List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States facts for kids

This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Arab States. Some of these countries are geographically in Asia and some in Africa.

List

The list below has an image of the site or part of the site; the name; the location; the nominating state party; the criteria met by the site, including if it is a cultural, natural or mixed; the area in hectares and acres; the year the site was added; and a description of the site.

     † In danger

Image	Site	Location	Criteria	Area (ha)	Area (acre)	Year	Description
	Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad	AlgeriaM'Sila Province, Algeria	Cultural:AlgAlq (iii)	150	370	1980	The ruins of the first capital of the Hammadid emirs. It was formed in 1007 and ended in 1152.
	Djémila	AlgeriaSétif Province, Algeria	Cultural:AlgDje (iii)(iv)	31	77	1982	An interesting example of a Roman town in a mountain location.
	Kasbah of Algiers	AlgeriaAlgiers Province, Algeria	Cultural:AlgKas (ii)(v)	50	120	1982	The Kasbah is a unique kind of medina, or Islamic city. It stands in one of the finest coastal sites on the Mediterranean, overlooking the islands where a Carthaginian trading-post was formed in the 4th century BC.
	M'zab Valley	AlgeriaGhardaïa Province, Algeria	Cultural:AlgMzb (ii)(iii)(v)	4,000	9,900	1982	A traditional human habitat, formed in the 10th century by the Ibadites. It is around their five ksour (fortified cities).
	Tassili n'Ajjer	AlgeriaIllizi Province and Tamanrasset Province, Algeria	Mixed:AlgTas (i)(iii)(vii)(viii)	7,200,000	18,000,000	1982	This site has one of the most important groupings of prehistoric cave art in the world. More than 15,000 drawings and engravings record the climatic changes, the animal migrations and the evolution of human life on the edge of the Sahara from 6000 BC to the first centuries of the present era.
—	Timgad	AlgeriaBatna Province, Algeria	Cultural:AlgTim (ii)(iii)(iv)	91	220	1982	Timgad is on the northern slopes of the Aurès mountains. It was formed as a military colony by the Emperor Trajan in AD 100.
—	Tipaza	AlgeriaTipaza Province, Algeria	Cultural:AlgTip (iii)(iv)	52	130	1982	Tipasa was an ancient Punic trading-post conquered by Rome. It has a unique group of Phoenician, Roman, palaeochristian and Byzantine ruins alongside indigenous monuments such as the Kbor er Roumia, the great royal mausoleum of Mauritania.
	Qal'at al-Bahrain – Ancient Harbour and Capital of Dilmun	BahrainNorthern Governorate, Bahrain	Cultural:BahQal (ii)(iii)(iv)	32	79	2005	This was the capital of the Dilmun, one of the most important ancient civilizations of the region. It has the richest remains of this civilization.
	Abu Mena	EgyptAlexandria Governorate, Egypt	Cultural:EgyAbu (iv)	183	450	1979	The church, baptistry, basilicas, public buildings, streets, monasteries, houses and workshops in this early Christian holy city were built over the tomb of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in A.D. 296.
	Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis	EgyptLuxor Governorate, Egypt	Cultural:EgyAnc (i)(iii)(vi)	7,390	18,300	1979	Thebes, the city of the god Amon, was the capital of Egypt during the period of the Middle and New Kingdoms.
	Historic Cairo	EgyptCairo Governorate, Egypt	Cultural:EgyHis (i)(v)(vi)	524	1,290	1979	One of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century.
	Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur	EgyGiza Governorate, Egypt	Cultural:EgyMem (i)(iii)(vi)	16,359	40,420	1979	The capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt has some extraordinary funerary monuments, including rock tombs, ornate mastabas, temples and pyramids. In ancient times, the site was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
	Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae	EgyAswan Governorate, Egypt	Cultural:EgyNub (i)(iii)(vi)	374	920	1979	This outstanding archaeological area has such magnificent monuments as the Temples of Ramses II at Abu Simbel and the Sanctuary of Isis at Philae. They were saved from the rising waters of the Nile thanks to the International Campaign launched by UNESCO, in 1960 to 1980.
