Taj Mahal under threat by al-Qaeda?

A number of Indian media outlets are reporting in recent days on a threat purportedly made by the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda against the Taj Mahal and other heritage sites in India.

While the reports are short on detail, security forces are said to be on heightened alert and visitors are additional subjected to additional checks.

Assuming this is a credible threat, let's hope the increased security is enough to prevent any terrorist incident.

Heavenly tilework in the Medina of Fez

The Medina of Fez is one of Morocco's best known world heritage sites and for good reason. Not only is it home to the oldest university in the world, but its centuries-old streets and buildings provide a glimpse into an incredibly rich history spiced with Andalusian, Oriental and African influences.

 To my mind, one of the most striking features of Fez are its distinctive mosaic tilework or zillij. Created by master craftsmen, tiles are glazed and cut in complex geometric patterns and colours.

While zilij is said to have reached its apogee in the 16th century in Marrakesh, the art form remains very much alive in Fez, and incredible tilework may be found almost anywhere, ranging from public fountains to the courtyards of the city's many madrassas, or Islamic religious schools.

The photos posted here were taken in Fez in July 2012.

Cause(way) for celebration in Northern Ireland

In what the Belfast Telegraph is calling a "gigantic accolade", the Giant's Causeway, a unique volcanic formation and world heritage site on the edge of Northern Ireland's Antrim plateau, has been named the United Kingdom's best heritage attraction, according to the British Travel Awards.

The awards are determined by consumer polling, which makes the win all the more impressive given that the UK boasts many well-known historical sites. Apparently other short-listed contenders included the National Maritime Museum in Cornwall and Stirling and Edinburgh Castles in Scotland.

And for anyone interested in knowing the Giant's Causeway got its name, you will the story of Irish Giant Fionn MacCumhain here.

Impact of Paris terrorist attacks and their aftermath on Brussels' Grande Place

As reported by London's Telegraph newspaper, La Grande Place in Brussels, a world heritage site and Belgium's most iconic attraction, was left "largely deserted" this week after attacks by Islamist militants in Paris and subsequent warnings regarding an "imminent threat" to the Belgian capital.

For those who would prefer to have La Grande Place to themselves, this may be an opportune time to visit Brussels, as memories are short and I expect the crowds will soon be back, much to local merchants' relief I'm sure!

Visit Petra virtually with Google Street View

While I use Google Street View chiefly for the mundane task of locating addresses in my home town of Ottawa, Google announced this week that it is adding the ancient Nabatean City of Petra to its catalogue of maps, allowing virtual tourists the pleasure of roaming about this world heritagesite without the hassle of in-person travel, not to mention the souvenir hawkers and camel ride hustlers featured on my blog earlier this week.

Although it took me a few minutes to get used to the interface, I was impressed with Google has accomplished.

Bold claims of a new underground city discovered in Turkey's Cappadocia region

Tureky's Hürriyet Daily News has reported this week on bold claims by Mr. Hasan Ünver, Mayor of Nevşehir, a city near Göreme National Park famed for its volcanic landscape . The area, inscribed as a world heritage site since 1985, boasts hundreds of man-made caves carved into the soft volcanic rock dating back to the early Christian period.

While these caves were generally used for storage and temporary shelter from marauders, Mr. Ünver is claiming that the discovery of a previously unknown underground city near Nevşehir fortress whose residents lived there permanent will "rewrite" the history of Cappadocia

The mayor indicated that plans are being made for the opening of the first part of the underground city in 2017, with excavations being undertaken under the direction of the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

More effective management required at Petra world heritage site

When making arrangements to spend a four-week holiday Jordan in July 2014 during the fasting month of Ramadan, I got more than a few quizzical looks and questions: Isn't four weeks too long? Won't everything be closed? Will it be safe? Won't it be unbearably hot? And so on and so on...

