Heritage with Related Tags
Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra
Berat and Gjirokastra are listed as rare examples of typical architectural styles from the Ottoman period. Berat, located in central Albania, has witnessed the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities over the centuries. There is a castle, known locally as Kara, most of which was built in the 13th century, but its origins date back to the 4th century BC. The castle area has many Byzantine churches, mainly built in the 13th century, and several mosques from the Ottoman period, which began in 1417. Gjirokastra, located in the Drinos River Valley in southern Albania, has a series of fine two-story houses built in the 17th century. The town also preserves a bazaar, an 18th-century mosque and two churches from the same period.
Medina of Tunis
Under the Almohad and Hafsid dynasties, from the 12th to the 16th century, Tunis was considered one of the greatest and richest cities in the Islamic world. Some 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasas and fountains bear witness to this glorious past.
Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore
These two are masterpieces of the glorious Mughal civilization period, which reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Shah Jahan. The fort contains marble palaces and mosques, decorated with mosaics and gilding. Built on three-tiered platforms near the city of Lahore, these gorgeous gardens, complete with huts, waterfalls and large ornamental ponds, are unmatched in their elegance.
Old City of Acre
Acre is a historic port city that has been inhabited since the Phoenician period. The present city is an Ottoman fortified town built in the 18th and 19th centuries, with typical urban components such as a castle, mosque, khan and baths. The remains of the Crusader City, built between 1104 and 1291, are almost intact, and both above and below today's streets, show the layout and structure of the medieval capital of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town
The historic city of Harar is located in the east of the country, on a plateau with deep canyons and surrounded by desert and savannah. The walls of this Muslim holy city were built between the 13th and 16th centuries. The fourth holiest city in Islam, Harar is home to 82 mosques (three of which were built in the 10th century) and 102 shrines, but it is the townhouses with their unique interior designs that are the most striking part of Harar's cultural heritage. The influence of African and Islamic traditions on the town's building types and urban layout has given it a unique character and distinctiveness.
Sulaiman-Too Sacred Mountain
The Holy Mountain of Suleiman-To, Kyrgyzstan, is located in the Fergana Valley, the backdrop of the city of Osh, at the crossroads of an important route of the Silk Road in Central Asia. For more than 1,500 years, Suleiman has been a beacon for travelers and is revered as a holy mountain. Its five peaks and slopes are home to many ancient places of worship and caves with petroglyphs, as well as two largely reconstructed 16th-century mosques. So far, 101 petroglyph sites have been inscribed on the heritage list, representing humans and animals as well as geometric shapes. The site has 17 places of worship, many of which are still in use and many of which have ceased to be used. These places of worship are scattered around the peaks and connected by footpaths. These places of worship are believed to cure anemia, headaches and backaches, and to grant blessings of longevity. The worship of this mountain is a blend of pre-Islamic and Islamic beliefs. The site is believed to be the most complete example of a holy mountain in Central Asia, and people have worshipped it for thousands of years.
Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad
In the scenic mountainous area, there are the remains of the first capital of the Hamad Emir, built in 1007 and demolished in 1152, a true reflection of a fortified Muslim city. The prayer room of this mosque has 13 aisles and 8 compartments, making it one of the largest mosques in Algeria.
Ancient City of Bosra
Once the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, Bosra was an important stopover on the ancient caravan route to Mecca. Within the city walls are a magnificent 2nd-century Roman theatre, early Christian ruins and several mosques.
Historic Centre of Cordoba
Cordoba's greatest period of glory began in the 8th century after the Moorish conquest, when around 300 mosques and numerous palaces and public buildings were built, rivalling those of Constantinople, Damascus and Baghdad. In the 13th century, under the reign of Saint Ferdinand III, the Great Mosque of Cordoba was converted into a cathedral, and new fortifications were built, notably the Alcazar of Cristo III and the Calahorra Fortress.
Kunya-Urgench
Kunya-Urgench is located in the northwest of Turkmenistan, on the left bank of the Amu Darya River. Urgench was the capital of the Khorezm region, which was part of the Achaemenid Empire. The old town has a series of monuments built mainly from the 11th to the 16th centuries, including a mosque, caravanserai gates, fortresses, mausoleums and a 60-meter-high minaret. These monuments bear witness to outstanding achievements in architecture and craftsmanship, whose influence spread to Iran and Afghanistan, and later to the architecture of the Mughal Empire in 16th century India.
Historic City of Yazd
The city of Yadzd is located in the middle of the Iranian plateau, 270 km southeast of Isfahan, close to the Spice Route and the Silk Road. It is a vivid demonstration of how people in the desert survive with limited resources. Urban Water Supply By developing a qanat system for extracting groundwater, Yadzd's earthen architecture escaped modernization, which destroyed many traditional earthen towns, and preserved its traditional neighborhoods, qanats, traditional houses, bazaars, Turkish baths, mosques, synagogues, Zoroastrian temples and the historical gardens of Dawlat Abad.
Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls
As a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Jerusalem has always had great symbolic significance. Among its 220 historical monuments, the Dome of the Rock stands out: built in the 7th century, it is decorated with beautiful geometric and floral patterns. All three religions recognize it as the holy place where Abraham made sacrifices. The Wailing Wall divides the living quarters of different religious groups, while the Resurrection Rotunda of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre houses the tomb of Christ.
Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China
The Quanzhou site series demonstrates Quanzhou's vitality as a maritime trade center and its interconnectivity with inland China during the Song and Yuan dynasties (10th to 14th centuries AD). Quanzhou flourished during an important period of maritime trade in Asia. The site includes religious buildings, including the 11th century Qingjing Mosque, one of the earliest Islamic buildings in China, as well as Islamic mausoleums and various archaeological remains: administrative buildings, stone wharves of commercial and defensive importance, sites of ceramic and iron production, elements of the city's transportation network, ancient bridges, pagodas and inscriptions. Quanzhou was referred to as Zayton in Arabic and Western texts from the 10th to 14th centuries AD.
Ancient City of Aleppo
Located at the intersection of multiple trade routes since the 2nd millennium BC, Aleppo has been ruled by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamluks and Ottomans. The 13th-century citadel, 12th-century Great Mosque and various 17th-century madrasas, palaces, caravanserais and hammams all form part of the city’s cohesive, unique urban fabric, but it is now threatened by overpopulation.
Kairouan
Kairouan was founded in 670 and flourished under the Aghlabid dynasty in the 9th century. Although the political capital was moved to Tunisia in the 12th century, Kairouan remains the main holy city of the Maghreb. Its rich architectural heritage includes the Great Mosque, with its marble and porphyry columns, and the 9th-century Three-Doored Mosque.
Samarra Archaeological City
The archaeological city of Samarra was a powerful Islamic capital that ruled for a century from the Abbasid provinces stretching from Tunisia to Central Asia. Located 130 km north of Baghdad on the banks of the Tigris River, the site is 41.5 km long from north to south and varies in width from 8 km to 4 km. It bears witness to the architectural and artistic innovations that developed there and spread to the rest of the Islamic world and beyond. The 9th-century Great Mosque and its spiral minaret are among the site's many striking architectural monuments, 80% of which have yet to be excavated.