	Saint Catherine Area	EgySouth Sinai Governorate, Egypt	Cultural:EgySai (i)(iii)(iv)(vi)	60,100	149,000	2002	The Orthodox Monastery of St Catherine stands at the foot of Mount Horeb. This is where, the Old Testament records, Moses received the Tablets of the Law. The mountain is known and revered by Muslims as Jebel Musa. The entire area is sacred to three world religions: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
	Wadi Al-Hitan (Whale Valley)	EgyFaiyum Governorate, Egypt	Natural:EgyWad (viii)	20,015	49,460	2005	Located in a desert, the site has fossil remains of the now extinct Archaeoceti, a suborder of whales. This shows the evolution of the whales from a land-based to an aquatic mammal.
—	Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat)	IrqSalah ad Din Governorate, Iraq	Cultural:IrqAss (iii)(iv)	70	170	2003	The ancient city of Ashur is on the Tigris River in northern Mesopotamia. The city dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. From the 14th to the 9th centuries BC it was the first capital of the Assyrian Empire. The city was destroyed by the Babylonians, but revived during the Parthian period in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD.
	Hatra	IrqNinawa Governorate, Iraq	Cultural:IrqHat (ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)	324	800	1985	Hatra was a large fortified city under the influence of the Parthian Empire and capital of the first Arab Kingdom. It withstood invasions by the Romans in A.D. 116 and 198 thanks to its high, thick walls reinforced by towers.
	Samarra Archaeological City	IrqSalah ad Din Governorate, Iraq	Cultural:IrqSam (ii)(iii)(iv)	15,058	37,210	1985	Samarra Archaeological City is the site of a powerful Islamic capital city. It ruled over the provinces of the Abbasid Empire from Tunisia to Central Asia for a century. The 9th-century Great Mosque and its spiral minaret are among the numerous remarkable architectural monuments of the site, 80% of which remain to be excavated.
	The Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls	IrqJerusalem, Israel	Cultural:JerOld (ii)(iii)(vi)	—	—	1985	As a holy city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Jerusalem has always been of great symbolic importance. It is recognized by all three religions as the site of Abraham's sacrifice.
	Petra	JorMa'an Governorate, Jordan	Cultural:JorPet (i)(iii)(iv)	—	—	1985	Lived in since prehistoric times, between the Red Sea and the Dead Sea, this city was an important crossroads between Arabia, Egypt and Syria-Phoenicia. Petra is half-built, half-carved into the rock, and is surrounded by mountains.
	Qasr Amra	JorZarqa Governorate, Jordan	Cultural:JorQas (i)(iii)(iv)	—	—	1985	Built in the early 8th century, this exceptionally well-preserved desert castle was both a fortress with a garrison and a residence of the Umayyad caliphs.
	Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a)	JorMadaba Governorate, Jordan	Cultural:JorUme (i)(iv)(vi)	24	59	2005	Most of this archaeological site, which started as a Roman military camp and grew to become a town from the 5th century, has not been excavated. It has remains from the Roman, Byzantine and Early Muslim periods (end of 3rd to 9th centuries AD) and a fortified Roman military camp.
	Wadi Rum Protected Area	JorAqaba Governorate, Jordan	Mixed:JorWad (iii)(v)(vii)	74,180	183,300	2005	The 74,000-hectare property is in southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia. It has a varied desert landscape, as well as 25,000 rock carvings with 20,000 inscriptions trace the evolution of human thought and the early development of the alphabet.
	Anjar	LbnBeqaa Governorate, Lebanon	Cultural:LbnAnj (iii)(iv)	—	—	1984	The city of Anjar was founded by Caliph Walid I at the beginning of the 8th century. The ruins reveal a very regular layout, like the palace-cities of ancient times, and are a unique testimony to city planning under the Umayyads.
	Baalbek	LbnBeqaa Governorate, Lebanon	Cultural:LbnBal (i)(iv)	—	—	1984	Baalbek, where a triad of deities was worshipped, was known as Heliopolis during the Hellenistic period. It kept its religious function during Roman times, when the sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter had thousands of pilgrims.
	Byblos	LbnMount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon	Cultural:LbnByb (iii)(iv)(vi)	—	—	1984	Lived in since Neolithic times, it has been closely linked to the legends and history of the Mediterranean region for thousands of years.