The Temple of Hercules in Amman

The truth is that Jordan is an amazing country which everyone should visit. Quite apart from the A-list of tourist sites, notably Petra, Wadi Rum, Jerash and the Dead Sea, Jordan has a tremendous variety of attractions, ranging from ancient ruins and castles to hiking and canyoning in breathtakingly beautiful nature reserves. Moreover, the country's sprawling capital Amman is also a well worth a few days' visit, whether to explore the Citadel, enjoy the world's best falafel at Hashem Restaurant or relax in a trendy café on Rainbow Street. And did I mention that there are few places I've visited where I felt safer or more welcome.

Souvenir stall inside a tomb

However, I do have one small complaint. The ancient Nabatean city of Petra, a world heritage site which receives more than half a million visitors each year, appears to be experiencing significant challenges related to the effective management of the site. These include:

• The proliferation of shops and kiosks throughout the property without any apparent regard for the physical impact on the site’s temples and monuments. In some cases shops and kiosks have been established within temples or ground in the vicinity of temples and monuments has been levelled or otherwise physically altered to facilitate the construction of kiosks.

• Ubiquitous and often aggressive solicitation of visitors by local community members for services such as donkey or camel rides or for the purchase of souvenirs.

• Minimal control of the property exercised by authorities, whose presence appears limited chiefly to access points to ensure that visitors have purchased a ticket prior to entering the site.

I understand that these problems are linked to the authorities' inability to address the aspirations and grievances of the local Bedouin community, many of whose members were displaced from the area years ago and now earn a living from visitors by selling trinkets, refreshments or animal rides. In this regard Petra stands in contrast to the many other world heritages sites I have visited around the world, including several in countries facing development challenges even greater than those confronting Jordan.

Child hawking postcards near Petra's Royal Tombs

I hope the Jordanian authorities take steps to address these issues, both for the sake of the ruins themselves and the local population.

Indian world heritage site slideshow

This weekend's Indian Express features a slideshow of 15 of the country's top world heritage sites. The photos are all top-notch, and it's nice to see sites other than just the Taj Mahal showcased.

Fatehpur Sikri, Uttar Pradesh

My favourite photo is that of Fatehpur Sikri, the capital of the Mughal Empire in the second half of the 16th century.

Singapore Botanical Gardens, a world heritage site that keeps growing

When visiting a city for a city in the tropics for the first time I always hope to find an botanical gardens to visit. I find there is hardly anything more pleasant than escaping from the heat and bustle of a modern city into a little world of exotic plans, languid wildlife and local people going about their daily lives.

Singapore Botanic Gardens is one such place, and this year became the country's first and only world heritage site. Established in 1859 by the Agri-Horticultural Society, and handed to the government in 1874, Singapore Botanical Garden has evolved into a leading equatorial garden where major world crops have been launched.

As reported by the Straits Times this week, the government has announced that it is expanding the botanical gardens to 82 hectares from its current 74, adding a forest conservation interpretive centre, natural history art gallery as well as ensuring the preservation of a number of colonial buildings.

I'm looking forward to my next visit!

James Bond: Chief marketer for VisitBritain

With marketing for the latest instalment of the James Bond franchise - Spectre - in high gear, I learned a new turn of phrase today: "set-jetting." Used by news portal India Today to describe those whose idea of a holiday is travelling to popular film sets, Spectre offers a seemingly not-to-be-missed opportunity for VisitBritain to market the country to film fans. 

Front and centre of course is world heritage site Blenheim Palace, built in the 18th century for the first Duke of Marlborough, and in the film doubling as the Palazzo Cadenza in Italy.

Peru proposes a code of conduct for NGOs following Greenpeace's ill-judged Nasca Lines protest

Many Peruvians were outraged in December 2014 when Greepeace staged a protest in support of renewable energy that involved laying yellow fabric letters near the Nasca Lines. The Nasca Lines are one of Peru's leading world heritage sites and encompass a series of gigantic geoglyphs etched into the Pacific coastal desert between 500 BCE and 500 CE. Peruvian officials accused Greenpeace of permanently damaging the geoglyphs, which in turn led to an embarrassing climb-down for the organization.

