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www.min-kulture.hr Ministry of Culture, Croatian Commission for UNESCO, tel: 00385 1 4866304; fax: 00385 1 4866526; e-mail: [email protected]

http://www.min-kulture.hr

mailto:[email protected]

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lWORLD HERITAGE No. 60

Cover: Qal’at al-Bahrain.

Kishore RaoDirector of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre

This special issue is devoted entirely to World Heritage sites belonging to members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf. It thus offers a unique opportunity to discover the rich cultural and natural heritage of a region that embraces Bahrain,

Oman and Saudi Arabia (all three of which already have sites inscribed on the World Heritage List), as well as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, both of which will be submitting sites for inscription at upcoming Committee meetings.

The current development of World Heritage activities in the Gulf region is a cause for great satisfaction – all the more so in that all the countries concerned have been significant players at various stages of history, both in international trade and in the transmission of cultural contents and skills. Four of the six member countries of the Council have been, or are currently, members of the World Heritage Committee: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and United Arab Emirates. Bahrain has been instrumental in its support of the World Heritage Convention in the region, among other activities establishing an Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage as a Category II centre under the auspices of UNESCO. Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa, as Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee throughout the last twelve months, has played a remarkable role in implementing the World Heritage Convention in the region and in general.

The articles in this issue deal with all the sites and countries in the Gulf region. One is thus devoted to the site of Qal’at al-Bahrain (Bahrain Fort), a tell capped with a fort last developed by the Portuguese, not far from the kingdom’s capital where archaeological research has uncovered vestiges of a civilization contemporary to the Sumerian.

Exceptionally arid climate conditions have favoured the development in the region of a unique system of water management, the falaj (plural, aflaj) consisting of tall subterranean galleries dug to convey spring water, sometimes over long distances, to sites in need of irrigation. Aflaj are found throughout the Middle East, but they have been somewhat neglected over recent decades, and we should hail the initiative of Oman, which has listed a number of exemplary aflaj found on its territory.

Three more important sites in Oman have been inscribed on the World Heritage List: Bahla Fort, the protohistoric site of Bat (the world’s most complete collection of settlements and necropolises from the third millennium BC) and the Frankincense Trail.

And finally in Saudi Arabia in 2008, the remarkable Nabataean city of Al-Hijr (formerly known as Hegra, a sister site to Jordan’s Petra) was inscribed on the World Heritage List, as was ad-Dir’iyah, the striking 15th-century capital of the Saudi dynasty, in 2010.

All these inscriptions and others currently in the pipeline attest to the intent of these countries to track, acknowledge and assert their historic presence and ongoing influence within the planetary fabric of culture, trade and development that the World Heritage process set out to inventory and celebrate nearly forty years ago.

Dear Readers, having just been appointed Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and thus taking up the duty of Editorial Director of World Heritage, I am fully aware of the important part played by the magazine in the pursuit of our aims. Like my predecessor, Francesco Bandarin, I look forward to giving it my utmost attention and support.

Contents

Message by Irina Bokova,Director-General of UNESCO

Interview with Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa, Bahrain Minister of Culture

Map of World Heritage sites in the Gulf countries

Qal’at al-Bahrain – Capital of the Dilmun civilizationThe Qal’at al-Bahrain, also known as the Bahrain Fort, is an archaeological site. It was the capital of the Dilmun civilization, and witnessed the construction of a fort lastly occupied by the Portuguese.

Bahla Fort – Vestiges of an immense medieval fortressBahla Fort was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, when the oasis of Bahla was prosperous under the control of the Banu Nebhan tribe.

Protohistoric sites in Oman – Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-AynThe protohistoric site of Bat lies near a palm grove in the interior of the Sultanate of Oman. Together with the neighbouring sites, it forms the most complete collection of settlements and necropolises from the 3rd millennium BC in the world.

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Quarterly magazine published jointly in English, French and Spanish, by the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Paris, France and Publishing For Development Ltd., London, United Kingdom.

Editorial Director Kishore Rao

Director, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Publisher Publishing for Development

Managing Editor Vesna Vujicic-Lugassy

EditorsHelen Aprile, Gina Doubleday, Michael Gibson

Production Coordinator Richard Forster

Production EditorCaroline Fort

Copy Editors Caroline Lawrence (English), Brigitte Strauss

(French), Luisa Futoransky (Spanish)

Editorial Board ICCROM: Joseph King, ICOMOS: Regina Durighello,

IUCN: Tim Badman, UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Marina Apaydin, Giovanni Boccardi,

Véronique Dauge, Guy Debonnet, Lazare Eloundou-Assomo, Mechtild Rössler, Nuria Sanz, Petya Totcharova, UNESCO Publishing: Ian Denison

Editorial AssistantBarbara Blanchard

Advertising Barbara Guyomarch, Gary Moffat, Kara Sweeting

Cover Photo: UNESCO/Youmna Tabet

Design: Recto Verso

Editorial Staff World Heritage Centre, UNESCO 7, Place de Fontenoy, 75007 Paris

Tel. (33.1) 45 68 16 60 – Fax (33.1) 45 68 55 70E-mail: [email protected] INTERNET: http://whc.unesco.org

Advertisements, productionPublishing for Development

5 St. John’s Lane - London EC1M 4BH - UKTel: +44 2032 866610 - Fax:+44 2075 262173

E-mail: [email protected]

SubscriptionsJean De Lannoy, DL Services sprl

Avenue du Roi 202 - B 1190 Brussels - BelgiumTel: +32 2 538 43 08 - Fax:+32 2 538 0841

E-mail: [email protected]

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in the articles and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization. The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Published by Publishing for Development Ltd., London, United Kingdom. ISSN: 1020-4202. Printed in Spain © UNESCO – Publishing for Development Ltd. 2011

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Frankincense – The wealth of OmanThe frankincense trees and the remains of the caravan oasis vividly illustrate the trade in frankincense that flourished in this region for many centuries.

Aflaj – Traditional subterranean irrigation systems of OmanAflaj are the main source of irrigation water in Oman. They have been utilized in agriculture as well as domestically since ancient times.

Al-Hijr – A Nabataean settlement in Saudi ArabiaThe Archaeological Site of Al-Hijr (Madâin Sâlih) is the largest conserved site of the civilization of the Nabataeans south of Petra in Jordan.

Ad-Dir’iyah – Cradle of the House of SaudThis property was the first capital of the Saudi dynasty, in the heart of the Arabian Penisula, north-west of Riyadh. Founded in the 15th century, it is a unique example of the Najdi architectural and decorative style.

Tentative Lists – Looking to the future

New publication: World Heritage of the Arab Countries

Subscription Form

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World Heritage would like to thank the Bahrain Ministry of Culture for their support in the preparation of this issue, and Éditions Gelbart for their photographic contribution.

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Message by Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO

his special issue of World Heritage is devoted to the World Heritage sites in the Gulf countries. The

seven sites from these countries inscribed on the World Heritage List are emblematic of the region’s long, rich and diverse history and culture.

The Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn represent the most complete collection of settlements and necropolises from the third millennium BC. The tell of Qal’at al-Bahrain reveals layers of human presence from about 2300 BC to the 16th century. Bahla Fort is an outstanding example of a fortified oasis settlement of the medieval Islamic period, shaped by the advanced water engineering know-how of early inhabitants. Situated at the heart of the Arabian Penisula, the At-Turaif District in ad-Dir’iyah was the first capital of the Saudi dynasty, founded in the 15th century.

The inscription of a site on the World Heritage List is the beginning of a journey. To implement the World Heritage Convention, the governments and societies involved must join together to protect and conserve, to monitor and report.

Education lies at the heart of these ambitions. As part of Bahrain’s Programme for World Heritage and in cooperation with the World Heritage Centre, an updated version in Arabic of the World Heritage in Young Hands Kit has been produced and distributed throughout the region. This follows up the 2009 World Heritage Education Regional Workshop organized in Amman, Jordan, with participants from eighteen Arab States.

Bahrain is also actively supporting the World Heritage Marine Programme, having hosted a regional expert meeting in February 2009 that has been a stepping-stone to identifying potential new marine World Heritage sites – in the Arab region and around the world.

Heritage preservation is taking off across the region. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have prepared Tentative Lists, and each has submitted a nomination for inscription on the World Heritage List.

The same is true for the preservation of intangible heritage. Falconry was inscribed in 2010 on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The traditional activity of training falcons and other raptors to take quarry has been transmitted from generation to generation across the region.

For UNESCO, cultural heritage is about the identity of a particular people and place over time, and it is about the belonging that binds us all together as members of a common humanity. Culture is dynamic. It is the work of centuries and generations, and, yet, it is made anew every day, through exchange and dialogue. In times of change and uncertainty, UNESCO’s core message is that cultural heritage can be a building block for sustainable development, a vector for reconciliation and harmony and a catalyst for regional cooperation. Culture can play a key role in reinforcing social cohesion – especially through education around heritage values.

I wish to thank the governments of countries featured in this special issue of World Heritage for their commitment and efforts in cooperation with UNESCO. The Gulf region has a vast wealth in cultural heritage to share with the rest of the world. The journey is well under way. With governments and societies in the region, I look forward to taking it further.

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Special Issue Interview

© Bahrain Ministry of Culture

A visionary, a historian and a writer, Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa eagerly endeavours to improve the Kingdom of Bahrain’s cultural scene by raising awareness of the country’s unique historical and archaeological heritage and promoting a wide range of cultural activities. Her list of achievements within Bahrain’s cultural scene ranges from the inscription of Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun on the UNESCO World Heritage List to the creation of the Spring of Culture, a month-long cultural festival.

As the Minister of Culture in Bahrain, Shaikha Mai Al-Khalifa is responsible for an ambitious cultural agenda, which comprises the creation of seven new museums and the protection, promotion and management of Bahrain’s archaeological sites. This cultural agenda was enabled by the Invest in Culture initiative which she launched by seeking a partnership between the private and public sectors. Indeed, she has managed to convince private institutions to support the preservation of heritage and hence successfully persuaded them to invest in the long-term cultural infrastructure of the kingdom.

In parallel to her governmental responsibilities, Shaikha Mai Al-Khalifaestablished the Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa Center for Culture and Research in Muharraq in 2002. Within a few years, the Center became one of the leading cultural institutions in the Arab world, hosting the most prominent and respected Arab and foreign intellectuals and once more placing Bahrain on the international cultural map.

The Center has also expanded within the old urban fabric of Muharraq, to include a number of renovated traditional Bahraini houses, each celebrating a fragment of Bahrain’s cultural heritage and helping to preserve and revitalize Bahrain’s historical urban fabric.

Listed in Forbes magazine amongst the fifty most influential women in the Arab world, Shaikha Mai Al-Khalifa is a recipient of the Committee Colbert Prize for Creativity and Heritage (2010) in the field of heritage preservation and winner of the Social Creativity Award from the Arab Thought Foundation (2010). She is also the recipient of the French Ordre des Arts des Lettres and the Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur for her efforts to promote cultural and intellectual cooperation.

As the Kingdom’s Minister of Culture, Shaikha Mai’s main objective is to preserve and maintain historical sites in the country and she believes heritage sites remain the country’s sole responsibility in terms of their continuity, maintenance and development.

Interview with Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa, Bahrain Minister of CultureChair of the World Heritage Committee

According to Shaikha Mai, the ratification and implementation of the World Heritage Convention is of immense importance to the Arabian Gulf region. ‘The rapid economic development of the region has been affecting every aspect of our lives from our physical surroundings; our built and natural landscape to our social interactions. Therefore it is essential to preserve our identity by understanding, protecting and remaining closely linked to our tangible and intangible heritage. The World Heritage Convention is an important tool that recognizes these needs.’ As a member of the World Heritage Committee (2007–2011), Bahrain expressed a vision of its growing ambition and commitment to provide support for a shared appreciation of the diversity and variety of the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

‘One of the objectives of our campaign to join the World Heritage Committee was to promote the implementation of the World

Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa, Bahrain Minister of Culture.


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wHeritage Convention in our region by the establishment of the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), as a Category II centre under the auspices of UNESCO that will strive to address the variety of needs that the region requires in the context of World Heritage, but more focused on information sharing in Arabic, assistance to States Parties and providing logistical and financial support’, says Shaikha Mai, who believes the significance of the ARC-WH will ‘assist our specialists in protecting the Arab Region’s heritage in all its guises’.

Since Bahrain became a member of the World Heritage Committee four years ago, it has sought to contribute in various aspects to the implementation of the World Heritage Convention by initiating, financing and implementing various projects and activities that both support the Convention and enhance national cultural policy. Among these projects was the initiation and implementation of expert meetings and workshops held in Bahrain and intended to tackle the Convention at different levels, such as the expert meeting on decision-making processes of the World Heritage Committee and the General Assembly of States Parties. On a major thematic issue concerning the Arab region (as all of the eighteen Arab States Parties to the Convention have access to the sea), the Kingdom hosted an important expert meeting on marine heritage which carried out a global thematic review of Marine World Heritage and a review of marine heritage in the Arab region. The results of the workshop were published in 2010 as the Bahrain Action Plan for Marine World Heritage, which has become an important tool to assist in future targeting of marine activities by the World Heritage Marine Programme and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

Bahrain has also provided support to key programmes and activities including the Earthen Architecture Programme and the World Heritage in Young Hands regional meeting held in Jordan in 2009. Bahrain also facilitated and hosted the launch of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Arab States in late 2008.

One of the programmes that Shaikha Mai evoked at length and which is close to her heart and work is the Prehistory Programme in relation to World Heritage: ‘95 per cent of human history belongs to prehistory and yet most of the sites related to this period remain underrepresented on the World Heritage List. The prehistory meeting held in Bahrain in 2009 highlighted the Outstanding Universal Value of the prehistoric burial ensembles of Bahrain, dating from the Dilmun and Tylos civilizations and which Bahrain aims to nominate for inscription on the World Heritage List.’

Shaikha Mai promotes a vision for cultural heritage in her country which can be aimed at different audiences, from economic policy to education and engagement with the community. ‘It is imperative that everyone understand the need to preserve archaeological sites that can be employed to attract cultural tourism, which if done correctly, will help enrich Bahrain and boost the country’s efforts to become an important destination in the region. If such a message reaches

Shaikha Mai believes heritage sites remain the country’s sole responsibility

in terms of their continuity, maintenance and development.

Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun.© Éditions Gelbart


Special Issue Interview

the Bahraini people through the right means, the preservation of archaeological sites will become part of their culture. By increasing the awareness of the value of archaeological sites, we build strong links to our past and our predecessors,’ she adds. Cognizant of the importance of the role of local communities contributing to the conservation of World Heritage sites, Shaikha Mai is adamant that ‘old sites must not be destroyed in order to leave space for new housing projects’.

