DİHA - Dicle News Agency

ANKARA (DİHA) - The medieval city walls of Amed (Diyarbakır), more than five kilometers long and built by Assyrians five thousand years ago, and the eight thousand years old Hevsel Gardens have been added to the World Cultural Heritage list.

Amed Walls and Hevsel Gardens have been added to the World Cultural Heritage list during UNESCO’s 39th World Heritage Committee Meeting in Bonn, Germany. The meeting began with a 8 minute long video prepared by International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) on Amed Walls and Hevsel Gardens. Ambassadors of 26 states shared their opinions on adding Amed Walls and Hevsel Gardens to the World Cultural Heritage list, and the Serbian representative ended his speech by saying “Long live Diyarbakır.”

Ephesus also added to UNESCO World Heritage list

The ancient city of Ephesus in western Turkey has been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List following a vote in Bonn on July 5. The move came just a day after Diyarbakir’s wall and its nearby Hevsel Gardens were added to the list as well.

Time for Hasankeyf

To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. These criteria are explained in the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention which, besides the text of the Convention, is the main working tool on World Heritage. The criteria are regularly revised by the Committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.

Until the end of 2004, World Heritage sites were selected on the basis of six cultural and four natural criteria. With the adoption of the revised Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, only one set of ten criteria exists. Hasankeyf is under danger of remaining under dams and water. The experts and citizens are waiting it to be included in the list as soon as possible.

(nt)