cartodb/db/fake_data/whs_features.csv

1	title	latitude	longitude	description	region	type	endangered_reason	edited_region	endangered_year	external_links	wikipedia_link	comments	criteria	iso_code	size	name	country	whs_site_id	date_of_inscription	whs_source_page
2	Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman	22.998889	57.536056	A qanāt (from Arabic: قناة‎) (Iran, Syria and Jordan) is a water management system used to provide a reliable supply of water to human settlements and for irrigation in hot, arid and semi-arid climates. Qanats are also called kārīz (or kārēz from Persian: كاريز) (Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, derived from Persian: كاهریز), kahan (from Persian: کهن), khettara (Morocco); galeria (Spain); falaj (United Arab Emirates and Oman); Kahn (Baloch) or foggara/fughara (North Africa). Alternative terms for qanats in Asia and North Africa are kakuriz, chin-avulz, and mayun. Common variants of qanat in English include kanat, khanat, kunut, kona, konait, ghanat, ghundat. The qanat technology is known to have developed in pre-Islamic Iran[when?] and then spread to other cultures. However, a recently discovered falaj system in al-Ain, UAE, dates to 1000 BC, and another in Umm Safah, Sharja, dates to the Iron Age. Also, a qanat-like system called the Turpan water system originated in China during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 24 CE). The value of a qanat is directly related to the quality, volume and regularity of the water flow. Much of the population of Iran and other arid countries in Asia and North Africa historically depended upon the water from qanats; the areas of population corresponded closely to the areas where qanats are possible. Although a qanat was expensive to construct, its long-term value to the community, and therefore to the group who invested in building and maintaining it, was substantial. Qanats are constructed as a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels. Qanats tap into subterranean water in a manner that efficiently delivers large quantities of water to the surface without need for pumping. The water drains relying on gravity, with the destination lower than the source, which is typically an upland aquifer. Qanats allow water to be transported over long distances in hot dry climates without losing a large proportion of the water to seepage and evaporation. It is very common in the construction of a qanat for the water source to be found below ground at the foot of a range of foothills of mountains, where the water table is closest to the surface. From this point, the slope of the qanat is maintained closer to level than the surface above, until the water finally flows out of the qanat above ground. To reach an aquifer, qanats must often extend for long distances. Qanats are sometimes split into an underground distribution network of smaller canals called kariz. Like qanats, these smaller canals were below ground to avoid contamination. In some cases water from a qanat is stored in a reservoir, typically storing night flow for daytime use. An Ab Anbar is an example of a traditional qanat fed reservoir for drinking water in Persian antiquity. The qanat system has the advantage of being resistant to natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods, and to deliberate destruction in war. Furthermore, it is almost insensitive to the levels of precipitation, delivering a flow with only gradual variations from wet to dry years. The qanat technology is used most extensively in areas with the following characteristics:[citation needed] A typical town or city in Iran and elsewhere where the qanat is used has more than one qanat. Fields and gardens are located both over the qanats a short distance before they emerge from the ground and after the surface outlet. Water from the qanats defines both the social regions in the city and the layout of the city. The water is freshest, cleanest, and coolest in the upper reaches and more prosperous people live at the outlet or immediately upstream of the outlet. When the qanat is still below grade, the water is drawn to the surface via water wells or animal driven Persian wells. Private subterranean reservoirs could supply houses and buildings for domestic use and garden irrigation as well. Further, air flow from the qanat is used to cool an underground summer room (shabestan) found in many older houses and buildings. Downstream of the outlet, the water runs through surface canals called jubs (jūbs) which run downhill, with lateral branches to carry water to the neighborhood, gardens and fields. The streets normally parallel the jubs and their lateral branches. As a result, the cities and towns are oriented consistent with the gradient of the land; this is a practical response to efficient water distribution over varying terrain. The lower reaches of the canals are less desirable for both residences and agriculture. The water grows progressively more polluted as it passes downstream. In dry years the lower reaches are the most likely to see substantial reductions in flow. Traditionally qanats are built by a group of skilled laborers, muqannīs, with hand labor. The profession historically paid well and was typically handed down from father to son. The critical, initial step in qanat construction is identification of an appropriate water source. The search begins at the point where the alluvial fan meets the mountains or foothills; water is more abundant in the mountains because of orographic lifting and excavation in the alluvial fan is relatively easy. The muqannīs follow the track of the main water courses coming from the mountains or foothills to identify evidence of subsurface water such as deep-rooted vegetation or seasonal seeps. A trial well is then dug to determine the location of the water table and determine whether a sufficient flow is available to justify construction. If these prerequisites are met, then the route is laid out aboveground. Equipment must be assembled. The equipment is straightforward: containers (usually leather bags), ropes, reels to raise the container to the surface at the shaft head, hatchets and shovels for excavation, lights, spirit levels or plumb bobs and string. Depending upon the soil type, qanat liners (usually fired clay hoops) may also be required. Although the construction methods are simple, the construction of a qanat requires a detailed understanding of subterranean geology and a degree of engineering sophistication. The gradient of the qanat must be carefully controlled—too shallow a gradient yields no flow—too steep a gradient will result in excessive erosion, collapsing the qanat. And misreading the soil conditions leads to collapses which at best require extensive rework and, at worst, can be fatal for the crew. Construction of a qanat is usually performed by a crew of 3-4 muqannīs. For a shallow qanat, one worker typically digs the horizontal shaft, one raises the excavated earth from the shaft and one distributes the excavated earth at the top. The crew typically begins from the destination to which the water will be delivered into the soil and works toward the source (the test well). Vertical shafts are excavated along the route, separated at a distance of 20–35 m. The separation of the shafts is a balance between the amount of work required to excavate them and the amount of effort required to excavate the space between them, as well as the ultimate maintenance effort. In general, the shallower the qanat, the closer the vertical shafts. If the qanat is long, excavation may begin from both ends at once. Tributary channels are sometimes also constructed to supplement the water flow. Most qanats in Iran run less than 5 km, while some have been measured at ~70 km in length near Kerman. The vertical shafts usually range from 20 to 200 meters in depth, although qanats in the province of Khorasan have been recorded with vertical shafts of up to 275 m. The vertical shafts support construction and maintenance of the underground channel as well as air interchange. Deep shafts require intermediate platforms to simplify the process of removing spoils. The construction speed depends on the depth and nature of the ground. If the earth is easy/soft to work; at 20 meters depth, a crew of 4 people can excavate a horizontal length of 40 meters per day. When the vertical shaft reaches 40 meters, they can only excavate 20 meters horizontally per day and at 60 meters in depth this drops below 5 horizontal meters per day. In Algeria, a common speed is just 2m per day at 15m depth. Deep, long qanats (which many are) require years and even decades to construct. The excavated material is usually transported by means of leather bags up the vertical shafts. It is mounded around the vertical shaft exit, providing a barrier that prevents windblown or rain driven debris from entering the shafts. These mounds may be covered to provide further protection to the qanat. From the air, these shafts look like a string of bomb craters. The qanat's water-carrying channel must have a sufficient downward slope that water flows easily. However the downward gradient must not be so great as to create conditions under which the water transitions between supercritical and subcritical flow; if this occurs, the waves which are established can result in severe erosion that can damage or destroy the qanat. In shorter qanats the downward gradient varies between 1:1000 and 1:1500, while in longer qanats it may be almost horizontal. Such precision is routinely obtained with a spirit level and string. In cases where the gradient is steeper, underground waterfalls may be constructed with appropriate design features (usually linings) to absorb the energy with minimal erosion. In some cases the water power has been harnessed to drive underground mills. If it is not possible to bring the outlet of the qanat out near the settlement, it is necessary to run a jub or canal overground. This is avoided when possible to limit pollution, warming and water loss due to evaporation. The vertical shafts may be covered to minimize in-blown sand. The channels of qanats must be periodically inspected for erosion or cave-ins, cleaned of sand and mud and otherwise repaired. Air flow must be assured before entry for safety. Some damaged qanats have been restored. In order to be sustainable, restoration needs to take into account many non-technical factors, beginning with the process of selecting the qanat to be restored. In the case of Syria, three sites were chosen based on a national inventory conducted in 2001. One of them, the Drasiah qanat of Dmeir, was completed in 2002. Selection criteria included the availability of a steady groundwater flow, social cohesion and willingness to contribute of the community using the qanat, and the existence of a functioning water rights system. The primary applications of qanats are for irrigation, providing cattle with water and drinking water supply. Other applications include cooling and ice storage. Qanats used in conjunction with a wind tower can provide cooling as well as a water supply. A wind tower is a chimney-like structure positioned above the house; of its four openings, the one opposite the wind direction is opened to move air out of the house. Incoming air is pulled from a qanat below the house. The air flow across the vertical shaft opening creates a lower pressure (see Bernoulli effect) and draws cool air up from the qanat tunnel, mixing with it. The air from the qanat was drawn into the tunnel at some distance away and is cooled both by contact with the cool tunnel walls/water and by the giving up latent heat of evaporation as water evaporates into the air stream. In dry desert climates this can result in a greater than 15°C reduction in the air temperature coming from the qanat; the mixed air still feels dry, so the basement is cool and only comfortably moist (not damp). Wind tower and qanat cooling have been used in desert climates for over 1000 years. In 400 BC Persian engineers had already mastered the technique of storing ice in the middle of summer in the desert. The ice could be brought in during the winters from nearby mountains. But in a more usual & sophisticated method they had a wall made along east-west direction close to the Ice Pit (yakhchal).In winter the qanat water was being canalized to north side of the wall. The shadow of the wall makes water freeze more quickly so they could have more ice per each winter day. Then ice was being stored in a specially designed, naturally cooled refrigerators called yakhchal (meaning ice pits). A large underground space with thick insulated walls was connected to a qanat, and a system of windcatchers or Wind Towers was used to draw cool subterranean air up from the qanat to maintain temperatures inside the space at low levels, even during hot summer days. As a result, the ice melted slowly and ice was available year-round. The Qanats, called Kariz (rhymes with "breeze") in Pashto and Dari, have also been in use for hundreds of years. Kariz structures are especially found in the Southern Afghanistan provinces of Kandahar, Uruzgan, Nimroz and Hilmand. The incessant war for the last 30 years has destroyed a number of these ancient structures. In the troubled times maintenance was not always possible. To add to the troubles, at present (2008) the cost of labour has become very high and maintaining the Kariz structures is no longer possible[dubious – discuss]. Lack of skilled artisans who have the traditional knowledge also poses difficulties. A number of the large farmers are abandoning their Kariz which has been in their families sometimes for centuries, and moving to tube and dug wells backed by diesel pumps[citation needed]. However the government of Afghanistan is aware of the importance of these structures and all efforts are being made to repair, reconstruct and maintain (through the community) the kariz[citation needed]. The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development along with National and International NGOs is making the effort. Still, there are functional qanat systems in 2009. American forces are reported to have unintentionally destroyed some of the channels during expansion of a military base, creating tensions between them and the local community. Some of these tunnels have been used to store supplies, and to move men and equipment underground. An oasis at Turpan in the deserts of northwestern China uses water provided by qanat (locally karez). Turfan has long been the center of a fertile oasis and an important trade center along the Silk Road's northern route, at which time it was adjacent to the kingdoms of Korla and Karashahr to the southwest. The historical record of the karez system extends back to the Han Dynasty. The Turfan Water Museum (see photos on this page) is a Protected Area of the People's Republic of China because of the importance of the local karez system to the history of the area. The number of karez systems in the area is slightly below 1,000 and the total length of the canals is about 5,000 kilometers. In Karnataka, India, a Qanat-type structure called Suranga is used to tap underground water. But these are rarely in use these days[citation needed]. It has been suggested that alleged underground temples at Gua Made in Java reached by shafts, in which masks of a green metal were found, originated as a qanat. In the middle of the twentieth century, it is estimated that approximately 50,000 qanats were in use in Iran, each commissioned and maintained by local users. Of these only 25,000 remain in use as of 1980. The oldest and largest known qanat is in the Iranian city of Gonabad which after 2700 years still provides drinking and agricultural water to nearly 40,000 people. Its main well depth is more than 360 meters and its length is 45 kilometers. Yazd, Khorasan and Kerman are the known zones for their dependence with an extensive system of qanats. In traditional Persian architecture, a Kariz (کاریز) is a small Qanat, usually within a network inside an urban setting. Kariz is what distributes the Qanat into its final destinations. A survey of Qanat systems in the Kurdistan region of Iraq conducted by the Department of Geography at Oklahoma State University (USA) on behalf of UNESCO in 2009 found that out of 683 karez systems, some 380 were still active in 2004, but only 116 in 2009. Reasons for the decline of qanats include "abandonment and neglect" previous to 2004, "excessive pumping from wells" and, since 2005, drought. Water shortages are said to have forced over 100,000 people who depended on karez systems for their livelihoods to leave their homes since 2005. The study says that a single karez has the potential to provide enough household water for nearly 9,000 individuals and irrigate over 200 hectares of farmland. UNESCO and the government of Iraq plan to rehabilitate Karez through a Karez Initiative for Community Revitalization to be launched in 2010. Most of the karez are in Sulaymaniyah Governorate (84%). A large number are also found in Erbil Governorate (13%), especially on the broad plain around and in Erbil city. Among the qanats built in the Roman Empire was possibly the longest continuous qanat ever built, the 94 km long Gadara Aqueduct in northern Jordan. Partly following the course of an older Hellenistic aqueduct, excavation work arguably started after a visit of emperor Hadrian in 129-130 AD. The Gadara Aqueduct was never quite finished, and was put in service only in sections. The Chagai district is in the north west corner of Balochistan, Pakistan, bordering with Afghanistan and Iran. Qanats, locally known as karezes, are found more broadly in this region. They are spread from Chaghai district all the way up to Zhob district. A number of them are present in Qilla Abdullah and Pishin districts. Karezes are also extensively found in the neighbouring areas of Afghanistan such as Kandahar. The remains of karezes found in different parts of the district are attributed to the Arabs. Qanats were found over much of Syria. The widespread installation of groundwater pumps has lowered the water table and qanat system. Qanats have gone dry and been abandoned across the country. In Oman from the Iron Age Period (found in Salut, Bat and other sites) a system of underground aqueducts called Falaj were constructed, a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping horizontal tunnels. There are three types of Falaj Daudi (داوودية)with underground aqueducts Ghaili (الغيلية ) requiring a dam to collect the water Aini (العينية ) whose source is a water spring These enabled large scale agriculture to flourish in a dry land environment According to UNESCO some 3,000 aflaj (plural) or falaj (singular), are still in use in Oman today. Nizwa, the former capital city of Oman, was built around a falaj which is in use to this day. These systems date to before the Iron Age in Oman . In July 2006, five representative examples of this irrigation system were inscribed as a World Heritage Site. The oasis of Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates continues traditional falaj (qanat) irrigations for the palm-groves and gardens. There are 4 main oases in the Egyptian desert. The Kharga Oasis is one of them which has been extensively studied. As early as the second half of the 5th century BC there is evidence that water was being used via qanats. The qanat is excavated through water-bearing sandstone rock which seeps into the channel to collect in a basin behind a small dam at the end. The width is approximately 60 cm, but the height ranges from 5 to 9 meters; it is likely that the qanat was deepened to enhance seepage when the water table dropped (as is also seen in Iran). From there the water was used to irrigate fields. There is another instructive structure located at the Kharga Oasis. A well which apparently dried up was improved by driving a side shaft through the easily penetrated sandstone (presumably in the direction of greatest water seepage) into the hill of Ayn-Manâwîr to allow collection of additional water. After this side shaft had been extended, another vertical shaft was driven to intersect the side shaft. Side chambers were built and holes bored into the rock—presumably at points where water seeped from the rocks—are evident. David Mattingley reports foggara extending for hundreds of miles in the Garamantes area near Jarma in Libya: "The channels were generally very narrow - less than 2 feet wide and 5 high - but some were several miles long, and in total some 600 foggara extended for hundreds of miles underground. The channels were dug out and maintained using a series of regularly-spaced vertical shafts, one every 30 feet or so, 100,000 in total, averaging 30 feet in depth, but sometimes reaching 130." ("The 153 Club Newsletter", July 2007 No. 112, pp. 14–19; reprinted from Current world Archaeology. The foggara water management system in Tunisia, used to create oases, is similar to that of the Iranian qanat. The foggara is dug into the foothills of a fairly steep mountain range such as the eastern ranges of the Atlas mountains. Rainfall in the mountains enters the aquifer and moves toward the Saharan region to the south. The foggara, 1 to 3 km in length, penetrates the aquifer and collects water. Families maintain the foggara and own the land it irrigates over a ten meter wide, with width only by the size of plot that the available water will irrigate. Qanats (designated foggaras in Algeria) are the source of water for irrigation at large oases like that at Gourara. The foggaras are also found at Touat (an area of Adrar 200 km from Gourara). The length of the foggaras in this region is estimated to be thousands of kilometers. Although sources suggest that the foggaras may have been in use as early as 200 AD, they were clearly in use by the 11th century after the Arabs took possession of the oases in the 10th century and the residents embraced Islam. The water is metered to the various users through the use of distribution weirs which meter flow to the various canals, each for a separate user. The humidity of the oases is also used to supplement the water supply to the foggara. The temperature gradient in the vertical shafts causes air to rise by natural convection, causing a draft to enter the foggara. The moist air of the agricultural area is drawn into the foggara in the opposite direction to the water run-off. In the foggara it condenses on the tunnel walls and the air passed out of the vertical shafts. This condensed moisture is available for reuse. In southern Morocco the qanat (locally khettara) is also used. On the margins of the Sahara Desert, the isolated oases of the Draa River valley and Tafilalt have relied on qanat water for irrigation since the late-14th century. In Marrakech and the Haouz plain the qanats have been abandoned since the early 1970s as they've dried; in the Tafilaft area half of the 400 khettaras are still in use. The Hassan Adahkil Dam's impact on local water tables is said to be one of the many reasons given for the loss of half of the khettara. The black berbers (haratin) of the south were the hereditary class of qanat diggers in Morocco who build and repair these systems. Their work was hazardous. Qanats have preserved in Armenia in the community of Shvanidzor, in the southern province of Syunik, bordering with Iran. Qanats are named kahrezes in Armenian. There are 5 kahrezes in Shvanidzor. Four of them were constructed in XII-XIVc, even before the village was founded. The fifth kahrez was constructed in 2005. Potable water runs through I, II and V kahrezs. Kahrez III and IV are in quite poor condition. In summer, especially in July and August, the amount of water reaches its minimum, creating critical situation in the water supply system. Still, kahrezes are the main source of potable and irrigation water for the community. The 5653 m long Claudius Tunnel, meant for draining the largest Italian inland water, Fucine Lake, was constructed using the qanat technique. It featured shafts up to 122 m deep. The entire ancient town of Palermo in Sicily was equipped with a huge qanat system built during the Arab period (827–1072). Many of the qanat are now mapped and some can be visited. The famous Scirocco room has an air-conditioning system cooled by the flow of water in a qanat and a "wind tower", a structure able to catch the wind and direct it into the room. The Raschpëtzer near Helmsange in southern Luxembourg is a particularly well preserved example of a Roman qanat. It is probably the most extensive system of its kind north of the Alps. To date some 330 m of the total tunnel length of 600 m have been explored. Thirteen of the 20 to 25 shafts have been investigated. The qanat appears to have provided water for a large Roman villa on the slopes of the Alzette valley. It was built during the Gallo-Roman period, probably around the year 150 and functioned for about 120 years thereafter. There are still many examples of galeria or qanat systems in Spain, most likely brought to the area by the Moors during their occupation of the Iberian peninsula. Turrillas in Andalusia on the north facing slopes of the Sierra de Alhamilla has evidence of a qanat system. Granada is another site with an extensive qanat system. Qanats in the Americas, usually referred to as filtration galleries, can be found in the Nazca region of Peru and in northern Chile. The Spanish introduced qanats into Mexico in 1520 AD.	Dakhiliya, Sharqiya and Batinah Regions	cultural		Dakhiliya, Sharqiya and Batinah Regions		[The Origin and Spread of Qanats in the Old World|http://www.jstor.org/stable/986162]#["Assessment of the Contributions of Traditional Qanats in Sustainable Water Resources Management"|http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/routledg/cijw/2006/00000022/00000004/art00005]#[10.1080/07900620600551304|http://dx.doi.org/10.1080%2F07900620600551304]#["Reasons behind Failure of Qanats in the 20th Century"|http://scitation.aip.org/vsearch/servlet/VerityServlet?KEY=ASCERL&smode=strresults&maxdisp=25&possible1=Madani%2C+Kaveh&possible1zone=author&OUTLOG=NO&aqs=true&viewabs=ASCECP&key=DISPLAY&docID=1&page=0&chapter=0&aqs=true]#[10.1061/40976(316)77|http://dx.doi.org/10.1061%2F40976%28316%2977]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qanat		[v]	OM	14560000.0	Aflaj Irrigation Systems of Oman	Oman	1207	2006	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1207
3	Alto Douro Wine Region	41.101667	-7.798889		Douro Region, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro	cultural		Douro Region, Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro			http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douro_DOC		[iii],[iv],[v]	PT	246000000.0	Alto Douro Wine Region	Portugal	1046	2001	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1046
4	Amiens Cathedral	49.895	2.301667	The Cathedral of Our Lady of Amiens (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame d'Amiens), or simply Amiens Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral and seat of the Bishop of Amiens, Jean-Luc Bouilleret. The cathedral is the tallest complete cathedral in France, with the greatest interior volume (estimated at 200,000 m³). The vaults of the nave are 42.30 m high, the tallest nave vaults in any completed French cathedral, and surpassed only by the incomplete Beauvais Cathedral. This monumental cathedral is located in Amiens, the chief city of Picardy, in the Somme River valley a little over 100 kilometers north of Paris. Notre-Dame d'Amiens has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981 and was profiled in a PBS documentary. The lack of documentation concerning the construction of the Gothic cathedral may be in part the result of fires that destroyed the chapter archives in 1218 and again in 1258—a fire that damaged the cathedral itself. Bishop Evrard de Fouilly initiated work on the cathedral in 1220. Robert de Luzarches was the architect until 1228, and was followed by Thomas de Cormont until 1258. His son, Renaud de Cormont, acted as the architect until 1288. The chronicle of Corbie gives a completion date for the cathedral of 1266. Finishing works continued, however. Its floors are covered with a number of designs, such as the swastika (to symbolize Jesus' triumph over death). The labyrinth was installed in 1288. The cathedral contains the alleged head of John the Baptist, a relic brought from Constantinople by Wallon de Sarton as he was returning from the Fourth Crusade. The construction of the cathedral at this period can be seen as resulting from a coming together of necessity and opportunity. The destruction of earlier buildings and attempts at rebuilding by fire forced the fairly rapid construction of a building that, consequently, has a good deal of artistic unity. The long and relatively peaceful reign of Louis IX of France brought a prosperity to the region, based on thriving agriculture and a booming cloth trade, that made the investment possible. The great cathedrals of Reims and Chartres are roughly contemporary. The original design of the flying buttresses around the choir had them placed too high to counteract the force of the ceiling arch pushing outwards resulting in excessive lateral forces being placed on the vertical columns. The structure was only saved when, centuries later, masons placed a second row of more robust flying buttresses that connected lower down on the outer wall. This fix failed to counteract similar issues with the lower wall which began to develop large cracks around the late Middle Ages. This was solved by another patch that consisted of a wrought iron bar chain being installed around the mezzanine level to resist the forces pushing the stone columns outward. The chain was installed red hot to act as a cinch, tightening as it cooled. The west front of the cathedral, (illustration, right) built in a single campaign, 1220–36, shows an unusual degree of artistic unity: its lower tier with three vast deep porches is capped with the gallery of twenty-two over lifesize kings, which stretches across the entire façade beneath the rose window. Above the rose window there is an open arcade, the galerie des sonneurs. Flanking the nave, the two towers were built without close regard to the former design, the south tower being finished in 1366, the north one, reaching higher, in 1406. The Western portals of the cathedral are justly famous for their elaborate sculpture, featuring a gallery of locally-important saints and large eschatological scenes. Statues of saints in the portal of the cathedral have been identified as including the locally venerated Saints Victoricus and Gentian, Saint Domitius, Saint Ulphia, and Saint Fermin. In the book Mr Standfast, John Buchan has his character Richard Hannay describe the cathedral as being "the noblest church that the hand of man ever built only for God." During the process of laser cleaning in the 1990s, it was discovered that the western façade of the cathedral was originally painted in multiple colours. A technique was perfected to determine the exact make-up of the colours as they were applied in the 13th century. Then, in conjunction with the laboratories of EDF (Electricity of France) and the expertise of the Society Skertzo, elaborate lighting techniques were developed to project these colours directly on the façade with precision, recreating the polychromatic appearance of the 13th century. When projected on the statues around the portals, the result is a stunning display that brings the figures to life. The projected colors are faint to photograph, but a good quality DSLR will provide excellent results as shown here. Of course, the full magical effect can best be appreciated by direct viewing, accompanied by stirring music, which can be done at the Son et lumière on Summer evenings, during the Christmas Fair, and over the New Year. Amiens cathedral contains the largest medieval interior in Western Europe, supported by 126 pillars. Both the nave and the chancel are vast but extremely light, with considerable amounts of stained glass surviving, despite the depredations of war. The ambulatory surrounding the choir is richly decorated with polychrome sculpture and flanked by numerous chapels. One of the most sumptuous is the Drapers' chapel. The cloth industry was the most dynamic component of the medieval economy, especially in northern France, and the cloth merchants were keen to display their wealth and civic pride. Another striking chapel is dedicated to St Thomas of Canterbury, a 13th century dedication that complements the cathedral's own very full list of martyrs. The interior contains works of art and decoration from every period since the building of the cathedral. The initial impetus for the building of the cathedral came from the installation of the reputed head of John the Baptist on 17 December 1206. The head was part of the loot of the Fourth Crusade, which had been diverted from campaigning against the Turks to sacking the great Christian city of Constantinople. A sumptuous reliquary was made to house the skull. Although later lost, a 19th century replica still provides a focus for prayer and meditation in the North aisle. Some of the most important works of art are sequences of polychrome sculpture, dating mainly from the late 15th and the 16th centuries. A large sequence in the North transept illustrates Jesus' Cleansing of the Temple, with imaginative tableaux of the Temple. Both sides of the ambulatory are lined with sequences illustrating the lives of the two saints whose cults brought large numbers of pilgrims to the cathedral: John the Baptist and St Firmin, the first bishop of Amiens. The artists took care to create a parallelism in the telling of the stories: both saints, decapitated for offending the rich and powerful, suffer neglect and loss, until a later generation discovers their relics and houses them fittingly. The baroque pulpit, constructed of marble and gilded wood, dominates the nave of the cathedral. It is supported by three allegorical female figures, apparently representing Faith, Hope and Charity, the three Theological Virtues. Coordinates: 49°53′42″N 2°18′08″E / 49.895°N 2.30222°E / 49.895; 2.30222	Department of Somme, Picardie Region	cultural		Department of Somme, Picardie Region		[Amiens Cathedral.|http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9106231]#[Amiens Cathedral - World Heritage Site|http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/amiens.html]#[360° photos of the cathedral|http://www.world-heritage-tour.org/europe/france/amiens/map.html]#[Outstanding photos of the cathedral|http://www.pbase.com/ericdeparis/cathedrale_de_amiens]#[Photos|http://kunsthistorie.com/galleri/index.php?album=Frankrike%2FAmiens&sortby=name&order=asc]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amiens_Cathedral		[i],[ii]	FR	8600.0	Amiens Cathedral	France	162	1981	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/162
5	Ancient City of Bosra	32.51806	36.48167	Bosra (Arabic: بصرى‎, also Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra, Busra Eski Şam, Busra ash-Sham, Nova Trajana Bostra) is an ancient city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria. It is a major archaeological site and has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The settlement was first mentioned in the documents of Tutmose III and Akhenaton (14th century BC). Bosra was the first Nabatean city in the 2nd century BC. The Nabatean Kingdom was conquered by Cornelius Palma, a general of Trajan, in 106. Under the Roman Empire, Bosra was renamed Nova Trajana Bostra, and was the residence of the legio III Cyrenaica and capital of the Roman province Arabia Petraea. The city flourished and became a major metropolis at the juncture of several trade routes, including the Roman road to the Red Sea. The two Councils of Arabia were held at Bostra in 246 and 247 AD. The city was conquered by the Sassanid Persians in the early 7th century, and, after a short Byzantine reconquest, was finally captured by the forces of the Rashidun Caliphate under Khalid ibn Walid in the Battle of Bosra (634). Thereafter it was an Islamic possession. Bosra played an important part in the early life of the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed as described in the entry for the Christian Monk, Bahira. Bahira was witnessing to Muhammad in the prophethood. Today, Bosra is a major archaeological site, containing ruins from Roman, Byzantine, and Muslim times, its main feature being the well preserved Roman theatre. Every year there is a national music festival hosted in the main theater. Of the city which once counted 80,000 inhabitants, there remains today only a village settled among the ruins. The second century Roman theater, constructed probably under Trajan, is the only monument of this type with its upper gallery in the form of a covered portico which has been integrally preserved. It was fortified between 481 and 1231 AD. Further, Nabatean and Roman monuments, Christian churches, mosques and Madrasahs are present within the half ruined enceinte of the city. The structure of this monument a central plan with eastern apses flanked by 2 sacristies exerted a decisive influence on the evolution of Christian architectural forms, and, to a certain extent, on Islamic style as well. Al-Omari Mosque of Bosra is one of the oldest surviving mosques in Islamic history. Close by are the Kharaba Bridge and the Gemarrin Bridge, both Roman bridges. Coordinates: 32°31′N 36°29′E / 32.517°N 36.483°E / 32.517; 36.483	Governorate of Deraa	cultural		Governorate of Deraa		[Catholic Encyclopedia on Bosra|http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02707a.htm]#[Official website of Bosra city|http://www.bosracity.com/]#[Bosra World Heritage site in panographies - 360 degree interactive imaging|http://www.WHTour.org/22]#[Extensive photo site about Bosra|http://www.pbase.com/dosseman_syria/bosra]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosra		[i],[iii],[vi]	SY		Ancient City of Bosra	Syrian Arab Republic	22	1980	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/22
6	Ancient City of Nessebar	42.65611	27.73	Nesebar (Bulgarian: Несебър, pronounced [neˈsebər], also transcribed as Nessebar or Nesebur; ancient name: Mesembria) is an ancient town and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nesebar Municipality. Often referred to as the "Pearl of the Black Sea" and "Bulgaria's Dubrovnik", Nesebar is a rich city-museum defined by more than three millennia of ever-changing history. It is a one of the most prominent tourist destinations and seaports on the Black Sea, in what has become a popular area with several large resorts—the largest, Sunny Beach, is situated immediately to the north of Nesebar. Nesebar has on several occasions found itself on the frontier of a threatened empire, and as such it is a town with a rich history. The ancient part of the town is situated on a peninsula (previously an island) connected to the mainland by a narrow man-made isthmus, and it bears evidence of occupation by a variety of different civilisations over the course of its existence. Its abundance of historic buildings prompted UNESCO to include Nesebar in its list of World Heritage Sites in 1983. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 11,626 inhabitants. It lies at 42°39′N 27°44′E / 42.65°N 27.733°E / 42.65; 27.733Coordinates: 42°39′N 27°44′E / 42.65°N 27.733°E / 42.65; 27.733. Inhabited in the Antiquity by the Thracians and the Ancient Greeks, the original Thracian settlement Menebria was called Mesembria (Ancient Greek: Μεσήμβρια) by the Ancient Greeks. Under this name it was still known in the Middle Ages to Bulgarians and Byzantines. Originally a Thracian settlement known as Menebria, the town became a Greek colony when settled by Dorians from Megara at the beginning of the 6th century BC, and was an important trading centre from then on and a rival of Apollonia (Sozopol). It remained the only Doric colony along the Black Sea coast, as the rest were typical Ionic colonies. Remains from the Hellenistic period include the acropolis, a temple of Apollo, and an agora. A wall which formed part of the fortifications can still be seen on the north side of the peninsula. Bronze and silver coins were minted in the city since the 5th century BC and gold coins since the 3rd century BC. The town fell under Roman rule in 71 BC, yet continued to enjoy privileges such as the right to mint its own coinage. It was one of the most important strongholds of the Byzantine Empire from the 5th century AD onwards, and was fought over by Byzantines and Bulgarians, being captured and incorporated in the lands of the First Bulgarian Empire in 812 by Khan Krum after a two week siege only to be ceded back to Byzantium by Knyaz Boris I in 864 and reconquered by his son Tsar Simeon the Great. During the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire it was also contested by Bulgarian and Byzantine forces and enjoyed particular prosperity under Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander (1331–1371) until it was conquered by Crusaders led by Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy in 1366. The Bulgarian version of the name, Nesebar or Mesebar, has been attested since the 11th century. Monuments from the Middle Ages include the 5–6th century Stara Mitropoliya ("old bishopric"; also St Sophia), a basilica without a transept; the 10th century church of the Virgin; and the 11th century Nova Mitropoliya ("new bishopric"; also St Stephen) which continued to be embellished until the 18th century. In the 13th and 14th century a remarkable series of churches were built: St Theodore, St Paraskeva, St Michael St Gabriel, and St John Aliturgetos. The capture of the town by the Turks in 1453 marked the start of its decline, but its architectural heritage remained and was enriched in the 19th century by the construction of wooden houses in style typical for the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast during this period. It was a kaza centre in İslimye sanjak of Edirne Province before 1878. After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878, Nesebar became part of the autonomous Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia as a kaza centre in Burgaz sanjak until it united with the Principality of Bulgaria in 1886. Around the end of the 19th century Nesebar was a small town of Greek fishermen and vinegrowers, but developed as a key Bulgarian seaside resort since the beginning of the 20th century. After 1925 a new town part was built and the historic Old Town was restored. Nesebar is sometimes said to be the town with the highest number of churches per capita.[1], [2] Although this might be wrong, their number and variety is still impressive. Some of the most famous include: Whether built during the Byzantine, Bulgarian or Ottoman rule of the city, the churches of Nesebar represent the rich architectural heritage of the Eastern Orthodox world and illustrate the gradual development from Early Christian basilicas to medieval cross-domed churches. Nesebar Gap on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Nesebar.	Burgas Province	cultural		Burgas Province		[Evaluation|http://whc.unesco.org/archive/advisory_body_evaluation/217.pdf]#[Gallery of pictures from Nesebar|http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/nesebur]#[Folklore Ensemble Slanchev Bryag – Nessebar|http://www.nessebar-folk.com/]#[Ancient Nesebar|http://www.ancient-nessebar.com/]#[Portal of Nessebar|http://www.nessebar-bulgaria.com/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesebar		[iii],[iv]	BG	270000.0	Ancient City of Nessebar	Bulgaria	217	1983	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/217
7	Tiya	8.43491	38.6121	Tiya is a town in southern Ethiopia. Located in the Gurage Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region south of Addis Ababa, the town has a latitude and longitude of 8°26′N 38°37′E / 8.433°N 38.617°E / 8.433; 38.617Coordinates: 8°26′N 38°37′E / 8.433°N 38.617°E / 8.433; 38.617. Tiya is best known for its adjacent archeological site, which is distinguished by 36 standing stones or stelae, "32 of which are engraved with enigmatic symbols, notably swords," marking a large, prehistoric burial complex. A German ethnographic expedition had visited the site in April 1935, and had found at one hour's journey to the south of the caravan camp the stone monoliths with sword symbol, which had been seen earlier by Neuville and Père Azaïs. The archeological site was designated a World Heritage Site in 1980. Other points of interest near Tiya include Melka Awash, the Hera Shetan crater lake, and Agesoke a place where very tall naturally ordered stoneblocks could be seen. Based on figures from the Central Statistical Agency in 2005, Tiya has an estimated total population of 3,363 of whom 1,615 are men and 1,748 are women. The 1994 national census reported this town had a total population of 1,856 of whom 894 were males and 962 were females. Tiya is one of three towns in Soddo woreda.	Sodo woreda, Gurage zone, Southern Nation Nationalities & Peoples Region	cultural		Sodo woreda, Gurage zone, Southern Nation Nationalities & Peoples Region		[UNESCO Tiya Site|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/12]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiya		[i],[iv]	ET		Tiya	Ethiopia	12	1980	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/12
8	Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis	25.73333	32.6	Thebes (Θῆβαι, Thēbai, Arabic: طيبة‎, Ṭībah) is the Greek name for a city in Ancient Egypt located about 800 km south of the Mediterranean, on the east bank of the river Nile. The Theban Necropolis is located nearby on the west bank of the Nile. Thebes was inhabited from around 3200 BC. It was the eponymous capital of Waset, the fourth Upper Egyptian nome. Waset was the capital of Egypt during part of the 11th Dynasty (Middle Kingdom) and most of the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom), when Hatshepsut built a Red Sea fleet to facilitate trade between Thebes Red Sea port of Elim, modern Quasir, and Elat at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba. Traders bought frankincense, myrrh, bitumen, natron, fine woven linen, juniper oil and copper amulets for the mortuary industry at Karnak with Nubian gold. With the 19th Dynasty the seat of government moved to the Delta. The archaeological remains of Thebes offer a striking testimony to Egyptian civilization at its height. The Greek poet Homer extolled the wealth of Thebes in the Iliad, Book 9 (c. 8th Century BC): "... in Egyptian Thebes the heaps of precious ingots gleam, the hundred-gated Thebes." The name Thebai is the Greek designation of the ancient Egyptian opet "The Karnak Temple" (from coptic ta-pe, Ta-opet became Thebai). At the seat of the Theban triad of Amun, Mut, and Khonsu, Thebes was known in the Egyptian language from the end of the New Kingdom as niwt-imn, "The City of Amun." This found its way into the Hebrew Bible as נא אמון nōʼ ʼāmôn (Nahum 3:8),"no" in Hebrew meaning city with "no amon" or "City of Amon" referring to the Egyptian deity Amon-Ra, most likely it is also the same as נא ("No") (Ezekiel 30:14). In Greek this name was rendered Διόσπολις Diospolis, "City of Zeus", as Zeus was the god whom the Greeks identified with Amun, see interpretatio graeca. The Greeks surnamed the city μεγάλη megale, "the Great", to differentiate it from numerous other cities called Diospolis. The Romans rendered the name Diospolis Magna. In modern usage, the mortuary temples and tombs on the west bank of the river Nile are generally thought of as part of Thebes. In 1979, the ruins of ancient Thebes were inscribed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site. The two great temples, now called Luxor (Arabic: الأقصر, Al-Uqṣur, "The palaces") and al-Karnak (الكرنك), the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens are among the great achievements of ancient Egypt. The site of Thebes is populated at least since the Middle Paleolithic. Coordinates: 25°43′14″N 32°36′37″E / 25.72056°N 32.61028°E / 25.72056; 32.61028	Governorate of Qina	cultural		Governorate of Qina		[More information on ancient Thebes, a World Cultural Heritage site|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/87/]#[Theban Mapping Project|http://www.thebanmappingproject.com/]#[Ramesseum/Ancient Thebes Digital Media Archive (photos, laser scans, panoramas)|http://archive.cyark.org/ancient-thebes-info]#[ICOMOS Heritage at Risk 2001/2002|http://www.international.icomos.org/risk/2001/egyp2001.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thebes,_Egypt		[i],[iii],[vi]	EG	73900000.0	Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis	Egypt	87	1979	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/87