Proud that heritage education will soon be included in Bahrain’s school curricula and with a focus on the World Heritage Convention and the site of Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun, Shaikha Mai says, ‘We are working on doing just that, with the Kingdom increasingly concerned with establishing a special programme for the youth of the country. Unfortunately, we still lack programmes aimed at raising awareness in public and private schools that provide students with the necessary information regarding the importance of preserving our identity through the preservation of our heritage sites. We also need to attract a greater number of students to visit these sites in order for them to understand the importance and significance of their own country, its historical context and contribution to the world’s civilization,’ she adds.

Speaking of raising awareness concerning the World Heritage sites of Bahrain and the region, Shaikha Mai noted her country’s initiation of the first publication describing the sixty-six existing World Heritage sites of the Arab region. ‘This first book ever on World Heritage sites in the region, which we are aiming to launch at the 35th session of the Committee, will be a unique and informative gift to the region and the world that provides an artistic photographic view that conveys a new way of looking at the World Heritage sites in the Arab region.’

Following the Committee’s recommendations to make greater strides in diversifying the World Heritage List by making it truly balanced and representative of the world’s heritage, and in addition to the Bahrain Action Plan for Marine World Heritage, which has

accelerated recognition of marine protected areas within the World Heritage Convention and other related protected area initiatives at global and regional levels, Shaikha Mai has expressed strong interest in nominating a natural site in the Gulf region. She has met with several of her counterparts to discuss the world’s second largest habitat for dugongs (sea cows) found in the waters of Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. ‘We are in the process of coordinating between several Gulf countries to include this wonderful marine wildlife area on the Tentative List and Inshallah to inscribe it on the World Heritage List as a transboundary site,’ she says.

‘The fact that the Kingdom of Bahrain was chosen to host the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee was a source of great pride for the Kingdom and an opportunity of a lifetime for us to showcase Bahrain – which boasts a 5,000-year history – to the world,’ says Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa. ‘Unfortunately, due to the recent events in the Kingdom, it was decided to change the venue of the forthcoming Committee Session to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. However, I will always be grateful that Bahrain, a small island in the world, was chosen to host this prestigious event. Since the adoption of the World Heritage Convention in 1972, the Committee meeting has only been held in three Arab countries: Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. You never know, Bahrain may host the Committee again sooner than we think,’ adds Shaikha Mai, a true optimist who believes that the presence of the World Heritage Committee in Bahrain would have been an important catalyst to endorse the preservation of heritage of the region.

By no means under the impression that the task ahead of her and her team is anything but challenging, especially in these trying times, Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa is a firm believer that success belongs to the most persevering.

If Shaikha Mai’s long-cherished dream eventually comes true, Bahrain will be a true cultural gateway to the region’s rich heritage sites. It seems, though, that with her zeal and determination, this vision will soon become a reality.

Among several initiatives, Bahrain has hosted an important meeting on Marine World Heritage.© Dr. Saeed Al Khuzai


Map

1. Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun (Bahrain) (2005)

2. Bahla Fort (Oman) (1987)

3. Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn (Oman) (1988)

4. Land of Frankincense (Oman) (2000)

5. Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman (2006)

6. Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) (Saudi Arabia) (2008)

7. At-Turaif District in ad-Dir’iyah (Saudi Arabia) (2010)

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Qal’at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun is the only Bahrain site inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Qal’at al-Bahrain Capital of the Dilmun Civilization

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seat of the king – or the administrator after the island had been conquered by other nations.

The site, also known as the Bahrain Fort, is located on the north coast of the island and on the westernmost shore of a gulf facing the western limits of the city of Manama, the Bahraini capital. Viewed as a whole, it is a typical tell – an artificial mound created by successive archaeological layers –

surrounded on the east, west and south by gardens and palm groves. This environment has the further advantage of ensuring a measure of protection against creeping urbanization and it is also indicative of the abundance of sweet water on the site.

The listed site extends over some 32 ha of land within which the tell covers an

al’at al-Bahrain is consi-dered to be one of Bahrain’s most important historical sites, being the capital of Dilmun, one

of the most ancient civilizations of the region, mentioned in Sumerian archives as a trading partner, notably for copper. Qal’at al-Bahrain contains the richest inventoried remains of this civilization, which had until recently been little more than a name inscribed on Sumerian clay tablets and on the bas-reliefs from the palace of the Assyrian king Sargon II at the ancient city of Dur Sharrukin (modern Khorsabad, Iraq).

The land and its culture are mentioned in Sumerian mythology, which links Dilmun with the origins of the world. The land of Dilmun is believed to be the paradise, the Garden of Eden, which Gilgamesh the king of Uruk may have found when searching for immortality. Sumerian texts from the 3rd millennium BC describe Dilmun as a land blessed by the gods, graced with abundant fresh water and renowned as an international marketplace. Dilmun was also the only marketplace for long distance trade via the Gulf. It was a port of transit where representatives of all countries in the known world came to exchange their wares or sell their products, and thus also a nexus of cultures. In the 2nd millennium BC Dilmun was conquered by the Mesopotamian Kassite dynasty and in the 7th century BC it is mentioned seven times in the bas-reliefs of Sargon’s palace. All these historical periods are well represented in Qal’at al-Bahrain which, as capital of Dilmun was also the

area of 18 ha and, as a consequence of the accumulation of settlement layers, culminates at an altitude of 12 m above sea level.

The stratigraphy of the site is continuous, from about 2300 BC to the 16th century AD. About 25 per cent has been excavated, revealing structures of different types – residential, public, commercial, religious and military. Today, the mound is capped

by an impressive fort last occupied and developed by the Portuguese, to which the whole site owes its name – qal’a means fort in Arabic.

To the north, the site is bordered by broad expanses of shallow water, resulting from the presence of fossil coral outcrops that extend 2 km into the sea. These outcrops made it very difficult for ships to reach the coast and at one point a canal had to be dug through the coral reefs to give access to the open sea.

The strategic position of the site and the abundance of water in the area were two major factors in the continuation of the settlements at the Qal’at al-Bahrain site for the past 5,000 years, from the middle of the 2nd millennium BC to the 19th century AD.

Excavation has brought to light practically all that is now known of the Dilmun civilization, after twenty-five centuries of neglect. A Danish

archaeological mission carried out the first excavation at the site in 1954. At the time, Qal’at al-Bahrain was considered a possible site for the capital of ancient Dilmun and after many years of archaeological work (from 1954 to 2002), six distinct settlement layers were discovered, once surrounded by imposing walls.

The land and its culture are mentioned in Sumerian mythology, which links

Dilmun with the origins of the world.




Excavation of the settlement at Qal’at al-Bahrain.

Excavation has brought to light practically all that is now known

of the Dilmun civilization.


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This site was inscribed on the World Heritage List because it holds the remains of an important port city, in which people and traditions from different parts of the known world met, lived and traded.

Six layers of vestigesThe oldest of these layers represents

the Dilmun civilization and in this respect the site is considered to be one of the most important historical stations that linked the ‘land between two rivers’ (Mesopotamia) and the land of Sind during the Bronze Age. This naturally justified the site’s inscription on the World Heritage List in 2005 in consideration of its unique historical value.

The first of the six layers attests to the birth of Dilmun as a settlement and dates back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. It lies directly by the shore and consists of a number of small houses that are not clearly visible due to the fires that destroyed them.

The next layer (early Dilmun) is that of a city that witnessed the peak of the Dilmun civiliza-tion. It is surrounded by a great wall and was probably raised on the ruins of the first settle-ment. Its residents were the same ones who built the burial mounds that are found through-out the country, and were also responsible for the building of tem-ples that go back to an age in which Akkadians lived on the island, but also to the ancient Babylonian era.

The third layer (Middle Dilmun) coincides with the era of greatest pros-perity, which probably extended from 1700 BC to 1200 BC. This coin-cided with the second half of the Babylonian era as well as the Kashian era. Among find-ings from this period are buildings that were used to store dates.

The fourth layer (Late Dilmun) coincides with the age of Assyrian rule from the 9th


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into the 5th centuries BC. The most important feature of this layer is a gate 3 m high. A major building has also been uncovered, believed to be the palace of Uperi, King of Dilmun, who is referred to in cuneiform tablets.

The fifth layer concerns Tylos, the Greek name by which Bahrain was known around the 3rd century BC, and the period is notable for the presence of Greek pottery, glass, glazed ceramics and stone statues.

The sixth and final layer represents the early Islamic era, in which the name of the island was changed to Awal. This level extends all the way to the 14th century AD and it is distinguished by the presence of an

Islamic fortress in the north and the ruins of the earlier Islamic fortress upon which the Portuguese raised their own fort in the 16th century.

These six successive layers and cities in the same place prove the continued occupation of Qal’at al-Bahrain. With few intervals it remained the capital of the island over thousands of years.

A nexus of culturesThis site was inscribed

on the World Heritage List because it holds the remains of an impor-tant port city, in which people and traditions from different parts of the known world met, lived and traded, making it a nexus of cultures, a fact reflected in its ar-chitecture and develop-ment. The site was also invaded and occupied for long periods by most of the great powers and empires of the region, all of which have left their cultural traces in differ-ent strata of the tell.

What is more, the Dilmun civilization, while little known, was manifestly a significant player in the early Middle East and this site is exemplary.

Within the site, the palaces of Dilmun are unique examples of the public architecture of this particular culture, which had an impact on the architecture of the entire region. The different fortifications are the best examples of defensive works from the 3rd century BC to the 16th century AD,

all assembled on a single site. And finally, the protected palm groves surrounding the site remain typical of the landscape and agriculture of the region ever since the 3rd century BC.

The site is considered to be one of the most important historical stations that linked the

‘land between two rivers’ (Mesopotamia) and the land of Sind during the Bronze Age.


Six distinct settlement layers were discovered.

Bahla Fort Vestiges of an immense medieval fortress

Bahla Fort was the first Omani property inscribed on the World Heritage List, in 1987.© Éditions Gelbart


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nown for their seafaring tradition, the sultans of Oman from the 16th to the 19th centuries ruled over a wealthy trading empire that

stretched from the coast of East Africa to the tip of the Indian subcontinent. But the Omani civilization dates back thousands of years and was the former hub of the rich trade in frankincense, the aromatic gum which was once considered more precious than gold (see page 36).

At the foot of Djebel Akhdar lie the fortresses of Rustaq to the north, and Izki, Nizwa and Bahla to the south. The three towns surrounding them have all been capitals at some time in history and it was here that the Kharijite communities put into practice their religious concepts, which were both radically puritanical and democratic, and stubbornly resisted all attempts at ‘normalization’ by caliph Harun al-Rashid. Bahla was then the centre of Ibadism (another branch of Islam), on which the ancient Omani imamates were based and whose influence can be traced across Arabia, Africa and beyond.

Oasis of BahlaStanding not far from the present capital

of Oman, the oasis of Bahla owed its prosperity to the Banu Nebhan tribe which, from the mid-12th to the end of the 15th centuries, imposed its rule on the other tribes.

Today, however, only the ruins of Banu Nebhan’s glorious past remain standing in this magnificent mountain site. The oasis includes the remains of the immense Bahla Fort, the first Omani property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List (1987), with its walls and towers of unbaked brick and its stone foundations – an outstanding example of the characteristic military architecture of the Sultanate of Oman. Together with the adjacent Friday Mosque with its decoratively sculpted prayer niche (mihrab) it dominates the surrounding mud-brick settlement and palm grove.

Both monuments are thus inseparable from the small town of Bahla and its souk, palm grove and adobe ramparts that surround the entire oasis – a remarkable piece of work with towers, doors and underground irrigation channels (aflaj).

The extensive wall (sur), built from stone and mud brick, with its sentry walk and watchtowers and several gateways, encloses both the labyrinth of mud-brick dwellings and the cultivable land. Bahla is an outstanding example of a fortified oasis settlement of the medieval Islamic period, exhibiting the water engineering skills of the early inhabitants for agricultural and domestic purposes. Indeed, the oasis is still watered thanks to the management of the seasonal flow of water and to the system of wells and underground channels that bring in groundwater from distant springs.

The pre-gunpowder style fort with its rounded towers and castellated parapets, together with the perimeter wall, attest to the status and influence of the ruling elite.

The remaining mud-brick family compounds of traditional vernacular houses (harats) including al-Aqr, al-Ghuzeili, al-Hawulya and their associated mosques, audience halls (sablas), bath houses, along with the dwellings of the fort guards (askari), demonstrate a distinctive settlement pattern related to the location of the irrigation system.

The site was removed from the Danger List in 2004.© Éditions Gelbart



The oasis includes the remains of the immense Bahla Fort, the first Omani property to be inscribed on the World Heritage List (1987).

The importance of the settlement is further enhanced by the Friday mosque with its highly ornate mihrab and the remains of the old, semi-covered market (souk), comprising a complex of single-storey shops fronting onto narrow lanes, the whole surrounded by an outer wall. The location of the souk incidentally placed it within easy overview of the nearby fort on its rocky outcrop. Vestiges of carved and decoratively incised timber doors, shelves and window screens testify to a rich, thriving craft tradition.

Restoration work The principal constituents of Bahla’s

architectural ensemble have survived and together they stand as an integral and largely complete historic walled oasis settlement and major defensive complex. It is however composed mostly of earthen structures, which are vulnerable to decay and to inadequate site drainage and, in the case of the souk, to reconstruction in modern materials.

The monuments of Bahla were in a critical state when the site was inscribed

on the World Heritage List. It had never been restored (which at least had the merit of conserving a high degree of authenticity), and was not then protected by any conservation measures. The terrace of the Friday Mosque had not undergone maintenance since the Ibadite community had abandoned it in favour of the new mosque and it finally collapsed between 1981 and 1983, causing the arches to cave in and tearing away the wall plastering. This naturally endangered the mihrab inside the building.

A detailed survey was made in 1977 by the Omani Archaeology Department, but restoration work did not make any headway until 1988. This was entirely financed by the Omani Government, with photogrammetric recording made by the Mining Museum in Bochum (Germany). By 2005 it was virtually complete.

The falaj system and water course on which the settlement depends, together with the historic routes linking the settlement to other towns in the interior, extend far beyond its boundary. Today, despite some urban development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Bahla remains prominent in the desert landscape. Its visual approaches are still vulnerable to community development and tourism requirements. Maintaining the surveillance role of the fort in relation to the souk, the surrounding settlement and the gateways will similarly depend on careful management of development within the property.

At the time of inscription, the fort was also in a dilapidated condition and it was decaying rapidly after each rainy season. It was consequently added to the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1988.