	Ouadi Qadisha (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab)	LbnNorth Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon	Cultural:LbnOua (iii)(iv)	—	—	1998	The Qadisha valley is one of the most important early Christian monastic settlements in the world. Nearby are the remains of the great forest of cedars of Lebanon, highly prized in antiquity for the construction of great religious buildings.
	Tyre	LbnSouth Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon	Cultural:LbnTyr (iii)(vi)	154	380	1984	Tyre ruled the seas and founded colonies such as Cadiz and Carthage, but its historical role declined at the end of the Crusades. There are important archaeological remains, mainly from Roman times.
	Archaeological Site of Cyrene	LibJabal al Akhdar, Libya	Cultural:LibArc (ii)(iii)(vi)	—	—	1982	A colony of the Greeks of Thera, Cyrene was one of the main cities in the Hellenic world. It was Romanized and remained a great capital until the earthquake of 365. A thousand years of history is written into its ruins, which have been famous since the 18th century.
	Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna	LibKhoms, Libya	Cultural:LibArc (i)(ii)(iii)	—	—	1982	Leptis Magna was made larger by Septimius Severus, who was born there and later became emperor. It was one of the most beautiful cities of the Roman Empire, with its imposing public monuments, harbour, market-place, storehouses, shops and residential districts.
	Archaeological Site of Sabratha	LibZawiya District, Libya	Cultural:LibArc (iii)	—	—	1982	A Phoenician trading-post that served as an outlet for the products of the African hinterland, Sabratha was part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized. It was rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.
	Old Town of Ghadamès	LibNalut District, Libya	Cultural:LibGha (v)	—	—	1986	Ghadamès, known as 'the pearl of the desert', stands in an oasis. It is one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement.
	Amphitheatre of El Jem	TunMahdia Governorate, Tunisia	Cultural:TunEld (iv)(vi)	1.37	3.4	1979	The Amphitheatre of El Jem, built during the 3rd century, is North Africa's largest coliseum with a capacity of 35,000 spectators.
	Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus	LibFezzan, Libya	Cultural:LibRoc (iii)	—	—	1985	The rocky massif has thousands of cave paintings in very different styles, dating from 12,000 BCE to 100 CE.
	Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata	MauritaniaOuadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt, and Oualata, Mauritania	Cultural:MauAnc (iii)(iv)(v)	—	—	1996	Founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, these trading and religious centres became focal points of Islamic culture. They have managed to keep an urban fabric that grew between the 12th and 16th centuries.
	Banc d'Arguin National Park	MauritaniaNouadhibou and Azefal, Mauritania	Natural:MauBan (ix)(x)	1,200,000	3,000,000	1989	The park has sand dunes, coastal swamps, small islands, and shallow bodies of water, all bordering the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Birds are often found to migrate in the area, along with various species of sea turtles and dolphins, whose presence fishermen often use to attract fish.
	Archaeological Site of Volubilis	MorMeknès-Tafilalet, Morocco	Cultural:MorArc (ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)	42	100	1997	The important Roman outpost of Volubilis was formed in the 3rd century BCE to become the capital of Mauritania. It had many buildings, the remains of which have mostly survived to this day.
	Historic City of Meknes	MorMeknès-Tafilalet, Morocco	Cultural:MorHis (iv)	—	—	1996	The former capital was formed in the 11th century and turned into an impressive city in Spanish-Moorish style during the 17th and 18th centuries.
	Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou	MorSouss-Massa-Draâ, Morocco	Cultural:MorKsa (iv)(v)	3	7.4	1987	The ksar is a group of earthen building surrounded by high walls, a traditional pre-Saharan habitat.
	Medina of Essaouira (formerly Mogador)	MorMarrakesh-Tensift-El Haouz, Morocco	Cultural:MorEss (ii)(iv)	30	74	2001	The fortified seaport built during the late 18th century has a mix of North African and European architecture. It has been a major trading hub between Sahara and Europe.
	Medina of Fez	MorFez, Morocco	Cultural:MorMedinaofFez (ii)(v)	280	690	1981	The former capital was formed in the 9th century and has the world's oldest university. The main monuments date from the 13th and 14th centuries.