9	Historic City of Trogir	43.5125	16.25167		County of Split-Dalmatia	cultural		County of Split-Dalmatia			http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trogir		[ii],[iv]	HR	64000.0	Historic City of Trogir	Croatia	810	1997	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/810
10	Antigua Guatemala	14.566667	-90.666667	La Antigua Guatemala (commonly referred to as just Antigua or La Antigua) is a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Mudéjar-influencedBaroque architecture as well as a number of spectacular ruins of colonial churches. It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Antigua Guatemala serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name. It also serves as the departmental capital of Sacatepéquez Department. The city had a peak population of some 60,000 in the 1770s; the bulk of the population moved away in the late 18th century. Despite significant population growth in the late 20th century, the city had only reached half that number by the 1990s. According to the 2007 census, the city has some 34,685 inhabitants. La Antigua Guatemala means the "Old Guatemala" and was the third capital of Guatemala. The first capital of Guatemala was founded on the site of a Kakchikel-Maya city, now called Iximche, on Monday, July 25, 1524—the day of Saint James—and therefore named Ciudad de Santiago de los Caballeros de Goathemalan (City of Saint James of the Knights of Guatemala). Naturally, St. James became the patron saint of the city. After several Cakchiquel uprisings, the capital was moved to a more suitable site in the Valley of Alotenango (Rio Guacalate) on November 22, 1527, and kept its original name. When this city, on the site of present-day San Miguel Escobar, was destroyed on September 11, 1541 by a devastating lahar from the Volcán de Agua, the colonial authorities decided to move once more, this time to the Panchoy Valley. So, on March 10, 1543 the Spanish conquistadors founded present-day Antigua, and again, it was named Santiago de los Caballeros. For more than 200 years it served as the seat of the military governor of the Spanish colony of Guatemala, a large region that included almost all of present-day Central America and the southernmost State of Mexico: Chiapas. In 1566 King Felipe II of Spain gave it the title of "Muy Noble y Muy Leal" ("Very Noble and Very Loyal"). On September 29, 1717, an estimated 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Antigua Guatemala, and destroyed over 3,000 buildings. Much of the city's architecture was ruined. The damage the earthquake did to the city made authorities consider moving the capital to another city. In 1773, the Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed much of the town, which led to the third change in location for the city. The Spanish Crown ordered (1776) the removal of the capital to a safer location, the Valley of the Shrine, where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. This new city did not retain its old name and was christened Nueva Guatemala de la Asunción (New Guatemala of the Ascension) and its patron saint is Our Lady of Ascension. The badly damaged city of Santiago de los Caballeros was ordered abandoned, although not everyone left, and was thereafter referred to as la Antigua Guatemala (the Old Guatemala). Central Park (Parque Central) is the heart of the city. The reconstructed fountain there is a popular gathering spot. Off to the side of the Central Park, the Arco de Santa Catalina is among the many notable architectural landmarks of La Antigua. La Antigua is noted for its very elaborate religious celebrations during Lent (Cuaresma), leading up to Holy Week (Semana Santa) and Easter (Pascua). Each Sunday in Lent, one of the local parishes sponsor a Procession through the streets of Antigua. Elaborate and beautiful artistic carpets predominantly made of dyed sawdust, flowers and even fruits and vegetables adorn the processions' path. Due to its popularity amongst tourists and its very well developed tourism infrastructure, Antigua Guatemala is often used as a central location in which many choose to set up base and from here, visit other tourist areas in Guatemala and Central America. Cruise ships that dock at Guatemalan ports offer trips to Antigua from both the Pacific and Atlantic. Antigua also holds a sizeable retirement community from the US as well as Europe as its colonial charm has appealed to many who have crossed paths with this enchanting and romantic town. Tourism is the main driver of the economy. Antigua is also a coffee producing region of Anacafé. Antigua is known as a destination for people who want to learn Spanish through immersion. There are many Spanish language schools in Antigua and it is one of the most popular and best recognized centers for Spanish language study by students from Europe and North America. Language institutes are one of the primary industries of Antigua, along with tourism. The University of San Carlos in Antigua was founded by the Papal Bull of Pope Innocent XI issued dated 18 June 1687. Antigua GFC football club has played in the Guatemala top division for several years but have been playing in the second division lately. Their home stadium is the Estadio Pensativo which has a capacity of 9,000. They are nicknamed Los panzas verdes ("Green bellies"). A number of restaurants can be found in Antigua. Many small eateries can be found at the Antigua marketplace located next to the central bus stop, next to the main market. U.S. style fast food restaurants including "Burger King", "McDonald's", as well as Guatemalan favorite "Pollo Campero" are in the city. Antigua is a growing tourist destination in Guatemala as it is close to Guatemala City but is much calmer and safer, with more tourist oriented activities. It is possible to take buses from Antigua to many parts of Guatemala, many travel agencies offer shuttles to the main touristic places: Monterrico beach, Atitlan Lake, Coban, Tikal or even Copan in Honduras, though the transportation is more central in Guatemala City. Three large volcanoes dominate the horizon around Antigua. The most commanding, to the south of the city, is the Volcán de Agua or "Volcano of Water", some 3766 meters (12,356 ft) high. When the Spanish arrived, the inhabitants of the zone, Kakchikel Mayas, called it Hunapú (and they still do). However, it became known as Volcán de Agua after a mudslide from the volcano buried the second site of the capital, which prompted the Spanish authorities to move the capital to present-day Antigua. The original site of the 2nd capital is now the village San Miguel Escobar. To the west of the city are a pair of peaks, Acatenango, last erupted in 1972, some 3976 meters (13045 ft) high, and the Volcán de Fuego or "Volcano of Fire", some 3763 meters (12346 ft) high. "Fuego" is famous for being almost constantly active at a low level. Smoke issues from its top daily, but larger eruptions are rare. Coordinates: 14°34′N 90°44′W / 14.567°N 90.733°W / 14.567; -90.733	Department of Sacatepéquez, Panchoy Valley	cultural		Department of Sacatepéquez, Panchoy Valley		[Antigua Information and Directory site in English|http://www.antiguadailyphoto.com/]#[Official Site in Spanish|http://patrimoniomundialguatemala.org/la-antigua.html]#[Travel guide|http://roadtoantigua.com]#[Panoramic 360° Pictures of Antigua Guatemala|http://www.guate360.com/galeria/details.php?image_id=3]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigua_Guatemala		[ii],[iii],[iv]	GT	490000.0	Antigua Guatemala	Guatemala	65	1979	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/65
11	Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia	45.768333	13.3675	Aquileia (Friulian: Acuilee/Aquilee/Aquilea) is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natisone), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, it is one of the main archeological sites of Northern Italy. Aquileia was founded as a colony by the Romans in 180/181 BC along the Natissa River, on land south of the Julian Alps but about 8 miles north of the lagoons. Apparently named from an indigenous word Akylis, the colony served as a frontier fortress at the north-east corner of transpadane Italy and was intended to protect the Veneti, faithful Roman allies, during the Illyrian Wars and act as a buttress to check the advance of other warlike people, such as the hostile tribes of Carni and Histri. In fact, Aquileia was founded on a site not far from where Gaulish invaders had attempted to settle in 183 BC. The colony was established with Latin rights by the triumvirate of Publius Scipio Nasica, Caius Flaminius, and Lucius Manlius Acidinus, two of whom were of consular and one of praetorian rank. They led 3,000 pedites (infantry), mainly from Samnium, who with their families formed the bulk of the settlers and were soon supplemented by native Veneti. It is likely that Aquileia had been a center of Venetia even before the coming of the Romans. And Aquileia's strategic military position also served to promote the Venetic trade in amber imported from the Baltic. Aquileia was connected by road with Bologna probably in 173 BC; and subsequently with Genoa in 148 BC by the Via Postumia, which ran through Cremona, Bedriacum and Altinum, joining the first-mentioned road at Concordia, while the construction of the Via Popilia from Rimini to Ad Portum near Altinum in 132 BC improved the communications still further. In 169 BC, 1,500 more Latin colonists with their families were settled in the town as a reinforcement to the garrison. The discovery of the gold fields near the modern Klagenfurt in 130 BC brought it into notice, and it soon became a place of importance, not only owing to its strategic position, but as a centre of trade, especially in agricultural products and viticulture. It also had, in later times at least, considerable brickfields. The original Latin colony became a municipium probably in 90 BC. Citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Velina. The customs boundary of Italy was close by in Cicero's day. It was plundered by the Iapydes under Augustus, but, in the period of peace which followed, was able to develop its resources. Augustus visited it during the Pannonian wars in 12‑10 BC and it was the birthplace of Tiberius' son by Julia, in the latter year. It was the starting-point of several important roads leading to the north-eastern portion of the empire — the road (Via Iulia Augusta) by Iulium Carnicum to Veldidena (mod. Wilten, near Innsbruck), from which branched off the road into Noricum, leading by Virunum (Klagenfurt) to Laurieum (Lorch) on the Danube, the road into Pannonia, leading to Aemona (Ljubljana) and Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), the road to Tarsatica (near Fiume, now Rijeka) and Siscia (Sisak), and that to Tergeste (Trieste) and the Istrian coast. Besides natives of Italy, Celts, Illyrians, Greeks, Egyptians, Jews, and Syrians all settled in the city and contributed to its commercial development. Jewish artisans established a flourishing trade in glasswork. Metal from Noricum was forged and exported. The ancient Venetic trade in amber from the Baltic was continued. Wine, especially its famous Pucinum was exported. Oil was imported from Proconsular Africa. In terms of religion, the Roman pantheon was adopted although a native sungod, Belenus, had a large following. Jews practiced their ancestral religion and it was perhaps some of these Jews who became the first Christians. Meanwhile, soldiers brought the martial cult of Mithras. In the war against the Marcomanni in 167, the town was hard pressed; its fortifications had fallen into disrepair during the long peace. Nevertheless, when in 168 Marcus Aurelius made Aquileia the principal fortress of the empire against the barbarians of the North and East, it rose to the pinnacle of its greatness and soon had a population of 100,000. In 238, when the town took the side of the Senate against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, the fortifications were hastily restored, and proved of sufficient strength to resist for several months, until Maximinus himself was assassinated. During the 4th century, Aquileia maintained its importance. Constantine sojourned there on numerous occasions. It became a naval station and the seat of the Corrector Venetiarum et Histriae; a mint was established, of which the coins were very numerous, and the bishop obtained the rank of metropolitan archbishop. A council held in the city in 381 was only the first of a series of Councils of Aquileia that have been convened over the centuries. An imperial palace was constructed here, in which the emperors after the time of Diocletian frequently resided; and the city often played a part in the struggles between the rulers of the 4th century. In 340, Emperor Constantine II was killed under its walls while attempting to take the city from his younger brother Constans. At the end of the 4th century, Ausonius, enumerated Aquileia as the ninth among the great cities of the world, placing Rome, Mediolanum and Capua before it. However, it was besieged by Alaric and the Visigoths in 401, during which time some of its residents fled to the lagoons, and again unsuccessfully in 408. In 452, the city was so utterly destroyed by Attila's Huns that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site. The Roman inhabitants, together with those of smaller towns in the neighborhood, fled to the lagoons, and so laid the foundations of the cities of Venice and nearby Grado. Yet Aquileia would rise again, though much diminished, and continue to exist until the Lombard invasion of 568. It was once more destroyed (590) by the Lombards. Meanwhile, the patriarch fled to the island town of Grado, which was under the protection of the Byzantines. When the patriarch residing in Grado was reconciled with Rome in 606, those continuing in their rejection of the Second Council of Constantinople elected a patriarch at Aquileia. Thus, the diocese was essentially divided into two parts, with the mainland patriarchate of Aquileia under the protection of the Lombards, and the insular patriarchate of Aquileia seated in Grado being protected by the exarchate of Ravenna and later the Doges of Venice, with the collusion of the Lombards. The line of the patriarchs elected in Aquileia would continue in schism until 699. However, although they kept the title of patriarch of Aquileia, they moved their residence first to Cormons and later to Cividale. The Lombard Dukes of Friuli ruled Aquileia and the surrounding mainland territory from Cividale. In 774, Charlemagne conquered the Lombard duchy and made it into a Frankish one with Eric of Friuli as duke. In 787, Charlemagne named the priest and master of grammar at the Palace School Paulinus the new patriarch of Aquileia. Although Paulinus resided mainly at Cividale, his successor Maxentius considered rebuilding Aquileia. However, the project never came to fruition. While Maxentius was patriarch, the pope approved the Synod of Mantua, which affirmed the precedence of the mainland patriarch of Aquileia over the patriarch of Grado. However, material conditions were soon to worsen for Aquileia. The ruins of Aquileia were continually pillaged for building material. And with the collapse of the Carolingians in the 10th century, the inhabitants would suffer under the raids of the Magyars. By the 11th century, the patriarch of Aquileia had grown strong enough to assert temporal sovereignty over Friuli and Aquileia. The Holy Roman Emperor gave the region to the patriarch as a feudal possession. However, the patriarch's temporal authority was constantly disputed and assailed by the territorial nobility. In 1027 and 1044 Patriarch Poppo of Aquileia, who rebuilt the cathedral of Aquileia, entered and sacked neighboring Grado, and, though the Pope reconfirmed the Patriarch of the latter in his dignities, the town never fully recovered, though it continued to be the seat of the Patriarchate until its formal transference to Venice in 1450. In the 14th century the Patriarchate reached its biggest extension, stretching from the Piave river to the Julian Alps and northern Istria. The seat of the Patriarchate of Aquileia had been transferred to Udine in 1238, but returned to Aquiliea in 1420 when Venice annexed the territory of Udine. In 1445, the defeated patriarch Ludovico Trevisan acquiesced in the loss of his ancient temporal estate in return for an annual salary of 5,000 ducats allowed him from the Venetian treasury. Henceforth only Venetians were allowed to hold the title of Patriarch of Aquileia. The Patriarchate was incorporated in the Republic of Venice with the name of Patria del Friuli, ruled by a General Proveditor or a "Luogotenente" living in Udine. It was finally officially suppressed in 1751, and the sees of Udine and Gorizia (Görz) established in its stead. The Cathedral of Aquileia is a flat-roofed basilica erected by Patriarch Poppo in 1031 on the site of an earlier church, and rebuilt about 1379 in the Gothic style by Patriarch Marquard von Randeck. The façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, is connected by a portico to the Church of the Pagans, and the remains of the 5th century Baptistry. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a noteworthy mosaic pavement from the 4th century. The wooden ceiling is from 1526, while the fresco decoration belongs to various ages: from the 4th century in the St. Peter's chapel of the apse area; from the 11th century in the apse itself; from the 12th century in the so-called "Crypt of the Frescoes", under the presbytery, with a cycle depicting the origins of Christianity in Aquileia and the history of St. Hermagoras, first bishop of the city. Next to the 11th century Romanesque chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, at the beginning of the left aisle, flooring of different ages can be seen: the lowest is from a Roman villa of the age of Augustus; the middle one has a typical cocciopesto pavemente; the upper one, bearing blackening from the Attila's fire, has geometrical decorations. Externally, behind the 9th century campanile and the apse, is the Cemetery of the Fallen, where ten unnamed soldiers of World War I are buried. Saint Hermangoras is also buried there. The ancient buildings of Aquileia served as stone quarries for centuries, and no edifices of the Roman period remain above ground. Excavations have revealed one street and the north-west angle of the town walls, while the National Archaeological Museum (one of the most important museums of Ancient Rome in the world) contains over 2,000 inscriptions, statues and other antiquities, as well as glasses of local production and a numismatics collection. The site of Aquileia, believed to be the largest Roman city yet to be excavated, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In the Monastero fraction is a 5th century Christian basilica, later a Benedictine monastery, which today houses the Paleo-Christian Museum.	Province of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region	cultural		Province of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region		[Aquileia virtual tour (Italian Landmarks)|http://www.burger.si/Italy/Aquileia/uvod_ENG.html]#[Pre-roman and Celtic Aquileia|http://www.terrediaquileia.it/docebo/doceboCms/index.php?special=changearea&newArea=572]#[Aquileia featured on 10 Euro Italian Coin|http://news.coinupdate.com/aquileia-euro-coin-from-the-italian-state-mint-0473/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquileia		[iii],[iv],[vi]	IT	1550000.0	Archaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia	Italy	825	1998	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/825
12	Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco	41.114722	1.259306	Tarragona (Catalan: [tərəˈɣonə], Spanish: [taraˈɣona]) is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona. As of the 2009 census, the city had a population of 155,323, and the population of the entire metropolitan area was estimated to be 675,921.[citation needed] In Roman times, the city was named Tarraco (Ταρρακών) and was capital of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis (after being capital of Hispania Citerior in the Republican era). The Roman colony founded at Tarraco had the full name of Colonia Iulia Urbs Triumphalis Tarraco. The city may have begun as an Iberic town called Kesse or Kosse, named for the Iberic tribe of the region, the Cosetans, though the identification of Tarragona with Kesse is not certain.Smith suggests that the city was probably founded by the Phoenicians, who called it 'Tarchon, which, according to Samuel Bochart, means a citadel. This name was probably derived from its situation on a high rock, between 700 and 800 feet above the sea; whence we find it characterised as arce potens Tarraco. It was seated on the river Sulcis or Tulcis (modern Francolí), on a bay of the Mare Internum (Mediterranean), between the Pyrenees and the river Iberus (modern Ebro).Livy mentions a portus Tarraconis; and according to Eratosthenes it had a naval station or roads (Ναύσταθμον); but Artemidorus says with more probability that it had none, and scarcely even an anchoring place; and Strabo himself calls it ἀλίμενος. This answers better to its present condition; for though a mole was constructed in the 15th century with the materials of the ancient amphitheatre, and another subsequently by an Englishman named John Smith, it still affords but little protection for shipping. Tarraco lies on the main road along the south-eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It was fortified and much enlarged by the brothers Publius and Gnaeus Scipio, who converted it into a fortress and arsenal against the Carthagenians. Subsequently it became the capital of the province named after it, a Roman colony, and conventus juridicus. Augustus wintered at Tarraco after his Cantabrian campaign, and bestowed many marks of honour on the city, among which were its honorary titles of Colonia Victrix Togata and Colonia Julia Victrix Tarraconensis. The city also minted coins. According to Mela it was the richest town on that coast, and Strabo represents its population as equal to that of Carthago Nova (modern Cartagena). Its fertile plain and sunny shores are celebrated by Martial and other poets; and its neighbourhood is described as producing good wine and flax. The Roman ruins of Tarraco have been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Part of the bases of large Cyclopean walls near the Cuartel de Pilatos are thought to pre-date the Romans. The building just mentioned, a prison in the 19th century, is said to have been the palace of Augustus. The 2nd century amphitheatre, near the sea-shore, was extensively used as a quarry after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and but few vestiges of it now remain. A circus, c. 450 m long, was built over in the area now called Plaça de la Font, though portions of it are still to be traced. Throughout the town Latin, and even apparently Phoenician, inscriptions on the stones of the houses mark the material used for buildings in the town. Two ancient monuments, at some little distance from the town, have, however, fared rather better. The first of these is the Aqüeducte de les Ferreres, which spans a valley about 4 km north of the city. It is 217 m (711.94 ft) in length, and the loftiest arches, of which there are two tiers, are 26 m (85.30 ft) high. There is a monument about 6 km along the coast road east of the city, commonly called the "Tower of the Scipios"; but there is no authority for assuming that they were buried here. Other Roman buildings include: The city is also home to an archaeological museum. The seminary of San Pablo and Santa Tecla was founded in 1570 by the cardinal archbishop, Gaspar de Cervantes, and was the first to comply with the decrees of the Council of Trent. In 1858 Archbishop José Domingo Costa y Borrás built a fourth wing. Benito Villamitjana built a new seminary behind the cathedral in 1886, in the courtyard of which stands the old chapel of San Pablo. Pope Leo XIII raised this to the rank of a pontifical university. 50 km (31.07 mi) north of the city is the monastery of Poblet, founded in 1151 by Ramón Berenguer IV, which was used for sepultures of the kings of Aragon. Tarragona is home to a large port and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Much of its economic activity comes from a large number of chemical industries located in the city or in surrounding areas. The main living heritage is the Popular Retinue, a great parade of dances, bestiary and spoken dances- and the human towers. They specially participate in Santa Tecla Festival. They are so popular in Tarragona and also in all Catalonia that they have got their own home. It is called "Casa de la Festa", Festivities House, where you can visit them all the year. [1] A number of beaches, some awarded a Blue Flag designation, line the Mediterranean coast near the city. Tarragona is located near the holiday resort of Salou and the theme park Port Aventura, one of the largest in Europe. The city is located a few kilometers away from Reus Airport, which has many low-cost destinations and charter-flights (over a million passengers per year). Reus is the second city of Tarragona area (101,767 inhabitants in 2006), known by its commercial activity and for being the place where the architect Gaudí was born. Tarragona is also a candidate to be the Spanish representative as European Capital of Culture in 2016. Tarragona is twinned with:	Province of Tarragona, Autonomous Community of Catalonia,	cultural		Province of Tarragona, Autonomous Community of Catalonia,		[Official website1|http://www.tarragona.feuerwerk.net]#[Official Website of Tarragona|http://www.tarragona.cat/]#[Virtual visit to Tarragona|http://tarragona.panorama.cat/]#[More images of Tarragona|http://www.lesnostresimatges.org/]#[Pictures of Tarragona|http://musique09.free.fr/espagne_new2/thumbnails.php?album=44&lang=english]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarragona		[ii],[iii]	ES	1000000.0	Archaeological Ensemble of Tárraco	Spain	875	2000	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/875
13	Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco	18.81028	-99.275	Xochicalco (Nahuatl pronunciation: [ʃotʃiˈkaɬko]) is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in the western part of the Mexican state of Morelos. The name Xochicalco may be translated from Nahuatl as "in the (place of the) house of Flowers". The site is located 38 km southwest of Cuernavaca, about 76 miles by road from Mexico City. The site is open to visitors all week, from 10am to 5pm, although access to the observatory is only allowed after noon. The apogee of Xochicalco came after the fall of Teotihuacan and it has been speculated that Xochicalco may have played a part in the fall of the Teotihuacan empire. The architecture and iconography of Xochicalco show affinities with Teotihuacan, the Maya area, and the Matlatzinca culture of the Toluca Valley. Today some residents of the nearby village of Cuentepec speak Nahuatl. The main ceremonial center is atop an artificially leveled hill, with remains of residential structures, mostly unexcavated, on long terraces covering the slopes. The site was first occupied by 200 BC, but did not develop into an urban center until the Epiclassic period (AD 700 - 900). Nearly all the standing architecture at the site was built at this time. At its peak, the city may have had a population of up to 20,000 people. Of special interest are sculptured reliefs on the sides of some buildings. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent has fine stylized depictions of that deity in a style which includes apparent influences of Teotihuacan and Maya art. It has been speculated that Xochicalco may have had a community of artists from other parts of Mesoamerica. Other monuments at the site include several other step-pyramid temples, palaces, three ballcourts, sweat-baths, an unusual row of circular altars, and a cave with steps carved down into it. The site also has some free-standing sculptured stelae; others were removed from their original location and are now on display in the INAH museum in Mexico City and at the site museum. Xochicalco was founded in about 650 AD by the Olmeca-Xicallanca, which are a Mayan group of traders from Campeche, at a site that gave them an excellent position along several of the major Mesoamerican trade routes. It was an important fortressed commercial and religious center following the decline of the great Meso-American city states. The ruins were first described by explorer Antonio Alzate in 1777. Alexander von Humboldt published illustrations and a description of Xochicalco in 1810. Emperor Maximilian of Mexico visited the ruins. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent was restored by Mexican archaeologist Leopoldo Batres in 1910. Major archaeological excavations and further restorations were done in a project from the 1940s through the 1960s by Eduardo Noguera and César Saenz. Jaime Litvak King also worked at the site. In 1976 archaeologist Kenneth Hirth of Pennsylvania State University began a multi-season fieldwork project in which he mapped the entire site and conducted excavations of houses and obsidian workshops. In 1988 a large-scale program of excavation of monumental architecture was initiated by Norberto González Crespo and Silvia Garza of the INAH. A new museum was built to house the spectacular finds of this project. At some point around AD 900 the city of Xochicalco was burned and destroyed. Many of the excavated houses and temples have layers of burning and destruction that cover the deposits from the main Epiclassic occupation. Underneath destruction layers, numerous objects were left in place in the houses, indicating that the site was destroyed and abandoned quickly. A small remnant population lived on, however, on the lower slopes of the hill. Later, around 1200, the site was recolonized by the Nahuatl-speaking Tlahuica peoples, ancestors to the Nahuatl-speaking populations of the modern state of Morelos. Xochicalco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a tourist destination. The site also has a well-stocked museum, designed by noted Mexican architect Roland Dada. The observatory is a cave modified to allow study of the movement of the sun. The cave was covered with stucco and painted black, yellow and red with a chimney that measured from the base to the surface 8.7 meters, and which is hexagonal in the top. The chimney has a slight slope allowing the sun's rays to be to projected on the floor of the cave. In the 105 days running from April 30 to August 15, the sun shines into the cave. In the sun's movement towards the Tropic of Cancer and upon their return, respectively, on May 14/15 and 28/29 July, the sun is at its zenith and the astronomical noon, the beam of light falls directly through the chimney showing the image of the sun on the floor of the cave. Surely, taking advantage of the solar phenomenon, the site was also used for religious ceremonies. The Temple of the Feathered Serpent has fine stylized depictions of that deity in a style which includes apparent influences of Teotihuacan and Maya art Coordinates: 18°48′14″N 99°17′45.3″W / 18.80389°N 99.295917°W / 18.80389; -99.295917	Municipalities of Temixco and Miacatlan, Morelos State	cultural		Municipalities of Temixco and Miacatlan, Morelos State		[INAH National Institute of Anthropology and History|http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=188&Itemid=47]#[Archaeological Zone of Xochicalco|http://www.inah.gob.mx/ZonasArqueologicas/xochicalco/indice.htm]#[Xochicalco on Tulane.edu|http://studentweb.tulane.edu/~dhixson/xochicalco/xochicalco.html]#[The DeLanges visit Xochicalco, with lots of photos.|http://www.delange.org/Xochicalco1/Xochicalco1.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xochicalco		[iii],[iv]	MX		Archaeological Monuments Zone of Xochicalco	Mexico	939	1999	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/939
14	Archaeological Site of Aigai (modern name Vergina)	40.47139	22.31833	Coordinates: 40°28′52″N 022°18′49″E / 40.48111°N 22.31361°E / 40.48111; 22.31361 Coordinates: 40°28′52″N 022°18′49″E / 40.48111°N 22.31361°E / 40.48111; 22.31361 Vergina (Greek: Βεργίνα) is a small town in northern Greece, located in the prefecture of Imathia, Central Macedonia. The town became internationally famous in 1977, when the Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed what he claimed was the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The finds established the site as the ancient Aigai (Greek: Αιγαί). The modern town of Vergina is about 13 km south-east of the district centre of Veroia and about 80 km south-west of Thessaloniki, the capital of Greek Macedonia. The town has a population of about two thousand people and stands on the foothills of Mount Pieria, at an elevation of 120 m (360 ft) above sea level. During the 8th and 7th century BC the area was ruled by Illyrian tribes, which established a strategic base at Aigai. In the early 7th century BC local Thracian and Paeonian tribes revolted and captured Aigai. In 650 BC the Temenids of Argos under Perdiccas I moved in the area and captured Aigai, making it the first capital of the Kingdom of Macedon. From Aigai they spread in the central part of Macedonia and displaced the local population of Pierians. The area of modern Vergina, which has inhabited by Pierians, thus remained uninhabited until the middle of the 6th century BC. After 550 BC Macedonian population settled in this site. This ancient city, of still uncertain name, flourished in the end of the 4th-beginning of the 3rd century BC and was destroyed in the 1st century BC. Modern Vergina was founded in 1922 near the site of the two small agricultural villages of Koutles (Greek: Κούτλες) and Barbes (Greek: Mπάρμπες) previously owned by the Turkish bey of Palatitsa and inhabited by 25 Greek serf families. After the Treaty of Lausanne and the eviction of the Bey landlords, the land was distributed in lots to the existing inhabitants, and to 121 other Greek families from Bulgaria and Asia Minor after population exchange agreements between Greece, Bulgaria and Turkey. The name for the new town was suggested by the then Metropolitan of Veria, who named it after a legendary queen of ancient Beroea (modern Veria). (The ruins of another Aigai, one of the Aeolian dodecapolis, lie 35 km south of ancient Pergamon in ancient Aeolis, now in Turkey). Archaeologists were interested in the hills around Vergina as early as the 1850s, supposing that the site of Aigai was in the vicinity and knowing that the hills were burial mounds. Excavations began in 1861 under the French archaeologist Leon Heuzey, sponsored by the Emperor Napoleon III. Parts of a large building that was considered to be one of the palaces of Antigonus III Doson (263–221), partly destroyed by fire, were discovered at Palatitsa, which preserved the memory of a palace in its modern name. However, the excavations had to be abandoned because of the risk of malaria. The excavator suggested that this was the site of the ancient city Valla, a view that prevailed until 1976. In 1937, the University of Thessaloniki resumed the excavations. More ruins of the ancient palace were found, but the excavations were abandoned on the outbreak of war with Italy in 1940. After the war the excavations were resumed, and during the 1950s and 1960s the rest of the royal capital was uncovered. The Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos became convinced that a hill called the "Great Tumulus" (in Greek, Μεγάλη Τούμπα) concealed the tombs of the Macedonian kings. In 1977, Andronikos undertook a six-week dig at the Great Tumulus and found four buried chambers, which he identified as hitherto undisturbed tombs. Three more were found in 1980. Excavations continued through the 1980s and 1990s. Andronikos claimed that these were the burial sites of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Andronikos maintained that another (Tomb III) was of Alexander IV of Macedon, son of Alexander the Great and Roxana, a view challenged by other archaeologists. Recent papers (by Eugene N. Borza and his research partner Olga Palagia) utilizing the construction of Tomb II's ceilings, the incorporation of a weight measurement system introduced by Alexander the Great on golden objects in the tomb, Asian themes on the Tomb's friezes, and the discovery of a scepter similar to that found on coins minted under Alexander's reign suggest Tomb II likely belongs to Alexander's half-brother Philip III Arrhidaeus and his wife, Adea Eurydice. Instead, according to Borza and Palagia, the simpler Tomb I may contain the remains of Phillip II and his family. If this theory is true, then the golden weaponry and royal objects found may have belonged to Alexander the Great. The museum, which was inaugurated in 1993, was built in a way to protect the tombs, exhibit the artifacts and show the tumulus as it was before the excavations. Inside the museum there are four tombs and one small temple, the heroon built as the temple of the great tomb of Philip II of Macedon. The two most important graves were not sacked and contained the main treasures of the museum. The tomb of Philip II, the father of Alexander was discovered in 1977 and was separated in two rooms. The main room included a marble sarcophagus, and in it was the larnax made of 24 carat gold and weighing 11 kilograms. Inside the golden larnax the bones of the dead were found and a golden wreath of 313 oak leaves and 68 acorns, weighing 717 grams. In the room were also found the golden and ivory panoply of the dead, the richly-carved burial bed on which he was laid and later burned and silver utensils for the funeral feast. In the antechamber, there was another sarcophagus with another smaller golden larnax containing the bones of a woman wrapped in a golden-purple cloth with a golden diadem decorated with flowers and enamel. There was one more partially destroyed by the fire burial bed and on it a golden wreath representing leaves and flowers of myrtle. Above the Doric order entrance of the tomb there is a wall painting measuring 5.60 metres which represents a hunting scene. In 1978 another burial site was also discovered near the tomb of Philip, which belongs to Alexander IV of Macedon son of Alexander the Great. It was slightly smaller than the previous and was also not sacked. It was also arranged in two parts, but only the main room contained a cremated body this time. On a stone pedestal was found a silver hydria which contained the bones and on it a golden oak wreath. There were also utensils and weaponry. A narrow frieze with a chariot race decorated the walls of the tomb. The other two tombs were found to have been sacked. The "tomb of Persephone" was discovered in 1977 and although it contained no valuable things found, on its walls was found a marvellous wall painting showing the abduction of Persephone by Pluto. The other tomb, discovered in 1980, is heavily damaged and may have contained valuable treasures while it had an impressive entrance with four Doric columns. It was built in the 4th century BC and the archaeologists believe that the tomb belonged to Antigonus II Gonatas. On the lid of the larnax of Philip II there is a symbol of a sun or star and this Vergina Sun has been adopted as a symbol of Greek Macedonia. It became the subject of international controversy in 1991 when the newly independent Republic of Macedonia used the symbol on its flag. This outraged Greek public opinion, which saw the use of the symbol as an insult to its historical heritage and implying a territorial claim on Greece. In 1995 the Republic of Macedonia was forced to change its flag.	Prefecture of Imathia, Region of Central Macedonia	cultural		Prefecture of Imathia, Region of Central Macedonia		[Information at the official site of the Ministry of Culture.|http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh351.jsp?obj_id=2362]#[Information about the museum.|http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/1/eh151.jsp?obj_id=3297]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vergina		[i],[iii]	GR	14210000.0	Archaeological Site of Aigai (modern name Vergina)	Greece	780	1996	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/780