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Consolidation works using inappropriate materials were carried out in the early 1990s on some sections of the fort including Bayt al-Jabal, the entrance hall (sabah), and north-west and south-west walls. An audience hall (sabla) in the courtyard was demolished in 1992. From 1995, following training and advice on earthen structures, conservation measures using only earth-based materials have been applied to ensure courtyard drainage, new roofs and the consolidation of collapsing walls and towers including the citadel (qasaba), the courtyard mosque, Bayt al-Jabal, Bayt al-Hadith and horse stalls, and the capping of the tops of ruined walls to impede further collapse. The sabla was reconstructed in 1999 in the courtyard of the fort.

Accurate records have also been kept of the work and full documentation of the

fort, including a photogrammetric survey, has since been carried out

Removal from the Danger ListThe form, design and materials that give

the site its outstanding universal value can be said to have largely retained their authenticity and the property was taken off the Danger List in 2004.

Bahla remains a thriving settlement today. However its authenticity is vulnerable to the abandonment of the traditional houses. The souk is also susceptible to deficient conservation and maintenance and changes in materials and methods of construction.

The Bahla Fort property and the oasis are protected administratively and legally by the Omani Law for National Heritage Protection (1980). The fort and its environs are controlled by the Ministry of Heritage

and Culture in Muscat, which has a regional office in the Dakhliyeh region and a site office at Bahla.

The site has a Management Plan dating from March 2005, focused on the long-term care, conservation and use of the historic buildings, structures and spatial form. The plan recognizes the importance of maintaining the site as an integral whole and the need to manage modern uses and development in order to preserve the integrity of the architectural ensemble and its prominence within its setting.

Several of the actions set out in the Management Plan have been taken forward and implemented, including conservation of the Friday Mosque, the qasaba, the sur and gateways, but also the development of guidelines for rehabilitation of the harats, diversion of through traffic, electrification of the fort and installation of a site museum in Bayt al-Hadith within the fort.

The plan was undergoing review in 2009/2010 and the updated plan will form the basis for the long-term management of the property.

The Management Plan of the site is focused on the long-term care, conservation and use of the historic buildings, structures and spatial form.


Bahla Fort is one of four historic fortresses situated at the foot of the Djebel Akhdar highlands.




© Éditions Gelbart© Éditions Gelbart


Inside the fort.

The form, design and materials give the site its outstanding universal value.

Drawings on doors testify to a rich craft tradition.

Bahla is a great example of a fortified oasis settlement of the medieval Islamic period.


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The Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn (Oman) were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988.


Protohistoric sites in Oman Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn

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Special Issue Protohistoric sites


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ogether with the neighbouring sites of Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn, Bat forms the most complete collection of settlements and necropolises from the 3rd

millennium BC, when Bat was a village of the country of Magan (or Makkan), then the principal centre for the extraction of copper, which was shipped as far as Mesopotamia.

The protohistoric site of Bat lies outside the palm grove of that name, in Wilayat Ibri, in the Al-Dhahirah region, and thus in the interior of Oman, some 320 km north-west of the capital Muscat and 30 km north-east of Ibri centre.

The first notable features on reaching the site near the confluence of a small waterway and Wadi al-Hijr are five stone towers which are highly representative of the Early Bronze Age in the Arabian Peninsula. One of these towers has been entirely excavated by a Danish team led by Karen Frifelt. At ground level, the tower is 20 m in diameter and contained a central well and, according to their conclusions (based on the examination of ceramic material), it was built between 2595 BC and 2465 BC.

Looking out on the site from the tower, a series of rectangular houses with central courts can be distinguished to the east and, to the north, a vast necropolis that can be divided into two distinct groups. The first, which stands on the crest of a rocky slope, contains a number of drystone tombs (includ-ing a few from the 4th millennium), which are scattered along the path from Bat to Al-Wahrah. The second group extends over rice terraces south-east of the wadi and includes over a hundred drystone ‘beehive’ tombs.

A hierarchized societyArchaeological clues suggest a highly hi-

erarchical society, as is apparent both in the settlements, where circular defensive struc-tures contrast with rectangular housing, and in the burial sites, where the arrange-ment of funerary space is more complex.

The Bat settlement was also equipped with a dam to retain rainwater for agricultural purposes, and its six circular towers are in fact fortified buildings made of large, perfectly adjusted limestone blocks assembled without mortar. The towers are surrounded by walls and they often have a well in the centre. Curiously enough, there are no entrances to the towers, and it is thought that access was provided by a wooden ladder which defenders then pulled up behind them.

Archaeological findingsThe archaeological buildings and

necropolises were discovered at Bat and Al-Khutm in 1972 and at Al-Ayn in 1974, with archaeological research in Bat beginning in 1972 and continuing sporadically over the years.

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Together with the neighbouring sites of Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn, Bat forms the world’s most complete collection of settlements and necropolises from the third millennium BC.

Five stone towers at the site of Bat are representative of the Early Bronze Age in the Arabian Peninsula.© Éditions Gelbart



The buildings and necropolises discovered at Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn date back to the Copper Age (Hafit period) 3200–2600BC and the Early Bronze Age (Umm an-Nar period) 2600–1800BC. The archaeological research indicated the continuity of settlement activity in Bat during the Middle Bronze Age (Wadi Suq period) 1800–1300BC, the Late Bronze Age (Early Iron Age) 1300–1200BC, the Iron Age (Lizq period/Rumilah) 1200–300BC and the Late Iron Age (Samad period) 300BC–AD600.

Shreds of red pottery from the Jemdat Nasr period, decorated with black horizontal lines, sheets of copper, a marble jar imported from Iran, a steatite cylindrical stamp, a bronze dagger/sword, and a collection of agate beads imported from India, were the early archaeological findings at Bat settlement.

Some 1,130 graves spread over the surrounding rocky ridges and the lower terrace assume the shape of rock piles and are known as cairn graves. The more elaborate beehive-shaped graves of the Hafit period are found in the northern part of the settlement, while the southern part contains those of Umm an-Nar period.

Most of the Hafit graves also stand on the top of rocky ridges. They consist of two circular and parallel walls surrounding a circular, oval, square or rectangular burial room with stone slabs covering its floor. The walls are of untrimmed stones extracted from the nearby limestone mountains and assembled without mortar. The external appearance of the graves varies according to the type of stone. Some stones are regular in shape while others have irregular but nonetheless carefully chosen shapes. The burial chambers are roofed with stones and the entrances are triangular or square in shape and face south, west or east. These entrances were blocked with stones after the burial ceremony.

Most of the Umm an-Nar graves were built on the lower terrace, not far from the residential settlements. They are larger

in size and include a number of rooms to accommodate a greater number of structures, consisting of two to four rooms divided by partition walls. Some include two semi-circular rooms separated by a central wall connected to the inner wall of the grave on one side only. They may also contain three rooms divided by two central and parallel walls built separately in the centre of the building and connected to the inner wall of the grave from both sides; or even four rooms divided by a central wall built in the middle of the grave, separating into two smaller walls in order to form four separate rooms. The last type is one wall dividing the grave into two parts.

These Umm an-Nar graves have one or two rather small access doors facing east or west that are 50 cm high and 60 cm wide. These doors are blocked with three stones with

The Hafit period graves are made of two circular and parallel walls surrounding a

circular, oval, square or rectangular burial room with stone slabs covering its floor.

The archaeological site of Al-Khutm lies some 2 km to the west of the Bat settlement.© Éditions Gelbart


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special forms – two at the bottom and one in the upper part. The floor of these burial chambers is covered with flat limestone, while the interior walls are constructed with untrimmed stones, with some of which have been strengthened with mortar. The outer walls, the graves and the frontages are all constructed from carefully cut blocks of white or brown limestone imported from nearby quarries and trimmed to form small diced rectangles or squares that are curved to adopt the circular form of the wall. The diameter of the graves is about 7–8 m.

Before the end of the Umm an-Nar period, the walls and frontages of the graves became larger, some having two storeys and reaching a height of 10–12 m, and even 14 m at times. Large blocks of limestone aligned to a height of 1 m were used for the frontages while the ceilings of the Umm an-Nar graves were flattened with large limestone blocks and provided

with a limestone conduit on the outside to evacuate rainwater.

Neighbouring sitesIn view of the geographical, geological,

biological and archaeological unity of the Bat settlement and the two other sites – Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn – the three sites were inscribed together on the World Heritage List in 1988.

The site of Al-Khutm lies some 2 km to the west of the Bat settlement and covers a total area of 2,170 m2. It includes an apparently oval tower built on a small ridge, following the lie of the land and equipped with two additional walls (terrace walls or enclosures) to the west. Cairn graves have been built along the ridge on either side of the tower.

The site of Al-Ayn is about 20 km north-east of Bat. It includes a large number of graves built on a series of rocky ridges on the north bank of Wadi Al-Ayn, and about

another twenty graves built in a straight line. They are akin to the Hafit graves of Bat settlement and are built with limestone blocks laid out on a circular platform, some graves reaching a height of 4 m with an average diameter of about 5 m.

What can be learned from the site

The settlements and necropolises of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn are all outstanding examples of the traditional use of land during the Early Bronze Age, pointing to positive interaction between man and the environment. They were associated with the emergence and prosperity of the Magan civilization and its creative architectural system, which was represented in the number of consistent archaeological structures of a religious, civil, defensive and fiscal nature, including fortified buildings, dams and water irrigation channels.

Bat is considered as a typical Early Bronze Age settlement.© Éditions Gelbart

Graves of Al-Ayn are built limestone blocks.© Éditions Gelbart



The exceptional value of the sites lies in the layering and blocks of the archaeological buildings, which correspond to the original quarries. Excluding the pyramids of Egypt, these are the only buildings of this nature built from well-cut and trimmed stones in the Arabian Peninsula. In Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn the construction phases bear exceptional testimony to the development of civilization and the evolution of funerary practices.

The archaeological buildings of the three settlements are associated with the development of traditional Omani construction throughout the ages. At the regional and continental levels, they are also associated with archaeological buildings in many sites of the Early Bronze Age, including Bisya, Zukayt, Shanah and Al-Jilah in Oman, and Hili and Hafit in the United Arab Emirates, as well as graves in Yemen.

The Bat settlement is of exceptional importance in view of its strategic location and its relationship to Early Bronze Age settlements in past centres of civilization, including the Indus Valley civilization. Jemdat Nasr pottery was discovered in Bat settlement, with researchers explaining the existence of Jemdat Nasr cultural models in the far south-east of the Arabian Peninsula to the shift of trade concerns from north Syria to the south of Oman searching for raw materials, including copper, stone and wood. Also, the Jemdat Nasr period is characterized by the growth of trade and exchanges between civilizations (Mesopotamian/Egyptian), and therefore, the Jemdat Nasr sites discovered in Oman may be considered as stations on this road. The bottom line is that the direct contact between Sumer (the area that later became Babylonia and is now southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Arabian Gulf) and

the source of copper in Magan was achieved in the Jemdat Nasr period.

Bat is consequently considered as one of the typical Early Bronze Age settlements, with an economy based on aflaj irrigated agriculture, as attested by channels for the collection of water discovered on the spot and considered likely to be the nucleus of Oman’s aflaj irrigation systems. The security strategy set up to protect the water channels is attested by the towers found in the settlement.

Archaeological research has also discovered camel graves dating back to the 3rd millennium BC, which prove the importance of the Bat settlement in the domestication of camels and their use for transport. The current strategy of the administration favours in-depth archaeological research on the site in order to discover more aspects of its outstanding universal value.

The constructions in Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn are an exceptional testimony to the development of civilization and the evolution of funerary practices.



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Frankincense The wealth of Oman

Frankincense tree.



Special Issue Frankincense


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refers to the region of Dhofar. The area was well known to the pharaohs of Egypt, but also to the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Indians and Chinese. All of them called the land by a variety of names and established trade relations with it. To them its coast was the ‘Frankincense Coast’.

The Periplus Maris Erythraei, a sailors’ and traders’ handbook written by an anonymous Greek author of late antiquity, mentions many sites along the southern Arabian coast serving as trading stations on the monsoon sea routes from which frankincense was shipped to destinations in Asia, North Africa and Europe. This trade led the development of a bridge of communication between East and West.

Frankincense is in fact a gum resin extracted by making incisions in the trunk of the Boswellia sacra tree. The once

man’s strong cultural traditions can be attributed to a strategic global position resulting from its trade in spice, oil and

textiles. Almost 2,000 years ago, due to the abundance of frankincense, which was then valued above gold, Oman was considered one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Few countries today offer the diversity of scenery and the wealth of wildlife that characterizes Oman’s natural heritage, while its forts, watchtowers, merchant houses and strong maritime traditions are testimony to the ancient empires that left their mark on the land.

The Dhofar region of southern Oman has remained, since earliest times, the main source of production and exportation of the finest and most famous varieties of incense. This Land of Frankincense has been given many names through the ages: the Land of A’ad, the Country of Punt, and the Country of Al Shahr. The Greeks called it ‘Omana’. And it is assumed that Al Ahqaf, or the Sandy Land, mentioned in the Holy Koran,

tremendous value of the gum derived from its use in religious ceremonies, medicine and rituals of incantation. The Egyptians also used it in embalming and legend held that the frankincense trees were protected by flying snakes – which presumably dissuaded some from venturing into the region.

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000, the Frankincense Trail includes three archaeological sites and one natural park. Two of the sites, Khor Rori/Sumhuram and Al-Baleed, are ancient seaports; another site, Shisr, is an oasis where caravans entering the desert of the Rub al-Khali (the ‘Empty Quarter’), stopped for water. The site of Wadi Dawkah, on the road running from the seaports into the desert, offers an important example of the cultivation and harvesting of frankincense and has been designated a natural park.

O Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000, the Frankincense Trail includes three archaeological sites and one natural park.

In Wadi Dawkah, the frankincense trees are to be found in the flat bed of the wadi.© Éditions Gelbart


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Wadi DawkahWadi Dawkah lies in the Al-Najd area

behind the northern slopes of the Dhofar mountains, which are 350 km long, 30 km wide and rise to an altitude of 2,000 m on the Samhan mountain in the east, and 1,400 m on the Al-Qamar mountain in the west. It lies about 40 km from Salalah on the highway linking Salalah to Muscat in the direction of Shisr/Wubar.

Wadi Dawkah is an example of an area where frankincense trees grow in large numbers. The wadi is a stony, semi-desertic area featuring small, rounded hills and shallow hollows caused by flooding in ancient times. Frankincense trees are dominant although other varieties of trees and herbs can also be found. The trees grow over an area of about 5 km2 of the wadi, which is some 14 km long, and a total of 1,230 ancient long-living trees of varying size are found in the area. All frankincense trees in the wadi have a conical shape. In view of the development of the valley, 5,000 new trees are being cultivated to create a balance in areas where the density

of trees is low as a consequence of various environmental factors.