	Medina of Marrakesh	MorMarrakesh-Tensift-El Haouz, Morocco	Cultural:MorMedinaofMarra (i)(ii)(iv)(v)	1,107	2,740	1985	The town was formed in the 1070s and remained a political, economic and cultural center for a long time. Monuments from that period include the Koutoubia Mosque, the kasbah and the battlements. The city also has newer architectural jewels, including palaces.
	Medina of Tétouan (formerly known as Titawin)	MorTangier-Tetouan, Morocco	Cultural:MorMedinaofTet (ii)(iv)(v)	7	17	1997	Morocco's most complete medina served as the main point of contact between Morocco and Andalusia during the 8th century. After the reconquista, the town was rebuilt by Andalusian refugees.
	Portuguese City of Mazagan (El Jadida)	MorDoukkala-Abda, Morocco	Cultural:MorPor (ii)(iv)	8	20	2004	The fortification was built in Renaissance military design in the early 16th century, and taken over by Morocco in 1769. Surviving Portuguese buildings include the cistern and a Gothic church.
—	Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman	OmnSharqiyah and Batinah Regions, Oman	Cultural:OmnAfl (v)	1,456	3,600	2006	The property includes five aflaj irrigation systems and is representative of some 3,000 such systems still in use in Oman. The origins of this system of irrigation may date back to AD 500, but archaeological evidence suggests that irrigation systems existed in this extremely arid area as early as 2500 BC.
—	Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn	OmnAd Dhahirah Region, Oman	Cultural:OmnArc (iii)(iv)	—	—	1988	The protohistoric site of Bat is near a palm grove in the interior of the Sultanate of Oman. Together with the neighbouring sites, it forms the most complete collection of settlements and necropolises from the 3rd millennium B.C. in the world.
—	Bahla Fort	OmnAd Dakhiliyah Region, Oman	Cultural:OmnBah (iv)	—	—	1987	The oasis of Bahla owes its prosperity to the Banu Nebhan, the dominant tribe in the area from the 12th to the end of the 15th century. The ruins of the large fort, with its walls and towers of unbaked brick and its stone foundations, is a remarkable example of this type of fortification.
—	Land of Frankincense	OmnDhofar Governorate, Oman	Cultural:OmnArc (iii)(iv)	850	2,100	2000	The frankincense trees of Wadi Dawkah show the trade in frankincense that was strong in this region for many centuries. It was one of the most important trading activities of the ancient and medieval world.
	Al-Hijr Archaeological Site (Madâin Sâlih)	SauAl Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia	Cultural:SauAlh (ii)(iii)	1,621	4,010	2008	Formerly known as Hegra it is the largest conserved site of the civilization of the Nabataeans south of Petra in Jordan. It has well-preserved monumental tombs with decorated facades dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD.
	At-Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah	SauRiyadh Province, Saudi Arabia	Cultural:SauAtt (ii)(iii)	29	72	2008	Diriyah was the first capital of the Saudi Dynasty, in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula, north-west of Riyadh. It includes the remains of many palaces and an urban ensemble built on the edge of the ad-Dir’iyah oasis.
	Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe	SdnRiver Nile State, Sudan	Cultural:SdnArc (ii)(iii)(iv)(v)	2,357	5,820	2011	The site, a semi-desert landscape between the Nile and Atbara rivers, was the heartland of the Kingdom of Kush, a major power from the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.
	Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region	SdnNorthern State, Sudan	Cultural:SdnGeb (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)	183	450	2003	The five sites in the Nile Valley have temples that are a testimony to the Napatan (900–270 BCE) and Meroitic (270 BCE – 350 CE) cultures.
	Ancient City of Aleppo	SyrAleppo Governorate, Syria	Cultural:SyrAnc (iii)(iv)	350	860	1986	At the crossroads of several trade routes from the 2nd millennium B.C., Aleppo was ruled by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes and Ottomans.
	Ancient City of Bosra	SyrDaraa Governorate, Syria	Cultural:SyrAnc (i)(iii)(vi)	—	—	1980	Bosra, once the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, was an important stopover on the ancient caravan route to Mecca. A magnificent 2nd-century Roman theatre, early Christian ruins and several mosques are found within its great walls.
