
New Natural World Heritage Sites 2013
1. Mount Etna
Mount Etna is the highest Mediterranean island mountain and the most active stratovolcano in the world. Seeing Valle de Bove depression surrounded by cones, craters and lava flows is as spectacular as it gets. It attracts scientists and travelers from all over the world!
2. Namib Sand Sea
Another feature in the UNESCO’s Natural list is – Namib Sand Sea is the world’s only coastal desert influenced by bog and has now been added to the World Heritage list. It covers an area of over three million hectares. The site is composed of two dune systems, an ancient semi-consolidated one overlain by a younger active one. The dunes of the desert are formed by the transportation of materials thousands of kilometers from the hinterland, that are carried by river, ocean currents and wind.
3. Mountains of Pamir
The place is also known as Tajikistan National Park, located in Tajikistan. It covers more than 2.5 million hectares in the east of the country. It is considered to be one of the highest mountain ranges on the Eurasian continent.
The longest valley glacier outside the Polar region is located among the 1,085 glaciers found in this site, which also numbers 170 rivers and more than 400 lakes.
4. Xinjiang Tianshan
As you might have guessed – the place is located in China. It is one of the largest mountain ranges in the world.
Its incredible beauty is well-known across the world, with striking geographical features, interwoven where you least expect them to be. Meadows, snowy peaks and valleys cover most of the region and simply beg to be visited.
5. El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve
The site is located in Mexico. It is already registered as UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Star and dome dunes cover most of El Pinacate, accompanied by a couple of arid granite massifs, some as high as 650 meters. As is often the case with dunes, these sandy sails of the desert, they hide their true potential for life from outside observers.
