WORLD HERITAGE SITES

The Kong Mosque or Grand Mosque of Kong, called Missiriba, was built in neo-Sudanese style, using mud and logs; it is the oldest symbol of the Islamization of the populations of the Northern Ivory Coastand has maintained its function as a place of prayer and assembly to nowadays. www.exploring-africa.com/en/viaggi-e-spedizioni/ivory-coast-heart-west-africa/city-kong-and-its-mosques

UNESCO Adds 33 New Sites to Its 2021 World Heritage List

The recent announcement of 33 newly inscribed UNESCO World Heritage sites is larger than usual because it covers two years, 2020 and 2021. (The committee that selects the sites did not meet in 2020 because of the pandemic.) They join a list of more than 1,000 natural and cultural sites around the globe. Culture, especially modern—rather than nature— rules in these choices. Recognition by UNESCO means the landmark is of “outstanding universal value.” It also means the site can obtain funds and advice from UNESCO to help maintain it. Both types of aid may be necessary because the new status frequently means an increase in tourist visits, sometimes too many, especially when a site has the dubious distinction of being “Instagrammable.” While the pandemic continues to make some of these sites off limits, you may want to include them in your future travel plans.

One of the last virgin forests to explore in the world. An exploration of Ivindo National Park should go through the kongou falls then langouai bay for elephant trekking. Make sure you are in good physical shape and do not worry about your expectations, you will be served with the observation of wildlife and nature in the middle of nowhere. place of prayer and assembly to nowadays. www.exploringafrica.com/en/viaggi-e-spedizioni/ivory-coast-heart-west-africa/ city-kong-and-its-mosques

We highlight the two sites in Africa included in this listing with images:

Africa

• Sudanese Style Mosques in Northern Ivory Coast • Ivindo National Park, Gabon Asia

• Quanzhou: Emporium of the

World in Song-Yuan China • Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan • Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island,

Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote

Island, Japan • Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats, South Korea • Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Thailand • Dholavira: a Harappan City, India • Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple,

Telangana, India

Europe

• Colonies of Benevolence, Belgium/

Netherlands • Cordouan Lighthouse, France • Nice, Winter Resort Town of the Riviera,

France • Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, Germany • Frontiers of the Roman Empire—The Lower

German Lines, Germany/the Netherlands • ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms and Mainz,

Germany • The Porticoes of Bologna, Italy • The Works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana—

Human Centered Urban Design, Slovenia • The Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales,

United Kingdom • Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White

Sea, Russia • Padua’s Fourteenth-Century Fresco Cycles,

Italy • Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences, Spain • Roșia Montană Mining Landscape, Romania • The Great Spa Towns of Europe, Austria,

Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy,

United Kingdom • Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands, Georgia

Middle East

• As-Salt—the Place of Tolerance and Urban

Hospitality, Jordan • Trans-Iranian Railway, Iran • Cultural Landscape of Hawraman/Uramanat,

Iran • Ḥimā Cultural Area, Saudia Arabia • Arslantepe Mound, Turkey

South America

• Settlement and Artifi cial Mummifi cation of the

Chinchorro Culture in the Arica and Parinacota

Region, Chile • Sítio Roberto Burle Marx, Brazil • Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex, Peru • The Work of Engineer Eladio Dieste: Church of

Atlántida, Uruguay www.afar.com/magazine/new-unesco-2021world-heritage-sites

Image credit: atelier-crabe.com, discover-afrika. com, bradtguides.com