15	Archaeological Site of Delphi	38.48149	22.49617	Delphi (English pronunciation: /ˈdɛlfaɪ/ or /ˈdɛlfi/, Greek Δελφοί, [ðelˈfi]) is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python, a deity who lived there and protected the navel of the Earth. Python (derived from the verb pythein, "to rot") is claimed by some to be the original name of the site in recognition of the Python that Apollo defeated. The Homeric Hymn to Delphic Apollo recalled that the ancient name of this site had been Krisa. Apollo's sacred precinct in Delphi was a panhellenic sanctuary, where every four years, starting in 586 BC athletes from all over the Greek world competed in the Pythian Games, one of the four panhellenic (or stephanitic) games, precursors of the Modern Olympics. The victors at Delphi were presented with a laurel crown which was ceremonially cut from a tree in Tempe by a boy who re-enacted the slaying of the Python. Delphi was set apart from the other games sites because it hosted the mousikos agon, musical competitions. These Pythian Games rank second among the four stephanitic games chronologically and based on importance. These games, though, were different from the games at Olympia in that they were not of such vast Importance to the city of Delphi as the games at Olympia were to the city of Olympia. Delphi would have been a renowned city whether or not it hosted these games; it had other attractions that led to it being labeled the "omphalos" (navel) of the earth, in other words, the center of the world. In the inner hestia ("hearth") of the Temple of Apollo, an eternal flame burned. After the battle of Plataea, the Greek cities extinguished their fires and brought new fire from the hearth of Greece, at Delphi; in the foundation stories of several Greek colonies, the founding colonists were first dedicated at Delphi. The site of Delphi is located in lower central Greece, on multiple plateaux/terraces along the slope of Mount Parnassus, and includes the Sanctuary of Apollo, the site of the ancient Oracle. This semicircular spur is known as Phaedriades, and overlooks the Pleistos Valley. Southwest of Delphi, about 15 km (9.3 mi) away, is the harbor-city of Kirrha on the Corinthian Gulf. The name Delphoi comes from the same root as δελφύς delphys, "womb" and may indicate archaic veneration of Gaia, Grandmother Earth, and the Earth Goddess at the site. Apollo is connected with the site by his epithet Δελφίνιος Delphinios, "the Delphinian". The epithet is connected with dolphins (Greek δελφίς,-ῖνος) in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (line 400), recounting the legend of how Apollo first came to Delphi in the shape of a dolphin, carrying Cretan priests on his back. The Homeric name of the oracle is Pytho (Πυθώ). Another legend held that Apollo walked to Delphi from the north and stopped at Tempe, a city in Thessaly, to pick laurel, a plant sacred to him (also known in English as the bay tree). In commemoration of this legend, the winners at the Pythian Games received a wreath of laurel (bay leaves) picked in the Temple. Delphi became the site of a major temple to Phoebus Apollo, as well as the Pythian Games and the famous prehistoric oracle. Even in Roman times, hundreds of votive statues remained, described by Pliny the Younger and seen by Pausanias. Supposedly carved into the temple were three phrases: γνῶθι σεαυτόν (gnōthi seautón = "know thyself") and μηδέν άγαν (mēdén ágan = "nothing in excess"), and Ἑγγύα πάρα δ'ἄτη (engýa pára d'atē = "make a pledge and mischief is nigh"), as well as a large letter E. Among other things epsilon signifies the number 5. Plutarch's essay on the meaning of the "E at Delphi" is the only literary source for the inscription. In ancient times, the origin of these phrases was attributed to one or more of the Seven Sages of Greece, though ancient as well as modern scholars have doubted the legitimacy of such ascriptions. According to one pair of scholars, "The actual authorship of the three maxims set up on the Delphian temple may be left uncertain. Most likely they were popular proverbs, which tended later to be attributed to particular sages." From a late myth that deviates from much older ones, when young, Apollo killed the chthonic serpent Python, named Pythia in older myths, but according to some later accounts his wife, Pythia, who lived beside the Castalian Spring, according to some because Python had attempted to rape Leto while she was pregnant with Apollo and Artemis. The bodies of the pair were draped around his Rod, which with the wings created the caduceus symbolic of the god. This spring flowed toward the temple but disappeared beneath, creating a cleft which emitted vapors that caused the Oracle at Delphi to give her prophecies. Apollo killed Python but had to be punished for it, since she was a child of Gaia. The shrine dedicated to Apollo was originally dedicated to Gaia and then possibly to Poseidon. The name Pythia remained as the title of the Delphic Oracle. As punishment for this murder Apollo was sent to serve at menial tasks for eight years. A festival, the Septeria, was performed annually portraying the slaying of the serpent, the flight, the atonement and the return of the God. The Pythian Games took place every four years to commemorate his victory. Another regular Delphi festival was the "Theophania" (Θεοφάνεια), an annual festival in spring celebrating the return of Apollo from his winter quarters in Hyperborea. The culmination of the festival was a display of an image of the gods, usually hidden in the sanctuary, to worshippers. The "Theoxenia" was held each summer, centred on a feast for "gods and ambassadors from other states". Erwin Rohde wrote that the Python was an earth spirit, who was conquered by Apollo, and buried under the Omphalos, and that it is a case of one deity setting up a temple on the grave of another. Another view holds that Apollo was a fairly recent addition to the Greek pantheon coming originally from Lydia. The Etruscans coming from northern Anatolia also worshipped Apollo, and it may be that he was originally identical with Mesopotamian Aplu, an Akkadian title meaning "son", originally given to the plague God Nergal, son of Enlil. Apollo Smintheus (Greek Απόλλων Σμινθεύς), the mouse killer eliminates mice, a primary cause of disease, hence he promotes preventive medicine. Delphi is perhaps best-known for the oracle at the sanctuary that was dedicated to Apollo during the classical period. According to Aeschylus in the prologue of the Eumenides, it had origins in prehistoric times and the worship of Gaia. In the last quarter of the 8th century BC there is a steady increase in artifacts found at the settlement site in Delphi, which was a new, post-Mycenaean settlement of the late 9th century. Pottery and bronze work as well as tripod dedications continue in a steady stream, in comparison to Olympia. Neither the range of objects nor the presence of prestigious dedications proves that Delphi was a focus of attention for a wide range of worshippers, but the large quantity of high value goods, found in no other mainland sanctuary, certainly encourages that view. Apollo spoke through his oracle: the sibyl or priestess of the oracle at Delphi was known as the Pythia; she had to be an older woman of blameless life chosen from among the peasants of the area. She sat on a tripod seat over an opening in the earth. When Apollo slew Python, its body fell into this fissure, according to legend, and fumes arose from its decomposing body. Intoxicated by the vapors, the sibyl would fall into a trance, allowing Apollo to possess her spirit. In this state she prophesied. It has been postulated that a gas high in ethylene, known to produce violent trances, came out of this opening, though this theory remains debatable. While in a trance the Pythia "raved" – probably a form of ecstatic speech – and her ravings were "translated" by the priests of the temple into elegant hexameters. People consulted the Delphic oracle on everything from important matters of public policy to personal affairs. The oracle could not be consulted during the winter months, for this was traditionally the time when Apollo would live among the Hyperboreans. Dionysus would inhabit the temple during his absence. H.W. Parke writes that the foundation of Delphi and its oracle took place before recorded history and its origins are obscure, but dating to the worship of the Titan, Gaia. The Oracle exerted considerable influence throughout the Greek world, and she was consulted before all major undertakings: wars, the founding of colonies, and so forth. She also was respected by the semi-Hellenic countries around the Greek world, such as Lydia, Caria, and even Egypt. The oracle was also known to the early Romans. Rome's seventh and last king, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, after witnessing a snake near his palace, sent a delegation including two of his sons to consult the oracle. The Oracle benefited from the Macedonian Kings. Later it was placed under the protection of the Aetolians. After a brief period the influence of the Romans started to emerge, and they protected the Oracle from a dangerous barbarian invasion in 109 BC and 105 BC. A major reorganization was initiated, but was interrupted by the Mithridatic Wars and the wars of Sulla who took many rich offerings from the Oracle. Invading barbarian invasions burned the Temple, which had been severely damaged by an earthquake in 83 BC. Thus the Oracle fell in decay and the surrounding area became impoverished. The sparse local population led to difficulties in filling the posts required. The Oracle's credibility waned due to doubtful predictions. When Nero came to Greece in AD 66, he took away over 500 of the best statues from Delphi to Rome. Subsequent Roman emperors of the Flavian dynasty contributed significantly towards its restoration. Hadrian offered complete autonomy. Also Plutarch was a significant factor by his presence as a chief priest. However barbarian raids during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and removal of statues and other riches (in effect looting) by Constantine I caused it to decay. The short reign of Julian could not improve matters. However the Oracle continued until it was closed by emperor Theodosius I in AD 395. The site was abandoned for almost 100 years, until Christians started to settle permanently in the area: they established the small town of Kastri in about AD 600. The Delphic Sibyl was a legendary prophetic figure who was said to have given prophecies at Delphi shortly after the Trojan War. The prophecies attributed to her circulated in written collections of prophetic sayings, along with the oracles of figures such as Bakis. The Sibyl had no connection to the oracle of Apollo, and should not be confused with the Pythia. Occupation e Mycenaean period (1600–1100 BC). Most of the ruins that survive today date from the most intense period of activity at the site in the 6th century BC. The ruins of the Temple of Delphi visible today date from the 4th century BC are of a peripteral Doric building. It was erected on the remains of an earlier temple, dated to the 6th century BC which itself was erected on the site of a 7th century BC construction attributed to the architects Trophonios and Agamedes. The 6th century BC temple was named the "Temple of Alcmeonidae" in tribute to the Athenian family which funded its reconstruction following a fire, which had destroyed the original structure. The new building was a Doric hexastyle temple of 6 by 15 columns. This temple was destroyed in 373 BC by an earthquake with a third temple completed on the site by 330 BC. The third temple is attributed to Corinthian architects Spintharos, Xenodoros, and Agathon. The pediment sculptures are a tribute to Praxias and Androsthenes of Athens. Of a similar proportion to the second temple it retained the 6 by 15 column pattern around the stylobate. Inside was the adyton, the centre of the Delphic oracle and seat of Pythia. The monument was partly restored during 1938–1300. The temple survived until 390 AD, when the Christian emperor Theodosius I silenced the oracle by destroying the temple and most of the statues and works of art in the name of Christianity. The site was completely destroyed by zealous Christians in an attempt to remove all traces of Paganism. The Amphictyonic Council was a council of representatives from six Greek tribes that controlled Delphi and also the quadrennial Pythian Games. They met biannually and came from Thessaly and central Greece. Over time, the town of Delphi gained more control of itself and the council lost much of its influence. From the entrance of the site, continuing up the slope almost to the temple itself, are a large number of votive statues, and numerous treasuries. These were built by the various Greek city states — those overseas as well as those on the mainland — to commemorate victories and to thank the oracle for her advice, which was thought to have contributed to those victories. They are called "treasuries" because they held the offerings made to Apollo; these were frequently a "tithe" or tenth of the spoils of a battle. The most impressive is the now-restored Athenian Treasury, built to commemorate the Athenians' victory at the Battle of Salamis. According to Pausanias, the Athenians had previously been given the advice by the oracle to put their faith in their "wooden walls" — taking this advice to mean their navy, they won a famous battle at Salamis. Several of the treasuries can be identified, among them the Siphnian Treasury, dedicated by the city of Siphnos whose citizens gave a tithe of the yield from their gold mines until the mines came to an abrupt end when the sea flooded the workings. Other identifiable treasuries are those of the Sikyonians, the Boetians and the Thebans. One of the largest of the treasuries was that of Argos. Built in the late Doric period, the Argives took great pride in establishing their place amongst the other city states. Completed in the year 380, the treasury draws inspiration mostly from the Temple of Hera located in the Argolis, the acropolis of the city. However, recent analysis of the Archaic elements of the treasury suggest that its founding preceded this. As a result of these treasuries, through the protection of the Amphictyonic League, Delphi came to function as the de-facto Central Bank of Ancient Greece. It was the abuse of these treasuries by Philip of Macedon and the later sacking of the Treasuries, first by the Celts, and later by Sulla, the Roman Dictator, that led to the eclipse of Greek civilization and the eventual growth of Rome. Located in front of the Temple of Apollo, the main altar of the sanctuary was paid for and built by the people of Chios. It is dated to the 5th century BC by the inscription on its cornice. Made entirely of black marble, except for the base and cornice, the altar would have made a striking impressions. It was restored in 1920. The stoa leads off north-east from the main sanctuary. It was built in the Ionic order and consists of seven fluted columns, unusually carved from single pieces of stone (most columns were constructed from a series of discs joined together). The inscription on the stylobate indicates that it was built by the Athenians after their naval victory over the Persians in 478 BC, to house their war trophies. The rear wall of the stoa contains nearly a thousand inscriptions; supposedly any slave manumitted in Athens was obliged to record a short biography here, explaining why he had deserved his freedom. Delphi is famous for its many preserved athletic statues. It is known that Olympia originally housed far more of these statues, but time brought ruin to many of them, leaving Delphi as the main site of athletic statues.Kleobis and Biton, two brothers renowned for their strength, are modeled in two of the earliest known athletic statues at Delphi. The statues commemorate their feat of pulling their mother's cart several miles to the Sanctuary of Hera in the absence of oxen. The neighbors were most impressed and their mother asked Hera to grant them the greatest gift. When they entered Hera's temple, they fell into a slumber and never woke, dying at the height of their admiration, the perfect gift. The Charioteer of Delphi is another ancient relic that has withstood the centuries. It is one of the best known statues from antiquity. The charioteer has lost many features, including his chariot and his left arm, but he stands as a tribute to athletic art of antiquity. The retaining wall was built to support the terrace housing the construction of the second temple of Apollo in 548 BC. Its name is taken from the polygonal masonry of which it is constructed. The gymnasium, which is half a mile away from the main sanctuary, was a series of buildings used by the youth of Delphi. The building consisted of two levels: a stoa on the upper level providing open space, and a palaestra, pool and baths on lower floor. These pools and baths were said to have magical powers, and imparted the ability to communicate to Apollo himself. The hippodrome of Delphi was the location where the running events took place during the Pythian Games. No trace of it has been found, but the location of the stadium and some remnants of retaining walls lead to the conclusion that is was set on a plain apart from the main part of the city and well away from the Peribolos of Apollo. The sacred spring of Delphi lies in the ravine of the Phaedriades. The preserved remains of two monumental fountains that received the water from the spring date to the Archaic period and the Roman, with the later cut into the rock. The stadium is located further up the hill, beyond the via sacra and the theatre. It was originally built in the 5th century BC but was altered in later centuries. The last major remodeling took place in the 2nd century AD under the patronage of Herodus Atticus when the stone seating was built and (arched) entrance. It could seat 6500 spectators and the track was 177 metres long and 25.5 metres wide. The ancient theatre at Delphi was built further up the hill from the Temple of Apollo giving spectators a view of the entire sanctuary and the valley below. It was originally built in the 4th century BC but was remodeled on several occasions since. Its 35 rows can seat 5,000 spectators. The Tholos at the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia is a circular building that was constructed between 380 and 360 BC. It consisted of 20 Doric columns arranged with an exterior diameter of 14.76 meters, with 10 Corinthian columns in the interior. The Tholos is located approximately a half a mile (800 m) from the main ruins at Delphi. Three of the Doric columns have been restored, making it the most popular site at Delphi for tourists to take photographs. Vitruvius (vii, introduction) notes Theodorus the Phocian as the architect of the Round Building which is at Delphi. The Sibyl rock is a pulpit-like outcrop of rock between the Athenian Treasury and the stoa of the Athenians upon the sacred way which leads up to the temple of Apollo in the archaeological area of Delphi. It is claimed to be where the Sibyl sat to deliver her prophecies. The site had been occupied by the village of Kastri since medieval times. Before a systematic excavation of the site could be undertaken, the village had to be relocated but the residents understandably resisted. The opportunity to relocate the village occurred when it was substantially damaged by an earthquake, with villagers offered a completely new village in exchange for the old site. In 1893 the French Archaeological School removed vast quantities of soil from numerous landslides to reveal both the major buildings and structures of the sanctuary of Apollo and of Athena Proaea along with thousands of objects, inscriptions and sculptures. Modern Delphi is situated immediately west of the archaeological site and hence is a popular tourist destination. It is on a major highway linking Amfissa along with Itea and Arachova. There are many hotels and guest houses in the town, and many taverns and bars. The main streets are narrow, and often one-way. Delphi also has a school, a lyceum, a church and a square (plateia). The Trans European Footpath E4 passes through the east end of the town. In addition to the archaeological interest, Delphi attracts tourists visiting the Parnassus Ski Center and the popular coastal towns of the region. The town has a population of 2,373 people while the population of the municipality of Delphi, including Chrisso (ancient Krissa), is 3,511. In medieval times Delphi was also called Kastri and was built on the archaeological site. The residents had used the marble columns and structures as support beams and roofs for their improvised houses, a usual way of rebuilding towns that were partially or totally destroyed, especially after the earthquake in 1580, which demolished several towns in Phocis. In 1893 archaeologists from the École française d'Athènes finally located the actual site of ancient Delphi and the village was moved to a new location, west of the site of the temples. The Delphi Archaeological Museum is at the foot of the main archaeological complex, on the east side of the village, and on the north side of the main road. The museum houses an impressive collection associated with ancient Delphi, including the earliest known notation of a melody, the famous Charioteer, golden treasures discovered beneath the Sacred Way, and fragments of reliefs from the Siphnian Treasury. Immediately adjacent to the exit (and overlooked by most tour guides) is the inscription that mentions the Roman proconsul Gallio. Entries to the museum and to the main complex are separate and chargeable, and a reduced rate ticket gets entry to both. There is a small cafe, and a post office by the museum. Slightly further east, on the south side of the main road, is the Gymnasium and the Tholos. Entry to these is free.	Prefecture of Phokis, Region of Central Greece	cultural		Prefecture of Phokis, Region of Central Greece		[The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind its Lost Secrets|http://books.google.com/books?id=8Oi_sVWIXLAC&printsec=frontcover]#[Portrait of a Priestess: Women and Ritual in Ancient Greece|http://books.google.com/books?id=sAspxHK-T1UC&printsec=frontcover]#[The Delphic oracle, its early history, influence and fall|http://books.google.com/books?id=4Cj0ueSqyVQC&printsec=frontcover]#[volume III|http://books.google.com/books?id=9J0wnXWZmL8C&printsec=toc&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPR1,M1]#[volume IV|http://books.google.com/books?id=ewIIU_JNarIC&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi		[i],[ii],[iii],[iv],[vi]	GR	510000.0	Archaeological Site of Delphi	Greece	393	1987	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/393
16	Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna	32.63833	14.29306	Leptis Magna,(Arabic: لَبْدَة‎ ) also known as Lectis Magna (or Lepcis Magna as it is sometimes spelled), also called Lpqy, Neapolis, or Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, was a prominent city of the Roman Empire. Its ruins are located in Al Khums, Libya, 130 km east of Tripoli, on the coast where the Wadi Lebda meets the sea. The site is one of the most spectacular and unspoiled Roman ruins in the Mediterranean. The city appears to have been founded by Phoenician colonists sometime around 1100 BC, who gave it the Lybico-Berber name Lpqy. The town wouldn't achieve prominence until Carthage became a major power in the Mediterranean Sea in the 4th century BC. It nominally remained part of Carthage's dominions until the end of the Third Punic War in 146 BC and then became part of the Roman Republic, although from about 200 BC onward, it was for all intents and purposes an independent city. Leptis Magna remained as such until the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, when the city and the surrounding area were formally incorporated into the empire as part of the province of Africa. It soon became one of the leading cities of Roman Africa and a major trading post. Leptis achieved its greatest prominence beginning in 193, when a native son, Lucius Septimius Severus, became emperor. He favored his hometown above all other provincial cities, and the buildings and wealth he lavished on it made Leptis Magna the third-most important city in Africa, rivaling Carthage and Alexandria. In 205, he and the imperial family visited the city and received great honors. Among the changes that Severus introduced were to create a magnificent new forum and to rebuild the docks. The natural harbour had a tendency to silt up, but the Severan changes made this worse, and the eastern wharves are extremely well preserved, since they were hardly used. Leptis over-extended itself at this period. During the Crisis of the Third Century, when trade declined precipitously, Leptis Magna's importance also fell into a decline, and by the middle of the fourth century, large parts of the city had been abandoned. Ammianus Marcellinus recounts that the crisis was worsened by a corrupt Roman governor named Romanus during a major tribal raid who demanded bribes to protect the city. The ruined city could not pay these and complained to the emperor Valentianian. Romanus then bribed people at court and arranged for the Leptan envoys to be punished "for bringing false accusations". It enjoyed a minor renaissance beginning in the reign of the emperor Theodosius I. In 439, Leptis Magna and the rest of the cities of Tripolitania fell under the control of the Vandals when their king, Gaiseric, captured Carthage from the Romans and made it his capital. Unfortunately for the future of Leptis Magna, Gaiseric ordered the city's walls demolished so as to dissuade its people from rebelling against Vandal rule. The people of Leptis and the Vandals both paid a heavy price for this in 523 when a group of Berber raiders sacked the city. Belisarius recaptured Leptis Magna in the name of Rome ten years later, and in 534, he destroyed the kingdom of the Vandals. Leptis became a provincial capital of the Eastern Roman Empire (see Byzantine Empire) but never recovered from the destruction wreaked upon it by the Berbers. It was the site of a massacre of Berber chiefs by the Roman authorities in 543. By the time of the Arab conquest of Tripolitania in the 650s, the city was abandoned except for a Byzantine garrison force. Today, the site of Leptis Magna is the site of some of the most impressive ruins of the Roman period. In June 2005, it was revealed that archaeologists from the University of Hamburg had been working along the coast of Libya when they uncovered a 30 ft length of five colorful mosaics created during the 1st or 2nd century. The mosaics show with exceptional clarity depictions of a warrior in combat with a deer, four young men wrestling a wild bull to the ground, and a gladiator resting in a state of fatigue and staring at his slain opponent. The mosaics decorated the walls of a cold plunge pool in a bath house within a Roman villa at Wadi Lebda in Leptis Magna. The gladiator mosaic is noted by scholars as one of the finest examples of representational mosaic art ever seen—a "masterpiece comparable in quality with the Alexander Mosaic in Pompeii." The mosaics were originally discovered in the year 2000 but were kept secret in order to avoid looting. They are currently on display in the Leptis Magna Museum. Part of an ancient temple was brought to the Fort Belvedere royal residence in England in 1818. It now lies in part of Windsor Great Park. The ruins are located between the south shore of Virginia Water and Blacknest Road close to the junction with the A30 London Road and Wentworth Drive. Coordinates: 32°37′48″N 14°18′44″E / 32.63°N 14.31222°E / 32.63; 14.31222	District of Khoms	cultural		District of Khoms		[Comprehensive website, by an archaeologist working on the site|http://www.alnpete.co.uk/lepcis/]#[Livius.org: Lepcis Magna|http://www.livius.org/le-lh/lepcis_magna/lepcis01.html]#[The Main Site at Leptis Magna - Satellite View on Google Maps|http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=leptis+magna,+libya&sll=51.499215,-0.843608&sspn=0.006959,0.019956&ie=UTF8&ll=32.637315,14.289608&spn=0.009414,0.026994&t=h&z=16&om=1]#[The circus (top) and amphitheatre at Leptis Magna - Satellite View Google Maps|http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=leptis+magna,+libya&sll=51.499215,-0.843608&sspn=0.006959,0.019956&ie=UTF8&ll=32.632554,14.309778&spn=0.002354,0.006748&t=k&z=18&om=1]#[Complete photo coverage of Leptis Magna|http://www.romanhideout.com/places/leptis_magna1.asp]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepcis_Magna		[i],[ii],[iii]	LY		Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	183	1982	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/183
17	Kunya-Urgench	42.18318	59.08494	Konye-Urgench (Turkmen: Köneürgenç, Russian: Куня Ургенч, from Persian Kuhna Gurgānj کهنه گرگانج) also known as Konya-Urgench, Old Urgench or Urganj, is a municipality of about 30,000 inhabitants in north-eastern Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Ürgenç (Urgench), which contains the unexcavated ruins of the 12th-century capital of Khwarezm. Since 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench have been protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Formerly situated on the Amu-Darya River, Old Ürgenç was one of the greatest cities on the Silk Road. Its foundation date is uncertain, but the extant ruins of the Kyrkmolla fortress have been dated (rather ambitiously) to the Achaemenid period. The 12th and early 13th centuries were the golden age of Ürgenç, it became the capital of Khorezm Empire and it surpassed in population and fame all other Central Asian cities barring Bukhara. In 1221, Genghis Khan razed it to the ground in one of the bloodiest massacres in human history. The city was revived after Genghis's assault, but the sudden change of Amu-Darya's course to the north and the town's destruction again in the 1370s, this time by Timur, forced the inhabitants to leave the site forever. The area was later inhabited by Turkmen in 1831, but they built outside the old town, using it as a graveyard. A new town of Urgench was developed to the Southeast, in present-day Uzbekistan. First archeological research on the old city site was conducted by Alexander Yakubovsky in 1929. Most of Ürgenç's monuments have completely or partly collapsed. Nowadays, the site contains three small mausoleums of the 12th century and the more elaborate 14th-century Törebeg Hanym Mausoleum, which was much restored in the 1990s. The most striking extant landmark of Old Urgench is the early 11th-century Gutluk-Temir Minaret, which, at 60 meters, used to be the tallest brick minaret prior to the construction of the Minaret of Jam. Also of note is the Il-Arslan Mausoleum - the oldest standing monument: a conical dome of 12 facets, housing the tomb of Mohammed II's grandfather, Il-Arslan, who died in 1172. Somewhat to the north, sprawls a vast medieval necropolis. Coordinates: 42°20′N 59°09′E / 42.333°N 59.15°E / 42.333; 59.15	Dashoguz Vilayet (Province)	cultural		Dashoguz Vilayet (Province)			http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konye-Urgench		[ii],[iii]	TM		Kunya-Urgench	Turkmenistan	1199	2005	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1199
18	Archaeological Site of Sabratha	32.80528	12.485	Sabratha, Sabratah or Siburata (Arabic: صبراتة‎), in the Az Zawiyah District in the northwestern corner of modern Libya, was the westernmost of the "three cities" of Tripolis. From 2001 to 2007 it was the capital of the former Sabratha Wa Surman District. It lies on the Mediterranean coast about 65km (40 miles) west of Tripoli (ancient Oea). The extant archaeological site was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. Sabratha's port was established, perhaps about 500 BC, as a Phoenician trading-post that served as a coastal outlet for the products of the African hinterland.The Phoenicians gave it the Lybico-Berber name 'Sbrt'n', which suggests that there may have been a native town built there prior to the Phoenicians' arrival. Sabratha became part of the short-lived Numidian Kingdom of Massinissa before being Romanized and rebuilt in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The Emperor Septimus Severus was born nearby in Leptis Magna, and Sabratha reached its monumental peak during the rule of the Severans. The city was badly damaged by earthquakes during the 4th century, particularly the quake of AD 365. It was rebuilt on a more modest scale by Byzantine governors. Within a hundred years of the Arab conquest of the maghreb, trade had shifted to other ports and Sabratha dwindled to a village. Besides its magnificent late 3rd century theatre that retains its three-storey architectural backdrop, Sabratha has temples dedicated to Liber Pater, Serapis and Isis. There is a Christian basilica of the time of Justinian and also remnants of some of the mosaic floors that enriched elite dwellings of Roman North Africa (for example, at the Villa Sileen, near Al-Khoms). However, these are most clearly preserved in the coloured patterns of the seaward (or Forum) baths, directly overlooking the shore, and in the black and white floors of the Theatre baths. There is an adjacent museum containing some treasures from Sabratha, but others can be seen in the national museum in Tripoli. In 1943, during the Second World War, archaeologist Max Mallowan, husband of novelist Agatha Christie, was based at Sabratha as assistant to the Senior Civil Affairs Officer of the Western Province of Tripolitania. His main task was to oversee the allocation of grain rations, but it was, in the words of Christie's biographer, a "glorious attachment", during which Mallowan lived in an Italian villa with a patio overlooking the sea and dined on fresh tunny fish and olives. Al Wefaq Sabratah is the football club, playing at Sabratah Stadium. Coordinates: 32°47′N 12°29′E / 32.783°N 12.483°E / 32.783; 12.483	District of Zawia	cultural		District of Zawia		[OCLC 414295|http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/414295]#[UNESCO archaeological site of Sabratha|http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=184]#[Complete photo coverage of the archeological site|http://www.romanhideout.com/places/sabratha1.asp]#["Sabratah, Libya"|http://www.fallingrain.com/world/LY/51/Sabratah.html]#[Sabratha, image from the BSR Library and Archive digital collections. Ward-Perkins photographic collection|http://www.bsrdigitalcollections.it/details.aspx?ID=2668&ST=AS]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabratha		[iii]	LY		Archaeological Site of Sabratha	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	184	1982	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/184
19	Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn	23.26986	56.745	This is a list of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the Arab States. Some of these countries are geographically located in Asia and some in Africa.	Al Dhahira region	cultural		Al Dhahira region		[UNESCO World Heritage Centre|http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31]#[List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites|http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&l=en&&&mode=table&order=region]#[VRheritage.org|http://www.vrheritage.org]#[Worldheritage-Forum|http://worldheritage-forum.net]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_the_Arab_States		[iii],[iv]	OM		Archaeological Sites of Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn	Oman	434	1988	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/434
20	Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh	53.22278	26.69139	Nesvizh Castle or Niasvizh Castle (Belarusian: Нясвіжскі замак, Niasvižski zamak, Russian: Несвижский замок, Nesvizhskiy zamok, Polish: Nieświeski zamek) is a residential castle of the Radziwill family in Nesvizh in Belarus. The estate was owned by the Radziwiłł Polish magnate family from 1533, when it was awarded to Mikołaj Radziwiłł and his brother Jan Radziwiłł after the extinction of the Kiszka family. Since the Radziwills were one of the most important and wealthy clans of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, it was there that the Lithuanian Archive was moved in 1551. In 1586 the estate was turned into an ordynacja. In 1582 Mikołaj Krzysztof "Sierotka" Radziwiłł, the Marshal of Lithuania, voivode of Trakai and Vilnius and castellan of Šiauliai, started the construction of an imposing square three-storey chateau. Although the works were based on a pre-existing structure of a mediæval castle, the former fortifications were entirely turned into a renaissance-baroque house. Construction was completed by 1604, and they added several galleries half a century later. The château's corners were fortified with four octagonal towers. In 1706, during the Great Northern War, Charles XII's army sacked the castle and destroyed its fortifications. Several decades later, the Radziwills invited some German and Italian architects to substantially renovate and enlarge the chateau. Antoni Zaleski decorated its yellow facades with baroque stucco work. The 16th-century castle gates were also reconstructed, and the two-storey gatehouse tower was crowned with a helm. It was at this time that the three separate buildings surrounding the central courtyard were joined into a single structure. The most important structure in Nesvizh is the Corpus Christi Church (picture) (1587 to 1603), connected with the castle by a dam over a ditch and containing coffins of 72 members of the Radziwill family, each interred in a simple coffin made of birch and marked with Trąby Coat of Arms. Designed by the Italian architect Gian Maria Bernardoni (1541 to 1605), the church is considered the first Jesuit temple patterned after Il Gesù in Rome, the first domed basilica with Baroque facade in the world and the first baroque piece of architecture in Eastern Europe. Apart from elaborate princely sepulchres, its interior features some late baroque frescoes from 1760s and the Holy Cross altar, executed by Venetian sculptors in 1583. In 1770 the castle was seized by Russian forces and the Radziwill family was expelled. Soon afterwards the Lithuanian Archive was transferred to Saint Petersburg (where it remains), while the majority of works of art gathered in the palace were distributed among various Russian nobles. Abandoned both by the original owners and by the Russian army, the palace gradually fell into disrepair. However, it was restored by the Radziwills and between 1881 and 1886 the castle's interiors were renovated by Prince Anton Radizwill and his French wife, Marie de Castellane. They also designed a landscape park in English style. With an area of more than one square kilometre, the park is one of the biggest such facilities in Europe. In 1939, the Radziwill family was expelled from the castle by the invading Red Army. In Soviet times, the chateau was used a sanatorium, while the park gradually fell in neglect. In 1994, the castle complex was designated the national historical and cultural reserve. Twelve years later, the castle complex was inscribed on the World Heritage List. The ongoing reconstruction has drawn sharp criticism for its "unjustified reconstruction" of several long-demolished structures, notably a bell-tower. In 2002, the upper storey of the residence was destroyed by fire. Six years later, the Belarus edition of the Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that a substantial section of the castle, dating from the 18th century, had been entirely demolished on account of "rotten brick" (see photo). Coordinates: 53°13′22.36″N 26°41′30.25″E / 53.2228778°N 26.6917361°E / 53.2228778; 26.6917361	Minsk Province (Minskaya Voblasts')	cultural		Minsk Province (Minskaya Voblasts')		[Views of the castle|http://globus.tut.by/nesvizh/palace_gallery.htm]#[Views of the cathedral|http://globus.tut.by/nesvizh/farny_gallery.htm]#[Photos on Radzima.org|http://www.radzima.org/eng/nyasvizh/radziwill-castle-palace-2002.html]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesvizh_Castle		[ii],[iv],[vi]	BY		Architectural, Residential and Cultural Complex of the Radziwill Family at Nesvizh	Belarus	1196	2005	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1196
21	Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran	38.978889	45.473333	The Saint Thaddeus Monastery (Armenian: Սուրբ Թադէոսի վանք - Sourb Tadeos Vank; Azerbaijani and Persian: قره‌کلیسا -In persian Sertivier keliseh, meaning "the heart of iran church"), also known as Kara Kilise[citation needed], is an ancient Armenian monastery located in the mountainous area of Iran's West Azarbaijan Province, about 20 km from the town of Maku. The monastery is visible from a distance because of the massiveness of the church, strongly characterized by the polygonal drums and conical roofs of its two domes. There are several chapels nearby: three on the hills east of the stream, one approximately 3km south of the monastery on the road to Bastam, and another that serves as the church for the village of Ghara-Kilise. One of the 12 Apostles, St. Thaddeus, also known as Saint Jude, (not to be confused with Judas Iscariot), was martyred while spreading the Gospel. He is revered as an apostle of the Armenian Church[disambiguation needed]. Legend has it that a church dedicated to him was first built on the present site in AD 68.[citation needed] Not much appears to remain of the original church, which was extensively rebuilt in 1329 after an earthquake damaged the structure in 1319. Nevertheless, some of the parts surrounding the altar apse date from the 10th century. Most of the present structure dates from the early 19th century when Qajar prince Abbas Mirza helped in renovations and repairs. The 19th century additions are from carved sandstone. The earliest parts are of black and white stone, hence its Turkish name Kara Kilise, the Black Church. A fortified wall surrounds the church and its now-abandoned monastery buildings. In July 2008, the St. Thaddeus monastery was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List, along with two other Armenian monuments located in the same province: Saint Stepanos Monastery and the chapel of Dzordzor. The Apostles Thaddeus and Bartholomew traveled through Armenia in AD 45 to preach the word of God. Many people were converted and numerous secret Christian communities were established there. Around that time, Abgar died after ruling for 38 years and the Armenian kingdom was split into two parts. His son Ananun crowned himself in Edessa, while his nephew Sanatruk ruled in Armenia. About AD 66, Ananun gave the order to kill St. Thaddeus in Edessa. The king's daughter Sandokht, who had converted to Christianity, was martyred with Thaddeus. Her tomb is located near the Ghara Kelisa. It only has one service a year, on the Day of St. Thaddeus (near July first), which is attended by Armenian pilgrims from all over Iran and other countries. Coordinates: 39°05′32″N 44°32′40″E / 39.09222°N 44.54444°E / 39.09222; 44.54444	N38 58 44 E45 28 24	cultural		N38 58 44 E45 28 24		[UNESCO World Heritage: Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1262]#[Thaddeus Monastery at Armeniapedia|http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Thaddeus_Monastery]#[St Thaddeus at Armenica.org|http://www.armenica.org/armenica.cgi?=2=1====baz0010]#[Armenian Architecture studies|http://armenianstudies.csufresno.edu/iaa_architecture/thaddeus.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Thaddeus_Monastery		[ii],[iii],[vi]	IR	1290000.0	Armenian Monastic Ensembles of Iran	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	1262		http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1262
22	Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites	43.066167	12.622444	The Papal Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi (Italian: Basilica Papale di San Francesco d'Assisi, Latin: Basilica Sancti Francisci Assisiensis) is the mother church of the Roman Catholic Order of Friars Minor, commonly known as the Franciscan Order, in Assisi (Italy), the birthplace of St. Francis. Burial place of St. Francis, the basilica is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in Italy. The basilica, which was begun in 1228, is built into the side of a hill and comprises two churches known as the Upper Church and the Lower Church, and a crypt where the remains of the saint are interred. With its accompanying friary, the basilica is a distinctive landmark to those approaching Assisi. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. The interior of the Upper Church is important as an early example of the Gothic style in Italy. The Upper and Lower Churches are decorated with frescoes by numerous late medieval painters from the Roman and Tuscan schools, and include works by Cimabue, Giotto, Simone Martini, Pietro Lorenzetti and possibly Pietro Cavallini. The range and quality of the works gives the basilica a unique importance in demonstrating the development of Italian art of this period. The Franciscan monastery (Sacro Convento) and the Lower and Upper Basilicas (Italian: Basilica inferiore e superiore) of Francis of Assisi were begun in honor of this local saint, immediately after his canonization in 1228. Simone di Pucciarello donated the land for the church, a hill at the west side of Assisi, known as "Hill of Hell" (Italian: Colle d'Inferno) where previously criminals were put to death. Today, this hill is called "Hill of Paradise". The foundation stone was laid by Pope Gregory IX on 17 July 1228, although construction may already have been begun. The church was designed and supervised by Brother Elia Bombardone, one of the first followers of St. Francis and the former provincial minister of Syria. The Lower basilica was finished in 1230. On Pentecost 25 May 1230 the uncorrupted body of St. Francis was brought in a solemn procession to the Lower Basilica from its temporary burial place in the church of St. George, now the Basilica of Saint Clare of Assisi. The burial place was concealed for fear that St Francis' remains might be stolen and dispersed. The construction of the Upper basilica was begun after 1239 and was completed in 1253. Both churches were consecrated by Pope Innocent IV in 1253. Pope Nicholas IV, the former Minister-General of the Order of Franciscans, raised the church to the status of papal church in 1288. The Piazza del Loge, the square leading to the church, is surrounded by colonnades constructed in 1474. They housed the numerous pilgrims flocking to this church. In 1818, the remains of St Francis were rediscovered beneath the floor of the Lower Basilica. In the reign of Pope Pius IX the crypt was built so that the faithful might visit the burial place of the saint. On 27 October 1986 and January 2002, Pope John Paul II gathered in Assisi with more than 120 representatives of different religions and Christian denominations for a World Day of Prayer for Peace. On September 26, 1997, Assisi was struck by an earthquake which caused four fatalities. The Basilica was badly damaged (part of the vault collapsed, carrying with it a fresco by Cimabue), and was closed for two years for restoration. The basilica was designed by a follower of St. Francis, Brother Elia Bombadone. The construction may have commenced before the official laying of the foundation stone. (see above History). The Basilica was designed on two levels, each of which is consecrated as a church. They are known as the "Basilica superiore" (The Upper Basilica), generally called "The Upper Church" and the "Basilica inferiore" (The Lower Basilica), generally called "The Lower Church". The Lower Church was structurally a large crypt supporting the upper one. In the 19th century a lower crypt was constructed beneath the basilica. Architecturally, the exterior of the basilica appears united with the Friary of St. Francis, since the lofty arcades of the latter support and buttress the church in its apparently precarious position on the hillside. The architecture is a synthesis of the Romanesque and Gothic styles, and established many of the typical characteristics of Italian Gothic architecture. As originally built, both upper and lower churches had a simple cruciform plan with an aisless nave of four square bays, a square crossing, a transept that projected by half a bay one each side, and an apse, the lower being semicircular and the upper polygonal. To the left of the church stands a free-standing bell tower of Romanesque design. The Lower Church was built entirely in the Romanesque style, having a low semi-circular ribbed cross-vaults over the nave and barrel vaults over the transept arms. However, the space has been greatly extended with a number of lateral and transept chapels added between 1350 and 1400. The main entrance to the nave is through an ornate Gothic doorway built between 1280 and 1300, and later enclosed with a simple Renaissance style porch of 1487 by Francesco da Pietrasanta. Set in the tympanum of the Gothic doorway is an ornate rose window which has been called "the eye of the most beautiful church in the world" The Upper Church has a facade of white-washed brick divided into two horizontal zones of about equal height, and with a simple gable of height equal to the lower zones. There is a single large doorway in the Gothic style, divided by a column and with a rose window set in the tympanun above the two cusped arches. Above the door, in the second zone is a large and ornate rose window in which most of the decorative details are Romanesque in style. Surrounding it are carved the four Symbols of the Evangelists, combining with the window to create a square composition. Above it in the gable is an ocular window. To the left of the facade and visible from both the forecourts of the Upper Church and the Lower Church is the Benediction Loggia in the Baroque style which was built in 1754, when the church was raised to the status of basilica. Internally, the Upper Church maintains Brother Elia's original simple aisless cruciform plan. Like the Lower Church, there is a nave of four bays with ribbed cross-vaulting. Unlike that of the Lower Church, it is only the diagonal ribs which are of semi-circular form. The transverse ribs are pointed in the Gothic manner, and thus rise to the full height of the wider diagonal ribs. Each group of ribs springs from a group of clustered columns. Externally the columns and vault are supported by stout buttresses of semi-circular plan. Unlike the Lower Church, the transepts also have ribbed vaulting. There are tall Gothic windows with Geometric tracery in each bay of the nave and in the polygonal apse of the chancel. The windows of the apse are believed to have been created by German craftsmen active around Assisi at the end of the 13th century. The windows on the left hand side of the nave were made by a French workshop (1270), while those on the right hand side are attributed to the workshop of Maestro di San Francesco. These stained glass windows are among the best examples of 13th c. Italian glasswork. As is characteristic of Italian church architecture, the main decorative feature, and the main medium used for conveying the Church's message is fresco, rather than stained glass. The earliest frescoes are some of those in the Lower Church. The work proceeded with a number of different projects and appears to have involved numerous artists, some of whom are as renowned as Cimabue and Giotto, but many of whom are no longer known by name. This bright and spacious basilica consists of a single four-bay nave with cross-vaulted ceiling bordered with patterns of crosses and leaves, a transept and a polygonal apse. The four ribbed vaults are decorated alternately with golden stars on a blue background and paintings. The second vault is decorated with roundels with busts of Christ facing St. Francis and the Virgin facing St. John the Baptist. The entrance vault gives us the Four Latin Doctors of the Church: St Gregory facing St. Jerome and St. Ambrose facing St. Augustine. These are ascribed to the Isaac Master. The choir has 102 wooden stalls with carvings and marquetry by Domenico Indovini (1501). In their centre, on a raised platform, stands the papal cathedra. The west end of the transept and the apse have been decorated with many frescoes by Cimabue and his workshop (starting in c. 1280). The magnificent Crucifixion, with St. Francis on his knees at the foot of the Cross, stresses again the veneration of the Passion of Christ by St. Francis. Sadly, the frescoes of Cimabue soon suffered from damp and decay. Due to the use of lead oxide in his colours and to the fact that the colours were applied when the plaster was no longer fresh, they have