Postcards of UNESCO world heritage sites: September 2013

Thursday, 19 September 2013

BE5357 - Le Palais de Justice de Bruxelles (2008)

AM10 - The basilica and archaeological site of Yererouk (1995)

AM13 - The monastery of Noravank and the upper Amaghou Valley (1996)

Wednesday, 18 September 2013

1364 BH - Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy (2012)

Brief Description

The site consists of seventeen buildings in Muharraq City, three offshore oyster beds, part of the seashore and the Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress on the southern tip of Muharraq Island, from where boats used to set off for the oyster beds. The listed buildings include residences of wealthy merchants, shops, storehouses and a mosque. The site is the last remaining complete example of the cultural tradition of pearling and the wealth it generated at a time when the trade dominated the Gulf economy (2nd century to the 1930s, when Japan developed cultured pearls). It also constitutes an outstanding example of traditional utilization of the sea’s resources and human interaction with the environment, which shaped both the economy and the cultural identity of the island’s society.

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1364

three offshore oyster beds,

1364rev-001 Hayr Bū-l-Thāmah
1364rev-002 Hayr Bū ‘Amāmah
1364rev-003 Hayr Shtayyah

seashore and the

1364rev-004a Bū Māhir Seashore

Qal’at Bu Mahir fortress on the southern tip of Muharraq Island

1364rev-004b Qal‘at Bū Māhir

Seventeen buildings in Muharraq City

1364rev-005 Al-Ghūṣ House
1364rev-006 Badr Ghulum House
1364rev-007 Al-Jalahma House
1364rev-008 Al-Alawi House
1364rev-009 Fakhro House
1364rev-010 Murad House
1364rev-011 Murad Majlis
1364rev-012 Siyadi Shops
1364rev-013a Amārat Yousif A. Fakhro
1364rev-013b ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro (I)
1364rev-013c ‘Amārat Ali Rashed Fakhro (II)
1364rev-014 Nūkhidhah House
1364rev-015a Siyadi House
1364rev-015b Siyadi Majlis
1364rev-015c Siyadi Mosque

Courtesy of Ulla from France

Shaikh Isa Bin Ali House

777 AM - Monasteries of Haghpat and Sanahin (1996)

Brief Description

"These two Byzantine monasteries in the Tumanian region from the period of prosperity during the Kiurikian dynasty (10th to 13th century) were important centres of learning. Sanahin was renown for its school of illuminators and calligraphers. The two monastic complexes represent the highest flowering of Armenian religious architecture, whose unique style developed from a blending of elements of Byzantine ecclesiastical architecture and the traditional vernacular architecture of the Caucasian region."

哈格帕特修道院和萨那欣修道院

"在基乌里克王朝(Kiurikian dynasty)繁荣时期（大约从公元10到13世纪），土马尼亚地区(the Tumanian region)的这两个拜占庭式修道院是当时重要的学府。萨那欣修道院以其注释和书法学校而举世闻名。这两个修道院建筑群，融汇拜占庭教会建筑风格和高加索地区本土传统建筑风格，形成了自己独特的艺术风格，代表了亚美尼亚宗教建筑顶尖水平。"

777-001     Monastery of Haghpat
777-002     Monastery of Sanahin
777-003     Sanahin Bridge

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/208

Courtesy of Luca from Italy

777-001 Monastery of Haghpat

777-002 Monastery of Sanahin

405 LK - Sinharaja Forest Reserve (1988)

Brief description

Located in south-west Sri Lanka, Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. There is much endemic wildlife, especially birds, but the reserve is also home to over 50% of Sri Lanka's endemic species of mammals and butterflies, as well as many kinds of insects, reptiles and rare amphibians.

辛哈拉加森林保护区

辛哈拉加森林保护区位于斯里兰卡西南部，是斯里兰卡唯一存活的一片原始热带雨林。这里60%以上的树木都是当地特有树种，其中许多属于珍稀树种。保护区里还生存着很多当地特有的野生动物，并以鸟类居多。保护区还是斯里兰卡50%以上的哺乳动物和蝴蝶生存的家园，也是种类繁多的各种昆虫、爬行动物和珍稀两栖动物繁衍生息的地方。

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/405

Courtesy of Ulla from France

208 AF - Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (2003)

Brief Description

The cultural landscape and archaeological remains of the Bamiyan Valley represent the artistic and religious developments which from the 1st to the 13th centuries characterized ancient Bakhtria, integrating various cultural influences into the Gandhara school of Buddhist art. The area contains numerous Buddhist monastic ensembles and sanctuaries, as well as fortified edifices from the Islamic period. The site is also testimony to the tragic destruction by the Taliban of the two standing Buddha statues, which shook the world in March 2001.

巴米扬山谷的文化景观和考古遗迹

巴米扬山谷的文化景观和考古遗址向世人展示了从公元1世纪至13世纪期间以古代巴克特里亚文化为特征的艺术和宗教发展。正是在这一发展过程中，佛教艺术的干达拉流派兼收并蓄了各种文化影响。这一地区汇集了大量的佛教寺院、庙宇，以及伊斯兰教时期的防御建筑。此遗址同时也见证了塔利班政权无情摧毁两尊立佛像的暴行。这一事件在2001年3月曾震惊世界。

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/208

Courtesy of Luca from italy

Wednesday, 11 September 2013

1366 TR - Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex (2011)

Brief Description

The square Mosque with its single great dome and four slender minarets, dominates the skyline of the former Ottoman capital of Edirne. Sinan, the most famous of Ottoman architects in the 16th century, considered the complex, which includes madrasas (Islamic schools), a covered market, clock house, outer courtyard and library, to be his best work. The interior decoration using Iznik tiles from the peak period of their production testifies to an art form that remains unsurpassed in this material. The complex is considered to be the most harmonious expression ever achieved of the Ottoman külliye, a group of buildings constructed around a mosque and managed as a single institution.

赛利米耶清真寺

。方形的赛里米耶清真寺巨大的中央圆顶与四座细长的宣礼塔矗立在埃迪尔内（Edirne）的天际线上，俯瞰着这座前奥斯曼帝国的首都。16世纪著名的奥斯曼建筑师希南（Sinan）将这一建筑群视为自己最杰出的作品。赛里米耶清真寺建筑群还包括伊斯兰学校、一个室内市场、守卫室、外庭及图书馆。清真寺使用伊兹尼克最巅峰时期出品的瓷砖作为内饰材料，代表着以这种瓷砖创造的艺术形式至今无人超越的最高成就。赛利米耶清真寺建筑群也被视作奥斯曼时期库里耶（külliye ，意为一组围绕着清真寺修建的建筑群，并作为一个统一的机构进行管理）建筑作品所能达到的最和谐的境界。

Source UNESCO WH website http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1366

Courtesy of Nihan from Turkey