	Ancient City of Damascus	SyrDamascus Governorate, Syria	Cultural:SyrAnc (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)	86	210	1979	Formed in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. In the Middle Ages, it was the centre of a flourishing craft industry, specializing in swords and lace.
	Ancient Villages of Northern Syria	SyrSyria	Cultural:SyrAnc (iii)(iv)(v)	12,290	30,400	2011	Some 40 villages grouped in eight parks in north-western Syria provide remarkable testimony to rural life in late Antiquity and during the Byzantine period.
	Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din	SyrHoms and Latakia Governorates, Syria	Cultural:SyrCra (ii)(iv)	9	22	2006	These two castles show the most significant examples of the exchange of influences and documenting the evolution of fortified architecture in the Near East during the time of the Crusades (11th - 13th centuries).
	Site of Palmyra	SyrHoms Governorate, Syria	Cultural:SyrAnc (i)(ii)(iv)	0.36	0.89	1980	An oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, Palmyra has the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world.
	Archaeological Site of Carthage	TunTunis Governorate, Tunisia	Cultural:TunArc (ii)(iii)(vi)	—	—	1979	Formed in the 9th century BCE, Carthage was made into a trading empire spanning the Mediterranean. The city was destroyed in 146 BCE in the Punic Wars at the hands of the Romans, but was later rebuilt by these.
	Dougga / Thugga	TunBeBéja Governorate, Tunisia	Cultural:TunDou (ii)(iii)	70	170	1997	The site has the ruins of Dougga, a former capital of a Libyan–Punic state, which flourished under Ancient Rome and the Byzantine Empire, but declined in the Islamic period.
	Ichkeul National Park	TunBiBizerte Governorate, Tunisia	Natural:TunIch (x)	12,600	31,000	1980	Ichkeul Lake and the surrounding wetlands is a major stopover for hundreds of thousands of migrating bird, including ducks, geese, storks and pink flamingos. Ichkeul is the last remaining lake in a chain that once went across North Africa.
	Kairouan	TunKairouan Governorate, Tunisia	Cultural:TunKai (i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)	68	170	1988	The city was formed in 670 and flourished as a capital in the 9th century. Its heritage includes the Mosque of Uqba and the Mosque of the Three Gates.
	Medina of Sousse	TunSousse Governorate, Tunisia	Cultural:TunMedinaofSou (iii)(iv)(v)	32	79	1988	The city was an important commercial and military port during the 9th century and a typical example of a town dating from the first centuries of Islam.
	Medina of Tunis	TunTunis Governorate, Tunisia	Cultural:TunMedinaofTun (ii)(iii)(v)	296	730	1979	The medina has 700 monuments, including palaces, mosques, mausoleums, madrasah and fourtains, testifying to Tunis golden age from the 12th to the 16th century.
	Punic Town of Kerkuane and its Necropolis	TunNabeul Governorate, Tunisia	Cultural:TunPun (iii)	—	—	1985	The city was abandoned in 250 BCE during the First Punic War, and remains the only example of a Phoenicio–Punic settlement.
	Historic Town of Zabid	YemAl Hudaydah Governorate, Yemen	Cultural:YemHis (iii)	—	—	1993	Zabid was the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century. The city played an important role in the Arab and Muslim world for many centuries because of its Islamic university.
	Old City of Sana'a	YemSana Governorate, Yemen	Cultural:YemOld (iv)(v)(vi)	—	—	1986	Sana’a has been lived in for more than 2,500 years. In the 7th and 8th centuries the city became a major centre for Islam. This religious and political heritage can be seen in the 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses, all built before the 11th century.
	Old Walled City of Shibam	YemHadhramaut Governorate, Yemen	Cultural:YemOld (iii)(iv)(v)	—	—	1982	The 16th-century city of Shibam is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning.
	Socotra Archipelago	YemHadhramaut Governorate, Yemen	Natural:YemSoc (x)	410,460	1,014,300	2008	Socotra Archipelago, in the northwest Indian Ocean near the Gulf of Aden, is 250 km long and has four islands and two rocky islets. The site is of universal importance because of its biodiversity with rich and distinct flora and fauna.