deteriorated and have been reduced to photographic negatives. Prior to him there had been some decorations in the upper right hand section of the transept by an (anonymous) Northern Master, probably an English artist (1267–1270). He realized the two lunettes and the roundels on the west wall with paintings of the Angel and the Apostles. Another (anonymous) master, the Roman Master, painted the Isaiah and the David and the remainder of the wall under the eastern lunette. The upper part on both sides of the nave, badly damaged by the earthquake of 1997, was decorated in two rows with in total 32 scenes from the Old Testament (starting with Creation of the World and ending with Joseph forgives his brothers) and the New Testament (from the Annunciation to The Women at the Tomb), while the upper register of the entrance wall is covered with two frescoes Pentecost and Ascension of Jesus. Since it took about six months to paint one bay of the nave, different Roman and Tuscan masters, followers of Cimabue, have performed this series of scenes such as Giacomo, Jacopo Torriti and Pietro Cavallini. The two frescoes of the life of Isaac (Isaac blesses Jacob and Esau in front of Isaac) in the middle register of the third bay, are traditionally ascribed to the young Giotto (1290–1295) (previously wrongly ascribed to Cimabue by Vasari). But even this has been controversial. Many critics esteem these the work of the anonymous Isaac Master and his workshop. Deducing from stylistic details, attesting to his Roman background, some think that the Isaac Master may have been Pietro Cavallini or a follower. Pietro Cavallini had painted around 1290 a similar fresco Isaac blessing Jacob in the convent of the church Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in Rome. The position of the resting Isaac looks like the same position of the Virgin in Cavallini's mosaic Birth of the Virgin in the apse of the church Santa Maria in Trastevere in Rome. The Isaac Master is considered one of the first practitioners of the true fresco (buon fresco) technique. But the most important decorations are the series of 28 frescoes ascribed to the young Giotto along the lower part of the nave. Each bay contains three frescoes above the dado on each side of the nave, two frescoes in the east galleries beside the entrance, and two more on the entrance wall. Giotto used the Legenda Maior, the biography of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure (1266) to reconstruct the major events in the life of St. Francis. The prototype for this cycle may have been the (now lost) St Francis cycle by Pietro Cavallini in the church San Francesco a Ripa in Rome. The paintings are so vivid, as if Giotto had been a witness to these events. According to Vasari, they were executed in the period between 1296 and 1304. However the authorship of Giotto is disputed, due to the ambiguous attributions given in early descriptions of this work. Many Italian critics continue to support the authorship of Giotto and his workshop. But because of small differences in style with the frescoes of Isaac, it is thought that several or even all of these frescoes were painted by at least three separate painters, using the original concept of Giotto : the Master of Legend of St. Francis (the principal painter and probable supervisor of the cycle), the Master of the Obsequies of St. Francis and the Cecilia Master. The first span of the ceiling is decorated with frescoes of the "Four Doctors of the Church“ ( Jerome, Augustine, Gregory and Ambrose), attributed either to a young Giotto or to one of his followers. The third span presents four heart-shaped medallions of the Christ, Mary, John the Baptist and Francis, painted by Jacopo Torriti. The cuspidate façade of the upper basilica has a portal in Gothic style with twin doors and a beautiful rose window. Brother Elia Bombardone had designed the lower basilica as an enormous crypt with ribbed vaults. He had acquired his experience by building huge sepulchres out of hard rock in Syria. The doors are surmounted by a large rose window, flanked by two smaller ones, called "the eye of the most beautiful church in the world" The decorations on the left wooden door were executed by Ugolinuccio da Gubbio (circa 1550) and those on the right door by an anonymous Umbrian artist (1573). They portray stories from the lives of St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Louis and St. Anthony. On the left wall of the porch stands the bust of Pope Benedict XIV who granted this church the title of Patriarchal Basilica and Cappella Papale. The Benedict XVI’s theological act of renouncing the title of "Patriarch of the West" has a consequence that the basilica changed its name to become the Papal basilica of St Francis. Entering the lower basilica, one sees at the other side of the vestibule the chapel of St. Catherine of Alexandria, erected about 1270. It was enlarged by Gattapone da Gubbio and decorated at the expense of Cardinal Egidio Albornoz, papal legate in charge of the Papal States (from 1350 to 1367). He was initially buried here but his body was later transferred to Toledo, Spain. The frescoes with the eight episodes from the life of St. Catherine were painted in 1368-1369 by ‘Andreas pictor de Bononia’. This painter, called Andrea, is most probably Andrea de’ Bartoli (c. 1349 - 1369), the court artist of Albornoz (and not Andrea da Bologna, as usually, but wrongly, attributed). The saints in this chapel were painted by Pace di Bartolo d'Assisi (1344–1368). The stained glass windows are the work of Giovanni di Bonino of Assisi (mid 14th century). On the left side of the entrance is the small Chapel of St. Sebastian with a canvas by Giorgetti and episodes of the life of the saint on the walls painted c. 1646 by G. Martelli (Irene taking care of St. Sebastian; St. Sebastian before Domitian). The left wall of this chapel is decorated by some paintings by Ottaviano Nelli (15th century) and a painting of St. Christopher (Umbrian School, 14 th century). On the right side of the entrance there are two monuments by anonymous artists: in the first span, the mausoleum of Giovanni de' Cerchi, surmounted by an early 14th century porphyry vase (a gift of a queen of Cyprus) and the mausoleum of John of Brienne, king of Jerusalem and emperor-regent of Constantinople. Above this last burial monument stands a statue of the Blessed Virgin and on its left the figure of a crowned woman seated on a lion, made by Cosmatesco (1290). The badly deteriorating frescoes on the walls and the vaults of the third section of this entrance are the work of Cesare Sermei and G. Martelli (1645). The chapel on the right side of the third section is dedicated to St. Anthony the Abbot. The niches in the wall contain the burial monuments of the Duke of Spoleto Blasco Fernandez and his son Gracia, assassinated in 1367 (anonymous local artist, 14th century). The lower basilica consists of a central nave with several side chapels with semi-circular arches. The nave is decorated with the oldest frescoes in the church by an unknown artist, called Maestro di San Francesco. They feature five scenes from the Passion of Christ on the right side, while on the left side equally five scenes from the Life of St. Francis. By this juxtaposition, the Franciscans wanted to contribute to the idea of their founder as a second Christ. They are connected by a low blue-painted ceiling decorated with golden stars. Most images on the lower walls have decayed to leave almost no trace, except on the right wall fragments of Virgin and Child with an Angel by Cimabue. These frescoes, executed in tempera on dry plaster, were completed about 1260-1263. They are considered by many as the best examples of Tuscan wall paintings prior to Cimabue. As the popularity of this church increased, side chapels for noble families were added between 1270 and 1350, destroying the frescoes on the opened walls. The first chapel on the left is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. It was built by Cardinal da Montefiore, and was decorated between 1317 and 1319 with ten frescoes depicting his life by Simone Martini. Simone Martini also painted a triptych with the Madonna and Child with Two Hungarian Royal Saints and a row of five attendant saints in St. Elizabeth Chapel ( southern arm of the transept). These are amongst the greatest works of Simone Martini and the finest examples of 14th century painting. The use of lead white has over the years darkened several passages in these works. The other chapel on the left is dedicated to St. Peter of Alcantara. The chapels on the right are dedicated to : The nave ends in a richly decorated semicircular apse, preceded with a transept with barrel vaulting. The frescoes in the right transept depict the childhood of Christ, partly by Giotto and his workshop and the Nativity by the anonymous Maestro di San Nicola. The lowest level shows three frescoes representing St. Francis posthumously intervening in favour of two children. These frescoes by Giotto were revolutionary in their time, showing real people with emotions, set in a realistic landscape. On the transept wall Cimabue painted his most famous work "Our Lady enthroned and Saint Francis" (1280). This is probably the nearest likeness to St. Francis. This static painting in Gothic style is in stark contrast with the lively frescoes of Giotto. This Chapel of Saint Nicholas of Bari, at the northern end of the transept, was commissioned by the papal legate Cardinal Napoleone Orsini and it contains the tomb of the cardinal’s brother, Giovanni Orsini, who died between 1292 and 1294 . The funerary monument is set in a niche above the altar, with the recumbent effigy of a young man placed inside a mortuary chamber and flanked by two angels. The reliefs were carved by an Umbrian sculptor, probably of local origin. Between the tomb and the stained glass window appears a frescoed triptych attributed to Giotto's school, representing the Madonna and Child with Saint Francis and Nicholas . The cycle decorating the walls of the chapel, completed by 1307, comprises twelve scenes painted on the ceiling and on the walls illustrating the life and miracles of St Nicholas A scene of the chapel’s dedication is painted above the arch of the entrance on the southern wall: the Redeemer receives the homage of Giovanni Orsini, presented by St. Nicholas, and of Napoleone Orsini, presented by Saint Francis. The stained glass windows show Cardinal Napoleone presented to Christ in the summit and his brother presented to Saint Nicholas in the zone below. At the southern end of the transept cardinal Orsini commissioned another chapel, dedicated to St John the Baptist, which was probably originally built for the tomb of Napoleone Orsini himself, but the cardinal was never buried there and the tomb remained empty . The parallel architectural arrangement of both Orsini chapels suggests that they were conceived together. However, the decorations of the chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist were never finished . Pietro Lorenzetti ( or his workshop) executed a frescoed triptych with a Madonna and Child with Saints John the Baptist and Francis. The left transept was decorated by the Sienese painter Pietro Lorenzetti and his workshop between 1315 and 1330 (attributed by Vasari Pietro Lorenzetti and also (wrongly) to Giotto and Puccio Capanna) . This cycle of tempera frescoes are his masterworks. They depict six scenes from the Passion of Christ. The fresco of Deposition of the Cross is especially emotional. There were about 330 work-stages needed to complete this cycle. Beneath the monumental "Crucifixion" scene, Pietro Lorenzetti has executed a fresco of Madonna and Child, accompanied by Saints John the Evangelist and Saint Francis ( the so-called Madonna dei Tramonti). The fresco is accompanied by a frescoed niche containing the liturgical implements and a fictive bench. The juxtaposition of the Childhood and the Passion frescoes emphasizes the parallel between the passion of Christ and the compassion of St. Francis. The papal altar in the apse was made out of one block of stone from Como in 1230. Around the altar are a series of ornamented Gothic arches, supported by columns in different styles. The fine Gothic walnut choir stalls were completed in 1471 by Apollonio Petrocchi da Ripatransone, with the help of Tommaso di Antonio Fiorentino and Andrea da Montefalco. Once featuring frescoes depicting an allegory of the Crucifixion by Stefano Fiorentino (destroyed in 1622), the walls of the apse are now covered with a "Last Judgment" by Cesare Sermei di Orvieto (1609–1668). The paintings in the lunettes of the vaults (1315–20) depict the "Triumph of St Francis“ and three allegories of Obedience, Poverty and Chastity by the so-called Maestro delle Vele (Master of the Assisi vaults), a pupil of Giotto (about 1330). The stained glass windows in this lower basilica are attributed to Giovanni di Bonino and his workshop. Halfway down the nave one can descend into the crypt via a double stairway. This burial place of St. Francis was found again in 1818. His remains had been hidden by brother Elia to prevent the spread of his relics in medieval Europe. By order of Pope Pius IX a crypt was built under the lower basilica. It was designed by Pasquale Belli with precious marble in neo-classical style. But it was redesigned in bare stone in neo-Romanesque style by Ugo Tarchi between 1925 and 1932. The ancient stone coffin with iron ties is enshrined in an open space above the altar. In 1934 his most faithful brothers were entombed in the corners of the wall around the altar: brother Rufino, brother Angelo, brother Masseo and brother Leone. At the entrance of the crypt, an urn with the remains of Jacopa dei Settesoli was added to the crypt. This woman of Roman nobility was the most faithful friend and benefactress of St. Francis. She was at his side in the Porziuncola at the hour of his death. Next to the basilica stands the friary Sacro Convento with its imposing walls with 53 Romanesque arches and powerful buttresses supporting the whole complex. It towers over the valley below, giving the impression of a fortress. It was built with pink and white stone from Mount Subasio. It was already inhabited by the friars in 1230. But construction took a long time, with as result different styles intermingling : Romanesque with Gothic style. A major part was built under the reign of Pope Sixtus IV, a Franciscan, between 1474 and 1476. The friary now houses a vast library (with medieval codices and incunables), a museum with works of art donated by pilgrims through the centuries and also the 57 works of art (mainly of Florentine and Sienese schools) of the Perkins collection. The belfry, in Romanesque style, was finished in 1239.	N43 3 58.2 E12 37 20.8	cultural		N43 3 58.2 E12 37 20.8		[The Basilica of St Francis|http://www.assisionline.com/assisi__162.html]#[Frescoes of Giotto in the upper basilica|http://www.thais.it/speciali/assisi/Giotto/mappa_giotto.html]#[Frescoes of Pietro Lorenzetti in the lower basilica|http://www.thais.it/speciali/assisi/Lorenzetti/introduzione.htm]#[Frescoes of Simone Martini in the lower basilica|http://www.thais.it/speciali/assisi/SimoneMartini/introduzione.htm]#[Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi - Italy|http://www.franciscanfriarstor.com/archive/stfrancis/stf_basilica_st_francis.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Francesco_d%27Assisi		[i],[ii],[iii],[iv],[vi]	IT	145630000.0	Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and Other Franciscan Sites	Italy	990		http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/990
23	Baalbek	34.00707	36.20494	Baalbek (Arabic: بعلبك‎) is a town in the Bekaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude 1,170 metres (3,840 ft), situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire. It is Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, and it can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. It contains the largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, and they are among the best preserved. Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods worshiped here, the triad of Jupiter, Venus and Bacchus, were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are also seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design. Baalbek is home to the annual Baalbeck International Festival. The town is about 85 km (53 mi) northeast of Beirut, and about 75 km (47 mi) north of Damascus. It has a population of approximately 72,000. The history of settlement in the area of Baalbek dates back about 9000 years, with almost continual settlement of the tell under the Temple of Jupiter, which was probably a temple since the pre-Hellenistic era. 19th-century Bible archaeologists wanted to connect Baalbek to the "Baalgad" mentioned in Joshua 11:17, but the assertion has seldom been taken up in modern times. In fact, this minor Phoenician city, named for the "Lord (Baal) of the Beqaa valley" lacked enough commercial or strategic importance to rate a mention in Assyrian or Egyptian records so far uncovered, according to Hélène Sader, professor of archaeology at the American University of Beirut. After Alexander the Great conquered the Near East in 334 BC, the existing settlement was named Heliopolis (Ἡλιούπολις) from helios, Greek for sun, and polis, Greek for city. The city retained its religious function during Greco-Roman times, when the sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter-Baal was a pilgrimage site. Trajan's biographer records that the Emperor consulted the oracle there. Trajan inquired of the Heliopolitan Jupiter whether he would return alive from his wars against the Parthians. In reply, the god presented him with a vine shoot cut into pieces. Theodosius Macrobius, a Latin grammarian of the 5th century, mentioned Zeus Heliopolitanus and the temple, a place of oracular divination. Starting in the last quarter of the 1st century BC (reign of Augustus) and over a period of two centuries (reign of Philip the Arab), the Romans had built a temple complex in Baalbek consisting of three temples: Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus. On a nearby hill, they built a fourth temple dedicated to Mercury. The city, then known as Heliopolis (there was another Heliopolis in Egypt), was made a colonia by Septimius Severus in AD 193, having been part of the territory of Berytus on the Phoenician coast since 15 BC. Work on the religious complex there lasted over a century and a half and was never completed. The dedication of the present temple ruins, the largest religious building in the entire Roman empire, dates from the reign of Septimus Severus (193-211 AD), whose coins first show the two temples. The great courts of approach were not finished before the reigns of Caracalla (211-217 AD) and Philip the Arab (244-249 AD)[citation needed]. In commemoration, no doubt, of the dedication of the new sanctuaries, Severus conferred the rights of the ius Italicum on the city. Today, only six Corinthian columns remain standing. Eight more were disassembled and shipped to Constantinople under Justinian's orders circa 532-537 AD, for his basilica of Hagia Sophia. The greatest of the three temples was sacred to Jupiter Baal, ("Heliopolitan Zeus"), identified here with the sun, and was constructed during the first century AD ( completed circa 60 AD ). At the time it was the largest temple in the empire[citation needed]. With it were associated a temple to Venus and a lesser temple in honor of Bacchus (though it was traditionally referred to as the "Temple of the Sun" by Neoclassical visitors, who saw it as the best-preserved Roman temple in the world – it is surrounded by forty-two columns nearly 20 meters in height). Thus three Eastern deities were worshipped in Roman guise: thundering Jove, the god of storms, stood in for Baal-Hadad, Venus for ‘Ashtart (known in English as Astarte) and Bacchus for Anatolian Dionysus. The original number of Jupiter columns was 54 columns. In the early 20th century an earthquake reduced the 9 remaining columns to six. The architrave and frieze blocks weigh up to 60 tons each, and one corner block over 100 tons, all of them raised to a height of ca. 19 m (62.34 ft) above the ground. This was thought to have been done using Roman cranes. Roman cranes were not capable of lifting stones this heavy; however, by combining multiple cranes they may have been able to lift them to this height. If necessary they may have used the cranes to lever one side up a little at a time and use shims to hold it while they did the other side. The Roman construction was built on top of earlier ruins and involved the creation of an immense raised plaza onto which the actual buildings were placed. The sloping terrain necessitated the creation of retaining walls on the north, south and west sides of the plaza. These walls are built of about 24 monoliths at their lowest level each weighing approximately 300 tons. The western, tallest retaining wall has a second course of monoliths containg the famous trilithon: a row of three stones, each over 19 metres long, 4.3 metres high and 3.6 metres broad, cut from limestone. They can be calculated to weigh approximately 800 t each. A fourth, still larger stone called Stone of the Pregnant Woman lies unused in a nearby quarry about 1 mile from the town (see image below). – its weight, often exaggerated, is estimated at 1,000.12 t.An even larger stone, weighing approximately 1,242 t, lies in the same quarry across the road (see image below). Another of the Roman ruins, the Great Court, has six 20 m (65.62 ft) tall stone columns surviving, out of an original 128. Jupiter-Baal was represented locally (on coinage) as a beardless god in long scaly drapery, holding a whip in his right hand and thunderbolts and ears of wheat in his left. Two bulls supported him. In this guise he passed into European worship in the 3rd century and 4th century. The icon of Helipolitan Zeus (in A.B. Cook, Zeus, i:570–576) bore busts of the seven planetary powers on the front of the pillarlike term in which he was encased. A bronze statuette of this Heliopolitan Zeus was discovered at Tortosa, Spain; another was found at Byblos in Phoenicia. A comparable iconic image is the Lady of Ephesus (see illustration) (Robert Graves, The Greek Myths I.4). Other Emperors enriched the sanctuary of Heliopolitan Jupiter each in turn. Nero (54–68 AD) built the tower-altar opposite the Temple of Jupiter, Trajan (98-117) added the forecourt to the Temple of Jupiter, with porticos of pink granite brought from Aswan in Egypt. Antoninus Pius (138-161) built the Temple of Bacchus, the best preserved of the sanctuary's structures, for it was protected by the very rubble of the site's ruins. It is enriched with refined reliefs and sculpture. Septimius Severus (193-211) added a pentagonal Temple of Venus, who as Aphrodite had enjoyed an early Syrian role with her consort Adonis ("Lord", the Aramaic translation of "Baal."). Emperor Philip the Arab (244–249) was the last to add a monument at Heliopolis: the hexagonal forecourt. When he was finished Heliopolis and Praeneste in Italy were the two largest sanctuaries in the Western world. The extreme licence of the Heliopolitan worship of Aphrodite was often commented upon by early Christian writers, who competed with one another to execrate her worship. Eusebius of Caesarea, down the coast, averred that 'men and women vie with one another to honour their shameless goddess; husbands and fathers let their wives and daughters publicly prostitute themselves to please Astarte'. Constantine, making an effort to curb the Venus cult, built a basilica in Heliopolis. Theodosius I erected another, with a western apse, occupying the main court of the Jupiter temple, as was Christian practice everywhere. The vast stone blocks of its walls were taken from the temple itself. Today nothing of the Theodosian basilica remains. In 637 A.D., the Muslim army under Abu Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah captured Baalbek after defeating the Byzantine army at Battle of Yarmouk. It was still an opulent city and yielded rich plunderings. It became a bone of contention between the various Syrian dynasties and the caliphs first of Damascus, then of Egypt. The place was fortified and took on the name al-Qala‘ ("fortress"; see Alcala) but in 748 was sacked again with great slaughter. The Byzantine emperor John Tzimisces sacked the city in 975. In 1090 it passed to the Seljuks and in 1134 to Zengi; but after 1145 it remained attached to Damascus and was captured by Saladin in 1175. The Crusaders raided its valley more than once, but never took the city. Three times shaken by earthquakes in the 12th century, it was dismantled by 1260, when it served as the Mongol base for the last unsuccessful attack upon the Mamlukes of Egypt. But it revived, and most of its fine mosque and fortress architecture, still extant, belongs to the reign of Sultan Qalawun (1282) and the succeeding century, during which Abulfeda describes it as a very strong place. In 1400 Timur pillaged it. In 1517, it passed, with the rest of Syria, to the Ottoman Empire. But Ottoman jurisdiction was merely nominal in the Lebanon. Baalbek, badly shaken in the Near East earthquake of 1759, was really in the hands of the Metawali (see Lebanon), who retained it against other Lebanese tribes. The colossal and picturesque ruins attracted particularly intrepid Westerners since the 18th century. The English visitor, Robert Wood, with Dawson was not simply a tourist: his carefully measured drawings were engraved for The Ruins of Baalbek (1757), which provided some excellent new detail in the Corinthian order that British and European Neoclassical architects added to their vocabulary. Robert Adam, for example, based a bed and one of the ceilings at Osterley House on the ceiling of the Temple of Bacchus, and the portico of St George's, Bloomsbury is based on that temple's portico. Even after Jezzar Pasha, the rebel governor of Acre province, broke the power of the Metawali in the last half of the 18th century, Baalbek was no destination for the traveller unaccompanied by an armed guard. The chaos that succeeded his death in 1804 was ended only by the Egyptian occupation (1832). With the treaty of London (1840) Baalbek became really Ottoman, the Encyclopædia Britannica (1911) reported, and since about 1864 had attracted great numbers of tourists. In November 1898, the German Emperor Wilhelm II on his way to Jerusalem, and passing by Baalbek was equally struck by the magnificence of the ruins projecting from the rubble, and the dreary condition. Within a month, the German archaeological team he dispatched was at work on the site. The campaign produced meticulously presented and illustrated series of volumes. On August 4, 2006, Israeli helicopter-borne soldiers supported by bombs from aircraft entered the Hikmeh Hospital in Baalbek to capture senior members of Hezbollah who were considered to be responsible for the kidnapping of the two Israeli IDF soldiers on July 13, 2006 and who were believed to be residing in the building. The fighting between the fighters and Israeli forces caused minor damage to the hospital. Several gunmen were killed and weapons and ammunition were seized from inside the hospital building. No patients were hospitalized at the time. It has been reported that during the conflict, vibrations caused by bombs damaged the ruins. UNESCO offered help to coordinate restoration efforts. "Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee", UNESCO reported in making Baalbek a World Heritage Site in 1984. When the Committee inscribed the site, it expressed the wish that the protected area include the entire town within the Arab walls, as well as the south-western extramural quarter between Bastan-al-Khan, the Roman site and the Mameluk mosque of Ras-al-Ain. Lebanon's representative gave assurances that the Committee's wish would be honored. Roger Hopkins and Vince Lee have both[citation needed] theorized about how the megalithic stones were moved. They were both consulted about various megalithic moves around the world. Roger Hopkins is a stone mason and sculptor who was consulted to do experiments in the movement of megaliths in Egypt (with Mark Lehrner) and other locations. He has suggested that the trilithon stones and 300 ton blocks were all moved with wooden rollers, demonstrating how this could be done by using steel rollers and levers to move a five to six thousand pound stone on a concrete platform by himself. He also participated in other experiments with larger stones, including some that may have been over 10 tons. These experiments required many more people. For 2 ton stones he was able to tow them with as few as 10 people at times and for faster results up to 20 people. Most experiments which have been done by Roger Hopkins and others to move stones 10 tons or more required well over 100 people. Vince Lee is an architect, explorer and author. He has suggested that these stones were moved by flipping them with levers. According to this hypothesis a row of people would use 20 levers to pry up the trilithon blocks a little at a time. Each time they pried it up someone would put additional shims under the megalithic stones. After this was repeated enough times the stone would flip over on the next side. There would be a log on the other side that the stone would fall onto so that one side would already be lifted off the ground each time making it easier for the next flip. This would require over 300 flips for each of the trilithon stones and even more for the smaller 300 ton stones to cover the 1 mile distance from the quarry. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehner also experimented with this technique on a smaller scale in Egypt during a NOVA pyramid building experiment. They found that they could flip stones up to about 3/4 of a ton with only 4 or 5 men, and they successfully flipped stones at least 2 and a 1/2 tons with more men; however, they found this was too slow to explain how the pyramids were built in so short a time. Both Roger Hopkins and Vince Lee[citation needed] agreed that an earthen ramp would have been used to get the megaliths up the hill to the temple. They also agreed that the final placement would have involved flipping the megaliths and lowering it slowly by using sand to cushion the fall. The sand would have been placed where the trilithon stones were to be set, and when the stones were flipped into place the sand would be slowly removed. Additional experiments moving megaliths with ancient technology were done at other locations some of which are listed here. Baalbek is twinned with:	City and District of Baalbek, Beqaa Governorate	cultural		City and District of Baalbek, Beqaa Governorate		[pdf 24,6 MB|http://www.ohm-hochschule.de/bib/textarchiv/Frauberger.Akropolis.pdf]#[360 Panorama of the Temples of Baalbek|http://lebanon360hd.com/videos/video_baal_en.html]#[The monuments of Baalbek in panorama photography|http://www.discoverlebanon.com/en/panoramic_views/bekaa/baalbeck/monuments.php]#[Google Maps satellite view|http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Baalbek&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=34.006857,36.203921&spn=0.003313,0.006781]#[UNESCO World Heritage Review describing Baalbek|http://web.archive.org/web/20070912003207/http://whc.unesco.org/whreview/article8.html]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baalbek		[i],[iv]	LB		Baalbek	Lebanon	294	1984	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/294
24	Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee	32.829397	34.971649	The Bahá'í World Centre buildings are buildings that are part of the Bahá'í World Centre in Israel. The Bahá'í World Centre buildings include both the Bahá'í holy places used for pilgrimage and the international administrative bodies of the Bahá'í Faith; they comprise more than 20 different administrative offices, pilgrim buildings, libraries, archives, historical residences, and shrines. These structures are all set amidst more than 30 different gardens or individual terraces. The buildings themselves are located in Haifa, Acre, and Bahjí, Israel. The location of the Bahá'í World Centre buildings has its roots to Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment in Acre, which is near Haifa, by the Ottoman Empire during the Ottoman Empire's rule over Palestine, now Israel. Many Bahá'í holy places in Haifa and around Acre, including the terraces and the Shrine of the Báb on the north slope on Mount Carmel, and the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, the Mansion of Bahji, and the Mansion at Mazra'ih were inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2008. The Bahá'í shrines "are the first sites connected with a relatively new religious tradition to be recognized by the World Heritage List." The UNESCO World Heritage Committee considers the sites to be "of outstanding universal value [and]...inscribed for the testimony they provide to the Bahá’i’s strong tradition of pilgrimage and for their profound meaning for the faith." Haifa is the third-largest city in Israel, and it is a seaport, located below and on Mount Carmel, and lies on the Mediterranean coast. In 1891 Bahá'u'lláh himself designated Mount Carmel as the location for the Shrine of the Báb. Later, Bahá'u'lláh in the Tablet of Carmel wrote that Mount Carmel would be the physical location of the Bahá'í World Centre. The Shrine of the Báb is the location where the Báb's remains have been laid to rest. The location was designated by Bahá'u'lláh himself in 1891 while he was camped, with `Abdu'l-Bahá, across from Mount Carmel. The location is right above the German Colony, which was established in the 1860s by the German Templer Society, who were working for the Kingdom of God on earth. The shrine was built by `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1909. Many years later, the superstructure was completed by Shoghi Effendi, and finally dedicated in 1953. The architect was William Sutherland Maxwell, a Canadian Bahá'í who was a Beaux-Arts architect and the father-in-law of Shoghi Effendi. Shoghi Effendi provided overall guidance, including in the use of Western and Eastern styles, but left the artistic details to Maxwell. Maxwell's design of the Rose Baveno granite colonnade, Oriental-style Chiampo stone arches, and golden dome is meant to harmonize Eastern and Western proportions and style. Some remaining aspects of the dome's structural engineering were designed by Professor H. Neumann of Haifa's Technion University. After Maxwell died in 1952, Leroy Ioas, an American Bahá'í who had been closely associated with the construction of the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois helped Shoghi Effendi in the construction process. Ioas employed his administrative skills and practical mind to supervise the building of the drum and dome, a task done without the availability of sophisticated machinery. The Shrine of `Abdu'l-Bahá is the location where `Abdu'l-Bahá's remains have been temporarily laid to rest. It is found in one of the rooms of the Shrine of the Báb; the Shrine of `Abdu'l-Bahá will be relocated to a new structure to be built in the future. The Arc composes a number of administrative buildings as revealed by Bahá'u'lláh in the Tablet of Carmel, built in the shape of an ark which include, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Seat of the International Teaching Centre, the International Bahá'í Archives and the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts. The fifth building, the International Bahá'í Library has yet to be built. The Seat of the Universal House of Justice is the building located in Haifa, Israel where the Universal House of Justice, the centre of the Bahá'í covenant, sits. It is a large building where the House of Justice can meet dignitaries and pilgrims, and attend to other business. It also houses a few other offices of the Bahá'í World Centre. Located at the apex of The Arc and built with sixty Corinthian columns around it to mirror the design of the International Archives. The architect was Hossein Amanat and it was completed in 1982 during the second stage of building on the Arc, to be occupied in 1983. During a Bahá'í pilgrimage the members of the Universal House of Justice greet each of the pilgrims in turn before they are shown around main areas of the building. Built in the third stage of the building of the Arc, the Seat of the International Teaching Centre is where the International Teaching Centre is based. The architect was Hossein Amanat and it was completed in 2001. Built in the third stage of the building of the Arc, the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts is the base of the scholars and translators who study and translate the Bahá'í texts to assist the Universal House of Justice. The architect was Hossein Amanat and it was completed in 1999. The International Archives is the first building to be built on the Arc and holds many of the most sacred items within the Bahá'í Faith, but most importantly is built for the viewing of the paintings and drawings of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb, along with a single photograph of Bahá'u'lláh. Although some of these items are available on the internet today, most Bahá'ís prefer to see these items only in a reverent atmosphere, during the pilgrimage. Shoghi Effendi chose the Parthenon as the basis for the design, possibly due to the apparent enduring beauty even after thousands of years. The capitals of the fifty columns were Ionic rather than the Doric Order. It was finished in 1957 however Shoghi Effendi never lived to furnish the interior. This was left to his wife Rúhíyyih Khanum. Previously the rear three rooms of the Shrine of the Báb and then the building beside the Monument Gardens now called the Department of Holy Places were temporary Archives buildings. The International Bahá'í Library Building instructed by Shoghi Effendi is as of yet unbuilt. The Bahá'í World Centre Library holds an extensive collection of Bahá'í literature. The Universal House of Justice stated: "In future decades its functions must grow, it will serve as an active centre for knowledge in all fields, and it will become the kernel of great institutions of scientific investigation and discovery." The Monument Gardens within the Bahá'í World Centre are a set of gardens which hold the graves of some of the members of the Bahá'í holy family: The Terraces are garden terraces that form nine above and nine below the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel within Haifa, Israel. Nine concentric circles thus provide the main geometry of the eighteen terraces. Just as the identification of a circle presupposes a centre, so the terraces have been conceived as generated from the Shrine of the Báb. The eighteen terraces plus the one terrace of the Shrine of the Báb make nineteen terraces total. Nineteen is a significant number within both the Bahá'í and Bábí religions. The Visitors Centre is an underground structure on the 11th terrace behind the Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel within Haifa, Israel. It can be found on street level under the Hatzionut Bridge which the terraces pass over. `Abdu'l-Bahá, who was the leader of the Bahá'í Faith, designed and built a house in Haifa on 7 Haparsim (Persian) Street after his father Bahá'u'lláh died. It was completed in 1908, and `Abdu'l-Bahá moved to the house in August 1910. It became his official residence. After his travels to the West, it became the place for the reception of pilgrims to the Bahá'í World Centre. Pilgrim Houses signify buildings where pilgrims are (or were) greeted and housed during pilgrimage to the Bahá'í holy places. There have been numerous buildings within Haifa, Israel dedicated to this throughout the last century. The original Western Pilgrim House, located at 4 Haparsim (Persian) Street in Haifa, Israel, was used as a Pilgrim House for members of the Bahá'í Faith of Western origin, who had come for pilgrimage during the early years of the 20th century, before it was replaced by the new Western Pilgrim House on 10 Haparsim Street. The house is currently part of the Bahá'í World Centre. While it was originally rented to serve as a Pilgrim House, the house was then bought by `Abdu'l-Bahá. After being replaced by new Western Pilgrim House, the site was then used by members of the Bahá'í holy family. It left Bahá'í hands shortly before being re-bought by the Universal House of Justice. The second Western Pilgrim House, often referred to as "the old western Pilgrim House", located at 10 Haparsim (Persian) Street in Haifa, Israel, was used as a Pilgrim House for members of the Bahá'í Faith who had come for pilgrimage during the first half of the 20th century. It is currently part of the Bahá'í World Centre and used by the Bahá'í International Community Secretariat and related offices. The house was originally paid for by William Harry Randall, a wealthy American Bahá'í, who felt the facilities of the previous Western Pilgrim House at 4 Haparsim were inadequate. Its construction was started under the instruction of `Abdu'l-Bahá, but was only completed during the time that Shoghi Effendi was the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Although it served originally as the Pilgrim House for western Bahá'ís, it has been used for other purposes more recently: The Eastern Pilgrim House or the "Haifa Pilgrim House" is a Pilgrim House for Bahá'ís when they go on pilgrimage. The house was built after `Abdu'l-Bahá interred the remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel. The construction of this stone building was supervised Mírzá Ja’far Rahmání of 'Ishqábád, who also paid all the expenses. It is known as the "Eastern Pilgrim House", as for decades it housed the Persian pilgrims. After 1951, when the Western Pilgrim House at 10 Haparsim Street became the seat of the International Bahá'í Council, it became the Pilgrim House for all pilgrims. The Pilgrim Reception Centre or the "Haifa Pilgrim Reception Centre" is the newest Pilgrim Reception Centre for pilgrimage to sites near the Bahá'í World Centre. It comprises two conjoined buildings, of a historic medical clinic, that have recently been remodeled and opened in October 2000. The building can serve up to 500 people on pilgrimage. The Resting place of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum is situated within Haifa, Israel as part of the Bahá'í World Centre. Originally bought to make sure that the area around the House of `Abdu'l-Bahá was not built up, and used as a garden, it was selected as the burial ground for Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khanum after she died in 2000. 75 HaTzionut Avenue is a building within Haifa which is part of the Bahá'í World Centre that is not particularly celebrated but has been an integral part of the centre for many years. Amongst other things it has been used for: It is currently used as the Bahá'í "Department of Holy Places". Another structure in the Haifa region is the site of the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. Bahá'u'lláh, and his family, was exiled to the prison city of Akká by the Ottoman Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz. Bahá'u'lláh arrived in Akká on August 31, 1868, and lived the rest of his life in the Akká area as a prisoner. His prison conditions were eased in June 1877 and while still a prisoner, he moved to Mazra'ih at that time. The Bahá'í buildings and property in Akká were rented or bought during this period of time. The House of `Abbúd refers actually to two houses: The house provided a home for Bahá'u'lláh's first wife Navváb and her family. It was in this building that the Kitáb-i-Aqdas was written. The House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá is one of the properties the Bahá'í holy family used in the Akká area. It was acquired by `Abdu'l-Bahá to fit the growing family and also provide space to welcome pilgrims who had started to arrive. The name derives from the Akká governor Ibrahim Pasha [disambiguation needed] who owned the house in the early decades of the 19th century. The first western pilgrims were welcomed here on December 10, 1898. The Garden of Ridván (lit. garden of paradise) is a Bahá'í holy place situated just outside Akká within modern Israel. Originally known as the 'garden of Na‘mayn', it was rented by `Abdu'l-Bahá for Bahá'u'lláh where he enjoyed spending the later part of his life, after years in a desolute prison cell. Although it shares the same name it does not have the same significance of the Garden of Ridván, Baghdad and no connection to the festival of Ridván. During the 1930s and 1940s the island setting of the garden disappeared, as a result of a draining project against malaria. In 2010 a three year restoration and conservation project of the garden and the original water canals surrounding it was completed, after which the Ridvan Garden, referred to by Bahá'u'lláh as 'Our Verdant Isle', became an island once again. The prison cell in which Bahá'u'lláh lived between 1868 and 1870 has now become a Bahá'í pilgrimage location. Its restoration was completed in June 2004. Bahjí is a place near Akká, where Bahá'u'lláh spent his final years of life. While he was still formally a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire, his prison conditions were eased, and in 1879 he used the Mansion of Bahjí as his summer home. Although the Mansion of Bahjí is relatively isolated with only a small pilgrim house and the shrine within several hundred metres, there used to be a complex of several buildings mostly used by the extended Holy family. During the time of Shoghi Effendi, these buildings (and the land around them which are used as gardens) were bought up or traded for land near the Sea of Galilee. Most of these buildings were flattened as they had been used by covenant breakers. The tiles off the roofs were used to make the pathways and the rest of the buildings were used to make a large windbreak to the south west of the Mansion. Located in Bahjí the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh is the most holy place for Bahá'ís — their Qiblih. It contains the remains of Bahá'u'lláh and is near the spot where he died in the Mansion of Bahjí. The Mansion of Bahjí is a term used to describe the summer house where Bahá'u'lláh died in 1892. It was built in 1870 over an earlier, smaller building by `Udi Khammar, a wealthy merchant from Akká who was also the original owner of the House of `Abbúd. It remained in his family's hands until 1879, when an epidemic caused the inhabitants to flee. The mansion was subsequently rented to the Bahá'í holy family for a very small amount of money. `Udi Khammar's tomb is still within the main Mansion compound, on the northwest corner of the wall. It is now a Bahá'í pilgrimage site. Located near Bahjí and the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, it is the pilgrim visitor centre for the most holy place for Bahá'ís. Located four miles (6 km) north of Akká in Mazra'a, Bahá'u'lláh used this country house during the summers from June 1877 until 1879, before moving to a larger summer house within Bahjí. It left Bahá'í hands for several decades and was slightly restructured with an annex added to the front. This meant that a staircase, previously on the outside is now within the house's walls. It originally belonged to `Abdu'lláh Páshá, and is located four miles (6 km) north of Akká. Coordinates: 32°48′44″N 34°59′11″E / 32.81222°N 34.98639°E / 32.81222; 34.98639	Haifa and Northern Districts	cultural		Haifa and Northern Districts		[Memorials of the Faithful|http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/MF/]#[The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853-63|http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha'i/Others/ROB/V1/Cover.html]#[The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 3: `Akka, The Early Years 1868-77|http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha'i/Others/ROB/V3/Cover.html]#[The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 4: Mazra'ih & Bahji 1877-92|http://www.peyman.info/cl/Baha'i/Others/ROB/V4/Cover.html]#["The Bahá'í Gardens - Official Website"|http://www.ganbahai.org.il/en/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%25C3%25A1%27%25C3%25AD_World_Centre_buildings		[iii],[vi]	IL	630000.0	Bahá'i Holy Places in Haifa and the Western Galilee	Israel	1220	2008	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1220
