SCTNH will try to get Al-Ahsa Oasis onto World Heritage list

HERITAGE SITE: Al-Ahsa Oasis is one of the largest inhabited agricultural oases in the world.

AL-AHSA: The Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTNH) announced that the nomination file for registration of Al-Ahsa Oasis in the UNESCO’s World Heritage site list will be submitted on Jan. 31, 2017.
Khaled Al-Faridah, the SCTNH’s director general in Al-Ahsa, said: “The commission’s request for the registration of another 10 Saudi heritage sites in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites has been approved.”
The selected heritage sites include Darb Zubaydah or the Pilgrim Road from Kufa to Makkah; Alshami Haj Road; Egyptian Haj Road; the Hejaz Railway; Qaryat Al-Faw; Rijal Almaa Heritage Village in the Asir region; Thee Ain Heritage Village in the Al-Baha region; Al-Ahsa Oasis; Hima well (a rock art site in Najran); and Al-Der’ District located in the traditional town center of Domat Al-Jandal (Historical Oasis) located in the Al-Jouf region.
Al-Faridah said that the SCTNH was able to register four Saudi sites in the UNESCO list in recognition of the cultural and historical and values of these sites. They are Madain Saleh, Historic Al Dir’iya, Historic Jeddah, and the rock art of Hail region.
Adnan Al-Jaber, director general of the SCTNH’s Protection and Authentication Department, said that Al-Ahsa Oasis registration file aims to highlight the natural and heritage value of Al-Ahsa, which is one of the largest inhabited agricultural oases in the world, with a growing agricultural area depending on a semi-traditional irrigation system.
Simone Rica, the SCTNH’s consultant, said: “Al-Ahsa Oasis has many natural and historic sites that make up the strengths of the file, including Ibrahim Palace; Al-Madrasah Al-Emiriah Princely School; Bait Al-Baye’a (House of pledge); Jawatha Mosque; Jabal Al-Qara Caves; irrigation canals; palms; and the Yellow Lake; and its sea port on Al-Uqair.”