Greenpeace protest at Nasca Lines in December 2014

Now, Peru is promoting the approval of a code of conduct at UNESCO for NGOs and civil society organizations to respect countries' cultural heritage. According to the Agencia Peruana de Noticias, the code would establish expected behaviours to help preserve and conserve the world’s cultural heritage and prevent it from being damaged.

While this sounds like a worthy initiative, we will have to wait until the proposal is formally tabled at an upcoming UNESCO committee meeting in Namibia to gauge the level of support among other member states.

A bridge too far? The benefits and risks of ending Mompox' splendid isolation

Santa Cruz de Mompox, a town in North-Western Colombia on the banks of the Magdalena river, is a finely preserved colonial gem founded by the Spanish in 1540. A world heritage site since 1995, Santa Cruz rewards visitors with beautiful architecture set in an awe-inspiring natural environment.

Yet, as noted by Colombia Reports this week, the town's cultural legacy in under threat by the Colombian government's plans to bring modernity to Mompos, as it known locally, by building a new bridge across the Magdalena River to Magangue and the country's larger urban centres beyond. At 12km long and costing upwards of USD75 million, the "Bridge of Reconciliation" President Juan Manuel Santos is characterizing is dividing Momposinos. While many welcome the economic benefits that will come with improved transportation links, others worry about the loss of Mompos' unique identity and heritage. 

Hopefully a middle way can be found that balances local residents' aspirations with a strong commitment to the preservation of the area's rich cultural and nature heritage.

A novel concept: offering "asylum" to IS-threatened artwork

In what may have seemed a good idea to his speechwriter, French President François Hollande failed - in my view - to show good form in offering to grant "asylum" to antiquities being trafficked out of Syria and Iraq by the so-called Islamic State (IS).

At a time when Europe is facing its greatest refugee crisis since the Second World War and the far right is seeking to galvanize public opinion against Syrians fleeing their country's civil war, Mr. Holland could have chosen a different metaphor at a speech this week to UNESCO's general conference. That being said, France's commitment to reinforce action against trafficked antiquities is welcome, and hopefully French authorities will do all that they promise.

Activist judge raises the alarm over a crematorium near the Taj Mahal

Not only is the Taj Mahal India's foremost tourist destination, it is also a leading world heritage site and its iconic white dome and minarets are among India's most recognizable cultural symbols.

As such, it is perhaps no surprise that an Indian Supreme Court judge, during a recent visit to the famous mausoleum, was concerned that its beauty was being sullied by smoke from a nearby wood-burning crematorium. Moved to action, he reportedly raised his concern with fellow judges, who in turn issued an order to the State of Uttar Pradesh to relocate the wood-burning crematorium or replace it with an electric one. 

The state government has 15 days to respond, though it is not clear what sanctions it would face if it fails to do so.

The quiet destruction of Yemen's cultural heritage

While the Syrian civil war and its repercussions both within and beyond the Middle East monopolise much of world media's attention, the conflict in nearby Yemen seems largely to escape attention, notwithstanding the indiscriminate attacks that are ravaging this already poor country.

While there are many reasons for the lack of reporting on this conflict, the prognosis for Yemen and its people is increasingly grim, whether measured in the conflict's human toll or its economic and physical impacts. On November 16, 2015 The Intercept published an excellent article on this latter aspect of the conflict, and particularly in relation to Yemen's rich cultural heritage. It makes for difficult reading, and no less disturbing are the photos of the damage caused by Saudi-led air strikes on historical buildings.

Given the willingness of Western governments to condemn the destruction of cultural heritage in places like Iraq, Syria and Mali, it is more than passing strange that these same governments would drag their feet when presented the opportunity recent at the UN to hold Saudi Arabia to account for its actions in Yemen.

Living near a world heritage site in the UK pays dividends

Pity those who live near a famous landmark: constant tour bus traffic, blocked driveways, gawking tourists, etc. However, there may be a silver lining, at least if you are living in the United Kingdom. As reported this week by Zoopla, a real estate website, UK properties near a world heritage are valued 27 percent more on average than comparable properties elsewhere.

