UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Egypt

UNESCO's Description

The church, baptistry, basilicas, public buildings, streets, monasteries, houses and workshops in this early Christian holy city were built over the tomb of the martyr Menas of Alexandria, who died in A.D. 296.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

Menas of Alexandria was martyred in the late 3rd or early 4th century (see Early Christianity). Various 5th-century and later accounts give slightly differing versions of his burial and the subsequent founding of his church. The essential elements are that his body was taken from Alexandria on a camel, which was led into the desert beyond Lake Mareotis. At some point, the camel refused to continue walking, despite all efforts to goad it. This was taken as a sign of divine will, and the body's attendants buried it on that spot.

And God wished to reveal the [place of the] body of Saint Mînâs.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q9278 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. Founded in the 10th century, it became the new centre of the Islamic world, reaching its golden age in the 14th century.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

History

The history of Cairo begins, in essence, with the conquest of Egypt by Muslim Arabs in 640, under the commander 'Amr ibn al-'As. Although Alexandria was the capital of Egypt at that time (and had been throughout the Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine periods), the Arab conquerors decided to establish a new city called Fustat to serve as the administrative capital and military garrison center of Egypt. The new city was located near a Roman-Byzantine fortress known as Babylon on the shores of the Nile (now located in Old Cairo), southwest of the later site of Cairo proper (see below).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q1100964 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

The capital of the Old Kingdom of Egypt has some extraordinary funerary monuments, including rock tombs, ornate mastabas, temples and pyramids. In ancient times, the site was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q1175856 (CC0).

UNESCO's Description

Wadi Al-Hitan, Whale Valley, in the Western Desert of Egypt, contains invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales, Archaeoceti. These fossils represent one of the major stories of evolution: the emergence of the whale as an ocean-going mammal from a previous life as a land-based animal. This is the most important site in the world for the demonstration of this stage of evolution. It portrays vividly the form and life of these whales during their transition. The number, concentration and quality of such fossils here is unique, as is their accessibility and setting in an attractive and protected landscape. The fossils of Al-Hitan show the youngest archaeocetes, in the last stages of losing their hind limbs. Other fossil material in the site makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time.

From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).

Geology

The geology of the valley gives rise to the scenery, with wind and water erosion producing spectacular cliffs and buttes.

The rocks present at Wādī al-Ḥītān are all Middle to Late Eocene in age and is composed of three main rock units. The Gehannam Formation comprises open marine mudstones, which are largely present on the flatter ground to the east of the public park. The rock unit that contains most of the whale fossils is the Birket Qarun Formation. This comprises yellowish open marine sandstones that form most of the cliffs and buttes.

The monotony of these sandstones is broken by a white layer full of well-preserved animal burrows (previously thought to be mangrove roots) and a layer of black mudstone above that.

History

The fossils found at the site may not be the oldest but their great concentration in the area and the degree of their preservation is such that even some stomach contents are intact. The presence of fossils of other early animals such as sharks, crocodiles, sawfish, turtles and rays found at Wādī al-Ḥītān makes it possible to reconstruct the surrounding environmental and ecological conditions of the time, adding to its justification to be cited as a Heritage site.

The first fossil skeletons of whales were discovered in the winter of 1902–03. For the next 80 years, they attracted relatively little interest, largely due to difficulty in reaching the area. In the 1980s, interest in the site resumed as four wheel drive vehicles became more readily available.

Tourism

Only about 1,000 visitors a year drive into Wādī al-Ḥītān by 4WD because the track is unpaved and crosses unmarked desert sands. For the most part, visitors to Wādī al-Ḥītān are foreigners, who usually camp in the valley on winter weekends. Because Wādī al-Ḥītān is within the Wadi El Rayan Protected Area, the same protection management plan restricts visitors to prearranged guided tours along a prescribed trail. Sustainable tourism is beginning to develop and grow in the area, and the 4WD are alternatively being replaced by foot or camel treks.

Since part of Wādī al-Ḥītān was made into a tourist venue, walkways between the main fossils have been laid out and small shelters built. This public park is now regularly visited by tourist groups, and a small camp site is present.

Key Facts

Facts from Wikidata Q501833 (CC0).