The World Heritage Committee of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has announced that three new Arab sites - the Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer in Palestine; the Umm el Jimal City in Jordan and Cultural Landscape of Al Faw Archaeological Area in Saudi Arabia - have been added to its World Heritage List, reported BNA. 

 

The Committee announced this during its 46th session being held at the Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition and Convention in New Delhi, India. The event concludes on July 31. 

 

Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), on behalf of the Centre and its staff, congratulated the three countries on this important achievement. 

 

Affirming the inclusion of these sites, Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed said this strengthened the presence of Arab heritage on the global stage and reflected the growing interest in preserving the region's cultural and natural heritage.  

He pointed out that the ARC-WH, which has been hosted by Bahrain since 2012, worked to provide full support to Arab countries in their efforts to preserve and conserve their heritage sites.

 

Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed emphasised that there is a strong collective will to change the current reality and protect the sites listed on the World Heritage in Danger list.

 

According to him, the three newly listed sites were located in areas of great historical and cultural significance, including the Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer, which was situated in the centre of the Gaza Strip and recognised as one of the oldest historical sites in the Middle East.

 

Umm el Jimalin Jordan is one of the most important archaeological sites that reflected the ability of its inhabitants to cope in a water-scarce region, showcasing a Nabataean-Roman-Byzantine character.

 

One of the largest archaeological sites in Saudi Arabia was the Al Faw Archaeological Area, which included the remains of ancient human settlements.

 

ARC-WH participated in this year's World Heritage Committee meeting, organising side events in collaboration with international organisations that focused on the preservation and conservation of Arab cultural and natural heritage.

 

The centre also sought to provide advice and support to Arab countries that were members of the World Heritage Convention and to follow up on the files of Arab World Heritage sites.