Al Ain is first from UAE on World Heritage List

Al Ain City, in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, has becoem the first Emirati site to be listed on the  World Heritage List.

The inclusion was due to unique cultural sites, particularly geological, archaeological and  historical importance of Jebel Hafit, Hili cultural landscape, Bidaa Bint Saud, the Oases areas,

and the Falaj system, according to The National Council for Tourism and Antiquities (NCTA) and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach).

This registration came during the 35th session of the Unesco World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Paris from June 19-29.

All world committee member states unanimously agreed on the inclusion of Al Ain.

The Unesco seeks to encourage countries to identify their cultural and natural heritage sites and protect them.

Mohammed Khalaf Al Mazrouei, Advisor for Culture and Heritage in the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and Director General of Adach, said that the archaeological sites, historical buildings and natural areas, in the city of Al Ain still maintain their cultural values, surroundings and their original urban structure. Since Adach was established in October 2005, the cultural sites were inventoried, protected and restored, through a strategy based on state-of-the-art methods and internationally approved technological techniques.

He identified that work is underway to preserve several fortresses and historical places, including the Jahili mosque and fortress, and Bin Hadi House in the Hili Oasis, along with dozens of other archaeological sites and historical buildings.

Work is also underway to revive the original uses of the buildings and to re-dedicate them to their original purposes (such as the old traditional market in Al Qattarah). At the same time, they will be used for new purposes, with the objective of integrating these buildings into the vital infrastructure of the city, thus ensuring they are preserved for a long time.

Al Mazrouei underlined that, at the social level, Al Ain is an area where residents maintain - to a great extent - old social customs and traditions, and continue to practise these customs and traditions in the same manner as previous generations. Examples of these practices include wedding celebrations, Bedouin hospitability, falconry, camel races, handicrafts and others.

The UAE's delegation, at the Unesco meetings, was headed by Mohammed Khamis Al Muhairi, Director-General of NCTA. The delegation included a number of experts and specialists from the UAE and Adach, represented by Dr Sami Al Masri, the Deputy Director General for Arts, Culture and Heritage in Adach.

Main features

The World Heritage List includes 911 properties, considered to be of Outstanding Universal Value, including 704 cultural sites, 180 natural sites, and 27 mixed sites, which belong to 151 of the member states. So far, 187 countries have signed up to the World Heritage Convention.

Al Ain's inclusion was based on:

1. Invention of the falaj system as an engineering feat. The falaj system is not only significant as a method of transporting water, but also allows for settlements to develop. The falaj system can also be seen as a pioneering system for water management and distribution in a studied manner.

2. The Hili cultural landscape, with its developed water management system, is a fortified settlement renowned for its architecture and burial customs.

3. Jebel Hafit cultural landscape, with its prehistoric desert encampments, its 4th millennium funerary landscape and its Islamic-era falaj system and its oases settlements.

4. Al Ain's various oases, with their mosques, farms and other historic buildings, represent the cradle of Emirati Bedouin culture and the symbol of life in the past and the capacity of man to settle and adapt to the harsh desert environment, as well as to change his subsistence, economy and seasonally, moving from the deep desert, to the oases areas and costal zones.

5. Thriving practice of falconry and camel trading and racing.

6. Al Ain desert's red sand dunes, the natural heritage of Jebel Hafit (for its flora and fauna significance), as well as the oases areas.

7. Jebel Hafit for its paleontological value. The mountain, which is situated along the western flank of the Hajar Mountains, is a spectacularly rocky structure of limestone, which rises abruptly out of the relatively flat surrounding desert plains. Some of the fossils found in Jebel Hafit, date back to the Cretaceous period.

8. Jebel Hafit, for its exceptional value, not only for its geological, archaeological and historic significance but also for its paleontological, zoological and biological importance. The 1,200m high mountain, which extends for 13 kilometres from north to south, is believed to have been formed some 25 million years ago; marine fossils found in the site however are far much older, dating from between 135 and 70 million years ago. Studies indicate that Jebel Hafit is habitat to around 118 species of plant, 18 species of mammal (including the Arabian tahr, an endangered wild goat and some living troglobites, which have been located solely in the ancient cave passages in Jebel Hafit). 140 species of bird (including the threatened Egyptian vulture) and over 10 different species of reptiles have also been identified at this location.

9. Jebel Hafit, for its wealth of flora and fauna, which includes several species that are currently in danger of extinction.

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