JEDDAH, 23 May 2008 — The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) may approve an ancient city north of Madinah as Saudi Arabia’s first World Heritage Site as early as the first week of July, an official affiliated with the organization told Arab News yesterday.
“We will be meeting in Quebec in early July to discuss, among other nominations, Madain Saleh,” said Veronique Dauge, the head of the World Heritage Center’s Arab States Unit, in a phone interview from UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
Saudi Arabia successfully submitted its nomination to UNESCO’s World Heritage Center on Nov. 28, 2006. “The process after nominations takes about 18 months,” said Dauge. Countries nominate their sites and two independent bodies of experts review these nominations with an overall picture of each site, including the country’s efforts to preserve the historical or natural integrity of the nominated location.
The International Council on Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS, is the independent advisory board for ancient structures.Members of the ICOMOS will be meeting with UNESCO’s World Heritage officials in Quebec July 2-10 to review all the nominated sites for the year.
Dauge expressed confidence that the site would eventually attain World Heritage status, although it might be deferred if ICOMOS decides it needs more information from Saudi Arabia, particularly regarding its efforts to preserve and protect the site.
“The results of the meeting could be inscription, where the site is accepted; refusal, if the nomination is declined; deferral, where it would be delayed until next year; or referral, when the nomination is sent back to the country (for more information),” said Dauge.
The Thamudis and Nabateans occupied Madain Saleh, with its 132 chambers and tombs carved into rocky outcroppings about 300km north of Madinah, between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D. Remnants of walls, towers, water conduits and cisterns are scattered across the premises. Delicate mud-brick residential homes are also found on the site, which is considered the most well preserved Nabatean city after Petra, located about 440km to the north in Jordan. Both cities were important stops along the Incense Route.
One of the primary qualifications for World Heritage status is the so-called “outstanding universal value” of the historical or natural site. Determining such historical value is a subjective process that involves comparative analyses by ICOMOS experts. Countries submit tentative lists, and these lists are reviewed to determine if the potential nominations meet all the requirements and are viewed as having global historical value.
Two of the candidates topping Saudi Arabia’s tentative list for future World Heritage nomination are the historic centers of Riyadh and Jeddah. World Heritage officials like Dauge, however, would like to see Saudi Arabia also protect and nominate natural sites. “Saudi Arabia is getting more concerned about preserving its heritage,” Dauge had told Arab News shortly before the initial nomination. “But it’s a pity they aren’t submitting any natural sites. There are many historical sites in the Middle East and North Africa Region, but only five sites are natural preserves.”
This year, Yemen’s Suqutra Island is also being weighed for World Heritage status as a natural preserve. The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary in Oman is currently the only natural preserve in the Gulf Region.
