From the Historic Areas of Istanbul World Heritage inscription: With its strategic location on the Bosphorus peninsula between the Balkans and Anatolia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, Istanbul has been associated with major political, religious and artistic events for more than 2,000 years. Its masterpieces include the ancient Hippodrome of Constantine, the 6th-century Hagia …
From the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley World Heritage inscription: The cultural landscape of Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley offers a microcosmic perspective of the way people have harvested the resources of the high Pyrenees over millennia. Its dramatic glacial landscapes of craggy cliffs and glaciers, with high open pastures and steep wooded valleys, covers an area of 4,247 ha, 9% …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Ningaloo Coast: The 604,500-hectare marine and terrestrial property of Ningaloo Coast, on the remote western coast of Australia, includes one of the longest near-shore reefs in the world. On land, the site features an extensive karst system and a network of underground caves and water courses. Annual gatherings …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Catalan Romanesque Churches of the Vall de Boí: The churches of the Vall de Boí are an especially pure and consistent example of Romanesque art in a virtually untouched rural setting. The group of churches is a remarkable example of an important constructional style in human history, like …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Wadi Rum Protected Area: Wadi Rum Protected Area (WRPA) is located in the southern part of Jordan, east of the Rift Valley and south of the steep escarpment of the central Jordanian plateau. It comprises an area of 74,200 hectares. WRPA’s natural values include desert landforms developed within …
Tarragona, formerly the Roman city of Tárraco, is the former capital of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior. It was also the first Roman city in the entire Iberian Peninsula. It was visited by such notable named of antiquity as Julius Caesar, Augustus, Pompey the Great, and Hannibal. Unlike other notable Roman ruins, the city …
From the World Heritage inscription for San Cristóbal de La Laguna: The historic ensemble of San Cristóbal de La Laguna has outstanding universal value is an urban design that represents the concept of the ‘town-territory’ as the first example of an unfortified town laid out and built according to a complete plan based on navigation, …
From the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California World Heritage inscription: The site comprises 244 islands, islets and coastal areas located in the Gulf of California in north-eastern Mexico. The Sea of Cortez and its islands have been called a natural laboratory for the investigation of speciation. Moreover, almost all major oceanographic …
From the World Heritage inscription for the Seventeenth-century canal ring area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht: The historic urban ensemble of the canal district of Amsterdam was a project for a new ‘port city’ built at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries. It comprises a network of canals to the …