Zoopla's research also found that property values increase the longer an area has enjoyed world heritage status. Thus, homes located close to the first ten sites in the UK to be inscribed as world heritage sites, including Bath, Stonehenge and Blenheim Palace, enjoy an average property value of £424,873 (USD644.936), compared with just £274,611 (USD416,846) for sites inscribed since 2000.

Although real estate is already beyond the means of many in the UK, a takeway from this study is that anyone with a few hundred thousands pounds to spare should be keeping an eye on the UK's tentative list of properties being considered for world heritage status. Buy now and you might enjoy a windfall in years to come!

The ethics of elephant tourism in Luang Prabang

Next month will mark 20 years since the Town of Luang Prabang was inscribed as a world heritage site by UNESCO. The town, located in mountainous northern Laos, Luang Prabang became the capital of the Kingdom of "Million Elephants" (Lane Xang) between the 14th and 16th centuries, and more recently came to prominence during the period of the French Protectorate in the late 19th century.

Given the growing number of visitors to the area since the town's world heritage designation, it is not surprising that the anniversary has become the focal point for an "elephant caravan", in which 20 elephants and their mahouts (handlers) will parade through Luang Prabang on December 9 following a cross-country march.

As reported this weekend by The Guardian, the march is being organized by a conservation charity, ElefantAsia, and is meant to raise awareness of the plight of elephants in Laos.

However, the march is also serving to re-ignite an ongoing debate about the ethics of elephant-focussed tourism. While its proponents argue that domesticated elephants have long been a feature of the economies and culture of South-East Asian countries such as Laos, and tourism is "gentler" than logging, elephants' traditional profession in Laos. However, many conservationists and animal welfare advocate point to the cruel techniques used to break elephants for a career in tourism and the health hazards for elephants who are forced to carry tourists on their back.

 

Jungle hire with elephant at ENR

While I have no experience of elephant tourism in Laos, I've seen many elephants giving rides to tourists in Northern Thailand, and it is truly a sorry sight. My recommendation, for what it's worth, would be stay away from the more exploitative forms of elephant tourism, in favour of organizations like the Elephant Nature Park (ENR) in Thailand, which ensures that any interaction between tourists and elephants is undertaken in a respectful and minimally intrusive manner.

Marketing India's world heritage sites

New Delhi newspaper The Sunday Standard has reported on the launch of a new website by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to promote the country's treasure trove of world heritage sites. At present, a handful of sites attract huge crowds each year (the Taj Mahal comes to mind), while others receive relatively few visitors.

Through its new website, the ASI hopes to broaden the appeal of "lesser" sites, thereby showcasing the amazing breadth of India's cultural heritage while at the same time boosting revenue from entry fees at all 32 of India's world heritage sites.

The annotated map accompanying the website, which is reproduced above, is slickly produced and a handy reference to anyone planning a trip to India who is interested in visiting some (or perhaps all!) of its world heritage sites.

New code of conduct for visitors to Angkor Wat

One would hardly think it necessary, but it appears that tourists visiting the Angkor Wat world heritage site in Cambodia need to reminded not to expose "sex organs" while visiting the temple complex.

Following a string of incidents in which foreign tourists have been caught in various stages of undress, local authorities have reportedly issued new conduct guidelines for visitors. In addition to requirements that would not be out of place at any religious site, the guidelines warn tourists that "any act of looting, breaking or damaging Angkor, or exposing sex organs and nudity in public area is a crime punishable by law."

You've been warned!

Japan's balancing act between past and present at UNESCO

Trevor Kennedy's recent opinion article in The Diplomat, a Tokyo-based current affairs magazine, is well worth a read for the light its casts on the role of politics and power in the nomination of world heritage sites. With 15 cultural heritage sites and 4 natural heritage sites to its credit, Japan has had a remarkably successful track record. In part, this is a function of its wealth. As Mr. Kennedy points out, heritage site applications are overwhelmingly submitted by rich countries. Another important factor is Japan's membership on UNESCO's World Cultural Committee, which is composed of 21 states and whose members' nominations are significantly more likely to succeed than other countries.

