Saudi Arabia will see Madain Saleh inscribed into the UN’s list of important cultural sites during the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee meeting, which started on Wednesday and continues through July 10, in Quebec, according to Prince Sultan bin Salman, the secretary-general of the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.

“Madain Saleh, which is located in the north of the Kingdom, will join the UNESCO list during the meeting in Canada,” Prince Sultan said late Wednesday night after the inauguration of this year’s Jeddah Summer Festival. “The Kingdom has many other historical and natural sites that qualify for the World Heritage List.”

The Kingdom has announced its intentions to submit the historical centers of Jeddah and Riyadh for future World Heritage Site inscription.

Among the requirements for this inscription is the preservation of original structures. However, many of Jeddah’s authentic and iconic buildings — constructed with coral bricks in traditional masonry style and decorated with window boxes (called “roasheen” in Arabic) — are in considerable state of neglect.

Attendees of the committee meeting in Quebec are scheduled to review the current list of nominations for the UNESCO list. If the nomination of Madain Saleh (also known as Al-Hijr Archeological Site) were approved, Saudi Arabia would join the UNESCO list of 851 environmental and historical sites of “outstanding universal value,” as described by the World Heritage Convention of 1972.

Veronique Dauge, the head of the World Heritage Center’s Arab States Unit, told Arab News in May that the committee would make one of the following decisions: approve the site, reject the site, defer a decision until next year or send the nomination back to Saudi Arabia requesting more information. Nominating a site involves outlining efforts already made by the country to protect and preserve original structures. A nomination can be rejected if the committee — comprised of preservation experts — decides the country hasn’t done enough to preserve the integrity of its nominated site.

According to UNESCO, the benefits of World Heritage status include increased international collaboration for the preservation of the sites.

But with an annual budget of $4 million and a staff of 35, critics say that achieving World Heritage Status reaps little in terms of actual material support, and that the list is becoming watered down with so many inscriptions.

Attaining such status does however raise a site’s profile in travel publications and guidebooks besides attracting tourism investment in hotels and hospitality — benefits that UNESCO officials do not recognize as the primary goal of the World Heritage List.

The potential of raising Madain Salaeh’s profile is of particular importance to the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, which has in recent years increased its efforts to promote Saudi Arabia as a tourism destination, especially for domestic travelers as well as religious pilgrims and visitors from neighboring countries who share the Kingdom’s traditions and values.

The Thamuds and Nabateans inhabited Madain Saleh, with its 132 chambers and tombs carved into rocky outcroppings, about 400 km north of Madinah, between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200. Remnants of walls, towers, water conduits and cisterns are scattered across the premises. Delicate mud-brick residential homes are also found on the site, which is considered the most well preserved Nabatean city after Petra, located about 440 km to the north in Jordan. Both cities were important stops along the historic Incense Route. -- Arab News

Saudi Arabia will see Madain Saleh inscribed into the UN’s list of important cultural sites during the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee meeting, which started on Wednesday and continues through July 10, in Quebec, according to Prince Sultan bin Salman, the secretary-general of the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities.

“Madain Saleh, which is located in the north of the Kingdom, will join the UNESCO list during the meeting in Canada,” Prince Sultan said late Wednesday night after the inauguration of this year’s Jeddah Summer Festival. “The Kingdom has many other historical and natural sites that qualify for the World Heritage List.”

The Kingdom has announced its intentions to submit the historical centers of Jeddah and Riyadh for future World Heritage Site inscription.

Among the requirements for this inscription is the preservation of original structures. However, many of Jeddah’s authentic and iconic buildings — constructed with coral bricks in traditional masonry style and decorated with window boxes (called “roasheen” in Arabic) — are in considerable state of neglect.

Attendees of the committee meeting in Quebec are scheduled to review the current list of nominations for the UNESCO list. If the nomination of Madain Saleh (also known as Al-Hijr Archeological Site) were approved, Saudi Arabia would join the UNESCO list of 851 environmental and historical sites of “outstanding universal value,” as described by the World Heritage Convention of 1972.

Veronique Dauge, the head of the World Heritage Center’s Arab States Unit, told Arab News in May that the committee would make one of the following decisions: approve the site, reject the site, defer a decision until next year or send the nomination back to Saudi Arabia requesting more information. Nominating a site involves outlining efforts already made by the country to protect and preserve original structures. A nomination can be rejected if the committee — comprised of preservation experts — decides the country hasn’t done enough to preserve the integrity of its nominated site.

According to UNESCO, the benefits of World Heritage status include increased international collaboration for the preservation of the sites.

But with an annual budget of $4 million and a staff of 35, critics say that achieving World Heritage Status reaps little in terms of actual material support, and that the list is becoming watered down with so many inscriptions.

Attaining such status does however raise a site’s profile in travel publications and guidebooks besides attracting tourism investment in hotels and hospitality — benefits that UNESCO officials do not recognize as the primary goal of the World Heritage List.

The potential of raising Madain Salaeh’s profile is of particular importance to the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, which has in recent years increased its efforts to promote Saudi Arabia as a tourism destination, especially for domestic travelers as well as religious pilgrims and visitors from neighboring countries who share the Kingdom’s traditions and values.

The Thamuds and Nabateans inhabited Madain Saleh, with its 132 chambers and tombs carved into rocky outcroppings, about 400 km north of Madinah, between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200. Remnants of walls, towers, water conduits and cisterns are scattered across the premises. Delicate mud-brick residential homes are also found on the site, which is considered the most well preserved Nabatean city after Petra, located about 440 km to the north in Jordan. Both cities were important stops along the historic Incense Route. -- Arab News