25	Medina of Marrakesh	31.63139	-7.98667	Coordinates: 31°38′N 8°0′W / 31.633°N 8°W / 31.633; -8 Marrakech or Marrakesh (Berber: Murakush, Arabic مراكش murrākuš, local pronunciation: marrakəš ), known as the "Red City", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history. The city of Marrakesh is the capital of the mid-southwestern economic region of Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz, near the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. Like many North African cities, the city of Marrakesh comprises both an old fortified city (the médina) and an adjacent modern city (called Gueliz) for a total population of 1,070,000. It is served by Ménara International Airport (IATE code: RAK) and a rail link to Casablanca and the north. Marrakech has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco and also has one of the busiest squares in Africa and the world, Djemaa el Fna. The square bustles with acrobats, story-tellers, water sellers, dancers and musicians. By night food stalls open in the square turning it into a huge busy open-air restaurant. The city is spelled "Marrakech" in French, "Marrakech" or "Marrakesh" in English, "Marrakesch" in German and "Marakeş" in Turkish. The probable origin of its name is from the Berber (Amazigh) words mur (n) akush (ⵎⵓⵔ ⵏ ⴰⴽⵓⵛ), which means "Land of God". (The word "mur" is used now in Berber mostly in the feminine form "tamurt".) The same word "mur" appears in the names Mauretania, the North African kingdom of the Maghreb during antiquity, and in contemporary Mauritania, the nation-state south of Morocco, although the link remains controversial as these names may also originate from navros, the ancient Greek word for black. Until a few decades ago, Morocco was widely known as "Kingdom of Marrakech" to Arabs, Persians and Europeans. The European names of Morocco (Marruecos, Marrocos, Maroc, Marokko, etc.) are directly derived from the Berber word Murakush, and in many South Asian languages the country is in fact still known as "Marrakesh". Conversely, the city itself was in earlier times simply called Marocco (City) (or similar) by travellers from abroad. The name of the city and the country diverged after the Treaty of Fez placed Morocco under French influence, but the old interchangeable usage lasted widely until about the interregnum of Mohammed Ben Aarafa. The latter episode set in motion the country's return to independence, when Morocco officially became al-Mamlaka al-Maġribiyya (المملكة المغربية) ("The Western Kingdom"), its name not referring to the city of Marrakesh any more. Prior to the advent of the Almoravids in the 11th century, the area was ruled from the city of Aghmat. The Almoravid leader, Abu-Bakr Ibn-Umar decided Aghmat was becoming overcrowded and chose to build a new capital. He decided to build it in the plains near the Tensift River. He chose the site of Marrakech, because it was in neutral territory between two tribes who were vying for the honor of hosting the new capital.[citation needed] Work started in May 1070, but Abu-Bakr was recalled to the Sahara to put down a rebellion in January 1071 and the city was completed by his deputy and eventual successor Yusuf ibn Tashfin. The city experienced its greatest period under the leadership of Yaqub al-Mansur, the third Almohad sultan. A number of poets and scholars entered the city during his reign and he began the construction of the Koutoubia Mosque and a new kasbah. Prior to the reign of Moulay Ismail, Marrakech was the capital of Morocco. After his reign, his grandson moved the capital back to Marrakech from Meknès. For centuries Marrakech has been known for its "seven saints". When sufism was at the height of its popularity, during the reign of Moulay Ismail, the festival of the seven saints was founded by Abu Ali al-Hassan al-Yusi at the request of the sultan. The tombs of several renowned figures were moved to Marrakech to attract pilgrims in the same way Essaouira did at that time with its Regrega festivals. The seven saints (sebaatou rizjel) is now a firmly established institution, attracting visitors from everywhere. The seven saints include Sidi Bel Abbas (the patron saint of the city), Sidi Muhammad al-Jazuli, Sidi Abu al-Qasim Al-Suhayli, Cadi Ayyad ben Moussa, Abdelaziz al-Tebaa and Abdallah al-Ghazwani. Marrakech was dominated in the first half of the 20th century by T'hami El Glaoui, "Lord of the Atlas", and Pasha of Marrakech. The poet of the city was Mohammed Ben Brahim and his favorite place was café Al-Masraf. The poems and songs of Ben Brahim are still known by heart by many Marrakshi. Marrakech had an official population of 1,070,838 people in 2010. There is a very large international community, consisting mainly of retired Europeans, estimated at 10,700 people.[citation needed] Atlas Blue, a budget airline, has its head office on the grounds of Marrakech-Menara Airport. Other budget airlines that fly to and from Marrakech-Menara Airport include easyJet and RyanAir. From 2010 British airways announced that it has planned to run new services into Marrakech, providing an alternative to the low-cost airline experience. BMI (British Midland International) will commence flights to Marrakech from London Heathrow from April 2011. Many tourists venture from Marrakech to visit the valley of the Ourika River in the Atlas Mountains or the valley of the Draa River in the south, near the Sahara desert. They also tour the Middle Atlas Mountains, where the Waterfalls of Beni Mellal are found, and to Essaouira on the Atlantic ocean. Marrakech is situated at the foot of the High Atlas, the highest mountainous barrier in North Africa. The desert borders it to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Stretching over 700 kilometers, the High Atlas chain features a series of peaks of which a dozen attain 4,000 meters. Snow can be found on hilltops all year long at altitudes as low as 600 meters above sea level. To the south arise the stretches of steppes terrain that forewarn of the burning winds and the rigor of the Sahara. Beyond the 130,000 hectares of greenery and the 180,000 palm trees of its Palmeraie. Marrakech is an oasis of great and rich plant variety. Throughout the seasons, orange, fig, permanganate and olive trees spew out their fragrances and display their marvelous colors and luscious fruits. The precious gardens of the city conceal numerous native plants or other species that have been imported in the course of the centuries: Giant bamboos, yuccas, papyrus, palm trees, banana trees, cypress, philodendrons, rosebushes, bougainvilleas, pines and various kinds of cactus plants. To this date, Marrakech is seen as a gateway from the West into the East, only 2-3 hours from mainland Europe.	Province of Marrakesh	cultural		Province of Marrakesh			http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marrakech		[i],[ii],[iv],[v]	MA	11070000.0	Medina of Marrakesh	Morocco	331	1985	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/331
26	Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve	-18.66667	44.75	Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve is a nature reserve located near the western coast of Madagascar at 18°40′S 44°45′E / 18.667°S 44.75°E / -18.667; 44.75 (Tsigy). The area was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 due to the unique geography, preserved mangrove forests, and wild bird and lemur populations.. The southern end of the protected area has subsequently been changed into the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, covering 666 square kilometres (257 sq mi). The northern end of the protected area remains as a strict nature reserve (Réserve Naturelle Intégrale) covering 853 square kilometres (329 sq mi). Tourists can access the national park by road from Morondava, a town 150 km south of the park. Limited access is also possible from the town of Antsalova, which can be reached by plane from Antananarivo or Mahajanga.	Centre Ouest, dans le Fivondronana d'Antsalova et le Faritany de Mahajanga	natural		Centre Ouest, dans le Fivondronana d'Antsalova et le Faritany de Mahajanga		[Tsingy de Bemaraha Official Website|http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/fiche-aire-protegee.php?Ap=46]#[UNESCO Strict Nature Reserve|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/494]#[WCMC Site Data Sheet|http://www.wcmc.org.uk/protected_areas/data/wh/bemaraha.html]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsingy_de_Bemaraha_Strict_Nature_Reserve		[vii],[x]	MG	1520000000.0	Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve	Madagascar	494	1990	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/494
27	Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve	49.29333	21.27917	Bardejov ( pronunciation (help·info); German: Bartfeld, Hungarian: Bártfa, Polish: Bardejów) is a town in North-Eastern Slovakia. It is situated in the Šariš region and has about 33,000 inhabitants. The spa town, mentioned for the first time in 1241, exhibits numerous cultural monuments in its completely intact medieval town center. The town is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. The name of the town comes from the Hungarian word "bárd" (English: "chopper"), which indicated an amount of forested territory which could be chopped down by one man in one day. In the Hungarian name (Bártfa), the "fa" (English: "tree") suffix came later, and it also changed the last letter of "bárd" to "bárt", for easier pronunciation. The territory of present-day Bardejov has attracted settlers since the Stone Age. However, the first written reference to the town dates back to the 1240s, when monks from Bardejov complained to King Béla IV about a violation of the town’s borders by Prešov. By that time, the important church of Sv. Aegidius (St. Giles) had already been built. Heavily fortified in the 14th century, the town became a center of trade with Poland. More than 50 guilds controlled the flourishing economy. Bardejov gained the status of a royal town in 1376, later becoming a free royal town. The town’s golden age ended in the 16th century, when several wars, pandemics, and other disasters plagued the country. Bardejov is dominated by the monumental church of Sv. Aegidius, mentioned for the first time in 1247. A three nave basilica with multiple chapels was completed by the 15th century. It hosts eleven precious Gothic winged altars with panel paintings. The central square (Slovak: Radničné námestie), which used to be the town’s medieval marketplace, is now surrounded by well-preserved Gothic and Renaissance burghers’ houses. One of the most interesting buildings is the town hall, built in 1505. The lower part was built in the Gothic style, while the upper part was finished in the Renaissance style. The fortification system and town walls date from the 14th and 15th centuries and is listed by the European Fund of Cultural Heritage as one of the most elaborate and best preserved medieval fortifications in Slovakia. About 2.5 km (1.5 miles) north of Bardejov is the spa town Bardejovské Kúpele. The therapeutic mineral water springs are claimed to be beneficial to people with oncological, blood circulation, and digestive tract problems. It also hosts an open air museum of folk architecture (skansen). The spa has played host to a number of dignitaries, including Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte), Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary. The town consists of the following quarters: Bardejov has a population of 33,020 (as of December 31, 2010). According to the 2001 census, 91.3% of inhabitants were Slovaks, 2.6% Roma, 2.5% Rusyns, and 1.4% Ukrainians. The religious make-up was 63.2% Roman Catholics, 16.9% Greek Catholics, 7.6% Lutherans and 4.3% Eastern Orthodox. Bardejov is twinned with:	Town and District of Bardejov, PreÅ¡ov Region	cultural		Town and District of Bardejov, PreÅ¡ov Region		[Official website|http://www.mubj.sk/]#[Info website|http://www.e-bardejov.sk/]#[UNESCO site about Bardejov|http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=973]#[Organization of World Heritage Cities: Bardejov|http://www.ovpm.org/en/slovak_rep/bardejov]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardejov		[iii],[iv]	SK		Bardejov Town Conservation Reserve	Slovakia	973	2000	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/973
28	Brasilia	-15.78333	-47.9	Brasília (Portuguese pronunciation: [bɾaˈziliɐ]) is the capital of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 (3,599,000 in the metropolitan area) as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the fourth largest city in Brazil. However, as a metropolitan area, it ranks lower at sixth. It is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Brasília hosts 119 foreign embassies. As the national capital, Brasília is the seat of all three branches of the Brazilian government. The city also hosts the headquarters of many Brazilian companies such as the Banco do Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal, Correios and Brasil Telecom. The city is a world reference for urban planning. Planning policies such as the locating of residential buildings around expansive urban areas,as well as building the city around large avenues and dividing it into sectors, have sparked a debate and reflection on life in big cities in the 20th century. The city's planned design included specific areas for almost everything, including accommodation, Hotel Sectors North and South. New areas are now being developed for hotels, such as the Hotels and Tourism Sector North, on the shore of Lake Paranoá. The city was planned and developed in 1956 with Lúcio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect. On April 22 of 1960, it formally became Brazil's national capital. Viewed from above, the main portion of the city resembles an airplane or a butterfly. The city is commonly referred to as Capital Federal, or simply BSB. Residents of Brasília are known as brasilienses or candangos (the latter referring to those not born in the city, but migrated there when the city was established). Brasília has a sui generis status in Brazil, as it is not a municipality like nearly all cities in Brazil. Although there is no legal definition for Brasília, the term is almost always used synonymously with the Brazilian Federal District, and thus constitutes an indivisible Federative Unit, analogous to a state. In the region, however, the word Brasília often refers only to the First Administrative Region within the Distrito Federal (Federal District), " where the most important government buildings are located. This is in contrast with the surrounding "satellite cities," which nevertheless are also part of the Federal District, and as such, Brasília, in a broader sense. Brasília International Airport is the main airport in Brasília, connecting the capital to all major Brazilian cities and many international destinations. It is the third most important airport of Brazil, in terms of passengers and aircraft movements. President Juscelino Kubitschek ordered the construction of Brasília, fulfilling an article of the country's constitution dating back to 1891 stating that the capital should be moved from Rio de Janeiro to a place close to the center of the country. The plan was originally conceived in 1827 by José Bonifácio, an advisor to Emperor Dom Pedro I. He presented a plan to the General Assembly for a new city called Brasilia, with the idea of moving the capital westward from the heavily populated southeastern corridor. The bill was not enacted because Emperor Dom Pedro I dissolved the Assembly. Lúcio Costa won a contest and was the main urban planner in 1957, with 5550 people competing. Oscar Niemeyer, a close friend, was the chief architect of most public buildings and Roberto Burle Marx was the landscape designer. Brasília was built in 41 months, from 1956 to April 21, 1960, when it was officially inaugurated. From 1763 to 1960, Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil. At this time, resources tended to be centered in Brazil's southeast region near Rio de Janeiro. Brasília's geographically central location fostered a more regionally neutral federal capital. The idea of locating the capital in the center of Brazil was first suggested in 1891, but not defined until 1922. From the beginning, the growth of Brasília exceeded expectations. Until the 1980s, the governor of the Distrito Federal was appointed by the Federal Government, and the laws of Brasília were issued by the Brazilian Federal Senate. With the Constitution of 1988 Brasília gained the right to elect its Governor, and a District Assembly (Câmara Legislativa) was elected to exercise legislative power. According to legend, Italian saint Don Bosco in 1883 had a dream in which he described a futuristic city that roughly fitted Brasília's location. In Brasília today, there are many references to this educator who founded the Salesian order, and one church in the city bears his name. Brasília was built so that the federal capital of Brazil could be transferred from the coast to the Midwestern interior. The name "Brasilia" comes from Latin and means "Brazil". Previously the capital of Brazil was in Rio de Janeiro (1763–1960) and before that in Salvador (1549–1763). Brazil was not the only federal nation to plan and purpose-build a new capital city: Washington was constructed in the late 18th century, becoming the capital of the United States in 1800, and Canberra was declared capital of Australia in 1927. By relocating the capital city to the interior, the government intended to help populate that area of the country. People from all over the country were hired to build the city, especially those from the Northeast region of Brazil. Brasília is known internationally for having applied the principles in the Athens Charter of 1933. Brasília was planned to have smooth transit flow. Lúcio Costa planned the streets so that traffic signals would be unnecessary. Cars and buses would take thoroughfares to travel long distances, then use one of several loops for access to local streets to reach specific destinations. Much of the original planning had to be changed, mostly because of the growth of Brasília. Costa did not foresee such a quick growth of the city, much less the explosive growth in the satellite cities around it. Brasília today has traffic signals, and there is a scarcity of parking places, and traffic jams are usual at peak hours, particularly in some busier loops. Although the present situation is not as planned by Costa, transit in Brasília is much better than in other major Brazilian cities. There is stricter law enforcement, which results in better educated drivers; for example, Brasília is one of the few cities in Brazil where a driver will yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The streets are usually in good condition, which minimizes accidents. The main reason for Brasília having better transit is Costa's plan: vehicles still make use of the system of thoroughfares, loops and local streets to reach their destinations. The main thoroughfare is the Eixão (big Axis, or Eixo Rodoviário, in Costa's Plan). It is a high speed highway which bisects Brasília from north to south, with three lanes each direction, and no traffic signals. The national capital's climate is Tropical savanna climate (Aw) according to many of Köppen's classifications. Brasilia's climate closely borders a subtropical highland climate (Cwa/Cwb), showing many of the "eternal spring" features of that climate. The individual seasons are defined according to the degree of humidity of the air: one season is dry, while the other one is comparatively humid. The average temperature is 20.5 °C (68.9 °F). September, at the end of the dry season, has the highest average maximum temperature, 28 °C (82 °F), and July has the lowest average maximum temperature, 26 °C (79 °F). The lowest average minimum temperature is in June and July 11 °C (52 °F). Average temperatures from September through April are a consistent 22 °C (72 °F). Those, however, are monthly averages; temperatures sometimes fall outside of this range. The absolute minimum temperature recorded was 0 °C (32 °F), and the absolute maximum was 37 °C (99 °F). The dry season lasts from late March or early April to late September or early October, though there is commonly some rain also in late May. Humidity averages about 50% during the dry season, but often falls below 20% around noon. According to the IBGE of 2010, there were 2,562,963 residents in the city. The population density was 423.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,096 /sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 1,008,199 White people (49.15%), 918,305 Brown (Multiracial) people (44.77%), 98,462 Black people (4.80%), 7,996 Asian (0.39%) and 7,154 Amerindian people (0.35%). In the 1960 census there were almost 140,000 residents in the new Federal District. By 1970 this figure had grown to more than 537,000. In 2000 the population of the Brazilian Federal District was over 2,000,000. Planned for only 500,000 inhabitants, Brasília has seen its population grow much more than expected. Several satellite cities have been created over the years to house the extra inhabitants. From the beginning, the growth of Brasília was greater than original estimates. According to the original plans, Brasília would be a city for government authorities and staff. However, during the construction period, Brazilians from all over the country migrated to Brasília, seeking public and private jobs. This makes it the largest city (by population) in the world at the close of the 20th century that did not exist at the beginning of the century (a distinction held by Chicago in the 19th century). Brasília has one of the highest growth rates in Brazil, with its population increasing by 2.82% each year, mostly because of internal migration. Brasília's inhabitants include a foreign population of mostly embassy workers as well as large numbers of Brazilian migrants. Today, the city has important communities of immigrants and refugees. The Human Development Index in the city is at 0.936 in the year 2000, (developed nation level), and the illiteracy rate is around 4.35%. Source: IBGE 2000. At the northwestern end of the Monumental Axis are federal district and municipal buildings, while at the southeastern end, near the middle shore of Lake Paranoá, stand the executive, judicial, and legislative buildings around the Square of Three Powers, the conceptual heart of the city. These and other major structures were designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer. In the Square of Three Powers, he created as a focal point the dramatic Congressional Palace, which is a composed of five parts: twin administrative towers flanked by a large, white concrete dome (the meeting place of the Senate) and by an equally massive concrete bowl (the Chamber of Deputies), which is joined to the dome by an underlying, flat-roofed building. A series of low-lying annexes (largely hidden) flank both ends. Also in the square are the glass-faced Planalto Palace housing the presidential offices, and the Palace of the Supreme Court. Farther east, on a triangle of land jutting into the lake, is the Palace of the Dawn (Palácio da Alvorada; the presidential residence). Between the federal and civic buildings on the Monumental Axis is the city's cathedral, considered by many to be Niemeyer's finest achievement (see photographs of the and interior). The parabolically shaped structure is characterized by its 16 gracefully curving supports, which join in a circle 115 feet (35 meters) above the floor of the nave; stretched between the supports are translucent walls of tinted glass. The nave is entered via a subterranean passage rather than conventional doorways. Other notable buildings are Buriti Palace, Itamaraty Palace (the Palace of Foreign Affairs), the National Theater, and several foreign embassies that creatively embody features of their national architecture. The Brazilian landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx designed landmark modernist gardens for some of the principal buildings. Both low-cost and luxury housing were built by the government in the central city. The residential zones of the inner city are arranged into superquadras ("superblocks"): groups of apartment buildings along with a prescribed number and type of schools, retail stores, and open spaces. At the northern end of Lake Paranoá, separated from the inner city, is a peninsula with many fashionable homes, and a similar neighbourhood exists on the southern lakeshore. Originally the city planners envisioned extensive public areas along the shores of the artificial lake, but during early development private clubs, hotels, and upscale residences and restaurants gained footholds around the water. Set well apart from the city are suburban satellite cities, including Gama, Ceilândia, Taguatinga, Núcleo Bandeirante, Sobradinho, and Planaltina. These towns, with the exception of Gama and Sobradinho were not planned. The city has been acclaimed for its use of modernist architecture on a grand scale and for its somewhat utopian city plan. It has been criticized for the same reasons. After a visit to Brasília, the French writer Simone de Beauvoir complained that all of its superquadras exuded "the same air of elegant monotony," and other observers have equated the city's large open lawns, plazas and fields to wastelands. As the city has matured, some of these have gained adornments, and many have been improved by landscaping, giving some observers a sense of "humanized" spaciousness. Although not fully accomplished, the "Brazilian utopia" has produced a city of relatively high quality of life, in which the citizens live in forested areas with sporting and leisure structure (the superquadras) flanked by small commercial areas, bookstores and cafes; the city is famous for its cuisine and efficiency of transit. Even these positive features have sparked controversy, expressed in the nickname "ilha da fantasia" ("fantasy island"), indicating the sharp contrast between the city and surrounding regions, marked by poverty and disorganization in the cities of the state of Goiás, around Brasília. Critics of Brasília's grand scale have characterized it as a modernist platonic fantasy about the future: The Brazilian capital is the only city in the world built in the 20th century to be awarded (in 1987) the status of Historical and Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, an agency of the United Nations. It also holds the distinction of waiting the shortest amount of time to be designated a World Heritage Site of any UNESCO entry, which occurred just 27 years after its completion in 1960. The major roles of construction and of services (government, communications, banking and finance, food production, entertainment, and legal services) in Brasília's economy reflect the city's status as a governmental rather than an industrial centre. Industries connected with construction, food processing, and furnishings are important, as are those associated with publishing, printing, and computer software. GDP is divided in Public Administration 54.8%, Services 28.7%, Industry 10.2%, Commerce 6.1%, Agribusiness 0.2%. Many nationwide companies and associations have headquarters there. Besides being the political center, Brasília is an important economic center. The city is the 3rd richest of Brazil, showing a gross domestic product (GDP) from 99.5 billion reais, representing 3.76% of the total Brazilian GDP. The main economic activity of the federal capital results from its administrative function. Its industrial planning is studied carefully by the Government of the Federal District. Being a town registered by UNESCO, the government in Brasilia has opted to encourage the development of non-polluting industries such as software, film, video, and gemology among others, with emphasis on environmental preservation and maintaining ecological balance, preserving the city property. (91% of local GDP, according to the IBGE): In the city include: The main agricultural products produced in the city are coffee, guavas, strawberries, orange, lemons, papayas, soy beans and mangoes. It has over 110,000 cows and it exports wood products worldwide. The Federal District, where Brasília is located, has a GDP of R$ 89,630,109 (about US$ 69,844 billion), according to IBGE. Its share of the total Brazilian GDP is about 3.8%. The Federal District has the largest GDP per capita income of Brazil R$ 40.996,00 (about US$ 27,610 per person, according to the IBGE, 2007 year). Brasília's per capita income is believed to be much higher. Brasília hosts a wide range of services such as hospitals, schools, fitness clubs, clubs, colleges, restaurants, and cafes. The city's planned design included specific areas for almost everything, including accommodation, Hotels Sectors North and South. New hotel facilities area being developed elsewhere, such as the hotels and tourism Sector North, located on the shores of Lake Paranoá. Brasília has a range of tourist accommodation from inns, pensions and hostels to larger international chain hotels. Brasília receives visitors from all of Brazil and the world, and offers a range of restaurants serving a variety of Brazilian regional and international food. Portuguese language is the official national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. But English and Spanish are part of the official high school curriculum. There are also international schools, such as the American School of Brasília. As a venue for political events, music performances and movie festivals, Brasília is a cosmopolitan city, with around 119 embassies, a wide range of restaurants and complete infrastructure ready to host any kind of event. Not surprisingly, the city stands out as an important business tourism destination, which is an important part of the local economy, with dozens of hotels spread around the national capital. Traditional parties take place throughout the year. In June, there are large festivals celebrating Catholic saints, such as Saint Anthony, Saint John, the Baptist, and Saint Peter, that are called "festas juninas," or June festival. On September 7, the traditional Independence Day parade is held on the Ministries Esplanade. Throughout the year there are local, national and international events spread through the city. Christmas is widely celebrated, and New Years Eve usually hosts major events. The city also hosts a varied assortment of art works from artists like Bruno Giorgi, Alfredo Ceschiatti, Athos Bulcão, Marianne Peretti, Alfredo Volpi, Di Cavalcanti, Dyllan Taxman, Victor Brecheret and Burle Marx, whose works have been integrated into the city's architecture, making it a unique landscape. The cuisine in the city is very diverse. Many of the best restaurants in the city can be found in the Asa Sul district. At the end of the Eixo Monumental lies the Esplanada dos Ministérios ("Ministries Esplanade"), an open area in downtown Brasília. The rectangular lawn is surrounded by two eight-lane avenues where many government buildings, monuments and memorials are located. Brazil's bicameral National Congress consists of the Senate (the upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil (the lower house). Since the 1960s, the National Congress has its seat in Brasília. As with most of the official buildings in the city, it was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the style of modern Brazilian architecture. The hemisphere to the left is the seat of the Senate and the hemisphere to the right is the seat of the Chamber of Deputies. Between them there are two towers of offices. The Congress also occupies other surrounding buildings, some connected by tunnels. The building is located in the middle of the Eixo Monumental, the main avenue of the capital. In front of it there is a large lawn and a reflecting pool. The building faces the Praça dos Três Poderes, where the Palácio do Planalto and the Supremo Tribunal Federal are located. The Palácio da Alvorada is the official residence of the President of Brazil. The palace was designed, along with the rest of the city of Brasília, by Oscar Niemeyer and inaugurated in 1958. One of the first structures built in the republic's new capital city, the "Alvorada" lies on a peninsula at the margins of Lake Paranoá. The principles of simplicity and modernity, that in the past characterized the great works of architecture, motivated Niemeyer. The viewer has an impression of looking at a glass box, softly landed on the ground with the support of thin external columns. The building has an area of 7,000 m2 and three floors: basement, landing and second floor. The auditorium, kitchen, laundry, medical center, and the administration are at basement level. The rooms used by the presidency for official receptions are on the landing. There are four suites, two apartments and other private rooms on the second floor which is the residential part of the palace. The building also has a library, a heated Olympic-sized swimming pool, a music room, two dining rooms and various meeting rooms. A chapel and heliport are in adjacent buildings. The Palácio do Planalto is the official workplace of the President of Brazil. It is located at the Praça dos Três Poderes in Brasília. As the seat of government, the term "O Planalto" is often used as a metonym for the executive branch of government. The main working office of the President of the Republic is in the Palácio do Planalto. The President and his family do not live in it, rather in the official residence, the Palácio da Alvorada. Besides the President, senior advisors also have offices in the "Planalto," including the Vice-President of Brazil and the Chief of Staff. The other Ministries are along the Esplanada dos Ministérios. The architect of the Palácio do Planalto was Oscar Niemeyer, creator of most of the important buildings in Brasília. The idea was to project an image of simplicity and modernity using fine lines and waves to compose the columns and exterior structures. The Palace is four stories high, and has an area of 36,000 m2. Four other adjacent buildings are also part of the complex. The Complexo Cultural da República (Portuguese for Cultural Complex of the Republic) is formed by the National Library of Brasília and the National Museum of the Republic. It is situated in the Eixo Monumental, next to the Cathedral of Brasília. The National Library of Brasília (Biblioteca Nacional de Brasília in Portuguese) occupies an area of 14,000 m2, consisting of reading and study rooms, auditorium and a collection of over 300,000 items. The National Museum of the Republic (Museu Nacional da República in Portuguese) consists of a 14,500 m2 exhibit area, two 780-seat auditoriums, and a laboratory. The space is mainly used to display temporary art exhibits. Paranoá Lake is a large artificial lake built to increase the amount of water available to the region. It has the second largest marina in Brazil, and hosts wakeboarders and windsurfers. The Juscelino Kubitschek bridge, also known as the 'President JK Bridge' or the 'JK Bridge', crosses Lake Paranoá in Brasília. It is named after Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, former president of Brazil. It was designed by architect Alexandre Chan and structural engineer Mário Vila Verde. Chan won the Gustav Lindenthal Medal for this project at the 2003 International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh due to "...outstanding achievement demonstrating harmony with the environment, aesthetic merit and successful community participation". It consists of three 60 m (200 ft) tall asymmetrical steel arches that crisscross diagonally. With a length of 1,200 m (0.75 miles), it was completed in 2002 at a cost of US$ 56.8 million. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway and is accessible to bicyclists and skaters. Praça dos Três Poderes (Portuguese for Square of the Three Powers) is a plaza in Brasília. The name is derived from the encounter of the three federal branches around the plaza: the Executive, represented by the Palácio do Planalto (presidential office); the Legislative, represented by the Congresso Nacional (National Congress); and the Judicial branch, represented by the Supremo Tribunal Federal (Supreme Federal Court). It is a tourist attraction in Brasília, designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer as a place where the three branches would meet harmoniously. The Cathedral of Brasília in the capital of the Federative Republic of Brazil, is an expression of the architect Oscar Niemeyer. This concrete-framed hyperboloid structure, seems with its glass roof reaching up, open, to the heavens. On 31 May 1970, the Cathedral’s structure was finished, and only the 70 m (229.66 ft) diameter of the circular area were visible. Niemeyer's project of Cathedral of Brasília is based in the hyperboloid of revolution which sections are asymmetric. The hyperboloid structure itself is a result of 16 identical assembled concrete columns. These columns, having hyperbolic section and weighing 90 t, represent two hands moving upwards to heaven. The Cathedral was dedicated on 31 May 1970. Brasília has also been the focus of modern day literature. Published in 2008, The World In Grey: Dom Bosco's Prophecy, by author Ryan J. Lucero, tells an apocalyptic story based on the famous prophecy from the late 19th century by the Italian saint Don Bosco. According to Don Bosco's prophecy: Brasília lies between the parallels 15° S and 20° S, where an artificial lake (Paranoá Lake) was formed. Don Bosco is Brasília's patron saint. American Flagg!, the First Comics comic book series created by Howard Chaykin, portrays Brasilia as a cosmopolitan world capital of culture and exotic romance. In the series, it is a top vacation and party destination. Brasília International Airport - President Juscelino Kubitschek serves the metropolitan area with major domestic and international flights. It is the third busiest Brazilian airport based on passengers and aircraft movements. Because of its strategic location it is a civil aviation hub for the rest of the country. This makes for a large number of takeoffs and landings and it is not unusual for flights to be delayed in the holding pattern before landing. Following the airport's master plan, Infraero built a second runway, which was finished in 2006. In 2007, the airport handled 11,119,872 passengers. The main building's third floor, with 12 thousand square meters, has a panoramic deck, a food court, shops, four movie theaters with total capacity of 500 people, and space for exhibitions. There are 136 shop spaces at Brasília Airport. The airport is located about 11 km (6.8 mi) from the central area of Brasília, outside the metro system. There are many taxis outside the main gate, and some bus lines which connect the airport to the central area of Brasília. The parking lot accommodates 1,200 cars. In addition to domestic and regional services (TAM, GOL, Azul, WebJET, Trip and Avianca). Brasilia is improving its international connections; non-stop flights to Miami, United States with AA started in Nov 2010 and with TAM in Dec 2010. There are already direct flights to Atlanta, United States with Delta; Lima, Peru with LAN and TACA ; and to Lisbon, Portugal with TAP. On March 28, 2011 PLUNA will begin a direct service to Montevideo, Uruguay, and connections. Metrô de Brasília is Brasília's underground metro system. The subway system has 24 stations on two lines, the Orange and Green lines, distributed along a total network of 42 km (26 mi), covering most of the metropolitan area. Both lines begin at the Central Station and run parallel until the Águas Claras Station. The Brasília metro is not comprehensive, so buses may provide better access to the city center. The metro leaves the Rodoviária (bus station) and goes south, avoiding most of the political and tourist areas. The main purpose of the metro is to serve the largest satellite cities, such as Samambaia, Taguatinga and Ceilândia, as well as Guará and Águas Claras. The satellite cities are more populated than the Plano Piloto itself (the census of 2000 indicated that Ceilândia had 344,039 inhabitants, Taguatinga had 243,575, whereas the Plano Piloto had approximately 400,000 inhabitants), and most residents of the satellite cities depend on public transportation. The main bus hub in Brasília is the Central Bus Station, located in the crossing of the Eixo Monumental and the Eixão, about 2 km (1.2 mi) from the Three Powers Plaza. The original plan was to have a bus station as near as possible to every corner of Brasília. Today, the bus station is the hub of urban buses only, some running within Brasília and others connecting Brasília to the satellite cities. In the original city plan, the interstate buses should also stop at the Central Station. Because of the growth of Brasília (and corresponding growth in the bus fleet), today the interstate buses leave from the older interstate station (called Rodoferroviária), located at the western end of the Eixo Monumental. The Central Bus Station also contains a main metro station. A new inter-state station was opened in July 2010. It is on Saída Sul (South Exit) near Parkshopping and a metro station. Nearby attractions include: Brasília is home to two major football teams: Neither of them have been successful in the First Division of the Brazilian Championship. Brasiliense at the moment plays Second Division, while Gama was relegated to the Third Division for 2009. The main football stadiums are the Estádio Mané Garrincha and the Serejão. Brasília is one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the host nation. The rebuilding of Garrincha Stadium is planned. Brasília will also host football tournaments during the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro. Brasília is known as a departing point for the practice of unpowered air sports, sports that may be practiced with hang gliding or paragliding wings. Practitioners of such sports reveal that, because of the city's dry weather, the city offers strong thermal winds and great "cloud-streets", which is also the name for a manoeuvre quite appreciated by practitioners. The national capital hosted the 14th Hang Gliding World Championship, one of the categories of free flying, in 2003. And in 2005, from August 21 to 27th, it has host the 2nd stage of the Brazilian Hang Gliding Championship. Brasília is the site of the Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet which hosted a non-championship round of the 1974 Formula One Grand Prix season. The city is home to Universo BRB, one of Brazil's best basketball clubs. Currently NBB champion (2010) Coordinates: 15°48′S 47°54′W / 15.8°S 47.9°W / -15.8; -47.9	Federal District	cultural		Federal District		[GigaPan Panoramic Photographs and Info About Brasilia|http://www.brasilias.com.br/]#[About Brasilia|http://www.aboutbrasilia.com/]#[Brasília e Região Convention & Visitors Bureau|http://www.brasiliaconvention.com.br/en/index.htm]#[Official Brasília site|http://www.distritofederal.df.gov.br/]#[Photos 360º of Brasilia - GUIABSB|http://www.guiabsb.com.br/brasilia/resultado_pesquisa.asp?idCategoriaServico=29]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bras%25C3%25ADlia		[i],[iv]	BR		Brasilia	Brazil	445	1987	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/445
29	Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System	16.75	-87.058333	The Belize Barrier Reef is a series of coral reefs straddling the coast of Belize, roughly 300 meters (1,000 ft) offshore in the north and 40 kilometers (25 mi) in the south within the country limits. The Belize Barrier Reef is a 300 kilometers (186 mi) long section of the 900 kilometers (560 mi) long Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, which is continuous from Cancún on the northeast tip of the Yucatán Peninsula through the Riviera Maya up to Honduras making it the second largest coral reef system in the world after the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is Belize's top tourist destination popular for scuba diving and snorkeling and attracting almost half of its 260,000 visitors, and vital to its fishing industry. Charles Darwin described it as "the most remarkable reef in the West Indies" in 1842. The Belize Barrier Reef is home to a large diversity of plants and animals, one of the most diverse ecosystems of the world: With 90% of the reef still needing to be researched, it is estimated that only 10% of all species have been discovered. A large portion of the reef is protected by the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System, which includes seven marine reserves, 450 cays, and three atolls. It totals 960 km² (370 miles²) in area, including: Because of its exceptional natural beauty, significant on-going ecological and biological processes, and the fact that it contains the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity (criteria VII, IX, and X), the Reserve System has been designated as a World Heritage Site since 1996. Despite these protective measures, the reef is under threat from oceanic pollution as well as uncontrolled tourism, shipping, and fishing. The main threats are considered to be hurricanes along with global warming and the resulting increase in ocean temperatures, which cause coral bleaching. It is claimed by scientists that over 40% of Belize's coral reef has been damaged since 1998. The Belize Barrier Reef has been affected by two mass-bleaching events. The first mass bleaching occurred in 1995, with an estimated mortality of 10 percent of coral colonies, according to a report by the Coastal Zone Management Institute in Belize. In 1997 and 1998, a second mass-bleaching event occurred, coinciding with devastation effected by hurricane Mitch. Biologists observed a 48 percent reduction in live coral cover across the Belize reef system. Usually, it is hard to distinguish whether the reason for coral bleaching is human activities or natural reasons such as storms or bacterial fluctuations. But in the case of the Belize Barrier Reef, many factors which make the distinction difficult don’t apply. Human population in this area is much more sparse than the corresponding areas near other coral reefs, so the human activity and pollution are much lower compared to other coral reefs and the Belize reef system is in a much more enclosed area. When coral bleaching occurs, a large part of the coral dies, and the remaining part of the ecosystem begins the process of repairing the damage. But the chances of recovery is low, as corals that are bleached become much more vulnerable to disease. Disease often kills more corals than the bleaching event itself. With continuous bleaching, the coral reef will have little to no chance of recovery.	Belize District (sites I, II, III), Stann Creek District ( IV,V,VI), Toledo District (VII)	natural	Mangrove cutting and excessive development	Belize District (sites I, II, III), Stann Creek District ( IV,V,VI), Toledo District (VII)	2009	[UNESCO World Heritage website|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/764]#[UNEP-WCMC Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System|http://www.unep-wcmc.org/protected_areas/data/wh/reef.html]#[Belize Tourism Board official website|http://www.travelbelize.org/]#[Greatest Dive Sites: Scuba diving at the Belize Barrier Reef|http://belize.greatestdivesites.com]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belize_Barrier_Reef		[vii],[ix],[x]	BZ	963000000.0	Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System	Belize	764	1996	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/764
