Eight mosques in northern Ivory Coast, whose style is believed to have originated in the Mali Empire seven centuries ago, have been granted Unesco World Heritage status. The buildings are “highly important testimonies to the trans-Saharan trade” that continued to thrive as the region prospered, the UN heritage body says. The mosques in the towns of Tengréla, Kouto, Sorobango, Samatiguila, M’Bengué, Kong and Kaouara “are the best conserved of 20 such edifices that remain in Ivory Coast, where hundreds existed early last century,” Unesco says. Their new status means they are considered to have universal cultural value that will grant them extra protection. UNESCO, a UN body, has since 1978 listed and honoured the world’s cultural and natural heritage of “outstanding universal value”. More than 1,100 sites now adorn the list, from the Taj Mahal to Stonehenge and the Great Barrier Reef. Nearly half of the sites are in Europe and about a quarter are in Asia and the Pacific. But sub-Saharan Africa is home to just 96 such sites—a miserly 9% of the total—despite accounting for 15% of the world’s population, 18% of its land mass and an immense amount of its heritage and history.
SOURCE: THE ECONOMIST | UNESCO
More Stories
Joshua Baraka is Ugandan Music’s Next Big Thing
Design for Human Rights
A Landmark Exhibition Celebrating the Global Impact of Modern and Contemporary African Fashions
Seven Striking Images by Africa’s New Creative Wave
Broken Chord, Sadler’s Wells Review – Sublime Music for the Tale of a South African Choir
Kinshasa’s Street Artists Raise Issues about Globalisation and Economic Plunder
Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2023 Nominees
Lagosians will Proudly Tell You there’s No Party like a Lagos Party
If You Are Looking to Set Up an Office Remotely, South Africa has It All
Luxury Places to Stay in Zanzibar for a Memorable Vacation on the Island
Accelerating and Scaling Priority Infrastructure Development in Africa
Case Studies: Strategising for a New Era of African Trade