JEDDAH, 29 September 2006 — The Ministry of Education announced earlier this week that it is focusing on three historical locations to nominate as the first UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Kingdom: The ancient Nabataean city of Madain Saleh, Jeddah’s historic center, and the old neighborhood of Al-Dirriyah in Riyadh.
UNESCO, or the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, maintains World Heritage program that seeks — in conjunction with experts and governments — to maintain and preserve cultural and natural sites worldwide.
“The inclusion of these three historically important locations in the world heritage map would be a major step toward introducing the heritage of our country to the outside world,” Muhammad Al-Ruwaished, undersecretary for Archeology and Museums at the Ministry of Education, said in his meeting with the directors of education in the Kingdom earlier this week.
UNESCO’s World Heritage list has 644 cultural, 162 natural and 24 mixed-properties on its list in 138 countries.
Kingdom has identified about 10,000 historical and archeological locations as worthy of consideration for development.
Being placed on UNESCO’s list opens the way for more international collaboration in preserving the sites in question. The application process requires countries to first submit a tentative list of nominations for World Heritage status.
Once the nominations have been submitted, UNESCO committees review each site to determine their “outstanding universal value”, according to UNESCO.
The sites must meet at least one of a list of ten criteria listed in the organization’s guidelines. Madain Saleh, with its tombs carved into stone, is widely considered the second most important ancient Nabataean site besides Petra. Of the three sites, Old Jeddah is the one in most need of preservation. Many of its distinct old buildings are crumbling, and the Kingdom is scrambling to preserve one of the remaining vestiges of old Arabia in Middle East.
Adnan Adas, director of the urban development in Jeddah’s historical regions said, “Following the royal approval (to nominate Old Jeddah as a World Heritage site) the Jeddah municipality is working in concert with the Supreme Commission for Tourism and the Makkah Governorate to preserve and develop the heritage features of the old city.”
Steps are also under way to repair and preserve its ancient squares and gateways, antique lanes and the old quarters known in line with international specifications, Adas said.
The Jeddah Municipality has set up an administration for urban development for the historical region solely to guarantee that all the buildings and other projects in the area do not violate the heritage features of the area, the official said.
“Ancient edifices such as the Al-Maamar mosque, Al-Basha mosque and Al-Hanafi mosque and the old walls and gates exude an aura of an ancient cultural setting. With its exotic sounds and smell of an oriental city, the Balad (downtown) area looks an ancient Middle Eastern city. The souks of Qabil, Al-Nada and Al-Badw still carry their medieval look,” Adas added.
