Posted on

Ambitious Plans after Babylon listed by UNESCO; adnan Abu Zeed; MENAFM

Source: Ambitious Plans after Babylon listed by UNESCO

Posted on

Iraq poised for ambitious plan after Babylon listed by UNESCO; Adnan Abu Zeed; Al Monitor

Baghdad lobbied for more than three decades to get Babylon on UNESCO World Heritage List, but the way ahead may be even more difficult.

Source: Iraq poised for ambitious plan after Babylon listed by UNESCO

Posted on

Iraqis look at inclusion of Babylon on UNESCO list with doubts, sarcasm; Your Middle East

Babylon is once again in the forefront of world cultural information after the World Heritage Committee of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation included it in the World Heritage…

Source: Iraqis look at inclusion of Babylon on UNESCO list with doubts, sarcasm

Posted on

Ancient Babylon designated a Unesco World Heritage site; SCMP

Unesco’s World Heritage Committee voted to list the sprawling Mesopotamian metropolis of Babylon as a World Heritage Site after three decades of lobbying efforts by Iraq.

Source: Ancient Babylon designated a Unesco World Heritage site

Posted on

Babylon is home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, so why has it only just got a Unesco listing?; Alasdair Soussi; The National

The ancient city’s recognition feels long overdue – after all, it was first mentioned circa 2300 BC and ruled over by the legendary King Nebuchadnezzar II…

Source: Babylon is home to one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, so why has it only just got a Unesco listing?

Posted on

Kissing in Babylon: The ancient site giving young Iraqis their freedom; Tom Westcott; Middle East Eye

The historic attraction, next to Saddam Hussein’s palace, is now a Unesco World Heritage site – can it increase its tourism numbers beyond Iraq?

Source: Kissing in Babylon: The ancient site giving young Iraqis their freedom

Posted on

Unesco World Heritage Site status will help restore Babylon; Telegraph India

The cradle of civilization and home of the famous Hanging Gardens, Babylon was reduced to ruins by the US invasion…

Source: Unesco World Heritage Site status will help restore Babylon

Posted on

Ancient City of Babylon Among New Unesco World Heritage Sites; Brigit Katz; Smithsonian.com

Other additions include ancient metallurgy sites in Burkina Faso, Iceland’s Vatnajökull National Park and eight buildings designed by Frank LLoyd Wright…

Source: Ancient City of Babylon Among New Unesco World Heritage Sites

Posted on

Babylon becomes World Heritage Site; BBC

The 4,000-year-old ancient city in Iraq has been named a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Source: Babylon becomes World Heritage Site

Posted on

Ecotourism Boosts Revitalization for Iraq’s Marshes; Lysette Maurice N Sandoval; Science Times

Legends say that the Garden of Eden lays hidden somewhere near these revitalized marshes in Southern Iraq…

Source: Ecotourism Boosts Revitalization for Iraq’s Marshes

Posted on

Iraqis turn to budding ecotourism to save marshes; AFP

Thirty years after Saddam Hussein starved them of water, Iraq’s southern marshes are blossoming once more thanks to a wave of ecotourists picnicking and paddling down their…

Source: Iraqis turn to budding ecotourism to save marshes

Posted on

Unexpected rainfall revives Iraq’s historic marshlands; Raya Jalabi; Reuters

This time last year, most of Iraq’s historic marshlands were dry, desiccated by upstream damming and a chronic lack of rainfall.

Source: Unexpected rainfall revives Iraq’s historic marshlands

Posted on

7 fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Sites; Matt Davis; Big Think

Here are 7 often-overlooked World Heritage Sites, each with its own history.

Source: 7 fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Posted on

Iraq’s ancient city of Ur: source of law, site of wonder; Marta Bellingreri; Al Monitor

Tourists are slowly beginning to return to the ancient Sumerian city of Ur, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, raising hopes among some locals.

Source: Iraq’s ancient city of Ur: source of law, site of wonder

Posted on

Can Iraq beat the drought and become the breadbasket of the Middle East again?; Kieran Cooke; Middle East Eye

Despite an environmental crisis, award-winning expert Azzam Alwash believes that Iraq can revive its agriculture

Source: Can Iraq beat the drought and become the breadbasket of the Middle East again?

Posted on

The Iraqi marshes: More than three decades of man-made ecological disaster; Sylvain Mercadier; Al Araby

Source: The Iraqi marshes: More than three decades of man-made ecological disaster

Posted on

Lack of revitalization budget puts historic Erbil Citadel at risk of collapse, official warns; Sangar Ali; Kurdistan 24

The Erbil Citadel is under the risk of collapse due to a lack of budget for rehabilitation as well as heavy rains that have recently damaged the monument.

Source: Lack of revitalization budget puts historic Erbil Citadel at risk of collapse, official warns

Posted on

A palace-city in Iraq produced its own ornamental glass a thousand years ago; Elena Motivans; ZME Science

They were clearly skilled glass-makers.

Source: A palace-city in Iraq produced its own ornamental glass a thousand years ago

Posted on

Public enemy or savior? An Iraqi city could reveal the true Moqtada al-Sadr; Tamer El-Ghobashy & Mustafa Salim; Washington Post

The maverick cleric’s surprising election victory prompted this question in Baghdad, Washington and Tehran: Who is the real Moqtada al-Sadr?

Source: Public enemy or savior? An Iraqi city could reveal the true Moqtada al-Sadr

Posted on

Will Great Mosque of Samarra and its minaret survive?; Adnan Abu Zeed; Al-Monitor

Iraq – Samarra Archaeological City

The 1,200-year-old minaret of the Great Mosque in Samarra is in dire need of restoration, which the Iraqi authorities and UNESCO have started working on.

The Malwiya Minaret, an impressive tower at a height of 52 meters (171 feet) with a spiral ramp, still recalls the past glory of the Great Mosque of Samarra, which had been the largest mosque in the world during the Abbasid Caliphate.

However, the spiraling structure of more than a thousand years now runs the risk of crumbling because of the many attacks it has suffered, according to Iraqi media reports.

Its external stairway is unstable, with some stones missing, and the minaret has shaky walls that have the names of visitors carved into them. There is no security at the site, and a young man fell from the minaret and died on March 29, 2017, after having attempted to climb it.

Malwiya is known for its spiraling structure; it does not look like any other minaret in the world. It is one of the many historical landmarks of Samarra, which was put on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2007.

Source: Will Great Mosque of Samarra and its minaret survive?