Bahla Fort

Bahla Fort - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for the Bahla Fort: The immense, ruined Bahla Fort, with its walls and towers of mud brick on stone foundations and the adjacent Friday Mosque with its decoratively sculpted prayer niche (mihrab) dominate the surrounding mud-brick settlement and palm grove. The fort and settlement, a mud-walled oasis in the Omani …

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Historic Cairo

Historic Cairo - UNESCO World Heritage Site, Egypt

From the World Heritage inscription for Historic Cairo: Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world’s oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams, and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new center of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century. …

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Memphis and its Necropolis: the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur

Memphis and its Necropolis: the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Memphis and its Necropolis: the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur: The capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt has some extraordinary funerary monuments, including rock tombs, ornate mastabas, temples, and pyramids. In ancient times, the site was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. There isn’t …

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Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae

Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for the Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae: This outstanding archaeological area contains such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae, which were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched by …

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Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis: Thebes, the city of the god Amon, was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms. With the temples and palaces at Karnak and Luxor and the necropolises of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the …

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Saint Catherine Area

Saint Catherine Area - UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the World Heritage inscription for Saint Catherine Area: The Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine stands at the foot of Mount Horeb where, the Old Testament records, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. The mountain is known and revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, …

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Cape Floral Region Protected Areas

Cape Floral Region Protected Areas UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas World Heritage inscription: A serial site – in Cape Province, South Africa – made up of eight protected areas, covering 553,000 ha, the Cape Floral Region is one of the richest areas for plants in the world. It represents less than 0.5% of the area of Africa but …

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Medina of Tetouan

Medina of Tetouan UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Medina of Tetouan World Heritage inscription: Tétouan was of particular importance in the Islamic period, from the 8th century onwards, since it served as the main point of contact between Morocco and Andalusia. After the Reconquest, the town was rebuilt by Andalusian refugees who had been expelled by the Spanish. This is well …

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The Namib Sand Sea

The Namib Sand Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site

From the Namib Sand Sea World Heritage inscription: The Namib Sand Sea lies along the arid African coast of the South Atlantic lying wholly within Namibia’s Namib-Naukluft Park. It covers an area of 3,077,700 hectares, with an additional 899,500 hectares designated as a buffer zone. The Namib Sand Sea is a unique coastal fog desert …

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