30	Biblical Tels - Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba	32.59722	35.18222	Coordinates: 33°01′06″N 35°34′09″E / 33.018236°N 35.569053°E / 33.018236; 35.569053 Tel Hazor (Hebrew: תל חצור‎), also Hatzor, present day Tell el-Qedah, is a tell above the site of ancient Hazor, whose archaeological remains are the largest and richest known in modern Israel. Hazor was an ancient city located in the Upper Galilee, north of the Sea of Galilee, between Ramah and Kadesh, on the high ground overlooking Lake Merom. In 2005, the remains of Hazor were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO as part of the Biblical Tels - Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba. During the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period and early New Kingdoms (together running between 18th century BC and 13th century BC), Canaan was an Egyptian vassal state; thus 14th century documents, from the El Amarna archive in Egypt, describe the king of Hazor (in Amarna letters called Hasura), Abdi-Tirshi, as swearing loyalty to the Egyptian Pharaoh. However, EA 148 specifically reports that Hasura's king has gone over to the Habiru who were invading Canaan. In these documents, Hazor is described as an important city in Canaan. Hazor is also mentioned in the Execration texts, that pre-date the Amarna letters, and in 18th century BCE documents found in Mari on the Euphrates River. According to the Book of Joshua Hazor was the seat of Jabin, a powerful Canaanite king that led a Canaanite confederation against Joshua, but was defeated by Joshua, who burnt Hazor to the ground. According to the Book of Judges Hazor was the seat of Jabin, the king of Canaan, whose commander, Sisera, led a Canaanite army against Barak, but was ultimately defeated.Textual scholars believe that the prose account of Barak, which differs from the poetic account in the Song of Deborah, is a conflation of accounts of two separate events, one concerning Barak and Sisera like the poetic account, the other concerning Jabin's confederation and defeat. In addition, textual scholars think that the Book of Judges and Book of Joshua are parallel accounts, referring to the same events, rather than describing different time periods, and thus that they refer to the same Jabin, a powerful king based in Hazor, whose Canaanite confederation was defeated by an Israelite army. Some archaeologists believe that the Israelites emerged simply as a subculture within Canaanite society, and thus that the Israelite conquest of Canaan did not happen as detailed in the Bible; most biblical scholars believe that the Book of Joshua conflates several independent battles between disparate groups, over multiple centuries, and artificially attributes them to a single leader - Joshua. Nevertheless, one archaeological stratum, dating from around 1200 BC, shows signs of catastrophic fire, and cuneiform tablets found at the site refer to monarchs named Ibni Addi, where Ibni may be the etymological origin of Yavin (Jabin).[1] The city also show signs of having been a magnificent Canaanite city prior to its destruction, with great temples and opulent palaces, split into an upper acropolis, and lower city; the town evidently had been a major Canaanite city. Some archaeologists suspect the reason for the destruction of Hazor could be civil strife, attacks by the Sea Peoples, and/or a result of the general collapse of civilisation across the whole eastern Mediterranean in the Late Bronze Age. This view is disputed by recent archaeological dig there. Prof. Amnon Ben-Tor (Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University) who is in charge believes that evidence of this violent destruction by burning was discovered in various areas of excavation of the site. The archaeological remains suggest that some time after its destruction, the city of Hazor was rebuilt as a minor village. According to the Books of Kings, the town, along with Megiddo, and Gezer, was later substantially fortified and expanded by Solomon. Like those at Megiddo, and Gezer, the remains at Hazor show that during the Early Iron Age the town gained a highly distinctive six chambered gate, as well as a characteristic style to its administration buildings; archaeologists determined that these constructions at Hazor were built by the same leadership as those at Megiddo and Gezer. By reference to the Books of Kings, some archaeologists conclude that these remains verify the Biblical account—that they were constructed in the tenth century by King Solomon; others date these structures to the early 9th century BC, during the reign of the Omrides. Yigael Yadin, one of the earliest archaeologists to have worked on the site, saw certain features as clearly being Omride; Megiddo, Gezer, and Hazor, all feature deep rock cut pits, from the base of which were rock cut tunnels leading to a well that reached the water table, as water-supply systems, which Yadin attributed to the rule of Ahab; Yadin also attributed to Ahab a citadel, measuring 25 x 21 m, with two-meter thick walls, which was erected in the western part of Hazor. However, Yadin's dating was based on the assumption that the layer connected with the gates and administration buildings were built by Solomon, and thus most archaeologists now date the citadel and rock cut water system much later. Archaeological remains indicate that towards the later half of the 9th century BC, when the king of Israel was Jehu, Hazor fell into the control of Aram Damascus. Most archaeologists suspect that subsequent to this conquest, unmentioned by the Bible, was a sustained period of occupation by the Aramaean forces; the remains indicate that Hazor was rebuilt shortly after its conquest by Aram, probably as an Aramaean city. When the Assyrians later defeated the Aramaeans, Hazor seemingly returned to Israelite control; Assyrian records indicate that Joash, the king of Israel at the time, had paid tribute to Assyria and Israel had become an Assyrian vassal. Subsequently, the town, along with the remainder of the kingdom of Israel, entered a period of great prosperity, particularly during the rule of Jeroboam II; most archaeologists now attribute the later large scale constructions at Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer, including the rock cut water supply systems, to this era. Israel's attempted rebellion against Assyrian domination resulted in an invasion by the forces of the Assyrian ruler, Tiglath-Pileser III; the evidence on the ground suggests that hasty attempts were made to reinforce the defenses of Hazor. Despite the defences, in 732 BC Hazor was captured, its population deported, and the city was burnt to the ground.. The site of Hazor is around 200 acres (0.81 km2) in area, with an upper city making up about 1/8th of that. The upper mound has a height of about 40 meters. Initial soundings at Tell el-Qedah were done by John Garstang in 1926. In modern times, major excavations were conducted for 4 seasons from 1955-1958 by a Hebrew University team led by Yigal Yadin. Yadin returned to Hazor for a final season of excavation in 1968. The excavations were supported by James A. de Rothschild, and were published in a dedicated five volume set of books by the Israel Exploration Society. Excavation at the site by Hebrew University, joined by the Complutense University of Madrid, resumed in 1990. The work is led by Amnon Ben-Tor and continues to the present. Findings form the dig are housed in a museum at Kibbutz Ayelet HaShahar. In 2008, some artifacts in the museum were damaged in an earthquake.	N32 35 49.992 E35 10 55.992	cultural		N32 35 49.992 E35 10 55.992		[The Hazor Excavations Project|http://hazor.huji.ac.il]#["Yadin photographs & footage of the excavations"|http://www.yadinproductions.com/yadin_archeology.html]#[The Hazor Excavation Reports|http://hazor.huji.ac.il/hazorbooks.htm]#[UNESCO World Heritage site for Hazor|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1108]#[Photos of the archaeological site at Hazor|http://ebibletools.com/israel/hazor/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Hazor		[ii],[iii],[iv],[vi]	IL	960000.0	Biblical Tels - Megiddo, Hazor, Beer Sheba	Israel	1108		http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1108
31	Bisotun	34.388333	47.436667	Coordinates: 34°23′18″N 47°26′12″E / 34.38833°N 47.43667°E / 34.38833; 47.43667 The Behistun Inscription (also Bistun or Bisutun, Modern Persian: بیستون ; Old Persian: Bagastana, meaning "the god's place or land") is a multi-lingual inscription located on Mount Behistun in the Kermanshah Province of Iran, near the city of Kermanshah in western Iran. Authored by Darius the Great sometime between his coronation as king of the Persian Empire in the summer of 522 BC and his death in autumn of 486 BC, the inscription begins with a brief autobiography of Darius, including his ancestry and lineage. Later in the inscription, Darius provides a lengthy sequence of events following the deaths of Cyrus the Great and Cambyses II in which he fought nineteen battles in a period of one year (ending in December of 521 BC) to put down multiple rebellions throughout the Persian Empire. The inscription states in detail that the rebellions, which had resulted from the deaths of Cyrus the Great and his son Cambyses II, were orchestrated by several impostors and their co-conspirators in various cities throughout the empire, each of whom falsely proclaimed kinghood during the upheaval following Cyrus's death. Darius the Great proclaimed himself victorious in all battles during the period of upheaval, attributing his success to the "grace of Ahura Mazda". The inscription includes three versions of the same text, written in three different cuneiform script languages: Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian (a later form of Akkadian) — Babylonian being a Semitic language. In effect, then, the inscription is to cuneiform what the Rosetta Stone is to Egyptian hieroglyphs: the document most crucial in the decipherment of a previously lost script. Translation of the text was a multi-step and multi-national effort based on earlier work done on the decipherment of the Old Persian script by Georg Friedrich Grotefend in the late 18th century when Grotefend discovered that, unlike Elamite and Babylonian texts, Old Persian text is alphabetic. In the following years, the efforts of Burnouf, Lassen, and Rawlinson (who had the remainder of the inscription transcribed in two parts, in 1835 and 1843) contributed to translating the Old Persian cuneiform text using the Zoroastrian book Avesta as a key, in addition to cross-referencing with modern Persian and Vedic languages. With the Old Persian text deciphered, Rawlinson and others were then able to decipher the Elamite and Babylonian texts (both of which were translations of the Old Persian text). The inscription is approximately 15 metres high by 25 metres wide and 100 metres up a limestone cliff from an ancient road connecting the capitals of Babylonia and Media (Babylon and Ecbatana, respectively). The Old Persian text contains 414 lines in five columns; the Elamite text includes 593 lines in eight columns, and the Babylonian text is in 112 lines. The inscription was illustrated by a life-sized bas-relief of Darius I, the Great, holding a bow as a sign of kingship, with his left foot on the chest of a figure lying on his back before him. The supine figure is reputed to be the pretender Gaumata. Darius is attended to the left by two servants, and ten one-metre figures stand to the right, with hands tied and rope around their necks, representing conquered peoples. Faravahar floats above, giving his blessing to the king. One figure appears to have been added after the others were completed, as was (oddly enough) Darius's beard, which is a separate block of stone attached with iron pins and lead. After the fall of the Persian Empire's Achaemenid Dynasty and its successors, and the lapse of Old Persian cuneiform writing into disuse, the nature of the inscription was forgotten, and fanciful explanations became the norm. For centuries, instead of being attributed to Darius I, the Great, it was believed to be from the reign of Khosrau II of Persia — one of the last Sassanid kings, who lived over 1000 years after the time of Darius I. The inscription is mentioned by Ctesias of Cnidus, who noted its existence some time around 400 BC and mentioned a well and a garden beneath the inscription. He incorrectly concluded that the inscription had been dedicated "by Queen Semiramis of Babylon to Zeus". Tacitus also mentions it and includes a description of some of the long-lost ancillary monuments at the base of the cliff, including an altar to "Herakles". What has been recovered of them, including a statue dedicated in 148 BC, is consistent with Tacitus's description. Diodorus also writes of "Bagistanon" and claims it was inscribed by Semiramis. A legend began around Mount Behistun (Bisutun), as written about by the Persian poet and writer Firdausi in his Shahnamah (Book of Kings) circa AD 1000, about a man named Farhad, who was a lover of King Khosrow's wife, Shirin. The legend states that, exiled for his transgression, Farhad was given the task of cutting away the mountain to find water; if he succeeded, he would be given permission to marry Shirin. After many years and the removal of half the mountain, he did find water, but was informed by Khosrow that Shirin had died. He went mad, threw his axe down the hill, kissed the ground and died. It is told in the book of Khosrow and Shirin that his axe was made out of a pomegranate tree, and, where he threw the axe, a pomegranate tree grew with fruit that would cure the ill. Shirin was not dead, according to the story, and mourned upon hearing the news. The inscription was noted by an Arab traveller, Ibn Hawqal, during the mid-10th century, who misinterpreted the figures as a "teacher punishing his pupils". In 1598, the Englishman Robert Sherley saw the inscription during a diplomatic mission to Persia on behalf of Austria, and brought it to the attention of Western European scholars. His party incorrectly came to the conclusion that it was a picture of "the ascension of Jesus" with an inscription in "Greek". Biblical misinterpretations by Europeans were rife for the next two centuries. French General Gardanne thought it showed "Christ and his twelve apostles", and Sir Robert Ker Porter thought it represented the "twelve tribes of Israel and Shalmaneser of Assyria". Italian explorer Pietro della Valle visited the inscription in the course of a pilgrimage in around 1621, and German surveyor Carsten Niebuhr visited in around 1764 for Frederick V of Denmark, publishing a copy of the inscription in the account of his journeys in 1777. Niebuhr's transcriptions were used by Georg Friedrich Grotefend and others in their efforts to decipher the Old Persian cuneiform script. Grotefend had deciphered ten of the 37 symbols of Old Persian by 1802, after realizing that unlike the Semitic cuneiform scripts, Old Persian text is alphabetic and each word is separated by a vertical slanted symbol. The Old Persian text was copied and deciphered before the recovery and copying of the Elamite and Babylonian inscriptions had even been attempted, which proved to be a good deciphering strategy, since Old Persian script was easier to study due to its alphabetic nature and the fact that the language it represents had naturally evolved into Middle Persian, and in turn, to the living modern Persian language dialects as well as the Avestan language, used in the Zoroastrian book the Avesta. In 1835, Sir Henry Rawlinson, an officer of the British East India Company army assigned to the forces of the Shah of Iran, began studying the inscription in earnest. As the town of Bisutun's name was anglicized as "Behistun" at this time, the monument became known as the "Behistun Inscription". Despite its relative inaccessibility, Rawlinson was able to scale the cliff and copy the Old Persian inscription. The Elamite was across a chasm, and the Babylonian four meters above; both were beyond easy reach and were left for later. With the Persian text, and with about a third of the syllabary made available to him by the work of Georg Friedrich Grotefend, Rawlinson set to work on deciphering the text. Fortunately, the first section of this text contained a list of the same Persian kings found in Herodotus in their original Persian forms as opposed to Herodotus's Greek transliterations; for example Darius is given as the original Dâryavuš instead of the Hellenized Δαρειος. By matching the names and the characters, Rawlinson was able to decipher the type of cuneiform used for Old Persian by 1838 and presented his results to the Royal Asiatic Society in London and the Société Asiatique in Paris. In the interim, Rawlinson spent a brief tour of duty in Afghanistan, returning to the site in 1843. He first crossed a chasm between the Persian and Elamite scripts by bridging the gap with planks, subsequently copying the Elamite inscription. He was then able to find an enterprising local boy to climb up a crack in the cliff and suspend ropes across the Babylonian writing, so that papier-mâché casts of the inscriptions could be taken. Rawlinson, along with scholars Edward Hincks, Julius Oppert, William Henry Fox Talbot, and Edwin Norris, either working separately or in collaboration, eventually deciphered these inscriptions, leading eventually to the ability to read them completely. The translation of the Old Persian sections of the Behistun Inscription paved the way to the subsequent ability to decipher the Elamite and Babylonian parts of the text, which greatly promoted the development of modern Assyriology. Later expeditions, in 1904 sponsored by the British Museum and led by Leonard William King and Reginald Campbell Thompson and in 1948 by George G. Cameron of the University of Michigan, obtained photographs, casts and more accurate transcriptions of the texts, including passages that were not copied by Rawlinson. It also became apparent that rainwater had dissolved some areas of the limestone in which the text was inscribed, while leaving new deposits of limestone over other areas, covering the text. In 1938, the inscription became of interest to the Nazi German think tank Ahnenerbe, although research plans were cancelled due to the onset Word War II. The monument later suffered some damage from invading Allied soldiers using it for target practice during World War II. In 1999, Iranian archeologists began the documentation and assessment of damages to the site incurred during the 20th century. Malieh Mehdiabadi, who was project manager for the effort, described a photogrammetric process by which two-dimensional photos were taken of the inscriptions using two cameras and later transmuted into 3-D images. In recent years, Iranian archaeologists have been undertaking conservation works. The site became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. The site covers an area of 116 hectares. Archeological evidence indicates that this region became a human shelter 40,000 years ago. There are 18 historical monuments other than the inscription of Darius the Great in the Behistun complex that have been registered in the Iranian national list of historical sites. Some of them are: In the first image, Herakles with curly hair and a beard rests on the lion skin. Beside him, an olive tree is seen carved on the wall, while a quiver full of arrows is hanging from it, and a club resting close by. Behind the head of Herakles, an inscription of seven lines in old Greek is written on a smooth space with a frame similar to Greek temples. According to this inscription, the statue was carved in 139 BC on the occasion of a conquest for Seleucid Greeks (under Demetrius II Nicator) against the Parthians (under Mithridates I of Parthia), though the Seleucids were later defeated and driven from the region. The second image is a bas relief of Mithridates II of Parthia: this was carved in 123–110 BC and represents Parthian king Mithridates and four of his satraps who are respecting the king. Bas relief of Gotarzes II of Parthia shows the conquest of that king over Meherdates, an Arsacid prince who lived in Rome. An inscription in Greek is seen on the left side of the top outer frame of the relief. Sheikh Ali khan Zangeneh text endowment: According to this text, written in Sloth calligraphy, Sheikh Ali khan Zangeneh, a local ruler of the 17th century, dedicates four shares (out of six) of his properties in Ghareh-vali and Chambatan (local villages) for Sadaats (descendants of the prophet Mohammad), and two remaining shares for the Bisotoun Safavid caravansarai.	Province of Kermanshah	cultural		Province of Kermanshah		["Behistun"|http://members.ozemail.com.au/~ancientpersia/behistun.html]#["Oriental Institute | Oriental Institute Seminars (OIS)"|http://oi.uchicago.edu/research/pubs/catalog/ois/ois2.html]#[The Behistun Inscription|http://www.livius.org/be-bm/behistun/behistun01.html]#[English translation of the inscription text|http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Persia/Behistun_txt.html]#[Case Western Reserve University Digital Library|http://library.case.edu:9090/ksl/ecoll/books/anoscu00/anoscu00.pdf]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Behistun_Inscription		[ii],[iii]	IR	1870000.0	Bisotun	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	1222	2006	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1222
32	Bordeaux, Port of the Moon	44.838889	-0.572222	Coordinates: 44°50′19″N 0°34′42″W / 44.838611°N 0.578333°W / 44.838611; -0.578333 Bordeaux (French pronunciation: [bɔʁdo]  (listen); Gascon: Bordèu) is a port city on the Garonne River in southwest France, with an estimated (2008) population of 250,082. The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture of the Gironde department. Its inhabitants are called Bordelais. Bordeaux is the world's major wine industry capital. It is home to the world's main wine fair, Vinexpo, while the wine economy in the metro area moves 14.5 billion euros each year.Bordeaux wine has been produced in the region since the eighth century. The historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century. Between 30,000 and 20,000 years ago the area of Bordeaux was inhabited by the Neanderthal, whose remains have been found at a famous cave known as Pair-non-Pair, near Bourg sur Gironde, just north of Bordeaux. In historical times, around 300 BC it was the settlement of a Celtic tribe, the Bituriges Vivisci, who named the town Burdigala, probably of Aquitainian origin. The name Bourde is still the name of a river south of the city. The city fell under Roman rule around 60 BC, its importance lying in the commerce of tin and lead towards Rome. Later it became capital of Roman Aquitaine, flourishing especially during the Severan dynasty (third century). In 276 it was sacked by the Vandals. Further ravage was brought by the same Vandals in 409, the Visigoths in 414 and the Franks in 498, beginning a period of obscurity for the city. In the late 6th century, the city reemerged as the seat of a county and an archdiocese within the Merovingian kingdom of the Franks. The city fell into obscurity as royal power waned in southern Gaul in the late 7th century. The city was plundered by the troops of Abd er Rahman in 732, after he had defeated Duke Eudes and before he was killed during the Battle of Tours on October 10. Under the Carolingians were appointed a series of Counts of Bordeaux who served to defend the mouth of the Garonne from the Vikings. Eventually, the city was inherited by the Dukes of Gascony in the late 10th century. From the 12th to the 15th century, Bordeaux regained importance following the marriage of Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine with the French-speaking Count Henri Plantagenet, born in Le Mans, who became, within months of their wedding, King Henry II of England. The city flourished, primarily due to wine trade, and the cathedral of St. André was built. It was also the capital of an independent state under Edward, the Black Prince (1362–1372), but in the end, after the Battle of Castillon (1453) it was annexed by France which extended its territory. The Château Trompette (Trumpet Castle) and the Fort du Hâ, built by Charles VII of France, were the symbols of the new domination, which however deprived the city of its richness by halting the wine commerce with England. In 1462, Bordeaux obtained a parliament, but regained importance only in the 16th century when it became the center of the distribution of sugar and slaves from the West Indies along with the traditional wine. Bordeaux adhered to the Fronde, being effectively annexed to the Kingdom of France only in 1653, when the army of Louis XIV entered the city. The 18th century was the golden age of Bordeaux. Many downtown buildings (about 5,000), including those on the quays, are from this period. Victor Hugo found the town so beautiful he once said: "take Versailles, add Antwerp, and you have Bordeaux". Baron Haussmann, a long-time prefect of Bordeaux, used Bordeaux's 18th century big-scale rebuilding as a model when he was asked by Emperor Napoleon III to transform a then still quasi-medieval Paris into a "modern" capital that would make France proud. The French government relocated from Paris to Bordeaux very briefly during World War II, when it became apparent that Paris would soon fall into German hands (as in 1870 during war against Prussia and at the beginning of World War I). The French capital was soon moved again to Vichy. From 1940 to 1943, the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina Italiana) established BETASOM, a submarine base at Bordeaux. Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic from this base which was also a major base for German U-boats as headquarters of 12 Unterseebootsflottille (12th U-boat Flotilla). The massive, reinforced concrete U-boat pens have proved impractical to demolish and are now partly used as a cultural centre for exhibitions. Bordeaux is located close to the European Atlantic coast, in the southwest of France and in the north of the Aquitaine region. It is around 500 km (310 mi) southwest of Paris. The city is built on a bend of the river Garonne, and is divided into two parts: the right bank to the east and left bank in the west. Historically, the left bank is more developed. In Bordeaux, the Garonne River is accessible to ocean liners. The left bank of the Garonne is a low-lying, often marshy plain. Bordeaux's climate is usually classified as an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb); however, the summers tend to be warmer and the winters milder than most areas of similar classification. Substantial summer rainfall prevents its climate from being classified as Mediterranean. Winters are mild because of the prevalence of westerly winds from the Atlantic. Summers are warm and long due to the influence from the Bay of Biscay (surface temperature reaches 21 to 22 °C (70 to 72 °F). The average seasonal winter temperature is 6.53 °C (43.75 °F), but recent winters have been warmer than this. The average summer seasonal temperature is 19.51 °C (67.12 °F), but every summer in the decade beginning 2001 has exceeded this average. The summer of 2003 set a record with an average temperature of 23.3 °C (73.9 °F). Bordeaux has about 116,160 hectares (287,000 acres) of vineyards, 57 appellations, 10,000 wine-producing châteaux and 13,000 grape growers. With an annual production of approximately 850 million bottles, Bordeaux produces large quantities of everyday wine as well as some of the most expensive wines in the world. Included among the latter are the area's five premier cru (first growth) red wines (four from Médoc and one, Château Haut-Brion, from Graves), established by the Bordeaux Wine Official Classification of 1855: The first growths are: *In 1855 Mouton-Rothschild was ranked a Second Growth. In 1973, it was elevated to First Growth status. Both red and white wines are made in Bordeaux. Red Bordeaux is called claret in the United Kingdom. Red wines are generally made from a blend of grapes, and may be made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit verdot, Malbec, and, less commonly in recent years, Carménère. White Bordeaux is made from Sauvignon blanc, Sémillon, and Muscadelle. Sauternes is a subregion of Graves known for its intensely sweet, white, dessert wines such as Château d'Yquem. Because of a wine glut (wine lake) in the generic production, the price squeeze induced by an increasingly strong international competition, and vine pull schemes, the number of growers has recently dropped from 14,000 and the area under vine has also decreased significantly. In the meanwhile however, the global demand for the first growths and the most famous labels markedly increased and their prices skyrocketed. The Laser Mégajoule will be one of the most powerful lasers in the world, allowing fundamental research and the development of the laser and plasma technologies. This project, carried by the French Ministry of Defence, involves an investment of 2 billion euros. In 2009, the 600 experiments programmed each year with the Laser Mégajoule will begin. The "Road of the lasers", a major project of regional planning, promotes regional investment in optical and laser related industries leading to the Bordeaux area having the most important concentration of optical and laser expertise in Europe. 20,000 people work for the aeronautic industry in Bordeaux. The city has some of the biggest companies including Dassault, EADS Sogerma, Snecma, Thales, SNPE, and others. The Dassault Falcon private jets are built there as well as the military aircraft Rafale and Mirage 2000, the Airbus A380 cockpit, the boosters of Ariane 5, and the M51 SLBM missile. Tourism is a major industry, especially concerning wine-making. Access to the port from the Atlantic ocean is via the Gironde estuary. Almost 9 million tons of goods arrive and leave each year. This list includes both companies based in Bordeaux and outside companies with major operations in the city. In the 1999 census, there were 215,363 inhabitants in the city (commune) of Bordeaux. The 2005 census showed a significant increase, as this figure reached 230,600 inhabitants. In 2007, there were 660,000 inhabitants in the Communauté Urbaine de Bordeaux. The majority of the population is French, but there are sizable groups of Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Turks, Germans and North Africans.[citation needed]. The built-up area has grown swiftly in recent years with urban sprawl. The university was created by the archbishop Pey Berland in 1441 and was abolished in 1793, during the French Revolution, before reappearing in 1808 with Napoleon I. Bordeaux accommodates approximately 70,000 students on one of the largest campuses of Europe (235 ha). The University of Bordeaux is divided into four: Bordeaux has numerous public and private schools offering undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Engineering schools: Business and management schools: Other: Bordeaux is classified "City of Art and History". The city has been inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble". Bordeaux is home to one of Europe's biggest 18th century architectural urban areas, making it a sought-after destination for tourists and cinema production crews. It stands out as one of the first French cities, after Nancy, to have entered an era of urbanism and metropolitan big scale projects, with the team Gabriel father and son, architects for King Louis XV, under the supervision of two intendants (Governors), first Nicolas-François Dupré de Saint-Maur then the Marquis (Marquess) de Tourny. Main sights include: Saint-André Cathedral, Saint-Michel Basilica and Saint-Seurin Basilica are part of the World Heritage Sites of the Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France. Bordeaux has many shopping options. In the heart of Bordeaux is Rue Sainte-Catherine. This pedestrian only shopping street has 1.2 kilometres (0.75 mi) of shops, restaurants and cafés; it is also one of the longest shopping streets in Europe. Rue Sainte-Catherine starts at Place de la Victoire and ends at Place de la Comédie by the Grand Théâtre. The shops become progressively more upmarket as one moves towards Place de la Comédie and the nearby Cours de l'Intendance is where one finds the more exclusive shops and boutiques. Bordeaux is also the first city in France to have created, in the 1980s, an architecture exhibition and research centre, Arc en rêve, still the most prestigious in France besides Paris IFA. Bordeaux offers a large number of cinemas, theatres and is the home of the Opéra national de Bordeaux. There are many music venues of varying capacity. The city also offers several festivals throughout the year. These are the radio stations in Bordeaux. Bordeaux is an important road and motorway junction. The city is connected to Paris by the A10 motorway, with Lyon by the A89, with Toulouse by the A62, and with Spain by the A63. There is a 45 km (28 mi) ring road called the "Rocade" which is often very busy. The building of another ring road is under consideration. Bordeaux has four road bridges that cross the Garonne, the Pont de pierre built in the 1820s and three modern bridges built after 1960: the Pont Saint Jean, just south of the Pont de pierre (both located downtown), the Pont d'Aquitaine, a suspended bridge downstream from downtown, and the Pont François Mitterrand, located upstream of downtown. These two bridges are part of the ring road around Bordeaux. There is also a railway bridge, completed in 2008(??). The main railway station, Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean, near the centre of the city, has 4 million passengers a year. It is served by the French national (SNCF) railway's high speed train, the TGV, that gets to Paris in three hours, with connections to major European centres such as Lille, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Geneva and London. The TGV also serves Toulouse and Irun from Bordeaux. A regular train service is provided to Nantes, Nice, Marseille and Lyon. The Gare Saint-Jean is the major hub for regional trains (TER) operated by the SNCF to Arcachon, Limoges, Agen, Périgueux, Pau and Bayonne. Historically the train line used to terminate at a station on the right bank of the river Garonne near the Pont de Pierre and passengers crossed the bridge to get into the city. Subsequently a single track steel railway bridge was constructed in the 1850s by Gustave Eiffel to bring trains across the river direct into Gare de Bordeaux Saint-Jean. The old station was subsequently converted and in 2010 comprised a cinema and restaurants. The single track Eiffel bridge became a bottleneck and a the new bridge was built which opened in 2008(??). During the planning there was much lobbying by the Eiffel family and other supporters to preserve the old bridge as a footbridge across the Garonne with possibly a museum to document the history of the bridge and Gustav Eiffel's contribution. The decision was taken to save the bridge but by early 2010 no plans had been announced as to its future use. The bridge remains intact but unused and without any means of access. Bordeaux is served by an international airport, Aéroport de Bordeaux Mérignac, located 8 km (5.0 mi) from the city centre in the suburban city of Mérignac. Bordeaux has an important public transport system called Tram et Bus de la CUB (TBC). This company is run by the Keolis group. The network consists of: This network is operated from 5am to 1am There had been several plans for a subway network to be set up but they were not progressed for both geological and financial reasons. Work on the Tramway de Bordeaux system was started in the autumn of 2000 and services started in December 2003 connecting Bordeaux with its suburban areas. It uses the ground level power supply technology (APS), a new cable less technology developed by French company Alstom and designed to preserve the aesthetic environment by eliminating overhead cables in the historic city. Conventional overhead cables are used outside the city. The system was controversial for its considerable cost of installation, maintenance and also for the numerous initial technical problems that paralyzed the network. Many streets and squares along the tramway route became pedestrian areas, with limited access by cars. There are more than 400 taxicabs in Bordeaux. The Stade Chaban-Delmas is the largest stadium. It can host 35000 spectators. There are two major sport teams in Bordeaux: There is a 250 m (820 ft) wooden velodrome, Vélodrome du Lac, in Bordeaux which hosts international cycling competition in the form of UCI Track Cycling World Cup events. Bordeaux was the birthplace of: Bordeaux is twinned with:	Department of Gironde, Region of Aquitaine	cultural		Department of Gironde, Region of Aquitaine		[École nationale supérieure d'électronique, informatique, radiocommunications de Bordeaux|http://www.enseirb.fr]#[Bordeaux city council website|http://www.bordeaux.fr]#[Tourist office website|http://www.bordeaux-tourisme.com/]#[Phonebook of Bordeaux|http://www.phonebookofbordeaux.com/]#[Bordeaux submarine base : history, description, photos|http://www.uboat-bases.com/en/Bordeaux/la-base-de-u-boote-de-bordeaux.html]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux		[ii],[iv]	FR	17310000.0	Bordeaux, Port of the Moon	France	1256	2007	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1256
33	Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua	45.399111	11.880667	The Orto Botanico di Padova is a botanical garden in Padua, northern Italy. Founded in 1545, it is the world's oldest academic botanical garden that is still in its original location The garden, affiliated with the University of Padua, currently covers roughly 22,000 square meters, and is known for its special collections and historical design. The Garden of Padua was founded upon deliberation of the Senate of the Venetian Republic. It was devoted to the growth of medicinal plants, the so-called "simple plants" (Orto dei semplici) which produced natural remedies, and also to help students distinguish legitimate medicinal plants from false ones. A circular wall enclosure was built to protect the garden from the frequent night thefts which occurred in spite of severe penalties (fines, prison, exile). The Botanical Garden was steadily enriched with plants from all over the world, particularly from the countries that participated in trade with Venice. Consequently, Padua had a leading role in the introduction and study of many exotic plants, and a herbarium, a library and many laboratories were gradually added to its Botanical Garden. At present, the Botanical Garden allows for intensive didactic activity as well as important research to be conducted on its grounds. It also cares for the preservation of many rare species. In 1997, it was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site on the following grounds: The design of the Botanical Garden is commonly attributed to Andrea Moroni, who created some of the most important public monuments in Padua, such as the Basilica of Santa Giustina in Prato della Valle, the town hall and the university in the first half of the 16th century. However, the real architect was Daniele Barbaro, a Venetian nobleman who was a man of vast learning and translator of Vitruvius' De Architectura. He followed the example of the medieval Horti Conclusi, (enclosed gardens), marking the architecture by a perfect pattern of a square within a circle, divided into four parts by two paths oriented according to the cardinal points. The Botanical Garden was inaugurated in 1545, and used as a teaching facility by the University of Padua in the following year. The current appearance of the principal palace dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries. By the end of the 16th century, the garden was enriched with many fountains fed by a gigantic wheel hydrophore, to ensure proper irrigation. In 1704, four gates and gateways were built with huge embellished acroterions (ornaments) in red stone, decorated with plants made of wrought iron. During the first half of the 18th century, the wall was refined along the external perimeter by a balustrade made of Istria Stone on which vases and half-length portraits of important persons were placed. A statue of Theophrastus was built beside the south door, as well as a statue of Solomon, (signed by Antonio Bonazza), local point for the east door and the four seasons fountain, which was enriched with 18th century portraits made of Carrara marble. In the first half of the 19th century, greenhouses and a botanic theatre were built and half-length portraits of eminent botanists such as Carl Linnaeus were placed on the cornice. One of the greenhouses still maintains these historic arches and small cast-iron columns. In the garden there are also three sundials: a cubic one, a circular one and a cylindrical one. On the inside, four glacises are divided into collections of flower-beds. At the center, a pool of water for the aquatic plants is fed by a continuous jet of hot water which comes from a water-bearing stratum of earth located three-hundred meters below the level of the garden. Until 1984, the Botanical Garden boasted a Vitex agnus-castus (chaste tree) that dated from at least 1550. At present, the oldest plant is a palm planted in 1585 called the "Goethe palm", because the poet referred to it in his essay "The Metamorphoses of Plants"; this tree is situated in a greenhouse inside the Ortus Sphearicus, where there is also a ginkgo and a magnolia dating back to the mid-18th century, which are regarded as the oldest specimens in Europe. A gigantic plane tree in the outside Arboretum dates from 1680; it has a hollow trunk, owing to a lightning strike. In the Arboretum there is also a sectioned trunk of an elm tree, which died in 1991, with marked year rings. Owing to a shortage of hothouses, the plants are mainly located outdoors. Six thousand types of plants are currently being cultivated and arranged according to taxonomic, utilitarian, ecological-environmental and historical standards. The systematic collection is concentrated in the four biggest central flowerbeds. Among the utilitarian collections, the medicinal plants are the most important. These are classified according to Engler taxonomy, based on the phylogenetic relationships among the families. Each plant is labelled with its scientific noun and its principal therapeutical properties. A poisonous plants collection has recently been set up with didactic aims: many of these poisonous plants are found also in the medicinal plants sector because in suitable quantities they can be used to treat illness and diseases. Collections of the garden include: Coordinates: 45°24′05″N 11°52′48″E / 45.40139°N 11.88°E / 45.40139; 11.88	City and Province of Padova, Veneto Region,	cultural		City and Province of Padova, Veneto Region,		[The Botanical Garden of Padua|http://www.ortobotanico.unipd.it/eng/]#[Botanical Garden, Padua|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/824]#[Storia dell'Orto botanico di Padova|http://www.horti.unimore.it/CD/Padova/padovahome.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orto_botanico_di_Padova		[ii],[iii]	IT	22000.0	Botanical Garden (Orto Botanico), Padua	Italy	824	1997	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/824
