QUEBEC CITY (AFP) — Holy sites in Israel, the residence of a former South Pacific island chief and an ancient Ottoman town in central Albania were inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List on Tuesday.
The Baha'i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee in Israel entered the list for their "strong tradition of pilgrimage and for their profound meaning for the faith," said the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Committee in a statement.
The South Pacific islands of Vanuatu meanwhile entered the list for the first time, with the addition of Chief Roi Mata's Domain.
And, the previous listing of Gjirokastra was amended to include the nearby Albanian city center of Berat.
The UNESCO heritage committee has been meeting in this oldest of Canadian cities this week to consider adding up to 45 new sites to its coveted list of protected architectural and natural wonders.
In the end, a total of 27 sites were inscribed at this session.
The Baha'i Holy Places listed on Tuesday consist of 26 buildings and monuments in Acre and Haifa linked to the founders of the faith, among them the Shrine of the Baha'u'llah in Acre and the Mausoleum of the Bab in Haifa.
They include houses, gardens, a cemetery and modern buildings in the neoclassical style.
Chief Roi Mata's Domain consists of three early 17th century AD sites on the islands of Efate, Lelepa and Artok associated with the life and death of the last paramount chief of what is now Central Vanuatu.
Roi Mata's residence, the site of his death and a mass burial site are included in the listing, bearing witness "to the persistence of Roi Mata's social reforms and conflict resolution, still relevant to the people of the region," said the committee.
The addition of Berat to that of Gjirokastra, which was inscribed in 2005, meanwhile "bears witness to the coexistence of various religious and cultural communities down the centuries," it said.
The rare example of a well-preserved Ottoman town in central Albania features a 13th century castle, many Byzantine churches, several mosques built under Turkish occupation from 1417 on, and other houses used by religious communities, notably some used by Sufi brotherhoods in the 18th century.
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