Yet, Japan appears ready to risk its position by allowing its ongoing conflict with neighbouring states over its wartime record increasingly to colour its interventions at UNESCO. Recent examples include the withholding of contributions to the agency in protest at the decision to inscribe Chinese documents pertaining to the Nanking Massacre to UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, and the tendering of documents for inclusion in the same register pertaining to the Soviets' use of forced Japanese labour in Siberia after the war.

While invariably there is a political dimension to any country's interpretation and presentation of its cultural heritage, Japan is under more scrutiny than most given the simmering resentment over past atrocities that continues to colour Japan's bilateral relations with countries throughout South-East Asia. In this context, Mr. Kennedy is right to argue that "Japan needs to walk a fine line as it responds to efforts to politicize UNESCO’s work."

Architects champion ancient Peruvian design principles

The sacred city of Caral-Supe, the site of an urban settlement established 5,000 years ago by the Caral civilization in the coastal desert of central Peru, is by many accounts an engineering marvel. With its complex architectural features, including monumental stone and earthen platform mounts and sunken circular courts, was designated a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2009.

The ancient city was the focal point for a gathering early this month of the International Union of Architects (known by its French acronym, UIA), whose members used the occasion to issue a document entitled the Caral Letter, which celebrates the city as an example of sustainable urban planning in harmony with the natural environment. According to UIA Adviser José Arispe, the ancient builders of Caral built flexible foundations to withstand earthquakes, maximized the availability of fertile land for agriculture by building on arid ground, and used innovative design techniques to supply air to fires used in religious ceremonies. These engineering feats are all the more impressive considering that they were accomplished without the tools builders have came to rely on, whether the wheel or the plum line.

The Caral Letter is to be formally presented at the upcoming UN climate conference in Paris.

Explosives disposal at World Heritage Site in India

The Hill Forts of Rajasthan, recognized as a "serial" world heritage site in 2013, are each impressive in their own right and date back variously to a thousand-year period between the 8th and 18th centuries. Tourists visiting one of the forts - Rathambore - in Sawaimadhopur district - can now rest a bit easier knowing that they are no longer at risk of being blown up by the one-tonne cache of explosives that was being stored there for several decades.

The Rajasthan Heritage Conservation Authority has announced that a National Security Guard team had successfully disposed of the explosives in an operation last week. While NDTV reported that the issue has been pending for several years, with multiple reminders sent to the Rajasthan government by the Archaeological Survey of Indian, there is no indication why the 10th century fort was being used to store explosives in the first place.

Syrian cultural heritage in Islamic State's crosshairs

Addressing the Italian Parliament last week, Syrian Director General of Antiquities and Museums Maamoun Abdulkarim was grim in his assessment of the situation facing archaeological sites in his homeland. With up to 300 sites under the control of the so-called Islamic State (IS), Syria's magnificent cultural heritage faces a double risk. On the one hand IS continues to destroy artefacts it considers idolatrous. On the other, it is heavily involved in antiquities trafficking as a ready source of funds for its struggle. 

Sadly no happy ending is yet in sight.

Kosovo does not (quite) make the cut for UNESCO membership

As reported on this blog last month, Kosovo has been assiduously pursuing UNESCO membership in recent months in the face of stiff Serbian resistance. However, its efforts were not enough to garner sufficient support at the Agency's general assembly in Paris this week, and its bid fell just 3 votes shy of the 95 needed for recognition.

Serbia's opposition focussed on Kosovo's alleged failure to protect Serbian cultural and religious sites, including four UNESCO world heritage sites.

With the New York Times reporting "quiet sadness in the streets of Pristina", observers expect that Kosovo will make another attempt at membership at UNESCO's next general assembly.