34	Bourges Cathedral	47.082222	2.398333	Bourges Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges) is a Roman Catholic cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, located in Bourges, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges. The site occupied by the present cathedral, in what was once the northeastern corner of the Gallo-Roman walled city, has been the site of the city's main church at least since Carolingian times and probably since the foundation of the bishopric in the 3rd century. The present Cathedral was built as a replacement for a mid 11th century structure, traces of which survive in the crypt. The date when construction began is unknown, although a document of 1195 recording expenditure on rebuilding works suggests that construction was already underway by that date. The fact that the east end protrudes beyond the line of the Gallo-Roman walls and that royal permission to demolish those walls was only granted in 1183 shows that work on the foundations cannot have started before that date. The main phase of construction is therefore roughly contemporaneous with Chartres Cathedral (begun 1194), some 200 km to the northwest. As with most Early- and High-Gothic cathedrals, the identity of the architect or master-mason is unknown. The choir was in use (though not necessarily complete) by 1214 and the nave was finished by 1255. The building was finally consecrated in 1324. Most of the west façade was finished by 1270, though work on the towers proceeded more slowly, partly due to the unfavourable rock strata beneath the site. Structural problems with the South tower led to the building of the adjoining buttress tower in the mid-14th century. The North tower was completed around the end of the 15th century but collapsed in 1506, destroying the Northern portion of the facade in the process. The North tower and its portal were subsequently rebuilt in a more contemporary style. Important figures in the life of the cathedral during the 13th century include William of Donjeon who was Archbishop from 1200 until his death in 1209 (and was canonised by the Pope in 1218 as St William of Bourges) as well as his grandson, Philip Berruyer (archbishop 1236-61), who oversaw the later stages of construction. Following the destruction of much of the Ducal Palace and its chapel during the revolution, the tomb effigy of Duke Jean de Berry was relocated to the Cathedral's crypt, along with some stained glass panels showing standing prophets, which were designed for the chapel by André Beauneveu. Generally the cathedral suffered far less than some of its peers during the French Wars of Religion and in the Revolution. Its location meant it was also relatively safe from the ravages of both World Wars. The cathedral was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992. The cathedral's nave is 15 m wide by 37m high; its arcade is 20m high; the inner aisle is 21.3 m and the outer aisle is 9.3 m high. The use of flying buttresses was employed to help the structure of the building. However, since this was a fairly new technique, one can easily see the walls were still made quite thick to take the force. Sexpartite vaults are used to span the nave. Bourges Cathedral is notable for the simplicity of its plan, which did without transepts but which adopted the double-aisled design found in earlier high-status churches such as the Early-Christian basilica of St Peter's in Rome or in Notre Dame de Paris. The double aisles continue without interruption beyond the position of the screen (now largely destroyed though a few fragments are preserved in the crypt) to form a double ambulatory around the choir. The inner aisle has a higher vault than the outer one, while both the central vessel and the inner aisle have similar three-part elevations with arcade, triforium and clerestory windows; a design which admits considerably more light than one finds in more conventional double-aisled buildings like Notre-Dame. This design, with its distinctive triangular cross section, was subsequently copied at Toledo Cathedral and in the choir at Le Mans. The flying buttresses surrounding the cathedral are relatively slender and efficient, particularly compared to the contemporary but much heavier flyers at Chartres. Their steep angle helps to channel the thrust from the nave vaults and the wind loading on the roof to the outer buttress piers more effectively. The west facade is on a particularly grand scale when compared to earlier cathedrals. The four side aisles and central vessel each have their own portal reflecting the scale of the spaces beyond. As is often the case with Gothic churches, the central portal carries sculpted scenes related to the Last Judgement, whilst the south portals are dedicated to the lives of saints - here St Ursinus and St Stephen. The north portals were destroyed when the tower collapsed but surviving fragments indicate that their sculptural programmes were dedicated to the life and death of the Virgin. Unifying all five portals is a dado screen of gabled niches which stretches the whole width of the facade. The spandrels between these niches feature an extended Genesis cycle which would originally have told the story from the beginning of Creation to God's Covenant with Noah. Romanesque carved portals from about 1160-70, probably intended for the facade of the earlier cathedral, have been reused on the south and north doors (occupying the spaces normally reserved for transept portals). Their profuse ornamentation is reminiscent of Burgundian work. Apart from the axial chapel, Bourges Cathedral retains most of its original ambulatory glass, which dates from about 1215 (around the same time as Chartres Cathedral). The glazing programme includes a famous Typological window (similar to examples at Sens and Canterbury), several hagiographic cycles, the story of the Old Testament patriarch, Joseph and symbolic depictions of the Apocalypse and Last Judgement. Other windows show the Passion and three of Christ's parables; the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the story of Dives and Lazarus. The French art historian Louis Grodecki identified three distinct masters or workshops involved in the glazing, one of whom may also have worked on the windows of Poitiers Cathedral. Coordinates: 47°04′55″N 2°23′58″E / 47.08194°N 2.39944°E / 47.08194; 2.39944	Department of Cher, Centre Region	cultural		Department of Cher, Centre Region		[Sacred Destinations: Bourges Cathedral|http://www.sacred-destinations.com/france/bourges-cathedral.htm]#[History of Gothic Architecture: Bourges|http://web.kyoto-inet.or.jp/org/orion/eng/hst/gothic/bourges.html]#[Bourges Cathedral at UNESCO World Heritage|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/635]#[City of Bourges: Saint-Etienne cathedral|http://www.ville-bourges.fr/english/heritage/cathedral.php]#[The 13th Century Stained Glass of Bourges Cathedral|http://www.medievalart.org.uk/bourges/default.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourges_Cathedral		[i],[iv]	FR	5600.0	Bourges Cathedral	France	635	1992	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/635
35	Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park	17.34694	-62.83722	Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island of St. Kitts in the Federation of St. Christopher (St. Kitts) and Nevis in the Eastern Caribbean. It was designed by British military engineers and built and maintained by African slaves. It is one of the best preserved historical fortifications in the Americas. Cannon were first mounted on Brimstone Hill in 1690, when the British used them to recapture Fort Charles from the French. The French had not considered it possible to transport cannon up the steep and thickly wooded sides of Brimstone Hill. The construction of the fort then carried on intermittently for just over 100 years. In its heyday, the fort was known as 'The Gibraltar of the West Indies', in reference to its imposing height and seeming invulnerability. In 1782, the French, under Admiral Comte François Joseph Paul de Grasse laid siege to the fort. During the siege, the adjacent island of Nevis surrendered, and guns from Fort Charles and other small forts there were brought to St. Kitts for use against Brimstone Hill. British Admiral Hood could not dislodge de Grasse, and after a month of siege, the heavily outnumbered and cut-off British garrison surrendered. However, a year later, the Treaty of Paris (1783) restored St. Kitts and Brimstone Hill to British rule, along with the adjacent island of Nevis. Following these events, the British carried out a program to augment and strengthen the fortifications, and Brimstone Hill never again fell to an enemy force. The fort was abandoned by the British in the mid 19th century, and the structures gradually decayed through vandalism and natural processes. Stabilization and restoration of the remaining structures started in the early 1900s. In 1973 HRH Prince Charles reopened the first area to be completely restored, the Prince of Wales Bastion. In 1985 Britain's Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a plaque naming Brimstone Hill as a National Park. Legislation in 1987 officially declared Brimstone Hill to be a National Park. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1999. Areas that can be toured include the imposing Citadel, Western Place of Arms, Eastern Place of Arms, and Fort George Museum, all a steep walk up from the main parking area via a set of ramps and steps. Other areas include the Magazine Bastion, whose walls were breached by the French in 1782, ruins of the Royal Engineers' Quarters, ruins of the Artillery Officers' Quarters, Infantry Officers' Quarters, and the Orillon Bastion. The ruins of the barracks are a short walk from the car parking area. Coordinates: 17°20′49″N 62°50′10″W / 17.347°N 62.836°W / 17.347; -62.836	Parish of St Thomas, St Christopher (St Kitts)	cultural		Parish of St Thomas, St Christopher (St Kitts)		[The official Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park homepage|http://www.brimstonehillfortress.org]#[Many pictures of Brimstone Hill|http://donwiss.com/pictures/SKB-2000/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brimstone_Hill_Fortress_National_Park		[iii],[iv]	KN		Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park	Saint Kitts and Nevis	910	1999	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/910
36	uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park	-29.38333	29.54056	The uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park is a World Heritage Site in Southern Africa. It covers 242813 ha of area. It may spans parts of both South Africa, in its KwaZulu-Natal province, and Lesotho. 29°22′59.988″S 29°32′26.016″E / 29.38333°S 29.54056°E / -29.38333; 29.54056 (uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park) It includes Royal Natal National Park, a provincial park, and Drakensberg National Park, which covers part of Drakensberg, the highest mountain in Southern Africa. On 30 November 2000, the uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park was added to the World Heritage List. It is described by UNESCO as having Most of the higher South African parts of the Drakensberg mountain range have been designated as game reserves or wilderness areas. The uKhahlamba or Drakensberg National Park, located in KwaZulu-Natal, near the border with Lesotho, was listed by UNESCO in 2000 as a World Heritage site. The park is also in the List of Wetlands of International Importance (under the Ramsar Convention). Adjacent to the Drakensberg National Park is Cathkin Estates Conservation and Wildlife Sanctuary which spans 1044HA of virgin grassland and represents the largest privately owned game park in the KwaZulu-Natal Drakensberg region. The Drakensberg mountain range is characterized by a high level of endemism of both invertebrates and vertebrates. This park will be included into the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area, Peace Park.	KwaZulu-Natal	mixed		KwaZulu-Natal		[uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park entry at UNESCO|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/985]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UKhahlamba_/_Drakensberg_Park		[i],[iii],[vii],[x]	ZA	2428130000.0	uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park	South Africa	985	2000	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/985
37	Burgos Cathedral	42.3402	-3.70401	The Burgos Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Burgos) is a Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral in Burgos, Spain. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is famous for its vast size and unique architecture. Its construction began in 1221, and was completed nine years later, following French Gothic parameters. It had very important modifications in the 15th and 16th centuries (spires of the principal façade, Chapel of the Constable, cimborio of the transept: these elements of advanced Gothic give the cathedral its distinguished profile). The last works of importance (the sacristy or the Chapel of Saint Thecla) occurred during the 18th century, the century in which the Gothic statuary of the doors of the principal façade was also transformed. At the beginning of the 20th century, some semidetached construction to the cathedral was eliminated, such as the Archepiscopal Palace and the upper floor of the cloister. The style of the cathedral is Gothic, although it has inside some Renaissance and Baroque decorations. In the cathedral, works of extraordinary artists are kept, such as the architects and sculptors of the Colonia family (Juan, Simón and Francisco), the sculptors Gil de Siloé, Felipe Vigarny or Juan de Anchieta, the sculptor and architect Diego de Siloé, the grillworker Cristóbal de Andino or the painter Sebastiano del Piombo ("Holy Family On A Voyage"), among many others. The cathedral was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on October 31, 1984. It is the only Spanish cathedral that has this distinction independently, without being joined to the historic center of a city (as in Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Ávila, Córdoba, Toledo, Alcalá de Henares or Cuenca) or in union with others buildings, as in Seville. The principal façade was inspired by the pure French Gothic style of the cathedrals of Paris and of Reims. It consists of three bays topped by two lateral square towers. The steep spires of German influence were added in the 15th century and are the work of Juan de Colonia. Some elements of great interest within of the cathedral are the 'Papamoscas (Flycatcher), an articulated statue which opens its mouth upon the sounding of the bells every hour, the Romanesque sepulchre of Mudarra, the vengeful stepbrother of the death of the seven princes de Lara (brought to the cathedral from its original location in the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza due to its abandonment by alienation), the carved chairs of the choir, the sepulchre of the Bishop Mauricio, the tomb of El Cid and his wife Doña Jimena, the letter of security of El Cid and his chest. The construction of the cathedral was ordered by King Ferdinand III of Castile and Mauricio, the English-born Bishop of Burgos. Construction started on the site of the former Romanesque cathedral on July 20, 1221, beginning at the chevet, which was completed in nine years. The high altar was first consecrated in 1260, then there was a lengthy hiatus of almost 200 years before construction was recommenced. The cathedral was completed in 1567, with the completion of the lantern spire over the main crossing (which rises above a delicate openwork star vault). The architects principally responsible for its construction were a Frenchman in the 13th century and a German in the 15th century. In 1417, the bishop of Burgos attended the Council of Constance and returned with the master builder John of Cologne (Juan de Colonia), who completed the towers with spires of open stonework tracery. Among the most famous of the bishops of Burgos was the 15th-century scholar and historian Alphonsus a Sancta Maria. In 1919 the cathedral became the burial place of Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar ("El Cid"), and his wife Doña Jimena. On October 31, 1984, it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The 15th-century west front of northern French gothic style is flanked by towers on square plans terminating in octagonal spires covered with open stonework traceries. The façade, in three stories, has triple entrances in ogival arched framing, with a gallery enclosed by a pinnacled balustrade and a delicately-pierced rose window. In the uppermost story, there are two ogival double-arched windows and statues on pedestals, crowned with a balustrade of letters carved in stone: PULC[H]RA ES ET DECORA ("Beautiful art Thou, and graceful"), in the center of which is a statue of the Virgin Mary. There are more balustrades and balconies in the towers, with further open-carved inscriptions: needle-pointed octagonal pinnacles finish the four corners. The main spires are 88 meters tall. Its cruciform floorplan, with a 106 meter long nave and wide aisles, is almost hidden, in exterior views, by the fifteen chapels added at all angles to the aisles and transepts, by the beautiful 14th-century cloister on the northwest and the archiepiscopal palace on the southwest. Over the three central doorways of the main or western façade rise the two lofty and graceful towers, crowned by their spires. Many of the altars, chapels and monuments within the cathedral are of artistic and historical interest. The north transept portal, known as the Portada de la Coronería, has statues of the Twelve Apostles. Above, ogival windows and two spires crown the portal. On the south portal, the portada depicts the evangelists at their writing desks. The magnificent octagonal Chapel of the Condestable is of Flamboyant Gothic style, filled with traceries, knights and angels and heraldry. It was destined for the graves of Pedro Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Count of Haro, Condestable of Castile and his family. Coordinates: 42°20′26.9″N 3°42′16.1″W / 42.340806°N 3.704472°W / 42.340806; -3.704472	Province of Burgos, Autonomous Community of Castile-Leon	cultural		Province of Burgos, Autonomous Community of Castile-Leon		[World Heritage Site profile|http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=316]#[Virtual visit of the cathedral on high resolution|http://www.catedralhd.com]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burgos_Cathedral		[ii],[iv],[vi]	ES		Burgos Cathedral	Spain	316	1984	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/316
38	Bwindi Impenetrable National Park	-1.080556	29.661389	Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda in East Africa. The park is part of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, and is situated along the Democratic Republic of Congo border next to the Virunga National Park and on the edge of the western Great Rift Valley. It comprises 331 square kilometres of jungle forests and contains both montane and lowland forest and is accessible only on foot. The Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site. The forest is one of the richest ecosystems in Africa,[citation needed] and the diversity of species is a feature of the park. The park provides habitat for some 120 species of mammals, 346 species of birds, 202 species of butterflies, 163 species of trees, 100 species of ferns, 27 species of frogs, chameleons, geckos and many endangered species. In particular the area shares in the high levels of endemisms of the Albertine Rift.[citation needed] The park is a sanctuary for colobus monkeys, chimpanzees and many birds (such as hornbills and turacos). It is perhaps most notable for the 340Bwindi gorillas, half the world's population of the critically endangered Mountain Gorillas. There are four habituated Mountain Gorilla groups open to tourism: Mubare, Habinyanja, Rushegura near Buhoma; and the Nkuringo group at Nkuringo. Uganda Wildlife Authority leaflet, May 2008.[citation needed] In 1932, two blocks of the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest were gazetted as Crown Forest Reserves. The northern block was called the Kayonza Crown Forest Reserve, and the Kasatora Crown Forest Reserve was the southern section. These reserves had a combined area of 207 square kilometres. In 1942, the two Crown Forest Reserves were combined and enlarged, and renamed the Impenetrable Central Crown Forest. This new protected area covered an area of 298 square kilometres and was under the joint control of the Ugandan government's game and forest departments. In 1964, the reserve was gazetted as an animal sanctuary in order to provide extra protection to its mountain gorillas and renamed the Impenetrable Central Forest Reserve. In 1966, two other forest reserves became part of the main reserve, increasing its area to almost 321 square kilometres. The park continued to be managed as both a game sanctuary and forest reserve. In 1991, Impenetrable Central Forest Reserve—along with Mgahinga Gorilla Reserve and Rwenzori Mountains Reserve—was gazetted as a national park and renamed Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It covered an area of 330.8 square kilometres. The national park was declared in part to protect a range of species within it, most notably the mountain gorilla. The reclassification of the park has a large impact on the Batwa pygmy people, who were evicted from the forest and no longer permitted to enter the park or access its resources. Gorilla tracking became a tourist activity in April 1993, and the park became a popular tourist destination. In 1994, a 10 square kilometre area was incorporated into the park. In 1994, it was inscribed on the World Heritage List. The park's management changed: Uganda National Parks, since renamed Uganda Wildlife Authority, became responsible for the park. In March 1999, 14 tourists were kidnapped by a paramilitary group, and eight tourists and a game warden were killed. In 2003 a piece of land next to the park with an area of 4.2 square kilometres was purchased and incorporated into the park. Bwindi Impenetrable National Park is located in southwestern Uganda. The Democratic Republic of Congo borders the western side of the park. It covers an area of 331 square kilometers.Kabale town to the southeast is the nearest main town to the park, 29 km away by road. The park comprises two blocks of forest that are connected by a small corridor of forest. The shape of the park is a legacy of previous conservation management, when the original two forest blocks were protected in 1932. There is agricultural land where there were previously trees directly outside the park's borders. Cultivation in this area is intense. The park's underlying geology consists of Precambrian shale phyllite, quartz, quartzite, schist and granite. The park is located at the edge of the Western Rift Valley in the highest parts of the Kigezi Highlands, which were created by up-warping of the Western Rift Valley. Its topography is very rugged, with narrow valleys intersected by rivers and steep hills. Altitudes in the park range from 1,190 m to 2,607 m above sea level, and 60% of the park has an elevation of over 2,000 metres. The highest elevation in the park is Rwamunyonyi hill at the eastern edge of the park. The lowest part of the park is located at its most northern tip. The forest is an important water catchment area. With a generally impermeable underlying geology where water mostly flows through large fault structures, water infiltration and aquifers are limited. Much of the park's rainfall forms streams, and the forest has quite a dense network of streams. The forest is the source of many rivers that flow to the north, west, and south. Major rivers that rise in the park include the Ivi, Munyaga, Ihihizo, Ishasha, and Ntengyere rivers, which flow into Lake Edward. Other rivers flow into Lakes Mutanda and Bunyonyi. Bwindi supplies water to local agricultural areas. Bwindi has a tropical climate. Annual mean temperature ranges from a minimum of 7-15°C to a maximum of 20-27°C. Its annual rainfall ranges from 1,400 to 1,900 mm. Peak rainfall occurs from March to April and from September to November. The park's forest plays an important role in regulating the outside area's environment and climate. High amounts of evapotranspiration from the forest's vegetation increases the amount of precipitation that the region outside the park receives. They also lessen soil erosion, which is a serious problem in southwestern Uganda. They lessen flooding and ensure that streams continue to flow in the dry season. Bwindi Impenetrable Forest is old, complex, and very biologically rich. Diverse species are a feature of the park, and it became an UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its ecological importance. Among East African forests, Bwindi has some of the richest populations of trees, small mammals, birds, butterflies, reptiles, and moths. The park's diverse species are partly a result of the large variations of altitude and habitat types in the park, and may also be because the forest was a refuge for species during glaciations in the Pleistocene epoch. The park's forests are afromontane, which is a rare vegetation type on the African continent. Located where plain and mountain forests meet, there is a continuum of low-altitude to high altitude primary forests in the park, one of the few large tracts of East African forest where this occurs. The park has more than 220 tree species, (more than 50% of Uganda's tree species) and more than 100 fern species. The Brown Mahogany is a threatened plant species found within the park. Bwindi is thought to have one of the richest faunal communities in East Africa. There are an estimated 120 mammal species in the park, ten of which are primates, and more than 45 of which are small mammal species. The park is important for the conservation of afromontane fauna, especially species endemic to the western rift valley's mountains. Along with mountain gorillas, species in the park include the Common Chimpanzee, L'Hoest's Monkey, African elephant, African Green Broadbill, and Cream-banded Swallowtail,black and white colobus, red-tailed monkeys, vervets, the giant forest hog, and small antelope species. There occur many carnivores, include the side-striped jackal, African golden cat and African civet [1].The park has more than 350 bird species and more than 200 butterfly species. The fish species in the park's rivers and streams are not well known. The park has about 340 individual mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei), almost half of all the mountain gorillas in the world. A 2006 census of the mountain gorilla population in the park showed that its numbers had increased from 320 individuals in 2002 to 340 individuals in 2006. Disease and habitat loss are the greatest threat to the gorillas. Poaching is also a threat. Mountain gorillas are an endangered species, with an estimated total population of about 650 individuals. There are no mountain gorillas in captivity. In the 1960s and 1970s, mountain gorillas were captured in order to begin a population of them in captive facilities. No baby gorillas survived in captivity, and no mountain gorillas are known of that are currently in captivity. The park is owned by the Uganda Wildlife Authority, a parastatal government body. The park has total protection, although communities adjacent to the park can access some of its resources. The areas bordering the park have a high population density of more than 300 people per square kilometer. Some of the people who live in these areas are among the poorest people in Uganda. The high population and poor agricultural practises place a great deal of pressure on Bwindi forest, and are one of the biggest threats to the park. 90% of the people are dependent on subsistence agriculture, as agriculture is one of the area's few ways of earning income. Prior to Bwindi's gazetting as a national park in 1991, the park was designated as a forest reserve and regulations about the right to access the forest were more liberal and not often enforced. Local people hunted, mined, logged, pit sawed, and kept bees in the park. It was gazetted as a national park in 1991 because of its rich biodiversity and threats to the integrity of the forest. Its designation as a national park gave the park higher protection status. State agencies increased protection and control of the park. Adjacent communities' access to the forest immediately ended. This closing of access caused large amounts of resentment and conflict among these local communities and park authorities. The Batwa, a group that has relied on the forest, were badly affected. The Batwa fished, harvested wild yams, wild honey and their ancestral sites were located in the park. Despite the Batwa people's historical claim to land rights and having lived in the area for generations without destroying the area's ecosystem, they did not benefit from any national compensation scheme when they were evicted. Non-Batwa farmers who had cut down the forested areas in order to cultivate them, received compensation and their land rights were recognised. People have lost livestock and crops from wildlife, and there have been some human deaths. The habituation of gorillas to humans in order to facilitate tourism may have increased the damage they do to local people's property because their fear of people has decreased. Tourists can visit the park any time throughout the year, although conditions in the park are more difficult during the rainy season. Available tourist accommodation includes a lodge, tented camps, and cheaper rooms run by the local community, located near the Buhoma entrance gate. The park is in a remote location, and reaching the park involves a long difficult journey. Roads are in a bad condition. Bwindi Community Hospital provides health care to 40,000 people in the area and to visiting tourists. Gorilla tracking is the park's main tourist attraction. Tourists wishing to track gorillas must first obtain a permit to do so. Gorilla tracking generates much revenue for Uganda Wildlife Authority. The gorillas seldom react to tourists. There are strict rules for tourists to minimize the risk of diseases passing from them to the gorillas. Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are the only countries where it is possible to visit mountain gorillas. Guided walks through the forest include a walk to a waterfall, and walks for monkey watching and birding.	Districts of Kabale, Kisoro and Rukungiri	natural		Districts of Kabale, Kisoro and Rukungiri		["Natural resource conflict management: the case of Bwindi Impenetrable and Mgahinga Gorilla National Parks, southwestern Uganda"|http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/archive/00003182/01/natural_resource_conflict.pdf]#["Environmental Security in Bwindi: A focus on farmers"|http://www.envirosecurity.org/espa/PDF/Environmental_Security_in_Bwindi.pdf]#[Bwindi Forest National Park|http://www.bwindiforestnationalpark.com]#[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park: Bwindi Mgahinga Conservation Trust|http://www.bwinditrust.ug]#[Bwindi Impenetrable National Park|http://whc.unesco.org/pg.cfm?cid=31&id_site=682]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bwindi_Impenetrable_National_Park		[vii],[x]	UG	320920000.0	Bwindi Impenetrable National Park	Uganda	682	1994	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/682
39	Byblos	34.11917	35.6475	Byblos (Ancient Greek: Βύβλος) is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal (Hebrew: גְבַל‎; earlier Gubla, Phoenician: 𐤂𐤁𐤋). It is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of present-day Lebanon under the current Arabic name of (جبيل Jubayl) and was also referred to as Gibelet during the Crusades. It is believed to have been founded around 5000 BC, and according to fragments attributed to the semi-legendary pre-Trojan war Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon, it was built by Cronus as the first city in Phoenicia. Today it is believed by many to be the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world. It is mentioned in the Bible in 1 Kings 5:32, referring to the nationality of the builders of Solomon's Temple, and also in Ezekiel 27:9, referring to the riches of Tyre. The Phoenician city of Gebal was named Byblos by the Greeks, because it was through Gebal that papyrus Bύβλος (bublos; Egyptian papyrus) was imported into Greece. Hence the English word Bible is derived from byblos as "the (papyrus) book." The present day city is now known by the Arabic name Jubayl or Jbeil (جبيل), a direct descendant of the Canaanite name. Byblos (Greek) or Gebal (Phoenician) is located on the Mediterranean coast of present-day Lebanon, about 26 miles (42 kilometers) north of Beirut. It is attractive to archaeologists because of the successive layers of debris resulting from centuries of human habitation. The site first appears to have been settled during the Neolithic period, approximately 5000 BC. Neothlithic remains of some buildings can be observed at the site. According to the writer Philo of Byblos (quoting Sanchuniathon, and quoted in Eusebius), Byblos had the reputation of being the oldest city in the world, founded by Cronus. During the 3rd millennium BC, the first signs of a town can be observed, with the remains of well-built houses of uniform size. This was the period when the Phoenician civilization began to develop. The growing city was evidently a wealthy one, and seems to have been an ally "those who are on his waters" of Egypt for many centuries. First Dynasty tombs used timbers from Byblos. One of the oldest Egyptian words for an ocean going boat was "Byblos ship". Beginning with Kha'skehemwy most first dynasty rulers sent a signed gift to the shrine of the "Mistress of Byblos". Archaeologists have recovered Egyptian-made artifacts dated as early as the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. Objects have been found at Byblos naming the 13th dynasty Egyptian king Neferhotep I, and the rulers of Byblos maintained close relationships with the New Kingdom pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. Around 1350 BC, the Amarna tablets include 60 letters from Rib-Hadda and his successor Ili-Rapih who where rulers of Byblos, writing to the Egyptian government. This is mainly due to Rib-Hadda's constant pleas for military assistance from Akhenaten. They also deal with the conquest of neighboring city-states by the Hapiru. It appears Egyptian contact peaked during the 19th dynasty, only to decline during the 20th and 21st dynasties.[citation needed] Although the archaeological evidence seems to indicate a brief resurgence during the 22nd and 23rd dynasties, it is clear after the Third Intermediate Period the Egyptians started favoring Tyre and Sidon instead of Byblos. Archaeological evidence at Byblos, dating back to around 1200 BC, shows existence of a Phoenician alphabetic script of twenty-two characters; an important example of this script is the sarcophagus of king Ahiram. The use of the alphabet was spread by Phoenician merchants through their maritime trade into parts of North Africa and Europe. One of the most important monuments of this period is the temple of Resheph, a Canaanite war god, but this had fallen into ruins by the time of Alexander. In the Assyrian period, Sibittibaal of Byblos became tributary to Tiglath-pileser III in 738 BC, and in 701 BC, when Sennacherib conquered all Phoenicia, the king of Byblos was Urumilki. Byblos was also subject to Assyrian kings Esarhaddon (r. 681–669 BCE) and Ashurbanipal (r. 668–627 BCE), under its own kings Milkiasaph and Yehawmelek. In the Persian period (538–332 BC), Byblos was the fourth of four Phoenician vassal kingdoms established by the Persians; the first three being Sidon, Tyre, and Arwad. Hellenistic rule came with the arrival of Alexander the Great in the area in 332 BC. Coinage was in use, and there is abundant evidence of continued trade with other Mediterranean countries. During the Greco-Roman period, the temple of Resheph was elaborately rebuilt, and the city, though smaller than its neighbours such as Tyre and Sidon, was a center for the cult of Adonis. In the 3rd century, a small but impressive theater was constructed. With the rise of Christianity, a bishop's seat was established in Byblos, and the town grew rapidly. Although a Persian colony is known to have been established in the region following the Moslem conquest of 636, there is little archaeological evidence for it. Trade with Europe effectively dried up, and it was not until the coming of the First Crusade in 1098 that prosperity returned to Byblos, known then as Giblet. Byblos, under the name of Gibelet or Giblet, was an important military base in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 11th and 12th century, and the remains of its crusader castle are among the most impressive architectural structures now visible at its center. The town was taken by Saladin in 1187, re-taken by the Crusaders, and eventually conquered by Baibars in 1266. Its fortifications were subsequently restored. From 1516 until 1918, the town and the whole region were part of the Ottoman Empire. Byblos and all of Lebanon was placed under French Mandate from 1920 until 1943 when Lebanon achieved independence. Byblos houses the professional campus of the Lebanese American University. The Byblos Campus is the home of the professional schools including the Medical School, the Engineering School, the Pharmacy School, in addition to the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Business. The Campus is located on the hill above Byblos and overlooks in City and its port. Byblos is re-emerging as an upscale touristic hub With its ancient port, Phoenician, Roman and Crusader ruins, sandy beaches and the picturesque mountains that surround it make it an ideal tourist destination. The city is known for its fish restaurants, open-air bars, and outdoor cafes. Yachts cruise into its harbor today like they did in the sixties and seventies when Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra were regular visitors to the city. In the archaeological site of Byblos there are the remains of the Great Temple (also known as L-Shaped temple) built in 2700 BC, Temple of Baalat Gebal built in 2700 BC and Temple of the Obelisks built around 1600 BC. Byblos Castle was built by the crusaders in the 12th century. It is located in the archaeological site near the port. The old medieval part of Byblos is surrounded by walls running about 270m from east to west and 200m from north to south This museum displays wax statues of characters from Phoenician times to current days Work on the church started during the crusades in 1116. It was considered a cathedral and was partially destroyed during an earthquake in 1176 AD. It was transformed into stables by Islamic forces after the fall of the city, and was given to the Maronites as a gift by Prince Youssef Chehab of Lebanon in the mid 1700', after they aided him in capturing the city. Byblos Fossil Museum has a collection of fossilized fish, sharks, eel, flying fish, and other marine life, some millions of years old. In the southeast section of the historic city, near the entrance of the archaeological site, is an old market where tourists can shop for souvenirs and antiques, or simply stroll along the old cobblestone streets and enjoy the architecture. This summer music festival is an annual event that takes place in the historic quarter. The 2006 Lebanon War negatively affected this ancient site by covering the harbor and town walls with an oil slick. Today, Byblos (Jbeil) is a modern city. It remains one of Lebanon's biggest tourist attractions, mainly because of its rich history and scenic mountains overlooking the Mediterranean. Most of the people of Byblos are Maronite Catholics. There are also some Shi'a Muslims, whose ancestors escaped expulsion by the Seljuk Turks in the Middle Ages. It is said that (The city of Bint Jbeil ("daughter of Jbeil") in southern Lebanon was founded by those displaced Shi'a. Byblos has three representatives in the Parliament of Lebanon: two Maronites and one Shi'a. Byblos is twinned with:	City and district of Jbeil, Governorate of Mount Lebanon	cultural		City and district of Jbeil, Governorate of Mount Lebanon		[Lebanon, the Cedars' Land: Byblos|http://tyros.leb.net/byblos]#[Byblos info|http://www.middleeast.com/byblos.htm]#[Embassy of Lebanon in Canada|http://www.lebanonembassy.ca/eng/byblos.php]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byblos		[iii],[iv],[vi]	LB		Byblos	Lebanon	295	1984	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/295
40	Danube Delta	45.08333	29.5	The Danube Delta (Romanian: Delta Dunării; Ukrainian: Дельта Дунаю, Del'ta Dunaju) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Romania (Tulcea county), while its northern part, on the left bank of the Chilia arm, is situated in Ukraine (Odessa Oblast). The approximate surface is 4152 km², of which 3446 km² are in Romania. If the lagoons of Razim-Sinoe (1015 km² of which 865 km² water surface; situated in the south, but attached to the Danube Delta from geological and ecological perspectives, as well as being the combined territory of the World Heritage Site) are to be added, the considered area of the Danube Delta grows to 5165 km². The modern Danube Delta began forming after 4,000 B.C. in a gulf of the Black Sea, when the sea rose to its present level. A sandy barrier blocked the Danube gulf where the river initially built its delta. Upon filling the gulf with sediments, the delta advanced outside the barrier-blocked estuary after 3,500 B.C. building several successive lobes: the St. George I (3,500-1,600 B.C.), the Sulina (1,600-0 B.C.), the St. George II (0 B.C.-Present) and the Chilia or Kilia (1600 A.D.-Present). The Danube Delta is a low alluvial plain, mostly covered by wetlands and water. It consists of an intricate pattern of marshes, channels, streamlets and lakes. The average altitude is 0.52 m, with 20% of the territory below sea level, and more than half not exceeding one meter in altitude. Dunes on the most extensive strandplains of the delta (Letea and Caraorman strandplains) stand higher (12.4 m and 7 m respectively). The largest lakes are Dranov (21.7 km²), Roşu (14.5 km²), Gorgova (13.8 km²). The Danube branches into three main distributaries into the delta, Chilia, Sulina, and Sfântul Gheorghe (Saint George). The last two branches form the Tulcea channel, which continues as a single body for several kilometers after the separation from the Chilia. At the mouths of each channel gradual formation of new land takes place, as the delta continues to expand. Main Distributaries of the Danube Chilia, in the north, the longest, youngest, and most vigorous, with two secondary internal deltas and one microdelta in full process of formation at its mouth (to Ukraine). Sulina, the central and thus the shortest arm, which consequently led to its extensive use for traffic and severe transformation. At its mouth is located the main port and the single settlement with urban charactersitics of the Romanian part of the delta. Because of the alluvium deposited at its mouth, a channel gradually advancing into the sea (presently it has 10 km), was built in order to protect the navigation. Sfântul Gheorghe (Saint George in English), in the south, is the oldest and more sparsely populated. Its alluvium has led to the creation, beginning with 1897, of the Sacalin islands, which as of today measure 19 km in length. The climate of the Danube Delta is continental with strong influences from the vicinity of the Black Sea and its prevalent amphibian environment. It is the driest and sunniest region (70 days with blue sky, 2500 hours of sunshine/year) of Romania. The mean annual temperature is 11°C (-1°C in January and 22°C in July), with mean precipitation between 400and 300 mm/year, decreasing from west to east. The evaporation is around 1000 mm/year, favorized and amplified by the strong and frequent winds, resulting in long periods of drought in the summer. The northwest winds cause frequent storms in spring and autumn. In the interior of the delta the continental character of the climate is very pronounced. The Danube Delta falls within east European steppe ecosystem, with Mediterranean influences. As a young region in full process of consolidation, the Danube Delta represents a very favourable place for the development of highly diverse flora and fauna, unique in Europe, with numerous rare species. It hosts 23 natural ecosystems, but due to the extent of wetlands the aquatic environment is prevalent; the terrestrial environment is also present on the higher grounds of the continental levees, where xerophile ecosystems have developed. Between the aquatic and terrestrial environments, is interposed a swampy, easily flooded strip of original flora and fauna, with means of adaptation for water or land, depending on the season or the hydrological regime. At the contact between freshwater and sea water, some special physical, chemical and biological processes take place, which determined biologists to consider this area as a very different ecosystem called beforedelta. Musura Gulf, north of Sulina, and Saint George Gulf are considered the most representative for this type of ecosystem. Situated on major migratory routes, and providing adequate conditions for nesting and hatching, the Danube Delta is a magnet for birds from six major eco-regions of the world, including the Mongolian, Arctic and Siberian. There are over 320 species of birds found in the delta during summer, of which 166 are hatching species and 159 are migratory. Over one million individuals (swans, wild ducks, bald coots, etc.) winter here. It comprises the Danube arms, as well as a series of more important streamlets and channels. It is an environment rich in plankton, worms, mollusca, ephemerides, grubs, spongiae, with numerous species of fish, such as the carp, pike perch, sheat fish, and freshwater sturgeons (sterlet, Vyza and Danube mackerel). Includes the lakes, to which various ponds, streamlets and channels are added. They are characterized by a rich floating and submerse flora (Myriophyllum, Ceratophyllum, Vallisneria etc. under the water; Nymphaea alba, Nuphar luteum, Trapa natans, Alisma plantago etc., floating plants with roots near the lakes borders; Salvinia natans, Stratiotes aloides, Spirogyra etc., floating plants without roots, having negative effects for the aquatic bioproductivity). Of the fish, the most important are Tinca tinca, Abramis brama, Scardinius erytrophalmus, Carassius auratus gibelio, Silurus glanis, Perca fluviatilis, Esox lucius etc. The reed plats and floating reed islands (called plaur in Romania) are the most common and well known components of the Danube Delta. Vegetation of this ecosystem consists of common reed (Phragmites communis), and near river banks mace reed (Typha latifolia, Typha angustifolia), sedge (Carex dioica, Carex stricta), Dutch rush (Scirpus radicans, Scirpus lacustris), brook mint (Mentha aquatica) etc. They constitute ideal spawning and nestling grounds. The plaur is a mixture of reed roots, grass and soil, usually floating or anchored on the bottom. As a rule, the reed surrounds the lakes and ponds, slowly invading the water surface. This type of ecosystem is noted for the variety and large populations of birds, some of them very rare. The most important are the tufted duck (Aythya fuligula, red crested pochard (Netta rufina), mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), Greylag goose (Anser anser), Pygmy cormorant (Phalacrocorax pygmaeus), purple heron (Ardea purpurea), Great white egret (Egretta alba), little egret (Egretta garzetta), Spoon bill (Platalea leucorodia), White pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus), Mute swan (Cygnus olor), Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus). A recent and welcomed spreading has the pheasant (Phasianus colchicus). Among the mammals, there is the otter (Lutra lutra), mink (Mustela lutreola), little ermine (Mustela erminea aestiva), wild boar (Sus scrofa), wild cat (Felis silvestris), and in the winter, the hare (Lepus europaeus), and on the brink of disappearing from the delta, the wolf and the fox. The enot dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), bizam (Onda zibethica), and to some extent nutria (Myocastor coypus) are recent species successfully adapted. The firm land of the delta used to be covered with large groves of willow trees, cut almost entirely and replaced with Canadian poplars. On the riverbanks kept in natural state, small groves of willow trees (Salix alba, Salix fragilis, Salix purpurea, Salix petandra, Salix triandra etc.) can still be found, mixed with white poplar (Populus alba). Occasionally, the willow trees form corridors along the Danubes arms and bigger channels. On the levees of Letea and Caraorman, mixed forests of oaks (Quercus robur, Quercus pedunculiflora) with various trees (Fraxinus pallisae, Ulmus foliacea, Populus tremula), shrubs (Prunus spinosa, Crataegus monogyna, Rosa canina, Berberis vulgaris etc.), and vines (Vitis sylvestris, Hedera helix, Humulus lupulus, Periploca graeca, which reaches up to 25m) grow on sand dunes. On the Letea levee, these exotic looking forests grow especially in the depressions between the sand dunes, in small groves called hasmace. Fauna of this region includes Meadow Viper (Vipera ursinii), Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), Eagle Owl (Bubo bubo), etc. The Danube Delta is perhaps the least inhabited region of temperate Europe. In the Romanian side live about 20,000 people, of which 4,600 in the port of Sulina, which gives an average density of approx. 2 inhabitants per km². The rest is scattered in 27 villages, of which only three, all situated marginally, have more than 500 people (2002). The city of Tulcea, at the western edge of the delta, has a population of 92,000 (2002). It represents the node of the region and the gate to the delta. The acute isolation and the harsh conditions of living, based mainly on subsistence, made the Danube Delta a place of emigration, or at least of transit. Very few of the people born here stay through adulthood; at the same time, the origins of the inhabitants fall within a wide range, as people from the most various places of Romania can be found in the delta. The total population has somewhat remained constant throughout the 20th century; there were 12,000 inhabitants in the 1890s, and 14,000 before the Second World War. Romanians count for approximately 80%, and Ukrainians for 10%. Other people living in the delta include Greeks, Turks and Bulgarians (1992). Distinctive for the region, but very vague as an ethnic entity are the Lipovans, descendants of the Orthodox Old Rite followers who fled Russia in the 18th century from religious persecution. About a third of the employed population is engaged in fishing and pisciculture, while another third is engaged in farming (1996). However, the quasi-totality practice fishing, more or less legally, as a means of subsistence or extra money. In the Ukrainian side, located at the northern edge of the delta, the town of Izmail has a population of 85,000, Kiliya, 21,800 and Vilkovo, the main center of Lipovan community, 9,300. Recorded history first noted the Delta under Dacian control before being conquered by the Romans. After invasion by the Goths the region changed hands many times. During the 15th century, the Danube Delta became part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1812, following the Russo-Turkish War the borders of Ottoman and Russian Empires were set by Kilia and Old Stambul Channels of Danube, and in 1829 by St George Channel. The Treaty of Paris of 1856, which ended the Crimean War, assigned the Danube Delta to the Ottoman Empire and established an international commission which made a series of works to help navigation. In 1878, following the defeat of Ottoman Empire by Russia and Romania, the border between those two was set by the Kilia and Old Stambul Channels. In 1991, the Romanian part of the Danube Delta became part of the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Around 2,733 km² of the delta are strictly protected areas. In 1998, under UNESCO Programme on Man and the Biosphere, the 6264.03 km² of Danube Delta were established as Biosphere Reserve shared by Romania and Ukraine. Historically, in Romania, part of Danube Delta was marked as a reserve back in 1938. In Ukraine, the Danube branch of Black Sea State Reserve was established in 1973. In 1981 it was reorganized into Natural Reserve "Danube Fluxes", and in 1998 it was extended into Danube Biosphere Reserve. Large-scale works began in the Danube Delta as early as the second half of the 19th century. First corrections of the Sulina arm began in 1862, and they continued throughout the 20th century. As a result, the length of the Sulina arm was reduced from 92 to 64 km, and its flow more than doubled, thus making it suitable for large-vessel navigation. Correcting the six large meanders on its course thereby reduced the length of the Sfântu Gheorghe from 108 km to 108, and its flow also increased somewhat. Both these increases were made to the detriment of the Chilia arm, which as of present remains the most unspoiled arm of the main three. These corrections, as well as the digging of various secondary channels throughout the body of the delta, have had a serious impact on the ecosystem. Natural environments have been altered, the breeding pattern of fish has been disrupted, and the flows in the main arms have increased, with serious consequences regarding the discharge of the alluvia and the erosion of the banks. Reed was intensively harvested during the Communist era. The regime had plans of transforming the delta into a large agro-industrial zone. Although the first modern agricultural exploitation dates from 1939 (Ostrovul Tãtaru), only after 1960 were large areas drained and converted, to the detriment of wetlands. As of 1991 agricultural land in the delta surpassed 100,000 hectares, and more than a third of its surface has been affected by crop cultivation, forest plantation, or pisciculture arrangements. As a result of these changes, as well as the increasing pollution and eutrophication of the Danube waters, and decades of exploitation and poor regulations of fishing, the fish population has been visibly reduced. In 2004, Ukraine inaugurated work on the Bistroe Channel that would provide an additional navigable link from the Black Sea to the populous Ukrainian section of the Danube Delta. However, because of the negative impact which this new channel may have upon the fragile ecosystem of the Delta, the European Union advised Ukraine to shut down the works. Romanian officials threatened to sue Ukraine at the International Court of Justice. Under the presidency of Kuchma Ukraine had responded that Romania is just afraid of the competition that the new channel will bring, and continued working on the channel. Under the presidency of Yuschenko, who visited Romania in 2005, both sides agree that professionals should decide the fate of the channel. In the long-run, Ukraine plans to build a navigation channel, if not through Bistroe Channel then through another channel. A series of articles on control of the Danube, in chronological order Coordinates: 45°05′00″N 29°30′00″E / 45.0833°N 29.5°E / 45.0833; 29.5	Tulcea County, Dobruja Region	natural		Tulcea County, Dobruja Region		[UNESCO Danube Delta World Heritage Site|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/588]#[Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve|http://www2.unesco.org/mab/br/brdir/directory/biores.asp?code=ROM-UKR+01&mode=all]#[Danube Delta: Photo Gallery|http://www.aboutromania.com/danube00.html]#[Wild Danube Delta|http://www.wild-danube-delta.com]#[Danube Delta "Street view"|http://www.norc.ro/street-view/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube_Delta		[vii],[x]	RO	3124400000.0	Danube Delta	Romania	588	1991	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/588