Frankincense on the site is still harvested according to rules and customs established by residents, and production sites are divided into individual sections, each one being assigned to one group. The owner of any one section is allowed to rent it to any other group after agreeing on whether production will be shared or not.

Al-BaleedModern archaeologists have tried to

identify sites along the coast with those mentioned in the Greek Periplus. Khor Rori, for example, a large valley with a sweet-water lake, mainly fed by seasonal rainfall, has been associated with the Moscha Limen of the Periplus. Al-Baleed, on the other hand, became known only later. It is

mentioned by such 13th-century authors as Ibn Battuta as an important port for frankincense and horses intended for the courts of India.

Indeed, according to the most recent archaeological findings, not only does the history of Al-Baleed go back to pre-Islamic times, it was an important settlement during the late Iron Age (c. 2000 BC).

Its present large wall and strong forts indicate that the city was renovated in the style of other contemporary Islamic cities during the Al-Habudheen era (13th century AD). This city naturally shared in the prosperity resulting from the frankincense trade and was commercially linked to various ports in China, India, the Indus Valley, Yemen, East Africa, Iraq and Europe. A number of travellers, such as the Chinese Jan Jokao, visited the city. He noted that frankincense

Al-Baleed naturally shared in the prosperity resulting from the frankincense trade and was commercially linked to various ports.

Al-Baleed is one of the three archaeological sites included in the Frankincense Trail. © Éditions Gelbart



Excavations at the archaeological site of Wadi Dawkah.© Éditions Gelbart

Shisr oasis.© Éditions Gelbart

Al-Baleed was an important settlement during the late Iron Age (c. 2000 BC).© Éditions Gelbart


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underlying the 10th-century city at Al-Baleed. The remains of this earlier city consist primarily of stone walls, which are not only buried beneath the newer city, but are also aligned quite differently. These earlier structures have been uncovered below the north-east tower of the husn (castle) along with rooms situated at the lowest levels excavated under the mosque in 2005.

Similar walls and buildings have been identified below the congregational mosque in 1997, in the courtyard south of the husn, underneath the south-west tower of the husn and in the lower levels of the deep sounding undertaken beneath a merchant’s house.

was one of the main commodities produced by Al-Baleed, and research has revealed that at one time the Chinese city of Quanzhou had as much as 174.337 kg of frankincense shipped from there.

The Chinese fleet commander, Zheng He, visited the city in 1421 AD and again in 1431, as the representative of the Chinese Emperor. He described public life in the city and the hospitality he received from the inhabitants. Earlier, Ibn Batutta had also visited Al-Baleed on two occasions– the first time in 1329, the second time twenty years later. Ibn Al-Mujawer also described its fortifications and architecture, and noted that its walls were built from stone and mortar and that it had four gates. He also stated that the Habudheen, commanded by Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Mazrui Al-Habudhi, had destroyed the city in 1221 and then rebuilt it and named it Al-Mansourah. Marco Polo (1285) also described the city and judged it prosperous.

These soundings suggest that a Late Iron Age town existed in the north-west quadrant of Al-Baleed. Associated with these early structures are Iron Age artefacts, including occasional microlithic tools and cores, red-ware bowls and ‘dot and circle’ ceramics.

Khor Rori (Sumhuram)In ancient times, Sumhuram was one

of the most important settlements of the region and the frankincense trade in the port of Sumhuram played a crucial role in developing the ancient kingdoms/states along the trade route.

Sumhuram was built in the Khor Rori area between the end of the 3rd century BC and

The archaeological site of Khor Rori lies on a hilltop on the eastern bank of a freshwater outlet (khor).© Éditions Gelbart

Sumhuram was one of the most important settlements of the region and the frankincense trade in the port of Sumhuram played a crucial role in developing the

ancient kingdoms/states along the trade route.



the 5th century BC. It was indeed the most important settlement in Dhofar prior to Islam, as it was then the commercial centre of the frankincense-producing region, which follows the coast between Taqah and Mirbat, and is located about 40 km from the Wilayat of Salalah to the east.

Khor Rori was mentioned as Mosha Laymen in Greek records dating back to the 1st or 2nd centuries AD and the presence of several cultural layers on this site is indicative of several successive settlements. The excavated engravings refer to the settlement as Smhrm or Sumhuram. The same letters (Smhrm) have also been found on coins unearthed along the coasts of the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Shisr (Wubar)Shisr (Wubar) is located in the southern

part of the Rub’ Al-Khali, 170 km north of the city of Salalah and 90 km from the Wilayat of Thumrayt. Over the centuries, the Rub’ Al-Khali attracted the interest of many Arab scientists, scholars and travellers, such as Attabari, Yaqoot Al-Hamoui, Atta’libi and Al-Hamadani, and even geographers and historians of antiquity such as Pliny, Strabo and Ptolemy, who praised the resources of the region and documented the growth of the frankincense and myrrh trade.

Islamic sources also confirm that Shisr (Wubar) lay on the ancient frankincense trade route. In the 11th century it was

referred to by Nishwan bin Said Al-Humayri as the land of the A’ad tribe, and in the 12th century Ibn Al-Mujawwir mentioned a frankincense route linking Dhofar and Baghdad through the Rub’ Al-Khali. Marco Polo reported much the same in 1260.

Justification for the inscription on the World Heritage List of all these archaeological sites points out that they represent the production and distribution of frankincense, ‘one of the most important luxury items of trade in antiquity’ while the oasis of Shisr and the entrepôts of Khor Rori and Al-Baleed are cited as examples of medieval fortified settlements in the Arabian Gulf region.

Shisr (Wubar) is located in the southern part of the Rub’ Al-Khali, 170 km north of the city of Salalah

and 90 km from the Wilayat of Thumrayt.



Special Issue Aflaj

The Aflaj irrigation systems of Oman site was inscribed in 2006.© Éditions Gelbart

Aflaj Traditional subterranean irrigation systems of Oman

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effective management and sharing of water in villages and towns is still underpinned by communal values of interdependence and guided by astronomical observations. The numerous watchtowers built to defend the water systems are an integral part of the site and they are indicative of the historic dependence of communities on the aflaj system. Currently threatened by the falling level of the underground water table, the aflaj and their customary exploitation are an exceptionally well-preserved form of land use.

The constructions found in Oman today represent one of the largest concentrations of irrigation systems of this kind anywhere in the world. Over 4,000 systems have been identified in a large-scale survey completed in 2001. Around 3,000 of these systems are still functioning, largely as a result of a restoration programme carried

rrigation has been the foundation of many of the world’s greatest civilizations, and Oman, with its unique aflaj irrigation systems, is no

exception.A falaj (singular of aflaj) may be

described as an invisible monument. It is an underground irrigation gallery that carries water sometimes over short distances but sometimes over several kilometres, its presence betrayed only by shafts which at given intervals allow people to lower themselves into the gallery for dredging and maintenance. Five aflaj form the Omani World Heritage site, which is representative of some 3,000 such systems still in use in the country. Using only gravity, water drawn from underground sources or springs is channelled over considerable distances, destined for agricultural and domestic use. The fair and

out by the Ministry of Water Resources over the past twenty-five years. This in turn demonstrates the crucial significance of the water systems as a major national resource that still underpins agricultural systems across a large area of the country.

Three types of aflajThe precise dating of most of the

underground channels is not known. The present network appears to result from several building campaigns, the earliest of which could be around AD 500 or even earlier. Recent archaeological evidence appears to suggest that irrigation systems existed in the area as early as 2,500 BC, but the date at which the first deep channels were mined and faced is difficult to establish.

In the settlements, water is still distributed through a traditional system of time-sharing, organized on a community basis.

Falaj Al-Malki is one of the largest aflaj in the sultanate, its total length being some 14.8 km.


Al-Khatmeen is a daoudi falaj.© Éditions Gelbart


Special Issue Aflaj

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demanded considerable labour forces and organizational capacity.

In constructing a daoudi system, a mother well is first dug at a point as near as possible to where the underground water system or aquifer emerges from the mountains. Finding this point demands traditional knowledge of the mountains and their geology. The mother well may need to be up to 60 m deep.

The sides of the well are lined with stone set in mortar, made from cakes of clay burned with palm tree wood, which, when needed for use, are ground to a powder and mixed with water to form the mortar. Once this mortar is set, it is water-resistant and appears to be very stable and long lasting. It is still being produced according to traditional methods.

From the mother well, a tunnel is constructed to the sharia distribution point

Three types of aflaj are recognized in Oman:

Ghaili: This form is based on the perennial flow in a wadi (surface water). Diverted by means of a partial dam from the wadi, water is conveyed in covered or open channels to settlements. In cases where the water flow is small or intermittent, reserves are stored in holding tanks for distribution in periods of drought. Of the existing systems, 48 per cent are ghaili.

Aini: The sources of water are perennial mountain springs. They never dry up completely, but their water flow is not constant, varying according to season and

climatic conditions. In form they are similar to ghaili aflaj. Aini account for 28 per cent of existing systems.

Daoudi: This type of falaj taps into underground water sources at the foot of mountains. Deep ‘mother’ wells are sunk to tap into the source of water, which is then conveyed to settlements on the plains through underground channels, often over very long distances. Such underground channels are used by 24 per cent of the systems in use today. The daoudi is by far the most complex. Its construction relies on sophisticated engineering expertise and must also have

The present network appears to result from several building campaigns, the earliest of which

could be around AD 500 or even earlier.

The Daris Falaj is a daoudi system and is thought to be the oldest in the Sultanate. Falaj Al-Jeela is an aini falaj.© Éditions Gelbart © Éditions Gelbart


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arid desert regions. Such systems reflect the former total dependence of communities on this form of irrigation. They also testify to a time-honoured system of fair and effective management and sharing of water resources, resting upon principles of mutual dependence and communal values.

Relatively constant supplies of water are guaranteed by the aflaj system for large areas of desert throughout the year, and this in turn has led to the growth of permanent urban settlements based on an assured agricultural production and water resources for both humans and livestock.

within the perimeter of the settlements. This tunnel may be very long – up to 14.8 km as at Falaj Al-Malki, and have remarkably shallow gradients, sometimes as little as 1:2500.

Some tunnels have a network of side branches, like the veins of a leaf. One now obsolete system had thirty-seven branches, although the maximum number in a working system is seventeen. No lining is needed when the tunnel goes through rock, but in softer ground stone-faced walls are built supporting stone vaults or slabs, or again palm logs are inserted to support the stone slabs of the roofing.

At appropriate points inspection shafts are constructed along the channels to allow dredging on a regular basis. In the long journey from the mother well to settlements, the water sometimes has to pass over wadis or other obstacles. To achieve this, the water is channelled through inverted siphons – two helical channels connected by a small aqueduct.

These ancient engineering technologies inscribed as World Heritage testify to longstanding, sustainable use of water resources, thanks to which palms and other produce could be cultivated in extremely

Falaj Al-Jeela is located in a very small village in the remote and barren mountainous area of Wilayat Sur.

Falaj Daris supplies the cultivated area of the town of Nizwa.




Special Issue Aflaj

The management and equitable distribution of water in cities and villages is governed by values

of mutual cooperation and coexistence.

Falaj Al-Khatmeen.© Éditions Gelbart


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Falaj Al-Mayassar (a daoudi falaj ) originates from a mother well 50 m deep.


Special Issue Aflaj

Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman as inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006 cover the collection and part of the distribution sections of five separate aflaj systems. This includes the underground channels which run between the mother well, spring or wadi where the water is tapped, to the sharia distribution point, the start of a network around the settlements, together with part of the above-ground distribution channels that cover plantations within the settlements, and associated buildings, such as mosques, watchtowers, houses, sundials and water auction buildings. The inscribed sites naturally include various geological formations and terrain surrounding the aflaj.

Al-Athar and AllmdThe management and equitable

distribution of water in cities and villages is governed by values of mutual cooperation and coexistence. The falaj water is distributed to farms and gardens located on either side of the gallery according to a specific arrangement agreed upon and based on two main factors – time and amount of water needed.

The time-based water distribution system operates in accordance with specific temporal units: the Al-Athar equals half an hour, the Al-Ruba’a equals three hours, the Al-Bada equals twelve hours (or twenty-four Athars) and the Al-Qama equal seven minutes and thirty seconds. A sundial (Allmd), was formerly used to time each cycle.

Falaj water uses are based on various priorities. Drinking water, for example, is taken directly at the source, washing and bathing (in separate rooms) comes next. Mosques get their water for ablution directly from the falaj. The water is then channelled on through groves and farms for irrigation as agreed upon by owners of the various lots. Portions are divided among individuals and partners according to their work and financial contributions. These portions can also be hereditary, ownership of the falaj being transferred to the owner’s offspring at the time of his death.

The sizes of Omani aflaj vary. One falaj may serve no more than one or two families, others cater for the needs of thousands of residents. Small aflaj can be managed by a single person, who also handles all the administrative work on a daily or annual basis, while larger aflaj require the participation of all the inhabitants.

The aflaj inscribed on the World Heritage site are the following: Falaj Daris, Falaj Al-Khatmeen, Falaj Al-Malaki, Falaj Al-Mayassar and Falaj Al-Jeela. These five represent the full range of traditional Omani irrigation systems. All these aflaj have certain key elements in common, including a main channel with subsidiary channels for distribution, a traditional water management and distribution system, an agricultural system which they irrigate, various traditional buildings and finally, watchtowers to ensure their defence.

Falaj Daris, Falaj Al-Khatmeen, Falaj Al-Malaki, Falaj Al-Mayssar and Falaj Al-Jeela represent the

full range of traditional Omani irrigation systems.


Falaj Al-Jeela distributes the water to palm and pomegranate plantations.


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Necropolis of Madâin Sâlih.



Special Issue Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih)

Al-Hijr A Nabataean settlement in Saudi Arabia

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Special Issue Al-Hijr Archaeological Site

The Nabataean city of Hegra (now Al-Hijr) was formed around a central residential zone and its oasis. The sandstone outcrops at various degrees of proximity offered outstanding possibilities for rock-cut necropolises or spaces, forming a remarkable site for the expression of Nabataean monumental architecture.

The importance of the city is made apparent by the abundance, on the site, of elements essential to sedentary life, including fertile land, water and a strategic position within the network of roads, which connected the great centres of civilization of the ancient Near East.

Al-Hijr stands in a large plain at the foot of a basalt plateau forming the south-east

overing an area of 2 million km2, Saudi Arabia embraces two-thirds of the Arabian Peninsula and stands at the axis of

three continents – Asia, Africa and Europe. This has made it a bridge for civilizations and corridor for ancient trade. As a result it witnessed the birth of many civilizations, whose relics are still evident today.

Outstanding among these relics is the Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) in the north-west of the country between the cities of Medina and Tabuk, 22 km north of the city of al-Ulâ. It was the first World Heritage property to be inscribed in Saudi Arabia, in 2008.

of the mountains of Hedjaz. Its surface area of 1,621 ha is surrounded by a buffer zone of almost identical size. Its geology is characterized by a number of sandstone outcrops of various sizes and heights, which formed the basis of the development of Nabataean monumental architecture.

Monumental tombs The former Hegra was the Nabataean

civilization’s largest conserved site south of Petra in Jordan. It features well-preserved monumental tombs with decorated façades dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. The site also features a number of cave drawings and about fifty inscriptions from the pre-Nabataean period.

CAl-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) lies at the crossroad of several civilizations and trade routes linking the Arabian Peninsula with the Mediterranean world and Asia.

Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) was the first Saudi Arabian site inscribed on the World Heritage List, in 2008.© Éditions Gelbart



Al-

HijrBut above all, Al-Hijr bears unique

testimony to Nabataean civilization. With its water wells and its monumental tombs, most of them decorated, the site is an outstanding example of the Nabataeans’ architectural accomplishment and their hydraulic expertise.

Remains of human occupation in the region hark back to remote antiquity. Indeed, prehistoric remains have been recorded on some mountaintops surrounding the site and many rock faces in the area are also covered with petroglyphs, some of them prehistoric.

Epigraphic traces of the pre-Nabataean period also remain, and consist of some fifty inscriptions in Lihyanite script, which is specific to northern Arabia, and some cave drawings including two lions in a fine expressive style.

The most important remains of this period consist of four main necropolises. They include some 2,000 non-monumental burial places and 111 monumental tombs, of which 94 have decorated façades of varying dimensions. Around thirty of these include inscriptions in the Nabataean language, allowing for the dating of their construction. The most active period was between the first two-thirds of the 1st century AD, but the site was worked on by the Nabataeans from the 1st century BC and probably from even earlier.

To the north of the site, the necropolis of Jabal al-Mahjar includes four parallel outcrops from which tombs have been

cut on the eastern and western sides. The façade decorations are relatively small in size, 1 m or less. The most easterly outcrop has larger niches for burial places, which is unique at Al-Hijr.

The necropolis of Qasr al-Bint, which has thirty-one tombs, is the most monumental and the most representative of the Al-Hijr site. The tombs date from AD 1–58. The largest façade is 16 m high, and one unfinished tomb would have probably reached a height of 30 m. The Qasr al-Bint tombs feature fine inscriptions and carvings, the first concerning the eminent figures for whom the tombs were intended, and the second being decorative elements such as birds, monsters and human faces.

One late tomb on the site dating from the 3rd century AD bears an inscription written

in Nabataean script but in the Arabic language.

One of the prominent necropolis areas consists of a single isolated outcrop to the south-east of the residential area. It contains nineteen tombs cut out between AD 16 and AD 61. These earlier tombs have no decorated façades. All are carved high on the sandstone cliff.

In the south-west of the property, the necropolis of Jabal al-Khuraymat is the largest of the four. It consists of many outcrops separated by sandy zones, but only eight of the outcrops contain monumental tombs. There are forty-eight in all and they date from AD 7 to AD 73.

Most of the façades of Jabal al-Khuraymat necropolis, averaging around 7 m in height, are in a poor state of conservation because of the inferior quality of the sandstone and exposure to the prevailing winds.

Stylistic borrowingThe architectural styles of the tomb

façades of Al-Hijr can be divided into five types that do n ot follow a precise chronological order. Both the decorative motifs and the monumental dimensions of a tomb façade were linked to the wealth and social position of the buried person. Stylistic elements are sometimes borrowed from neighbouring civilizations, including Assyrian (crenellated motifs), Phoenician, Egyptian and Hellenistic Alexandrian. They are combined into original ensembles

with decorative themes specific to the Nabataeans, including for example an evolved version of the Corinthian capital.

The religious area of Jabal Ithlib stands to the north-east of the archaeological site and near the highest sandstone outcrop of Al-Hijr. The troglodytic part of this area is reached through a narrow corridor 40 m long between high rocks, just as the Siq at Petra, which opens onto the hall of the Diwan, in the form of a triclinium. The area includes many small Nabataean sanctuaries cut into the rock, several of which bear inscriptions.

The archaeological residential area of Al-Hijr stood in the middle of the plain. Both

Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih) lies at the crossroad of several civilizations and trade routes linking the Arabian Peninsula with the Mediterranean world and Asia.

Detail of the door.© Éditions Gelbart

Entrance of the Siq and the Diwan.© Éditions Gelbart © Éditions Gelbart

Decorative motifs were the expression of the wealth and social position of the buried person.


the dwellings and the enclosure walls were built of sun-dried mudbrick, few visible traces of which remain. Vestiges of the wall may however be observed on the ground and recent geophysical archaeological investigations seem to indicate a high population density at the apogee of the Nabataean period.

The former oasis was supplied with water from 130 wells, mainly situated in the western or north-western part of the site, where the water table lay at a depth of only about 20 m. Average well diameter is around 4 m, but some have diameters of up to 7 m. Wells are basically cut into the rock; but whenever the soil is loose, the opening may be reinforced with blocks of sandstone.

Fort and railway stationThe archaeological zone of Al-Hijr also

includes two built ensembles with no direct relationship to the archaeological site.

The first of these is the Ottoman fort of Al-Hijr. Built from 1744 to 1757, it was part of a series of forts built to protect the pilgrimage route to Mecca. It has a square ground plan, with sides of roughly 18 m. It has twice been restored: in 1906 when the railway was built, and in 1985.

The Hedjaz railway is the second ensemble. It was built between 1901 and 1908 to link Damascus and Jerusalem to Medina and Mecca, and to facilitate the pilgrimage journey. The railway station at Madâin Sâlih, in the north of the archaeological zone, includes several

buildings along the railway line, with sandstone walls and red tile roofs.

In addition to its clearly proclaimed religious purpose, the Hedjaz railway was a political and military project at a delicate point in the history of the Ottoman Empire, particularly with regard to its relations with the Arab peoples. Indeed, a significant part of the Arab revolt during the First World War took place in this region, and railway infrastructures were particularly targeted.

Justification for inscriptionThe inscription of the archaeological site

of Al-Hijr on the World Heritage List was justified in a number of ways:• The  site  is  well  conserved,  thus  has remarkable integrity. It includes a major ensemble of tombs and monuments, whose architecture and decorations are hewn from the sandstone. Both of these features attest to the encounter between a variety of decorative and

The site includes a major ensemble of tombs and monuments, whose architecture and

decorations are hewn from the sandstone.


Special Issue Al-Hijr Archaeological Site

Madâin Sâlih, Qasr al-Farîd and the site landscape. Tombs in Jabal al-Mahjar are situated to the north of the site of Madâin Sâlih.© Éditions Gelbart


Saudi Arabia has set up a thoroughly comprehensive Management Plan, which enhances the protection of the property.

architectural influences (Assyrian, Egyptian, Phoenician, Hellenistic), and the epigraphic presence of several ancient languages (Lihyanite, Thamudic, Nabataean, Greek and Latin).• Vestiges indicative of the development of Nabataean agricultural techniques are also found, including a large number of artificial wells dug in the rocky ground, which are still in use today.• The site also offers significant testimony to the international caravan trade during late antiquity.• Because  the  site  stands  at  a  meeting point between various civilizations of late antiquity, on a trade route between the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean world and Asia, it offers outstanding

testimony to important cultural exchanges in architecture, decoration, language use and the caravan trade. Although the Nabataean city had already been abandoned prior to the arrival of Islam, the route continued to play its international role for caravans and subsequently for the pilgrimage to Mecca. This continued with modernization and the construction of the railway in the early 20th century.• The  site  also  bears  unique  testimony to the Nabataean civilization itself, which flourished there between the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC and the pre-Islamic period, and particularly in the 1st century AD. It is an outstanding illustration of the architectural style

specific to the Nabataeans, consisting of monuments directly hewn from the rock, and with façades bearing a large number of decorative motifs. The city’s wells, mostly sunk into the rock, further demonstrate the Nabataean mastery of hydraulic technology for agricultural purposes. And the city’s value also results from its early abandonment and the fact that highly favourable climatic conditions over a very long period have ensured its perfect conservation.

Saudi Arabia has set up a thoroughly comprehensive Management Plan, which enhances the protection of the property. The plan aims to provide a means to organize the systematic monitoring of the conservation of the site, and prepare a project for the presentation of its outstanding universal value for the benefit of visitors and the population of the region.

The ensemble of al-Hijr stone carved façades, typical of the Nabataean civilization, is a great example of this type of architecture.© Éditions Gelbart

Al-

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At-Turaif District in ad-Dir’iyah was the second site of Saudi Arabia to be inscribed on the World Heritage List.


Ad-Dir’iyah Cradle of the House of Saud


Special Issue Ad-Dir’iyah

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Palaces and other structures At-Turaif was the central district of a

diversified settlement which was adapted to a particular geographical situation and to a specific social, political and religious context. Today it comprises a fairly wide range of properties which provide tangible testimony to the past. Many of these have been conserved as ruins and some of them (such as the Salwa Palace) have been restored, generally using the original building techniques. The street network was formed in response to the defensive requirements of the site, and was then added to as urban development unfolded. It has been preserved without major modifications and is clearly visible today.

The built structures made use of easily available local materials – limestone for the foundations and lower structures, adobe and palm wood. The buildings reflect an original style typical of the Najd region. Among the architectural and decorative features of the Najdi style, dominated by adobe, are the use of clay mud rendering, stone columns, triangular openings in the upper parts, and the use of wooden lintels painted with geometric motifs.

The clay used to build the houses and palaces of at-Turaif was directly obtained

d-Dir’iyah, or Diriyah, in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, north-west of Riyadh, was the first capital of the Saudi dynasty.

Founded in the 15th century, it still retains a number of striking buildings using the dominant local material, mud brick (adobe). These bear witness to the Najdi architectural style, which is specific to the centre of the peninsula.

The 18th and early 19th centuries saw the expansion of the city’s political and religious role, and the citadel of at-Turaif became the centre of the temporal power of the House of Saud and also the centre of the spread of the Wahhabi reform within the Muslim religion. The property includes the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis in the Najd region, the highland plateau that forms the heart of the Arabian Peninsula.

This is a particularly arid desert region (average annual precipitation 84 mm) with tremendous temperature differences. Earlier and far wetter geological periods carved out a network of valleys which today are dry wadis. Their water tables survive permanently in the subsoil of some of the valleys and can be reached by wells. Fertile alluvial areas thus offer the possibility of palm groves and irrigated oasis agriculture.

The oasis of ad-Dir’iyah is one of the main settlements in this region, established over a distance of some 8 km along and on the edge of Wadi Hanifah.

A The city stands 5 km to the north-west of the centre of Riyadh, the present capital of Saudi Arabia, and forms the limit of the conurbation in this direction.

The oasis, formed by Wadi Hanifah and a tributary, contains several villages of farmers and on three sides surrounds a limestone promontory known as at-Turaif.

The site was occupied from the 16th cen-tury by the local Saudi dynasty, thus becom-ing the cradle of dynastic development. The Saudis made it the centre of their power base, building fortifications, palaces and a settlement.

By the end of the 18th century a com-plete system of fortifications, of which at-Turaif formed the citadel, defended both banks of the oasis. The citadel was set up around the Saudis’ Salwa Palace, and a group of administrative buildings and Koranic schools. The palace and the open space in front of it constituted the centre of social life, dominated by the administration of power and the religious teaching of the Wahhabi reform of the sunnah (practices of the Prophet Muhammad). Finally, as the promontory does not rise much above the surrounding area, the historic town remains closely linked to the oasis and to the districts inhabited by farmers and craftworkers.

By the end of the 18th century a complete system of fortifications, of which at-Turaif formed the

citadel, defended both banks of the oasis.


At-Turaif city wall.


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from the Wadi Hanifah river bed, whose alluvial deposits are composed largely of adhesive clay naturally mixed with silt and sand, while the water was drawn from wells dug down to the water table. These wells were operated by donkeys and camels.

The wells represent the evolution of an age-old system whose origin might reach back to the second millennium BC, and some of them are still visible in the site, a living memory of traditional farming techniques.

The site comprises thirty monuments or monumental ensembles listed by the High Commission for the site. Among the most remarkable are the Ensemble of Salwa Palace, the main residence of the Saud family in the 18th and early 19th centuries and the centre of their political, military and religious power base. Its total surface area is roughly 10,000 m2. It has seven separate units, made up of palaces or buildings with rectangular or trapezoidal ground plans, the construction of which took place in

stages following the development of the family and its powers. These units are separated by a network of alleys and small squares

The oldest building in the ensemble formed the initial palace, consisting of two sections close to the oasis, and probably dates from the early 18th century. It is rectangular in ground plan, each part having a single level, with terraces accessible by a flight of steps.

Other significant buildings of the site include imposing palaces built in a distinctive style. Noteworthy among these are the Ibrahim Bin Saud Palace, which stands south-west of the Salwa Palace (the two-storey building and many old walls, as well as the remains of a defensive feature, underwent substantial rehabilitation in the 20th century); the Fahad Palace, a small palace adjacent to the preceding one; the Sabala Moudhi, a residence for religious dignitaries, later converted into a sabala for travellers – now in very poor condition

but containing the only remaining example of two-storey galleries that surrounded a small courtyard. This building is immediately adjacent to the Moudhi Mosque, which was rehabilitated as a mosque by the 20th-century inhabitants; the Abdullah Palace, the second largest palace complex after the Salwa Palace (built in the early 19th century, the last seat of the power of the House of Saud in at-Turaif); the Turki Palace, one of the most recently constructed palaces (early 19th century), its state of conservation is poor and it is currently abandoned; the Thunayyan Palace, located on the edge of the small wadi on the south side of the site (with its triangular ground plan and deep foundations, this building has the only remaining original capital with plaster decoration intact, and historic beams); the Omar Bin Saud Palace, the Mishari Bin Saud Palace; the Farhan Palace, Bayt al-Mal, the Treasury building, designed as an annex to the Salwa Palace at the beginning of the 19th century, and now in ruins.


Traditional Najdi decorative pattern on a wooden door.© Éditions Gelbart

Houses and palaces were built with the clay from the Wadi Hanifah river bed.




The property thus offers a unique example of the Najdi architectural and decorative style, which only developed in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. It illustrates the ingenious use of adobe, a universal material used here with great originality to cope with the extreme desert climate of central Arabia and to provide acceptable living conditions.

The citadel district of at-Turaif is evidence of an original architectural and decorative use of adobe. Forming a clearly identified regional style, it consists of a large and diversified urban and palace ensemble in an oasis setting and bears witness to the combination of a building method well adapted to its environment and the use of adobe in major palatial complexes, along with a special sense of geometrical decoration.

At-Turaif was originally enclosed by a shuttered mud wall, which was largely

In antiquity Arabia played an active role as a caravan trade-route between the Indian Ocean, the Fertile Crescent and the Mediterranean. The Incense Route passed through Arabia and it seems that there was cultivation at Wadi Hanifah, but direct archaeological evidence is still limited. Settlements developed during the 1st millennium BC.

The end of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity caused a decline in the centres of trade and settlement in central Arabia. The areas of wells and former oases became places of refuge for the nomads and their flocks and herds. Central Arabia at this time was dominated by the Yemenite Himyarite tribes.

In the 5th century AD the Christian Banu Hanifah tribe resumed the agricultural colonization of the heart of the peninsula, in the Tasm region. They submitted to Islam after their defeat in 634 at the hands of the army of caliph Ibn al-Walid.

In the 6th and 7th centuries, however, the Banu Hanifah tribe appears to have rebelled against the Umayyad caliphate. They did not submit to the Abbasid central power

destroyed during the 1818 siege and was reconstructed in stone masonry in the 1990s.

A bit of historyThe presence of humans in the Wadi

Hanifah area dates back some 80,000 years, as evidenced by Acheulean and Mousterian remains. While conditions were less favourable than in the Fertile Crescent; they initially attracted hunters and later nomads. Stone artefacts and rock carvings have been discovered in western Najd.

The remains of a village site with drystone walls thought to date from the 5th millennium BC have been discovered just north of Riyadh. Agricultural settlement seems to have developed in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC; the domestication of the camel dates from the same period.

The built structures made use of easily available local materials – limestone for the foundations and lower

structures, mud brick (adobe), and palm wood.

At-Turaif District is located on a low limestone plateau in the wadi-based oasis in ad-Dir’iyah.


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ahthere until the mid-9th century. From the 9th to the 10th centuries there was a slow process of agricultural development of the oases in central Arabia.

The Arab traveller Ibn Battuta recorded the presence of the Banu Hanifah tribe in the valley that bore their name in the 14th century. Population levels, however, stagnated or decreased in this period. The 15th century brought more favourable climatic conditions, lending a new impetus to the oases and settlements with the arrival of newcomers from the coastal regions. Ad-Dir’iyah seems to have been created in this period and its development reached an initial apogee in the 16th century. It was a centre of trade and its power extended throughout the region. However, in the 17th century and at the outset of the 18th century ’Uyanynah was the pre-eminent town of the Najd.

At the start of the 16th century the sharif of Makkah (Mecca) recognized the Ottoman caliphate, which was seeking to take control of the Arabian Peninsula. This was a time of sharp confrontation with the West, as the Portuguese occupied sites in the Indian Ocean. The sharif attacked the oases and nomads of the Najd for the first time in 1578.

The power of the Banu Hanifah families was gradually challenged by the secular development of the settlement of the oases of inner Arabia. By the start of the 17th century there were only three oases left under their control, including ad-Dir’iyah. Two rival tribal groups then emerged, the al-Muqrin and the al-Watban, and a power struggle developed between them. The organization of the oases reflected this antagonism, with separation within districts

and villages. The al-Watban held control at ad-Dir’iyah initially, but in 1720 Muhammad bin Saud from the rival al-Muqrin community assumed the chieftainship and drove his rivals out of the town, in this way becoming the founder of the House of Saud.

In the 18th century successive imams (heads of the House of Saud) fortified the oasis along the high ground on either side of Wadi Hanifah. This was a period marked by urban development and the construction of the citadel of at-Turaif.

The Islamic theologian sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703–92), who hailed from the Najd where forms of pre-Islamic ritual were maintained in social life, advocated a reform based on the sunnah, the orthodox Muslim tradition. The oneness of God, the impossibility of comparing God with anything else, and the heresy of any mediation were reasserted. This religious movement was fully recognized by the second imam, Muhammad bin Saud, who established it in 1745 as the moral and legal basis of his state. Ad-Dir’iyah then became the centre for propagating the reform. The town was an important educational

The property offers a unique example of the Najdi architectural and decorative style, which only

developed in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula.


The ensemble of the Salwa Palace was the main residence of the Saud family in the 18th and early 19th centuries.



centre, with many Koranic schools drawing students from the whole of the peninsula.

Meanwhile, the Saudi dynasty undertook the conquest of the other towns and oases of the Najd, which it completely controlled by 1785. In the 1790s it dominated the east of the Arabian Peninsula, and its influence extended to the west as far as the foothills of the Hijaz mountains.

In the second half of the 18th and the early 19th centuries, ad-Dir’iyah was the headquarters of a powerful Islamic administration, which boasted renowned judges and imams. Delegations and interest groups came there to petition the imam. It had some thirty Koranic schools, and it was also the political and military centre of the power of the House of Saud. At its most

powerful the army could assemble up to 100,000 men.

The urban ensemble linked with the oasis was developed, particularly the Salwa palaces in the citadel of at-Turaif, the heart of the power base. However, according to Western travellers the population of ad-Dir’iyah did not exceed 13,000 at the beginning of the 19th century.

The success of the sunnah reform and the expanding military power of the House of Saud was inevitably a cause of concern for the Ottoman caliphate. Tensions and confrontations were frequent over a period of some thirty years. The House of Saud initially emerged triumphant, imposing its influence on central Hijaz and Mecca (1803) and thus controlling the pilgrimage. This

was the apogee of the first dynasty of the House of Saud.

The Ottoman counter-offensive was organized from Egypt. The Ottomans reconquered the Hijaz (1813) and then began a campaign in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. Ibrahim Pasha invaded the Najd at the head of a powerful and cosmopolitan army (1816–18). The campaign culminated in the siege and conquest of ad-Dir’iyah. The town was then sacked on two occasions, in 1818–19 and in 1821. The House of Saud and the Wahhabis were subjected to repression.

The imam Turki re-established the power of the House of Saud in 1824, forcing the departure of the Ottomans. He founded a second dynasty and chose Riyadh as the


Stone columns in front of Salwa Palace.


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new capital. The previous seat of power in the at-Turaif district stood largely in ruins as a result of the war and it was abandoned. The local population returned to live in the oasis, where farming activities continued, but rare Western visitors in the mid-19th century testify to a town in ruins.

At-Turaif remained abandoned until the mid-20th century, when some two hundred families moved back into the eastern quarter near the oasis, building adobe houses on the remains of the old town, but in 1982 the Department of Antiquities bought the whole site and expropriated its inhabitants. The site is now an urban and architectural monument extending over some 29 ha. The city of Riyadh has grown considerably

in recent times and now reaches the gates of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis.

The region has also seen the development of road infrastructures. Today there are three main urban sectors in ad-Dir’iyah. Urban development is taking place almost entirely outside the buffer zone.

The Wahhabi movementThe significance of the At-Turaif District

in ad-Dir’iyah World Heritage site (inscribed 2010) is also intimately connected with the teaching of sheikh Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab who lived, preached and died in the city.

Followers of his movement saw themselves as adherents of the faith and practices of the early Muslims and called

for the return of Muslims to the pure and original teachings of the Koran and the sunnah and for the purification of the religious beliefs and practices from the innovations and deviations (bida) that accumulated over the centuries and were added to the teachings of Islam.

The reform produced a formidable state and central authority that unified Arabia and imposed peace and order on its nomads and settled people for the first time since the days of the caliphs. It thus made its mark on the social and religious practices of the Arabian people, and has influenced a number of Muslim reformers since the 18th century.

Protection and management The landscape surrounding the site has

been mainly preserved from the rapid and dramatic urban development that characterizes the kingdom and its capital Riyadh. At-Turaif has preserved its wadi-oasis environment with large plantations of date palms forming a green screen around the vestiges of the city. The desert environment of the site has also been preserved from urban development. At-Turaif has managed to preserve an exceptional degree of authenticity, with no incongruous modern addition to its traditional earthen architectural pattern and no substantial modifications of its original street network.

The management of the site, during and after the end of the site work, has been a constant concern for all stakeholders, since the preliminary phases of the large-scale planning effort being developed by Arriyadh Development Authority (ADA) to establish the new At-Turaif Living Heritage Museum.

A comprehensive and detailed mana-gement plan for the property is being prepared jointly by the planners of the Living Heritage Museum and by the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) aiming at guaranteeing the respect of the outstanding universal value of the property and the sustainable development of the project. This plan has a double and intimately interwoven objective: to permit the proper and smooth management of the Living Heritage Museum on the one hand, and to meet UNESCO standards for World Heritage properties on the other.

Date palm plantation around at-Turaif. © Éditions Gelbart

Tentative Lists Looking to the future


Special Issue Tentative Lists

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World Heritage site is a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) listed by the World Heritage Committee in view of its special

cultural or physical significance. Each of the States Parties profiled in this issue (Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia) as well as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have submitted to UNESCO Tentative Lists of properties that they consider of outstanding universal value from a cultural and natural heritage standpoint, and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List, in the hope that these sites may one day gain the international recognition it is believed they deserve.

Bahrain has the largest number of sites in the region included on a Tentative List, with Oman and Saudi Arabia following closely behind, with sites no less impressive. Bahrain’s sites are the Barbar Temple, Saar Heritage Park, Hawar Islands Reserve, Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos, and Pearling and its Cultural Landscapes in Bahrain. Oman’s properties include The Ancient City of Qalhat and The Forts of Rostaq and al-Hazm, while Qatar has chosen the Archaeological Site of Al-Zubarah Town and its Cultural Landscape and Khor Al-Adaid

Natural Reserve. Saudi Arabia has presented the Historical Area of Jeddah. The United Arab Emirates Cultural Sites of Al-Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas) property is being proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List in 2011.

Bahrain Barbar Temples

Two tells near the village of Barbar covered the largest temple yet found in Bahrain, and a smaller neighbouring temple. The Barbar Temples are an accumulation of three temples, which succeeded one another on the same site. The two oldest temples are terraced with a central platform above an outer oval platform, an architectural feature similar to that found in Sumerian temples. Built in the 3rd and 2nd millennia BC, the Barbar Temples are among the most remarkable architectural survivals of the ancient world and are without parallel in the region. Originally discovered and excavated by successive Danish expeditions, which explored Bahrain’s archaeological sites during the 1950s and 1960s, the temple site was re-excavated in 1983 by the Department of Antiquities and Museums.

Temple II is the best preserved of the three Barbar Temples, with retaining walls and terraces preserved in their full height and the cult places intact. The sacrificial court, altars and shrines all suggest that cult ceremonies unfolded in the temple.

Saar Archaeological Heritage Site The following monuments are located

within this area: Early Dilmun town, the South Burial Complex (so-called ‘Honeycomb’ complex), the North Burial Complex, the Late Dilmun temple and the Single Burial mounds. To maximize their appeal to the general public, these monuments should be promoted collectively as a single attraction, and by creating a Saar Archaeological Heritage Site to protect and develop all these monuments together.

The Early Dilmun town settlement is the only one in Bahrain to have been excavated extensively, thus affording visitors with a unique glimpse of daily life in Bahrain 4,000 years ago. The South Burial Complex is a type of burial unique to Bahrain, and the cemetery has been excavated in its entirety. The North Burial Complex was discovered by Bahraini archaeologists, who exposed the tops of many of the graves of the

Barbar Temple (Bahrain).© Ministry of Culture - Bahrain

Saar Archaeological Heritage Site (Bahrain).© Ministry of Culture - Bahrain



adventurers. The migratory waders, breeding sea birds like the Socotra cormorant, the threatened green sea turtle, peacefully swimming through the shallow calm green waters among flourishing seagrass beds, represent just some of many fascinating scenes of the islands’ natural attractions.

Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos The Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and

Tylos are a series of properties composed of eleven sites located on the western part of the island and forming a chain, which extends over 25 km from the centre of the country to its northern coast.

Ten of these eleven sites are archaeological areas consisting of fields of graves, built by the inhabitants of what is currently the island of Bahrain, between the mid 3rd millennium BC and the middle of the 1st millennium AD. The eleventh site is a cultural landscape resulting from urban development, which led to the expansion of the village of Ali into the northern part of the neighbouring burial mound field. The urban fabric occupied the empty space between several enormous burial mounds (called ‘Royal Mounds’), creating an exceptional interaction between a contemporary urban

pattern and funerary elements belonging to the Bronze Age.

Each of the sites composing the proposed serial property provides essential archaeological and scientific data defining the unique funerary practices of the Dilmun and Tylos civilizations. This essential information concerns either the evolution of the societies through these practices over successive periods, the types and sizes of graves, the burial rituals or the relatively recent human interaction with this particular heritage.

The Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos are the expression of funerary practices of civilizations that played essential roles in the organization of trade between Mesopotamia, South Arabia and the Indian subcontinent. They consist of tumuli of various shapes, forming fields of variable density. Among these fields are the densest concentrations of burial mounds found anywhere in the world, from any period. The tumuli illustrate globally unique characteristics with regard to both burial chamber construction and remains of burial rituals. Among the tumuli are two burial complexes, each of them consisting of more than 1,000 tombs.

complex without actually opening them. A sample of ten graves was excavated by the London-Bahrain Archaeological Expedition in 1991, but otherwise the cemetery remains unexplored. The Late Dilmun temple stands in the south-west corner of the North Burial Complex. It is a rectangular building with low stone walls, constructed directly on top of some Early Dilmun graves. Finds by the Bahraini team who excavated the building suggest it dates to the 5th and 6th centuries AD. It is the only building of this date to have been found in Bahrain. Single burial mounds are still preserved along the western edge of the proposed heritage park and north of the Northern Burial Complex. A single tomb was reconstructed to roof height by the London-Bahrain expedition in 1992. It provides the only opportunity for visitors to see a Dilmun burial mound as it would have looked immediately after construction.

Hawar Islands Reserve The islands are Bahrain’s last truly

unspoiled wilderness. They possess a unique natural beauty with irreplaceable value but they are highly vulnerable. Despite the small size of these islands, they are exceptionally attractive to nature lovers and wildlife

Hawar Islands Reserve (Bahrain).© Dr. Saeed Al Khuzai


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been the second city of the kingdom of Hormuz and a very important point in the Indian Ocean trade. It was visited in the 13th century by Marco Polo (who refers to it as Calatu), and in the 14th century by Ibn Battuta, who describes its magnificent new mosque. Both praise its prosperity and the quality of its constructions. The decline of the city in favour of Muscat had already started in 1507, when it was seized by Afonso de Albuquerque and the Portuguese fleet. Wadi Hilmi provided a good supply of water (traces of the ancient falaj system can still be seen), but there was almost no agricultural land nearby and all the food supply had to come from the interior (according to Albuquerque) or through trade by sea (according to Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta). Trade was clearly the unique raison d’être of Qalhat. Today, the ruins occupy a very large area on the east bank of a wadi, which opens into the khor of Qalhat, after crossing the mountains through narrow gorges. The ruins still cover more than 24 ha. The city was triangular in plan and its fortification walls can still be seen along the bank of the wadi to the north-west, and towards the mountain to

Pearling and its Cultural Landscapes in Bahrain

The proposed fifteen serial properties present a cultural property, combining three sites of oyster beds considered underwater landscapes, a coastal landscape site (including beach and coastal landing facilities), as well as land elements relevant to the cultural, social and economic history of pearling, in the form of groups of buildings in the historic urban district of Muharraq, Bahrain’s second largest island, connected to the mainland by bridges.

The nomination is proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List in 2011 as a cultural site, not a mixed site, as the natural values of the oyster beds are not considered of outstanding universal value without their link to the cultural, social and economic aspects of pearling.

Pearling and its Cultural Landscapes in Bahrain is an outstanding example of traditional sea use, which shaped the economic and cultural identity of an island society. This millennia-long practice is the most significant example globally of a natural pearl-collection tradition. The practice is based on the Arabian Gulf oyster

beds north of Bahrain, which are the best-known source of pearls since ancient times.

Although the pearl collection industry collapsed as a result of irreversible economic change in the early 1930s, many of its characteristic features and practices survive. The natural resources utilized still remain in the surviving oyster beds. These are accompanied by surviving cultural resources, including domestic and public structures linked to the pearling economy, as well as production facilities for pearl collection and distribution tools and products. Both sets of resources together constitute the essential elements to illustrate the story of pearling in Bahrain.

Beyond the World Heritage context, place names, family names, social hierarchies, surviving legal forms, songs, stories, poetry, festivals and dances are associated with these physical resources.

OmanThe Ancient City of Qalhat

The Ancient City of Qalhat is now ruined, except for a small mausoleum locally known as Bibi Maryam, which however has lost its dome. Qalhat has for centuries

Muharraq, part of Pearling and its Cultural Landscapes in Bahrain.

© Ministry of Culture - Bahrain

Burial Ensembles of Dilmun and Tylos (Bahrain).© Ministry of Culture - Bahrain



Saudi Arabia Historical Area of Jeddah

The Historical Area of Jeddah is located in the heart of Jeddah city, along the western coast of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the Red Sea.

Some sources refer to the history of Jeddah as dating back to the pre-Islamic era. However, the major changing point in the history of Jeddah occurred at the time of the Rashidi Khalifat Utham Ibn Affan in AD 647, when he ordered its transference to a harbour where pilgrims stopped off on their way to Mecca for the hajj. At that time, it was named the country of consuls (Balad Al-Qanasil), and until today, Jeddah remains the main route for sea and air access for pilgrims, as well as many of those arriving by land. The city has always remained under the influence of successive Islamic caliphates.

The Historical Area of Jeddah is considered to be one of the most important areas in the city due to its authenticity, distinguished planning and unique architecture. It contains many historical landmarks and buildings, including: the Old Jeddah Wall and Gates, the old quarters (Al-Mazloom Quarter, Al-

the south-west, where it is preserved up to 1–2 m high.

Qalhat had always been considered an excellent stronghold in ancient times. Inside the walled area and especially close to the coast, the extensive ruins of what were houses and warehouses can still be seen, reduced to heaps of stones with no stand-ing walls. The surface is littered with shards, including imported Persian and Chinese wares. The location of the mosque men-tioned by Ibn Battuta has not been identi-fied. At present, Qalhat is an excellent ar-chaeological site attesting to the splendour of ancient Islamic trade in the Indian Ocean. Its potential for archaeological study is very high and it certainly rates among the most important sites for this period.

The Forts of Rostaq and al-Hazm The impressive fort of Rostaq stands

in the middle of a large oasis, beside the foothills of the Jebel Akhdar, where the narrow valley of Wadi Far cuts through the dolomitic limestone of the Jebel and widens upon reaching the lower ophiolithic hills. Rostaq has been an important town and market place since the pre-Islamic

time of Persian rule, when the castle was first settled. The present monument incorporates an earlier pre-Islamic fortification beneath the upper section and main tower. Three towers were later added with living quarters at various levels and the construction includes an elaborate access to the falaj irrigation system. Under the Bu Said dynasty, an outer wall with towers was built around the castle in the 18th century. South of the fort, several ancient houses can still be seen among the gardens, together with a funerary mosque containing a few inscribed stones.

The al-Hazm fort stands on the edge of a small group of palm-tree gardens, on the western bank of Wadi Far where it enters the arid gravel plain that separates the mountains from the Batinah coast. It appears as a large rectangular two-storeyed construction with a narrow inner courtyard and two round towers flanking the southern and eastern corners. It is under the care of the Ministry of the Interior and can be visited with a written authorization from the Ministry of National Heritage and Culture.

The Mausoleum Bibi Maryam of the Ancient City of Qalhat (Oman).© Dario Lorenzetti


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Sham Quarter, Al-Yaman Quarter, Al-Bahar Quarter), as well as a number of historic mosques (Uthamn Ibn Affan Mosque, Al-Shafeey Mosque, Al-Basha Mosque, Ukash Mosque, AI-Meamar Mosque, Al-Hanafi Mosque). The area also houses a number of old market places or souks (Al-Nada Souq, AI-Khasequiyyah Souq, Al-Alaweey Souq, Al-Saghah (Jewellery) Souq) and a large number of heritage buildings that are all still in use.

This area of Jeddah is considered an eminent and unique pattern for architecture in the Red Sea zone, which includes the beautiful residential buildings and palaces that still maintain much of the urban heritage, including the planning, architectural and artistic features that form a homogeneous urban fabric, along with the paths, quads and souks, providing a living example of a genuine Arab Islamic city.

The urban fabric in the historical area is distinguished by its architectural and urban spaces in the form of alleys and streets, with quads and piazzas on the outskirts offering extensive views, while they also serve for

other tasks and activities of residents of each quarter, including gatherings on social occasions, religious holidays, and evening celebrations. In many cases, there were also traditional cafes and shops providing for the various needs of the residents. All this is a common urban feature in the old cities of Al-Hijaz region. The mosques were also important community centres in each quarter.

The area is also notable for providing shelter from direct sunlight and cooler air circulation through its linked houses and meandering streets and alleys. This harmonious structure strengthened social ties and neighbourliness, and encouraged contacts and daily gatherings, leading to a strong feeling of security, while providing protection against strangers and inquisitive eyes.

The Historical Area of Jeddah is the oldest urban locale in Jeddah city, out of which modern urban expansion and development grew, especially after the demolition of the old wall. Nowadays, it forms the historical city centre. Its genuineness is enhanced by

its traditional urban fabric along with the heritage buildings that are still in use and have resisted the action of the elements and of the passage of time. These buildings adapted from Islamic civilization forms of distinguished urban concepts reflecting Andalusian and Ottoman art as well as the arabesques that are apparent in the architectural and decorative features of both mosques and houses. It is difficult to find a house in Old Jeddah not decorated with Roashan and trimmed stones, characteristic of Islamic art, which provides a certain degree of privacy for the residents while allowing them to discreetly observe the street below.

Qatar Archaeological Site of Al-Zubarah Town and its Cultural Landscape

The core of the Tentative List site, Archaeological Site of Al-Zubarah Town and its Cultural Landscape, links three adjacent properties: the archaeological site of Al-Zubarah town, the old ruined fort of Qal’at Al-Murair; and the fort of Qal’at Al-Zubarah.

The Fort of Rostaq (Oman).© Brian Moore

Historical Area of Jeddah (Saudi Arabia).© François Cristofoli



The archaeological site of Al-Zubarah town is the largest area of early human presence in Qatar. It presents the characteristics of a fortified coastal town and is located in the north-west of the peninsula, between Zubarah fort and the sea.

Now completely abandoned, the site shows evidence of long-standing settlement. Rich oyster banks in the nearby sea and trading connections in and beyond the Arabian Gulf must have ensured prosperity. Archaeological investigation by the authorities of Qatar has provided evidence of trade with such countries as China, West Africa, Persia and Mesopotamia (Iraq).

The town, built on a gridiron plan, was over 2,000 m long and 600 m wide and surrounded with a long enclosure wall with guard towers. A separate quarter and a wider, outer wall were added in a later phase of urban development and, in a third phase, houses were built outside the walls.

According to Hamad bin Nayem bin Sultan Al-Muraikhi Al-Zubari Al-Qatari in AD 1638, Al-Zubarah was then a harbour of 150 houses and 700 inhabitants, owning

several boats and livestock, with multicul-tural inhabitants, such as Naim, Musallem, Twar, Hawajer, Bedouins, Lisaud, freemen and slaves.

Khor Al-Adaid Natural Reserve The Khor Al-Adaid area, also known re-

gionally as the ‘Inland Sea’, is located in the south-east of the State of Qatar. The area presents a remarkable landscape formed by a globally unique combination of geologi-cal and geomorphological features. These features themselves create a diverse scen-ery of exceptional, undeveloped natural beauty, in what remains predominantly a ‘wilderness area’. Each landscape unit on its own, notably the Arabian Gulf, large mobile dunes, the tidal embayment sys-tem, inland and coastal sabkha, recently discovered ‘salt hummocks’, stony des-erts, elevated mesas and rocky outcrops, as well as the transition between each of them, contribute to the unique character of Qatar’s southern territory.

The intrinsic attractiveness of this largely uninhabited area is augmented by the

presence of a diverse native terrestrial flora and fauna alongside a varied and sensitive marine ecosystem. The flora present in the area is typical of those habitats represented and supports species and communities mostly widespread on the Arabian Peninsula, yet not occurring in the same combination in any other single locality. The fauna includes several species which are internationally rare and/or threatened, for example dugong and turtle, with populations of certain species of bird of national and regional importance, e.g. long-distance migrant waterfowl winter, and regionally declining breeding species also resident, including ospreys nesting on islets. Terrestrial areas continue to support Arabian gazelles, while there are plans to reintroduce Arabian oryx within the hinterland of Khor Al-Adaid.

The Inland Sea is a large tidal embayment with a convoluted shoreline, about 15 km from north to south and up to 12 km from east to west. It is connected to the Arabian Gulf by a relatively narrow, deep channel, about 10 km in length. There is

Archaeological Site of Al-Zubarah Town and its Cultural Landscape (Qatar).© Dawn Farrell

Khor Al-Adaid Natural Reserve (Qatar).© RachelH


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no comparable lagoonal system of this type known elsewhere in the world. The diverse water quality and bottom substrates create an exceptional variety of aquatic and semi-aquatic habitats of considerable importance for some endangered marine species, particularly turtles and dugongs. Furthermore there are several valuable archaeological sites and a diversity of cultural heritage sites to be found in the area. The rocky desert of the Al-Adaid area clearly supported bedouins and their grazing stock. Pre-historical use of the small islands in the khor has also been revealed. Traditional farming and fishing settlements existed in the area, but this lifestyle is now virtually lost. Some grazing of camels still continues.

United Arab Emirates Cultural Sites of Al-Ain

With a history stretching as far back as the 2nd millennium BC, the city of Al-Ain, whose six oases earned it the name of ‘garden city’, integrates significant archaeological sites, historic buildings, cultural and natural landscapes, and ethnographic and historic collections.

Archaeological investigations have proved that Al-Ain has been continuously inhabited since the Late Stone Age. Today, the historical significance of the place is

evidenced in its various archaeological sites and remains dating back to the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age, Hellenistic, pre-Islamic and Islamic eras.

During the late fourth and early third millennia BC, the Al-Ain region enjoyed thriving trading relations with the Mesopotamian civilization and was one of the main suppliers of copper to Mesopotamia during the second half of the third millennium BC, as attested by the Bronze Age cairn tombs at Jebel Hafit.

The Jebel Hafit site, which contains over 500 graves, is known internationally as the ‘type-site’ for the period designated as the Hafit Period or Hafit Cultural Horizon between 3200 BC and 2700 BC.

During the Iron Age (1000 BC), the inhabitants of Al-Ain region introduced the falaj system, which allowed water to be transported underground from the mountains to the plains.

Al-Ain’s numerous historic buildings (including forts, towers, mosques and private palaces/residences) are reminiscent of the pre-1960 period in a region where vernacular architecture from the pre-oil era is quickly vanishing as a result of the fast pace of development.

Al-Ain natural and cultural landscapes (which include red sand dunes, oases, date palm plantations, wadis, deserts

and mountain areas) add to the special character of the area. The city’s six oases, which sustained the development of Al-Ain throughout its history are of particular relevance and constitute an indissoluble aspect of the landscape of the city. The harmonious relationship between Al-Ain and its oases has survived until the present day and the oases remain an active part of daily life, well integrated into the urban fabric of the city. They are a major heritage asset; not only for their ecological value but mainly for the important cultural value they hold, which is linked to a way of life that has survived to this day.

The Jebel Hafit area represents another cultural landscape, also of exceptional value for its geological, archaeological, historical, palaeontological, zoological and biological importance. The mountain is believed to have been formed some 25 million years ago although marine fossils found on the site are far older, dating between 135 million and 70 million years ago. Studies indicate that Jebel Hafit is the habitat of around 118 species of plant, 18 species of mammal (including the Arabian tahr, an endangered wild goat and some living troglobites, which might be unique to the ancient cave passages in Jebel Hafit), 140 species of bird (including the threatened Egyptian vulture) and over 10 different species of reptile.

Al-Ain (United Arab Emirates).© Groundhopping Merseburg



Such a book had never been produced before and would respond to a need expressed by several countries of the region.

‘A generous donor, Bahrain Bay, positively responded to our overtures in accepting to finance the entire project. It would have never been achieved without this precious contribution’, said Bahrain’s Minister of Culture, Shaikha Mai Bint Mohammad Al-Khalifa.

The Ministry of Culture then approached Éditions Gelbart, whose books on French (2008) and Moroccan (2009) World Heritage sites have become a reference, and asked them to produce a similar work on the World Heritage of the Arab countries to be presented on the occasion of the 35th session of the Committee.

In the meantime, the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) was approached about the texts devoted to each site, while Éditions Gelbart were responsible

for the photography and management of the various stages of production and the Ministry of Culture coordinated the entire project.

‘The fact of bringing together all the sites in one title represents a showcase for the Arab world, but above all, it allows readers to realize how rich and diverse their heritage is,’ the Minister added.

The choice to work with Jean-Jacques Gelbart, photographer and publisher whose editorial perspective is firmly focused on heritage, was motivated by a desire for authenticity and quality. He uses exclusively natural light and his photographs, produced on traditional silver film, are never digitally enhanced. His view on the World Heritage sites is not only faithful to what they are, it glorifies them. He did not simply visit and photograph the sites; he got to know them

and made them speak to him in order to properly represent them. His pictures are an artistic tribute to the Arab world.

This project is also the fruit of the rich collaboration between the countries concerned, the Bahrain Ministry of Culture and ALECSO, which facilitated the logistics of the shoots and the harmonization

of the texts to create a perfectly coherent body of work.

The sites are presented in chronological order of

inscription on the World Heritage List. When several sites were inscribed in the same year, they appear in alphabetical order of country.

A further expression that best defines this book is ‘human experience’. Thanks to the exceptional involvement of all the Arab countries, many technical problems were resolved. As Jean-Jacques Gelbart says: ‘I had access to the sites in the best conditions and felt enriched by the most extraordinary encounters, receiving as much as I hope I gave through my photographs!’ After all, isn’t it a question of this notion of sharing and exchange when it comes to World Heritage?

t is not generally known that the first three historic cities to be inscribed on the World Heritage List, in 1979, were Cairo, Damascus and Tunis.

Since then, sixty-three cultural and natural properties of the Arab world have joined these pioneer sites.

Thirty years later, the UNESCO General Conference approved the establishment, in Bahrain, of the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH). The following year, it was decided that the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee would be held in Bahrain in 2011. For the first time, the Committee would be hosted by a country from the Gulf region and only for the fourth time by an Arab country, the last occasion being in 1999. However due to the current situation in the region the venue itself has been changed to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.

The Bahrain Ministry of Culture at once perceived that these two events represented an important moment in the history of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the region, and wished to promote them by publishing a book on the Arab sites inscribed on the World Heritage List.

IPatrimoine Mondial des Pays Arabes

World Heritage of the Arab Countries

يف البلدان العربيةي

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Jean-Jacques Gelbart.© Éditions Gelbart


Special Issue New publication

New publication: World Heritage of the Arab Countries

The spa industry is a phenomenon that has been part of global civilization for over two and a half thousand years. Spa towns made enormous effort to build up luxurious, magnificent spa complexes that were to become their attraction, not only by their architectural elements, but also by the quality of the treatments they provided – always using the latest medicinal knowledge and scientific methods.

For numerous spa locations, the 19th century was the golden era. The most important spas formed a network of global importance - Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, Bad Ems, Spa, Vichy, Aix-les-Bains, Biarritz, Bayonne, San Sebastian, Montecatini Terme, Rimini, Nice, and Monte Carlo. To this day, spa towns represent unique architectural complexes with numerous historically valuable elements and objects.

The most prominent examples of world-renowned spas are a group of spas in West Bohemia, which are situated in a unique geographical location that forms an imaginary triangle, whose points are formed by the famous towns of Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně, and Františkovy Lázně. The mineral properties of the springs that come to the surface of the earth in this region are quite unique and unparalleled anywhere in the world.

The West-Bohemian Spa Triangle comprises the largest spa centre in the Czech Republic, and a particularly noteworthy aspect is that all of these three spa towns are situated over a relatively small geographical area. Each of them represents a unique urban as well as architectural entity yet all three encompass entirely different urban planning concepts. Karlovy Vary is a town developed along a water stream in a topographically dramatic valley. Mariánské Lázně is an urban entity based on the concept of a central landscaped park surrounded by urban development. Františkovy Lázně is a compact urban agglomeration with an octagonal network of streets surrounded with a landscaped park complemented with pavilions over individual springs.

The architects of these buildings were among the most prominent Czech and foreign architects of their time, and as a result, the West-Bohemian Spa Triangle is an exceptionally well preserved example of “integrated diversification” (Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně) and “diversified integrity” (Františkovy Lázně). The aesthetic quality of the three historical spa towns in West Bohemia stems from the scope and integrity of their spa districts that form together a region of singular characteristics, which can no longer be found in any other spa location in Europe.

The West Bohemian Spa Triangle

www.kr-karlovarsky.czwww.spaarch.czwww.ehtta.eu

Františkovy Lázně - Spa centre

http://www.kr-karlovarsky.cz

http://www.spaarch.cz

http://www.ehtta.eu

Mariánské Lázně - Main Colonnade with singing fountainKarlovy Vary - Mill Colonnade

Karlovy Vary - Spa centre

Thanh Hoa provinceVietnamThanh Hoa province is located in the north central coast of Vietnam, which is 150 km to the south of Hanoi. It is one of the largest provinces of Vietnam with a population of 3,400,289 people and 11,136, 3km2 in total area (figures from April 1, 2009).In the Foreword of the book Le Thanh Hoa written by L. Robecanh, Pierre Pasquier, the Governor-general of Indochina remarked: ‘Thanh Hoa is not a province but a region’ Thanh Hoa is truly an important region of Vietnam, as witnessed by the richness of its natural and cultural heritage.There are not only mountains and flat plains in Thanh Hoa but also a long coast. Several beauty spots are noteworthy, including the national parks of Pù Lu, Pù Huông and Bến En; Cam Luong divine fishy spring (Cam Thuy district); and the Sam Son beach (Sam Son town) that was frequented by the French from 1906. In particular, Vinh Loc district, the area linking the mountains to the plain in the northwest of the province, is a beautiful landscape that has been thought of as another Ha Long Bay. On the plain which was formed 10.000 year ago, the hills and mountains, rivers and springs, and caves and grottos create wonderful natural scenery. It is in this area that the ancient capital of Vietnam was established in the late 14th and early 15th century. The remains of the huge stone citadel of this capital mark a breakthrough in the construction skills of the Vietnamese. They also represent the link between the cultures of East and Southeast Asia. Various Paleolithic sites of the Stone Age in Thanh Hoa have been recognized by international archaeologists, including the Nui Do site, the Nui Nuong-Quan Yen site, the Lang Trang cave site and the Con Mong cave site. The Ba Trieu temple on Mount Gai (Hau Loc district) was constructed for the commemoration of a great woman of Thanh Hoa, Trieu Thi Trinh, who fought against the Chinese Wu in the 3rd century. Two other temples dedicated to two great figures in Vietnamese history of the same period of the first millennium AD, were built for the generals Dương Đình Nghệ and Lê Hoàn.

Between the 11th and the 19th century, several important sites were established in Thanh Hoa provinc. These include the Ho Citadel and the Nam Giao Altar as capital of the Ho dynasty (in the late 14th and early 15th century); Lam Kinh palace-cum-temple complex for the commemoration of one of the great dynasties in Vietnamese history, the Early Le (in the 15th and 16th century); the palace-cum-temple complex of the Trinh Lord for the commemoration of the Trinh family, who played an important role in the medieval history of Vietnam (16th to 18th century); and the Gia Mieu – Trieu Tuong temples-cum-mausoleum complex which commemorated the Nguyen family, who created their own role in the contemporary history of Vietnam during the 19th and 20th century.

From 1936 to 1939, the Swedish archaeologist, Olov Jansé, discovered several ancient pottery kiln sites and artifacts in Tam Tho. These date from the 1st to 4th centuries AD and reflect the cultural link between the Dong Son and Han cultures.

All the above examples of natural, cultural and historical heritage are now protected and managed by all governmental institutions and the Thanh Hoa people to pass on to the future generations. They are hopefully both interesting and useful destinations for our worldwide friends to come and understand the cultural achievements of our ancestors in Thanh Hoa.

Đỗ Quang TrọngDirector, Center for the Conservation of the Ho Citadel

PhD. in Archaeology

Conservation Center for Ho CitadelHead office: Vinh Tien Commune, Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa provinceRepresentative office: 16 Hac Thanh street, Thanh Hoa City, Viet Nam.Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.thanhnhaho.vn

Cam Luong’s stream fish Photo: Tran Dam

Tien Si mountain (Vĩnh Lộc district, Thanh Hoa province).Photo: Do Quang Trong

Landscape plain of Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa province. Photo: Ha Manh Thang

Dragon stone in Lam Kinh palace Photo: Do Quang Trong

Kiln pottery of Tam Tho (Dong Vinh commune, Dong Son district, Thanh Hoa province). Photo: Do Quang Trong.

Stratigraphy of Con Moong Cave Thach Thanh district, Thanh Hoa pronvince.Photo: Tran Ngoc Diep


http://www.thanhnhaho.vn

PFDPUBLISHING FOR DEVELOPMENT

World Heritage magazine is published jointly by UNESCO and Publishing for Development and printed four times a year in English, French and Spanish. The publication presents and promotes the preservation of our World Heritage, with detailed feature articles and news items about the most outstanding cultural and natural sites around the world. This magazine is particularly designed to reflect and enhance UNESCO’s dedication to World Heritage sites; our legacy from the past, our responsibility for the present and our duty to future generations.

By subscribing to World Heritage you will help to raise awareness about the need to preserve our common heritage.

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Conservation Center for Ho CitadelHead office: Vinh Tien Commune, Vinh Loc district, Thanh Hoa provinceRepresentative office: 16 Hac Thanh street, Thanh Hoa City, Viet Nam.Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.thanhnhaho.vn


Panama, beyond the CanalSince its birth as a republic, the history of Panama has been linked to the construction of the Panama Canal, a marvellous work of engineering that put the country on the world map. However, Panama is much more than just an inter-ocean route and service hub of international trade.

The country has two UNESCO World Heritage sites and the Panamanian authorities led by the National Culture Institute (INAC - Instituto Nacional de Cultura) with the support of strategic partners and individuals have joined the fight to preserve these structures.

Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá

Two places separated by distance are united by history to the point that they are considered one World Heritage Site.

The Casco Antiguo (Historic District of Panamá) was born after pirates destroyed what is now known as Panamá Viejo. It is known as the historic district of Panama and here the INAC, through the Casco Antiguo office (OCA) and the Historical Heritage Department, advises and promotes programmes restoration and enhancement. At the same time it ensures that these pprogrammes comply with national legislation, agreements, protocols and international requirements concerning heritage conservation.Being a living historical city, efforts to protect its historical heritage are complemented with social programmes implemented by the OCA. This guarantees the well being of the people that have inhabited the city since ancient times and today share the mission to preserve it.The Archeological site of Panamá Viejo is administrated by a board chaired by the Kiwanis Club of Panamá, which is part of the INAC. Their management, recognized both at national and international level, focus on the conservation of the site which was the first Spanish city founded on the American Pacific coast.The board, consisting of private and government entities, has achieved important advances with regard to the management, restoration, care and suitability of the site to the extent that they hope to convert it into an historical and archeological park - a goal they are working hard for with the support of the Panamanian government.

Portobelo and San Lorenzo

As with Casco Antiguo and Panamá Viejo, the old forts of Portobelo and San Lorenzo on the Panamanian Caribbean are a UNESCO World Heritage site. In 1980, the site became the first place in Panamá to achieve such a distinction.A board consisting of four government entities and three private companies supervises the preservation and restoration. Both forts formed part of the military defense system of the Spanish crown protecting the riches being transported by the Spanish, especially with the discovery of the “Mar del Sur”. (Original Spanish name for the Pacific Ocean).


Office: tel (507) 209 6300www.cascoantiguo.gob.pa

Instituto Nacional de Culturatel (507) 501 4000www.inac.gob.pa

http://www.cascoantiguo.gob.pa

http://www.inac.gob.pa

In Focus: World Heritage Forests

The United Nations has declared 2011 the International Year of Forests, and there are currently 101 World Heritage sites recognized for their forest values. The World Heritage Convention is the only intergovernmental instrument with the mandate to identify and conserve globally important sites, allowing it to set the pace for forest conservation worldwide.

Protecting the world’s forests is more important than ever, as concerns increase over fragmentation and isolation of forest ecosystems and the alarm is raised over climate change impacts on forest biodiversity.

Next Issue

Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia).© IUCN / David Sheppard


Nex

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91

Redwood National and State Parks (United States).© Clinton Steeds

This issue will take a close look at challenges to forests around the globe with a focus on Redwood National and State Parks (United States), the Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra (Indonesia), and Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras), as well as the latest satellite monitoring techniques.

ORGANIZATION OF WORLD HERITAGE CITIES(OWHC)

Collecting experiences

Capitalizing on know-how

Consolidating heritage enhancement

Constructing intercity partnerships

Contributing to the international debate

XI World Congress of the OWHCSintra, Portugal, 22-25 November 2011

“World Heritage Cities and Climate Change”

AFRICACidade Velha | Dakar | Harar Jugol | Island of Mozambique Zanzibar

ARAB STATESAleppo | Damascus | Fez Marrakesh | Sana'a Shibam | Sousse | Tunis | Zabid

ASIA AND THE PACIFICAndong | Galle | George Town Hué | Kandy | KathmanduLalitpur (Patan) | Luang Prabang Melaka | Surakarta | Vigan

LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEANArequipa | Colonia del Sacramento | Guanajuato Mexico | Morelia | Olinda Ouro Preto | Puebla | Quito St George | Trinidad | Willemstad

EUROPE AND NORTH AMERICAAmsterdam | Angra do Heroísmo | Aranjuez | Baeza | Bamberg | Banska Stiavnica | Bardejov | Bath | Beemster | Bergen | Berlin | Bern Bordeaux | Brugge | Budapest | Cáceres | Cesky Krumlov | Cordoba | Cracow | Dubrovnik | Echmiatsin | Évora | Granada | Guimarães | Ibiza Istanbul | Kazan | Kutná Hora | L'viv | Le Havre| Luxembourg | Lyon | Moscow | Mostar | Nancy | Nessebar | Oporto | Oviedo | Provins | Quebec Quedlinburg | Rauma | Regensburg | Rhodes | Riga | Røros | Safranbolu | Saint Petersburg | Santiago de Compostela | Segovia | Sighisoara Sintra | Stralsund | Strasbourg | Tallinn | Tel-Aviv | Toledo | Trebíc | Úbeda | Vatican City | Vienna | Vilnius | Visby | Warsaw | Wismar | Zamosc

Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC)

15, rue Saint-Nicolas, Québec (Québec) G1K 1M8 Canada

T: +1 418 692-0000 F: +1 418 692-5558e-mail: [email protected]

web: www.ovpm.org

MEMBER CITIES OF THE OWHC


http://www.ovpm.org

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