AL-AHSA: The Hofuf historic area in Al-Ahsa is gearing up to join UNESCO’s World Heritage List, with Madain Saleh, Tarif district, historic Jeddah, and Hail rock art.
A delegation from UNESCO, accompanied by a delegation from Al-Ahsa municipality and the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage in the region, recently paid a visit to Hofuf to be briefed on the monuments and the ongoing efforts of the municipality in the development of the historical sites of Hofuf.
Hofuf is one of the major cultural centers in KSA and has many heritage sites, including the Ibrahim Palace, Al-Hasa National Museum, Al-Madrasah Al-Emiriah “Princely School,” Khuzam Palace, and Bait Al-Bayea (House of Pledge).
The World Heritage List includes places around the globe nominated by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO within its International Heritage Sites Program. These places may be natural, such as forests and mountains, or man-made like buildings and cities, or both.
Sites, located in Arab countries registered in the UNESCO list, include Al-Zubarah Archaeological Site in Qatar, Terraces of Battir in Palestine, the Erbil Citadel in Iraqi Kurdistan, and a number of sites in Egypt, Palestine, Iraq and Yemen.
The program was launched through the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference, which was held on Nov. 16, 1972.
Since the convention was signed, a total of 189 states have joined it.
The program aims to classify, name and preserve places of special interest to the human race, whether cultural or natural. Through this agreement, enlisted sites receive financial aid under certain conditions.
