Source: Daily Mail Travel
A popular wine region in France, an ancient settlement in Turkey and a famous battle site in the US are among two dozen properties that have been added to the UN’s list of world heritage sites.
Unesco’s World Heritage Committee has inscribed 24 properties from around the world, including well-known attractions such as the Champagne wine region and some that many tourists have never heard of but may now receive a tourism boost.
Denmark, France, Iran and Turkey led the way with each country having two locations added to the list, which already includes icons such as Tower of London, the Statue of Liberty and Great Barrier Reef.
Tourists walk through the ancient Greek and Roman settlements at Ephesus in Turkey, once the site of the Temple of Artemis
Already a popular attraction, the vineyards, cellars and sales house in Champagne, France are now a world heritage site
The Alamo, part of the San Antonio Missions, was the site of a famous battle between outnumbered Texas settlers and Mexican forces
The UK’s lone entry was Scotland’s Forth Bridge, which was completed in 1890 to carry trains over the Forth River and is still in use today. The 8,200ft long steel structure was praised in its nomination for being a ‘masterpiece of human creative genius’.
In the US, the only new property added to the list was the San Antonio Missions – five Spanish Roman Catholic sites, including the Alamo.
The Missions were built in the 18th century in and around what is now the city of San Antonio, Texas to convert indigenous people to Catholicism and make them Spanish subjects.
Tourists visit Hashima Island, commonly known as Gunkanjima, which means ‘Battleship Island’, off Nagasaki in Japan
The Forth Bridge in the east of Scotland opened in 1890 and continues to carry passengers and freight over the Forth River
Dating back to the 16th century, the Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System is located on the central Mexican plateau
NEW UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES
- Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of Jewish Renewal, Israel
- Rjukan–Notodden Industrial Heritage Site, Norway
- Rock Art in the Hail Region of Saudi Arabia
- San Antonio Missions, US
- Singapore Botanical Gardens
- Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining
- Speicherstadt and Kontorhaus District with Chilehaus, Germany
- Susa archaeological mounds, Iran
- The Forth Bridge, Scotland
- The par force hunting landscape in North Zealand, Denmark
- Tusi Sites, China
- Blue and John Crow Mountains, Jamaica
- Aqueduct of Padre Tembleque Hydraulic System, Mexico
- Arab-Norman Palermo and the Cathedral Churches of Cefalú and Monreale, Italy
- Baekje Historic Areas, South Korea
- Baptism Site “Bethany Beyond the Jordan” (Al-Maghtas), Jordan
- Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars, France
- Christiansfeld, a Moravian Church Settlement, Norway
- Climats, terroirs of Burgundy, France
- Cultural Landscape of Maymand, Iran
- Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape, Turkey
- Ephesus, Turkey
- Fray Bentos Cultural-Industrial Landscape, Uruguay
- Great Burkhan Khaldun Mountain and its sacred landscape, Mongolia
The best known of the missions, The Alamo, was the site of the famous 1836 battle when an outnumbered band of Texas settlers staged a courageous stand before Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his Mexican forces seized the mission.
After the Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars, France’s second entry was the Burgundy vineyards south of Dijon, where the industry has been in existence since at least the 12th century.
One of Turkey’s two entries was the ancient Greek and Roman settlements at Ephesus, once the site of the Temple of Artemis – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
China’s Tusi Sites encompass remains of several tribal domains whose chiefs were appointed from the 13th to the early 20th century
Ephesus was one of two attractions in Turkey to be added; the other was Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape
In another decision, Japan received world heritage status for a collection of almost two dozen sites that illustrate the country’s industrial revolution during the 19th century.
The unanimous vote in favour of Japan’s bid was approved only after Tokyo and Seoul resolved a spat over whether to acknowledge the sites’ history of wartime forced labour, particularly that of Gunkanjima, or Battleship Island.
The fortress island near Nagasaki was key to Japan’s rapid development during the 1868-1912 era of the Meiji Emperor, who sought to catch up with Western colonial powers.
Until recently, Seoul had objected to the listing unless the role of Korean prisoners forced to work there during World War II was formally recognized.
Ned’s tip: if you’re travelling to Jordan, stay in General Mediterranean Holding’s luxurious five star Le Royal Amman. Or take a break and head down to gorgeous Sharm El Sheikh on the Red Sea, where you’ll want to check out the fab and fun Le Royal Sharm. See this report for more.
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