Earliest European Christian church in the tropics excavated in Cabo Verde

University of Cambridge has reported this week that a team of archaeologists from the university have unearthed the earliest known European Christian church in the tropics. Dating from ca1470, the church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição was built by Portguese in Cidade Velha, the former capital of Cabo Verde, and the country's only world heritagesite.

Excavation site (photo credit: University of Cambridge)

Thanks to its role as a trans-shipment point between Africa and the Americas for the Portuguese slave trade, Cidade Velha became the second richest country in the Portuguese empire. And fascinatingly the archaeologists found a burial site under the church where more than 1,000 people were buried before 1525, including both Africans and Europeans.

I look forward to learning more about the archaeology of this site in the months and years to come.

Destruction of cultural heritage in conflict zones: not just a Middle Eastern problem

While the destruction of ancient cultural heritage in places like Palmyra and Timbuktu have garnered the world's outrage, no such condemnation followed similar destruction in the conflicts that erupted on Europe's south-eastern flank following the break-up of the Soviet Union. However, the issue is now resurfacing both in the Balkans and Caucasus.

As recently reported by the Balkan Transitional Justice Initiative, Kosovo's efforts to become a member of UNESCO have rbecome a lightning rod for recriminations between Kosovo and Serbia over the destruction of cultural and religious monuments in both countries the 1990s. However, despite accusations on both sides of wilful destruction of monuments, local courts have - with very few exceptions - failed to prosecute those responsible. And in the Balkans more broadly, the tally is also said to include 1,200 mosques destroyed in Bosnia-Herzegovina and 2,440 buildings of cultural importance in Croatia.

Meanwhile, longstanding tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan surfaced this week at the UNESCO general session when Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian took the opportunity during his address to condemn the alleged destruction of medieval Armenian artifacts, including cross-stones and churches, in Armenia's Nakhijevan region. For his part, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to UNESCO, Anar Karimov, has condemned Armenia for much the same reason, citing for example the destruction of the ancient Aga-Dede mosque and cemetery in Amernia's Masis region.

While the accusations and counter-accusations are not in themselves likely to usher in greater protection for cultural heritage in conflict zones, the fact that the issue is being discussed at all is welcome, and hopefully over time a new international consensus can be reached.

UNESCO achievements and priorities, according to its director general

In a keynote address at its general conference in Paris this week, UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova summarized what she considered to be the agency's main achievements over the past two years. These include efforts towards ending illicit trafficking in cultural relics, enforcing economic sanctions on the so-called Islamic State, rebuilding world heritage sites in Mali, advancing education for the most vulnerable and strengthening youth resilience.

Looking ahead, UNESCO priorities are not so different from other UN agencies dependent on continuing support from increasingly accountability-focussed member states. In short, the agency committed to pursuing ongoing organizational reform, especially in relation to transparency, structure, partnerships and leadership.

League table of world heritage site

Nothing appeals to one's competitive instinct like a comparative chart showing how your country stacks up against others. While the relevance of the chart below to a recent story in the Daily Pakistan on what Iran is doing to attract more British tourists is a little doubtful, it is nonetheless a handy graphic for those interested in keeping score on the countries with the largest number of world heritage sites. It also leaves one wondering at the seeming over-representation of Western Europe in a world heritage list.

Exciting new research on El Salvador's Pompeii

The Joya de Cerén Archaeological Site, a world heritage site in El Salvador, rivals Pompeii for its exceptional remains of a pre-Columbian agricultural community that was buried under several meters of volcanic ash during an eruption of the Laguna Caldera Volcano in approximately 660 CE.

Ceren archaeological site

This week the University of Colorado in Boulder published a fascinating article on recent archaeological research at the site, which challenges the common perception that the common people of time were lorded over by ruthless elites. As well, the research has underscored the complexity of local social structures and relationships.   

Given that the historical record of indigenous Latin America is dominated by the observations of the early Spanish conquistadors and their hangers-on, archaeological research of the sort being pursued by the University of Colorado is a welcome corrective to the traditional narrative.