THREE more historic and natural sites in Bahrain have been placed on a tentative list to be considered for nomination for Unesco World Heritage Site status.
They are Hawar Islands; Bahrain’s last remaining true wilderness, Old Town Manama; considered one of the most important trade hubs in the region in the last 150 years; and The Awali Oil Settlement, where oil was first discovered and exploited on the Arabian Peninsula.
This was revealed during a ceremony held yesterday to celebrate the Dilmun Burial Mounds being inscribed on the World Heritage List by the Unesco World Heritage Committee.
The GDN reported last week that the ancient burial mounds became the third site in Bahrain to be designated as a world heritage site after Bahrain Fort and the Pearl Route.
Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) museums director Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa told the GDN on the sidelines of yesterday’s event, at Bahrain National Museum, that the country has already presented its tentative list for the next three sites to the UN body.
He explained that the evaluation of a site takes 18 months, with the submission process involving a written report and consultations with the local community and relevant stakeholders.
“A state party puts forward a tentative list, which is basically a number of sites the party foresees as possible inscription, so this is the step that precedes a nomination,” said Shaikh Khalifa.
“Currently we have a number of properties on the tentative list, the latest is the Awali Oil Settlement, Hawar obviously as a natural list and Manama Old Town.
“The Awali Oil Settlement may come as a shock to some but I truly believe that Awali has a very important role in Bahrain’s heritage and even on a global level we can present a nomination.”
According to the submission page on the Unesco website, The Awali Oil Settlement was constructed in 1934 by Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), and the site has nearly 400 buildings.
“Awali is the first and best-preserved oil ‘camp’ or oil settlement in the Arabian Gulf,” said the submission document.
“It acted as a prototype of the expatriate compound settlement typology for foreign specialist workers in the Arabian Gulf.
“Awali was directly referenced by later ‘camps’ in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and other Gulf states. The settlement typology became a significant component of 20th century community housing concepts in the region.”
It added that the settlement reflected the beginnings of the oil-driven modernisation, which profoundly changed Arabian Gulf societies.
Hawar Islands have been placed on the tentative list for being Bahrain’s last remaining untouched wilderness. Despite the small size of these islands, they carry a lot of attractions for all nature lovers and wildlife adventurers.
“The migratory waders, the multicoloured coral reefs, the wandering herds of endangered sea cows, peacefully swimming through the shallow calm green waters among flourishing sea grass beds represents some fascinating scenes of the islands’ natural attractions,” said its submission.
While Old Town Manama is being considered because it is the physical embodiment of the manifold historical processes in the region during the last 150 years.
Located in the centre of the Gulf, the city developed as a trade hub that was connected to an international maritime trade network connecting the Arabian Gulf with the Mediterranean, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
“The town flourished under the influence of the pearling trade and the British informal empire, which provided the necessary political conditions for the urban economy to prosper,” read its submission document.
“The multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural community of Manama is a living testimony to these processes and is also manifested in the more than 120 places of worship representing four different religions and even more sects.
“The architecture of Manama exhibits an important interchange of foreign influences which have prompted a typical response in the local style.”
The decision to inscribe the Dilmun Burial Mounds on the heritage list was made on July 6 during the committee’s 43rd session held in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan,
Stretching over 20km across Bahrain, the Dilmun Burial Mounds cover 21 sites in Hamad Town, including Buri, Karzakan, Dar Kulaib, the chief burial mounds in Janabiya and the eastern and western part of A’ali Burial Mounds.
Dating back to between 2050 BC and 1750 BC, the historic sites feature 11,774 mounds across all fields and 17 royal burial mounds, divided between two fields in A’ali.
The site was selected for bearing a unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilisation which is living or which has disappeared (selection criterion 3), and for being directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance (selection criterion 6).
ghazi@gdn.com.bh
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