From the World Heritage inscription: The iSimangaliso Wetland Park is one of the outstanding natural wetland and coastal sites of Africa. Covering an area of 239,566 ha, it includes a wide range of pristine marine, coastal, wetland, estuarine, and terrestrial environments which are scenically beautiful and basically unmodified by people. These include coral reefs, long …
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 …
More than 12 million tourists visited Morocco in 2018, and their numbers are certain to increase in 2019. And why not? This North African kingdom calls up to most foreigners an image of medieval mosques, archaic bazaars filled with handmade crafts, and medinas—those labyrinths of narrow alleys behind ancient walls. In Morocco, historic monuments seem …
I spent most of today walking the streets of Alexandria. There is no better way to get to know a city than to walk around for a day and get lost in the process. In some ways, I find Alexandria really depressing. This is a city where almost every building is 100 years old and …
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. …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …