UNESCO lists 2 Saudi, Omani sites at World Heritage List

The World Heritage Committee of the UNESCO, meeting in Manama since 24 June under the chair of Shaikha Hya Bint Rashed al-Khalifa of Bahrain, has inscribed two cultural sites on the World Heritage List, including Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahsa Oasis and Oman's ancient city of Qalhat.

Al-Ahsa Oasis, which is located in the eastern Arabian Peninsula, is a serial property comprising gardens, canals, springs, wells, a drainage lake, as well as historical buildings, urban fabric and archaeological sites.

They represent traces of continued human settlement in the Gulf region from the Neolithic to the present, as can be seen from remaining historic fortresses, mosques, wells, canals and other water management systems.

With its 2.5 million date palms, it is the largest oasis in the world. Al-Ahsa is also a unique geo-cultural landscape and an exceptional example of human interaction with the environment.

While, the Omani site which is located on the east coast of the Sultanate of Oman, includes the ancient city of Qalhat, surrounded by inner and outer walls, as well as areas beyond the ramparts where necropolises are located.

The city developed as a major port on the east coast of Arabia between the 11th and 15th centuries CE, during the reign of the Hormuz princes. Today it bears unique archaeological testimony to the trade links between the east coast of Arabia, East Africa, India, China and South-east Asia.