41	Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site	38.658611	-90.061389	Cahokia (pronounced /kəˈhoʊki.ə/) Mounds State Historic Site is the area of an ancient indigenous city (c. 600–1400 CE) near Collinsville, Illinois. In the American Bottom floodplain, it is across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The 2,200-acre (8.9 km2) site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds over an area of six square miles, although only 80 survive. Cahokia Mounds is the largest archaeological site related to the Mississippian culture, which developed advanced societies in central and eastern North America beginning more than five centuries before the arrival of Europeans. It is a National Historic Landmark and designated site for state protection. In addition, it is one of only twenty one World Heritage Sites in the territory of the United States. It is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas north of Mexico. Cahokia Mounds was designated a National Historic Landmark on July 19, 1964, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. In 1982 UNESCO designated Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site a World Heritage Site. The park protects 2200 acres (8.9 km²), and is the focus of ongoing archaeological research. This is among only twenty-one cultural World Heritage Sites in the United States and the only one in Illinois, as designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Cahokia was settled around 600 CE during the Late Woodland period, and mound building at this location began with the Emergent Mississippian cultural period, about the 9th century CE. The inhabitants left no written records beyond symbols on pottery, shell, copper, wood, and stone, but the elaborately planned community, woodhenge, mounds, and burials reveal a complex and sophisticated society. The city's original name is unknown. The original site contained 120 earthen mounds over an area of six square miles, although only 80 survive today. To achieve that, thousands of workers over decades moved more than an "estimated 55 million cubic feet of earth in woven baskets to create this network of mounds and community plazas. Monks Mound, for example, covers 14 acres, rises 100 feet, and was topped by a massive 5,000 square-foot building another 50 feet high." The Mounds were named after a clan of historic Illiniwek people living in the area when the first French explorers arrived in the 17th century. As this was centuries after Cahokia was abandoned by its original inhabitants, the Cahokia were not necessarily descendants of the original Mississippian-era people. Scholars do not know which Native American groups are the living descendants of the people who originally built and lived at the Mound site, although many are plausible. Monks Mound is the largest structure and central focus of the city: a massive structure with four terraces, 10 stories tall, and the largest man-made earthen mound north of Mexico. Facing south, it is 92 feet (28 m) high, 951 feet (290 m) long, 836 feet (255 m) wide and covers 13.8 acres. The mound grew over the course of several centuries. Monks Mounds received its name due to the community of Trappist monks that resided there for a short time, after Euroamericans settled the area. Excavation on the top of Monks Mound has revealed evidence of a large building, likely a temple or the residence of the paramount chief, seen throughout the city. This building was about 105 feet (32 m) long and 48 feet (15 m) wide, and could have been as much as 50 feet (15 m) high. It was about 5,000 square feet (460 m2). The east and northwest sides of Monks Mound were twice excavated in August 2007 during an attempt to avoid erosion due to slumping. Woodhenge, a circle of posts used to make astronomical sightings, stood to the west of Monk's Mound. Archaeologists discovered Woodhenge during excavation of the site and noted that the placement of posts marked solstices and equinoxes, like its namesake, Stonehenge. Detailed analytical work supports the hypothesis that the placement of these posts was by design. The structure was rebuilt several times during the urban center's roughly 300-year history. Evidence of another Woodhenge was discovered near Mound 72, to the south of Monks Mound. According to Chappell, "A beaker found in a pit near the winter solstice post bore a circle and cross symbol that for many Native Americans symbolizes the Earth and the four cardinal directions. Radiating lines probably symbolized the sun, as they have in countless other civilizations." (Cahokia's Woodhenge is not to be confused with another site of the same name that exists in the United Kingdom). A 19-hectare (190,000 m²) Grand Plaza spreads out to the south of Monk's Mound. Researchers originally thought the flat, open terrain in this area reflected Cahokia's location on the Mississippi's alluvial flood plain. Instead, their soil studies showed that the landscape was originally undulating. It had been expertly and deliberately leveled and filled by the city's inhabitants. It is part of the sophisticated engineering displayed throughout the site. The Grand Plaza of Cahokia measured 40 acres (16 ha). It was used for large ceremonies and gatherings, as well as for ritual games, such as chunkey. Along with the Grand Plaza to the south, three other very large plazas surround Monks Mound in the cardinal directions to the east, west, and north. A wooden stockade with a series of defensive bastions or watchtowers at regular intervals formed a two-mile (3 km)-long enclosure around Monks Mound, the Grand Plaza, and some of the elite residences. Archaeologists found evidence of the stockade during excavation of the area and indications that it was rebuilt several times. The stockade separated Cahokia's main ceremonial precinct from other parts of the city. Its bastions showed that it was also built for defense. Beyond Monks Mound, as many as 120 more mounds stood at varying distances from the city center. To date, 109 mounds have been located, 68 of which are in the park area. The mounds are divided into several different types: platform, conical, ridge-top, etc.. Each appeared to have had its own meaning and function. In general terms, the city center seems to have been laid out in a diamond-shaped pattern approximately a mile (1.6 km) from end to end, while the entire city is five miles (8 km) across from east to west. Cahokia was the most important center for the peoples known today as Mississippians. Their settlements ranged across what is now the Midwest, Eastern, and Southeastern United States. Cahokia was located in a strategic position near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. It maintained trade links with communities as far away as the Great Lakes to the north and the Gulf Coast to the south, trading in such exotic items as copper, Mill Creek chert, and whelk shells. Mississippian culture pottery and stone tools in the Cahokian style were found at the Silvernale site near Red Wing, Minnesota, and materials and trade goods from Pennsylvania, the Gulf Coast and Lake Superior have been excavated at Cahokia. At the high point of its development, Cahokia was the largest urban center north of the great Mesoamerican cities in Mexico. Although it was home to only about 1,000 people before c. 1050, its population grew explosively after that date. Archaeologists estimate the city's population at between 8,000 and 40,000 at its peak, with more people living in outlying farming villages that supplied the main urban center. In 1250, its population was larger than that of London, England. If the highest population estimates are correct, Cahokia was larger than any subsequent city in the United States until about 1800, when Philadelphia's population grew beyond 40,000. During excavation of Mound 72, a ridge-top burial mound south of Monk's Mound, archaeologists found the remains of a man in his 40s who was probably an important Cahokian ruler. The man was buried on a bed of more than 20,000 marine-shell disc beads arranged in the shape of a falcon, with the bird's head appearing beneath and beside the man's head, and its wings and tail beneath his arms and legs. The falcon warrior or "birdman" is a common motif in Mississippian culture. This burial clearly had powerful iconographic significance. In addition, a cache of sophisticated, finely worked arrowheads in a variety of different styles and materials was found near the grave of this important man. Separated into four types, each from a different geographical region, the arrowheads demonstrated Cahokia's extensive trade links in North America. Archeologists recovered more than 250 other skeletons from Mound 72. Scholars believe almost 62 percent of these were sacrificial victims, based on signs of ritual execution, method of burial, and other factors. The skeletons include: The relationship of these burials to the central burial is unclear. It is unlikely that they were all deposited at the same time. Wood in several parts of the mound has been radiocarbon-dated to between 950 and 1000 CE. Excavations near Mound 34 from 2002-2010 have revealed a copper workshop, although the one of a kind discovery had been previously found in the 1950s by archaeologist Greg Perino but lost for 60 years. It is the only known copper workshop to be found at a Mississippian site. Artisans worked here to produce religious items, such as long-nosed god maskettes, ceremonial earrings with a symbolic shape, thought to have been used in fictive kinship rituals. The area contains the remains of three tree stumps thought to have been used to hold anvil stones. Analysis of copper found during excavations showed that it had been annealed, a technique involving repeatedly heating and cooling the metal as it is worked, such as blacksmiths do with iron. Cahokia began to decline after 1300. It was abandoned more than a century before Europeans arrived in North America in the early 16th century, and the area around it was largely uninhabited by indigenous tribes. Scholars have proposed environmental factors such as over-hunting and deforestation as explanations. The houses, stockade, and residential and industrial fires would have required the annual harvesting of thousands of logs. In addition, climate change could have aggravated effects of erosion due to deforestation, and adversely affected the cultivation of maize, on which the community had depended. Another possible cause is invasion by outside peoples, though the only evidence of warfare found so far is the wooden stockade and watchtowers that enclosed Cahokia's main ceremonial precinct. Due to the lack of other evidence for warfare, the palisade appears to have been more for ritual or formal separation than for military purposes. Diseases transmitted among the large, dense urban population are another possible cause of decline. Many recent theories propose conquest-induced political collapse as the primary reason for Cahokia’s abandonment. Until the 19th century a series of similar mounds existed in what is now the city of St. Louis, some 20 km to the south west of the Cahokia site. Most of these mounds were levelled during the construction of St. Louis, as their material was reused in construction projects. The lone survivor of these mounds is the Sugarloaf Mound, which is located on the west bank of the Mississippi, on the former border between St. Louis and the autonomous city of Carondelet.	St. Louis, Illinois	cultural		St. Louis, Illinois		[Introductory Bibliography of Published Sources on Cahokia Archeology|http://www.cahokiamounds.com/bib.html]#[Scholarly Bibliography of Published Sources on Cahokia Archaeology|http://www.cahokiamounds.com/bibsch5-24-00.html]#[Cahokia and the Archaeology of Power|http://www.uapress.ua.edu/NewSearch2.cfm?id=10615]#[Cahokia and the Hinterlands: Middle Mississipian Cultures of the Midwest|http://www.press.uillinois.edu/s00/emerson.html]#[Cahokia, City of the Sun: Prehistoric Urban Center in the American Bottom|http://www.powellarchaeology.org/BookCatalog/CityOfSun.html]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia		[iii],[iv]	US		Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site	United States of America	198	1982	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/198
42	Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church	51.28	1.083333	Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, leader of the Church of England and symbolic leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Its formal title is the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Christ at Canterbury. The cathedral's first archbishop was St. Augustine of Canterbury, previously abbot of St. Andrew's Benedictine Abbey in Rome. He was sent by Pope Gregory the Great in 597 as a missionary to the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine founded the cathedral in 602 and dedicated it to St. Saviour. Archaeological investigations under the nave floor in 1993 revealed the foundations of the original Saxon cathedral, which had been built across a former Roman road. Augustine also founded the Abbey of St. Peter and Paul outside the city walls. This was later rededicated to St. Augustine himself and was for many centuries the burial place of the successive archbishops. The abbey is part of the World Heritage Site of Canterbury, along with the ancient Church of St. Martin. A second building, a baptistry or mausoleum, was built on exactly the same axis as the cathedral by Archbishop Cuthbert (740-758) and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Two centuries later, Oda (941-958) renewed the building, greatly lengthening the nave. During the reforms of Archbishop St. Dunstan (c909-988), a Benedictine abbey named Christ Church Priory was added to the cathedral. But the formal establishment as a monastery seems to date to c.997 and the community only became fully monastic from Lanfranc's time onwards (with monastic constitutions addressed by him to prior Henry). St. Dunstan was buried on the south side of the High Altar. The Saxon cathedral was badly damaged during Danish raids on Canterbury in 1011. The Archbishop, St. Alphege, was held hostage by the raiders and eventually martyred at Greenwich on April 19, 1012, the first of Canterbury's five martyred archbishops. Lyfing (1013–1020) and Aethelnoth (1020–1038) added a western apse as an oratory of St. Mary. Priors of Christ Church Priory included John of Sittingbourne (elected 1222, previously a monk of the priory) and William Chillenden, (elected 1264, previously monk and treasurer of the priory). The monastery was granted the right to elect their own prior if the seat was vacant by the pope, and — from Gregory IX onwards — the right to a free election (though with the archbishop overseeing their choice). Monks of the priory have included Æthelric I, Æthelric II, Walter d'Eynsham, Reginald fitz Jocelin (admitted as a confrater shortly before his death), Nigel de Longchamps and Ernulf. The monks often put forward candidates for Archbishop of Canterbury, either from among their number or outside, since the archbishop was nominally their abbot, but this could lead to clashes with the king and/or pope should they put forward a different man — examples are the elections of Baldwin of Exeter and Thomas Cobham. After the Norman Conquest in 1066, Lanfranc (1070–1077) became the first Norman archbishop. He thoroughly rebuilt the ruined Saxon cathedral in a Norman design based heavily on the Abbey of St. Etienne in Caen, of which he had previously been abbot. The new cathedral was dedicated in 1077. Archbishop St. Anselm (1093–1109) greatly extended the quire to the east to give sufficient space for the monks of the greatly revived monastery. Beneath it he built the large and elaborately decorated crypt, which is the largest of its kind in England. Though named for the 7th century founding archbishop, The Chair of St. Augustine may date from the Norman period. Its first recorded use is in 1205. A pivotal moment in the history of Canterbury Cathedral was the murder of Thomas Becket in the north-east transept on Tuesday 29 December 1170 by knights of King Henry II. The king had frequent conflicts with the strong-willed Becket and is said to have exclaimed in frustration, "Who will rid me of this turbulent priest?" The knights took it literally and murdered Becket in his own cathedral. Becket was the second of four Archbishops of Canterbury who were murdered (see also Alphege). Following a disastrous fire of 1174 which destroyed the entire eastern end, William of Sens rebuilt the choir with an important early example of the Early English Gothic design, including high pointed arches, flying buttresses, and rib vaulting. Later, William the Englishman added the Trinity Chapel as a shrine for the relics of St. Thomas the Martyr. The Corona ('crown') Tower was built at the eastern end to contain the relic of the crown of St. Thomas's head which was struck off during his murder. Over time other significant burials took place in this area such as Edward Plantagenet (The 'Black Prince') and King Henry IV. The income from pilgrims (some of whose journeys are famously described in Geoffrey Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales") who visited Becket's shrine, which was regarded as a place of healing, largely paid for the subsequent rebuilding of the Cathedral and its associated buildings. This revenue included the sale of pilgrim badges depicting Becket, his martyrdom, or his shrine. A curious bird's-eye view of Canterbury Cathedral and its annexed conventual buildings, taken about 1165, is preserved in the Great Psalter in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. As elucidated by Professor Willis, it exhibits the plan of a great Benedictine monastery in the 12th century, and enables us to compare it with that of the 9th as seen at the abbey of Saint Gall. We see in both the same general principles of arrangement, which indeed belong to all Benedictine monasteries, enabling us to determine with precision the disposition of the various buildings, when little more than fragments of the walls exist. From some local reasons, however, the cloister and monastic buildings are placed on the north, instead, as is far more commonly the case, on the south of the church. There is also a separate chapter-house, which is wanting at St Gall. The buildings at Canterbury, as at St Gall, form separate groups. The church forms the nucleus. In immediate contact with this, on the north side, lie the cloister and the group of buildings devoted to the monastic life. Outside of these, to the west and east, are the halls and chambers devoted to the exercise of hospitality, with which every monastery was provided, for the purpose of receiving as guests persons who visited it, whether clergy or laity, travellers, pilgrims or paupers. To the north a large open court divides the monastic from the menial buildings, intentionally placed as remote as possible from the conventual buildings proper, the stables, granaries, barn, bakehouse, brewhouse, laundries, etc., inhabited by the lay servants of the establishment. At the greatest possible distance from the church, beyond the precinct of the convent, is the eleemosynary department. The almonry for the relief of the poor, with a great hall annexed, forms the paupers' hospitium. The most important group of buildings is naturally that devoted to monastic life. This includes two Cloisters, the great cloister surrounded by the buildings essentially connected with the daily life of the monks,---the church to the south, the refectory or frater-house here as always on the side opposite to the church, and farthest removed from it, that no sound or smell of eating might penetrate its sacred precincts, to the east the dormitory, raised on a vaulted undercroft, and the chapter-house adjacent, and the lodgings of the cellarer to the west. To this officer was committed the provision of the monks' daily food, as well as that of the guests. He was, therefore, appropriately lodged in the immediate vicinity of the refectory and kitchen, and close to the guest-hall. A passage under the dormitory leads eastwards to the smaller or infirmary cloister, appropriated to the sick and infirm monks. Eastward of this cloister extend the hall and chapel of the infirmary, resembling in form and arrangement the nave and chancel of an aisled church. Beneath the dormitory, looking out into the green court or herbarium, lies the "pisalis" or "calefactory," the common room of the monks. At its north-east corner access was given from the dormitory to the necessarium, a portentous edifice in the form of a Norman hall, 145 ft (44 m) long by 25 broad (44.2 m × 7.6 m), containing fifty-five seats. It was, in common with all such offices in ancient monasteries, constructed with the most careful regard to cleanliness and health, a stream of water running through it from end to end. A second smaller dormitory runs from east to west for the accommodation of the conventual officers, who were bound to sleep in the dormitory. Close to the refectory, but outside the cloisters, are the domestic offices connected with it: to the north, the kitchen, 47 ft (14 m) square (200 m2), surmounted by a lofty pyramidal roof, and the kitchen court; to the west, the butteries, pantries, etc. The infirmary had a small kitchen of its own. Opposite the refectory door in the cloister are two lavatories, an invariable adjunct to a monastic dining-hall, at which the monks washed before and after taking food. The buildings devoted to hospitality were divided into three groups. The prior's group "entered at the south-east angle of the green court, placed near the most sacred part of the cathedral, as befitting the distinguished ecclesiastics or nobility who were assigned to him." The cellarer's buildings were near the west end of the nave, in which ordinary visitors of the middle class were hospitably entertained. The inferior pilgrims and paupers were relegated to the north hall or almonry, just within the gate, as far as possible from the other two. The cathedral was seriously damaged by the severe earthquake of 1382, losing its bells and campanile. Prior Thomas Chillenden (1390–1410) rebuilt the nave in the Perpendicular style of English Gothic, but left the Norman and Early English east end in place. The cathedral ceased to be an abbey during the Dissolution of the Monasteries when all religious houses were suppressed. Canterbury surrendered in March 1539, and reverted to its previous status of 'a college of secular canons'. The New Foundation came into being on 8 April 1541. In 1688, the joiner Roger Davis, citizen of London, removed the 13th century misericords and replaced them with two rows of his own work on each side of the choir. Some of Davis's misericords have a distinctly medieval flavour and he may have copied some of the original designs. When Sir George Gilbert Scott performed his renovations in the 19th century, he ripped out the front row of Davis misericords, replacing them with his own designs, which themselves seem to contain many copies of the misericords at Gloucester Cathedral, Worcester Cathedral and New College, Oxford. The original Norman northwest tower was demolished in the late 18th century due to structural concerns. It was replaced during the 1830s with a Perpendicular style twin of the southwest tower, currently known as the 'Arundel Tower'. This was the last major structural alteration to the cathedral to be made. The Romanesque monastic dormitory ruins were replaced with a Neo-Gothic Library and Archives building in the 19th century. This building was later destroyed by a high-explosive bomb in the Second World War, which had been aimed at the cathedral itself but missed by yards, and was rebuilt in similar style several years later. The cathedral is currently sponsoring a major fundraising drive to raise a minimum of £50 million to fund restoration. The cathedral is the Regimental Church of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. In 2006, a new fundraising appeal to raise £50 million was launched to much media attention under the dramatic banner Save Canterbury Cathedral. The Canterbury Cathedral Appeal was launched to protect and enhance Canterbury Cathedral's future as a religious, heritage and cultural centre. Every five years the cathedral carries out a major structural review. The last so-called Quinquennial made it very clear that a combination of centuries of weathering, pollution and constant use had taken its toll on the building and there were some serious problems at Canterbury Cathedral that needed urgent action. Much of the cathedral's stonework is damaged and crumbling, the roofs are leaking and much of the stained glass is badly corroded. It is thought that if action is not taken now, the rate of decay and damage being inflicted on the building will increase dramatically with potentially disastrous results, including closure of large sections of the cathedral in order to guarantee the safety of the million plus worshippers, pilgrims and tourists who visit the cathedral every year. The closure of parts of the cathedral would be seen as a significant loss of part of Britain's architectural heritage, and a huge limitation on the activities and services currently provided by the cathedral. As well as restoring much of the historic beauty of the cathedral, the appeal aims to fund enhancements to visitor facilities and investment to build on the cathedral's significant musical tradition. By November 2008, the current appeal had raised more than £9 million. Previous major appeals were run in the 1950s and 1970s. In the summer of 2009, stones in the South West Transept were discovered to have cracked around several iron braces surrounding the Great South Window. The cracks are presumed to be the result of the metal expanding and contracting in hot and cold weather, and have severely compromised the structure of the window. The transept was immediately closed, in case the window were to collapse, while scaffolding was erected, and the area immediately in front of the inside of the window was closed off and covered, to maintain access via the south door beneath it. This area was given restoration priority immediately after the structural damage was discovered. The Foundation is the authorised staffing establishment of the cathedral, few of whom are clergy. The head of the cathedral is the dean, currently the Very Reverend Dr Robert Willis, who is assisted by a chapter of 24 canons, four of whom are residentiary, the others being honorary appointments of senior clergy in the diocese. There are also a number of lay canons who altogether form the greater chapter which has the legal responsibility both for the cathedral itself and also for the formal election of an archbishop when there is a vacancy-in-see. By English law and custom they may only elect the person who has been nominated by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. The Foundation also includes the choristers, lay clerks, organists, King's Scholars, the Six Preachers and a range of other officers; some of these posts are moribund, such as that of the cathedral barber. The cathedral has a full-time work force of 300 making it one of the largest employers in the district and in addition also has approximately 800 volunteers. The cathedral has a total of twenty one bells in the three towers: The South West Tower (Oxford Tower) contains the cathedral’s main ring of bells, hung for change ringing in the English style. There are fourteen bells – a ring of twelve with two semi-tones, which allow for ringing on ten, eight or six bells while still remaining in tune. All of the bells were cast in 1981 by the Whitechapel Bell Foundry from seven bells of the old peal of twelve with new metal added, and re-hung in a new frame. The length (draught) of the ropes was increased by lowering the floor of the ringing chamber to the level of the south aisle vault at the same time. The heaviest bell of this ring weighs 34cwt (1.72 tons). The ringers practice on Thursday at 7.30pm. The North West Tower (Arundel Tower) contains the cathedral’s clock chime. The five quarter chimes were taken from the old peal of twelve in the Oxford Tower (where the clock was originally), and hung from beams in the Arundel Tower. The chimes are stuck on the eighth Gregorian tone, which is also used at Merton College, Oxford. The hour is struck on Great Dunstan, the largest bell in Kent 63cwt (3.15 tons), which is also swung on Sunday mornings for Matins. In 1316 Prior Henry of Eastry, probably the Cathedral’s greatest single benefactor, gave a large bell dedicated to St Thomas, which weighed 71½ cwt (c. 3½ tonnes). Later, in 1343, Prior Hathbrand gave bells dedicated to Jesus and St Dunstan. At this time the bells in campanile were rehung and their names recorded as “Jesus”, “Dunstan”, “Mary”, “Crundale”, “Elphy” (Alphege) and “Thomas”. In the great earthquake of 1382 the campanile fell, destroying the first three named bells. Following its reconstruction, the other three bells were rehung, together with two others, of whose casting no record remains The oldest bell in the cathedral is Bell Harry, which hangs in a cage atop the central tower to which the bell lends its name. This bell was cast in 1635, and is struck at 8am and 9pm every day to announce the opening and closing of the cathedral respectively, and also occasionally for services as a Sanctus bell. Details of the organ from the National Pipe Organ Register	County of Kent, England	cultural		County of Kent, England		[Canterbury Cathedral website|http://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/]#[Virtual tour of Canterbury Cathedral|http://www.clicksandclicks.com/cant-cathedral-tour.htm]#[Save Canterbury Cathedral Appeal|http://www.savecanterburycathedral.com]#[Sacred Destinations: Canterbury Cathedral|http://www.sacred-destinations.com/england/canterbury-cathedral.htm]#[Details on bell towers|http://kent.lovesguide.com/canterbury_cathedral.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Cathedral		[i],[ii],[vi]	GB	180000.0	Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey, and St Martin's Church	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	496	1988	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/496
43	Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a)	31.50167	35.92056	Umm ar-Rasas (Arabic: أم الرّصاص‎) (Kastrom Mefa'a, Kastron Mefa'a) is an archeological site in Jordan which contains ruins from the Roman, Byzantine, and early Muslim civilizations. The majority of the site has not been excavated. Among the portions excavated so far include a military camp, and several churches. For its unique blend of civilizations, Um er-Rasas was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004. The most important discovery on the site was the mosaic floor of the Church of St Stephen. It was made in 785 (discovered after 1986). The perfectly preserved mosaic floor is the largest one in Jordan. On the central panel hunting and fishing scenes are depicted while another panel illustrates the most important cities of the region (including Kastron Mefaa, Philadelphia, Madaba, Esbounta, Belemounta, Areopolis, Charac Moaba, Jerusalem, Nablus, Caesarea and Gaza). The frame of the mosaic is especially decorative. Six mosaic masters signed the work: Staurachios from Esbus, Euremios, Elias, Constantinus, Germanus and Abdela. It overlays another, damaged, mosaic floor of the earlier (587) "Church of Bishop Sergius." Another four churches were excavated nearby with traces of mosaic decoration. Coordinates: 31°29′59″N 35°55′11″E / 31.49972°N 35.91972°E / 31.49972; 35.91972	Madaba Governorate	cultural		Madaba Governorate		[Um er-Rasas|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1093]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umm_ar-Rasas		[i],[iv],[vi]	JO	240000.0	Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa'a)	Jordan	1093	2004	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1093
44	Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville	37.38384	-5.99155	The Alcázar of Seville (Spanish "Reales Alcázares de Sevilla" or "Royal Alcazars of Seville") is a royal palace in Seville, Spain, originally a Moorish fort. The Almohades were the first to build a palace, which was called Al-Muwarak, on the site of the modern day Alcázar. The palace is one of the best remaining examples of mudéjar architecture. Subsequent monarchs have added their own additions to the Alcázar. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence and are administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. The name, meaning "The Courtyard of the Maidens", refers to the legend that the Moors demanded 100 virgins every year as tribute from Christian kingdoms in Iberia. The story of the tribute was used as a myth to bolster the Reconquista movement. The lower level of the Patio was built for King Peter I and includes inscriptions describing Peter as a "sultan". Various lavish reception rooms are located on the sides of the Patio. In the center is a large, rectangular reflecting pool with sunken gardens on either side. For many years, the courtyard was entirely paved in marble with a fountain in the center. However, historical evidence showed the gardens and the reflecting pool were the original design and this arrangement was restored. However, soon after this restoration, the courtyard was temporarily paved with marble once again at the request of movie director Ridley Scott. Scott used the paved courtyard as the set for the court of the King of Jerusalem in his movie Kingdom of Heaven. The courtyard arrangement was converted once more after the movie's production. The upper story of the Patio was an addition made by Charles V. The addition was designed by Luis de Vega in the style of the Italian Renaissance although he did include both Renaissance and mudéjar plaster work in the decorations. Construction of the addition began in 1540 and ended in 1572. The "Baths of Lady María de Padilla" are rainwater tanks beneath the Patio del Crucero. The tanks are named after María de Padilla, the mistress of Peter the Cruel. Supposedly, Peter fell for María and had her husband killed. María resisted his advances and poured boiling oil over her face to disfigure herself to stop Peter's pursuit. She became a nun and moved to a convent afterwards. She is regarded as a symbol of purity in the culture of Seville. The Casa de Contratación (House of Trade) lies off the la Monteria. It was built in 1503 by the Catholic Monarchs to regulate trade with the New World colonies. The Casa dealt with trade related legal disputes on trade with the Americas. The "Casa" includes a chapel where the Colombus met with Ferdinand and Isabella after his second voyage. The chapel houses the The Virgin of the Navigators, one of the first paintings to depict the discovery of the Americas and one of the earliest paintings to depict Columbus. The palace was the birthplace of Infanta Maria Antonietta of Spain (1729-1785), daughter of Philip V of Spain and Elisabeth Farnese. The king was in the city to oversee the signing of the Treaty of Seville (1729) which ended the Anglo-Spanish War (1727). Coordinates: 37°23′02″N 5°59′29″W / 37.38389°N 5.99139°W / 37.38389; -5.99139	Province of Seville, Autonomous Community of Andalusia	cultural		Province of Seville, Autonomous Community of Andalusia		[Ibn Khaldun. The Mediterranean in the 14th century: Rise and fall of Empires|http://www.ibnjaldun.com/index.php?id=16&L=7]#[Images of the Alcázar in Seville|http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/spain/seville/alcazar/alcazarindex.html]#[Casa de la Contratación|http://www.historicaltextarchive.com/sections.php?op=viewarticle&artid=626]#[El Real Alcázar de Sevilla (In Spanish, English and French)|http://www.patronato-alcazarsevilla.es]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alc%25C3%25A1zar_of_Seville		[i],[ii],[iii],[vi]	ES	120000.0	Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Seville	Spain	383	1987	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/383
45	Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims	49.253333	4.032778	Notre-Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Rheims) is the Roman Catholic cathedral of Reims, where the kings of France were once crowned. It replaces an older church, destroyed by a fire in 1211, which was built on the site of the basilica where Clovis was baptized by Saint Remi, bishop of Reims, in AD 496. That original structure had been erected on the site of the Roman baths. As the cathedral it remains the seat of the Archdiocese of Reims. A major site for tourism in the Champagne region, it accommodated half a million visitors in 2006. See also: Coronation of the French monarch Excavations have shown that the present building occupies roughly the same site as the original cathedral, founded c.400 under the episcopacy of St Nicaise. That church was rebuilt during the Carolingian period and further extended in the 12th century. On July 6, 1210 the cathedral was damaged by fire and reconstruction started shortly after, beginning at the eastern end. Documentary records show the acquisition of land to the west of the site in 1218, suggesting the new cathedral was substantially larger than its predecessors, the lengthening of the nave presumably being an adaptation to afford room for the crowds that attended the coronations. In 1233 a long-running dispute between the cathedral chapter and the townsfolk (regarding issues of taxation and legal jurisdiction) boiled over into open revolt. Several clerics were killed or injured during the resulting violence and the entire cathedral chapter fled the city, leaving it under an interdict (effectively banning all public worship and sacraments). Work on the new cathedral was suspended for three years, only resuming in 1236 after the clergy returned to the city and the interdict was lifted following mediation by the King and the Pope. Construction then continued more slowly. The area from the crossing eastwards was in use by 1241 but the nave was not roofed until 1299 (when the French King lifted the tax on lead used for that purpose). Work on the west facade took place in several phases, which is reflected in the very different styles of some of the sculptures. The upper parts of the facade were completed in the 14th century, but apparently following 13th century designs, giving Reims an unusual unity of style. Unusually the names of the cathedral's original architects are known. A labyrinth built into floor of the nave at the time of construction or shortly after (similar to examples at Chartres and Amiens) included the names of four master masons; Jean d’Orbais, Jean le Loup, Gaucher de Reims and Bernard de Soissons. Unfortunately however, nothing else is known about these men and attempts to ascribe different parts of this and other cathedrals to one or other of the four are purely speculation. The labyrinth itself was destroyed in 1779 but its details and inscriptions are known from 18th century drawings. The clear association here between a labyrinth and master masons adds weight to the argument that such patterns were an allusion to the emerging status of the architect (through their association with the mythical artificer Daedalus, who built the Labyrinth of King Minos). The cathedral also contains further evidence of the rising status of the architect in the tomb of Huges Liberger (d. 1268, architect of the now-destroyed Reims church of St-Nicaise). Not only is he given the honor of an engraved slab; he is shown holding a miniature model of his church (a honor formerly reserved for noble donors) and wearing the academic garb befitting an intellectual. The towers, 81 m tall (approx. 267 ft), were originally designed to rise 120 m (approximately 394 ft). The south tower holds just two great bells; one of them, named “Charlotte” by Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine in 1570, weighs more than 10,000 kg (about 11 tons). During the Hundred Years' War the cathedral was under siege by the English from 1359-60. In 1875 the French National Assembly voted £80,000 for repairs of the façade and balustrades. The façade is the finest portion of the building, and one of the great masterpieces of the Middle Ages. German shellfire during the opening engagements of the First World War on 20 September 1914 burned, damaged and destroyed important parts of the cathedral. Scaffolding around the north tower caught fire, spreading the blaze to all parts of the carpentry superstructure. The lead of the roofs melted and poured through the stone gargoyles, destroying in turn the bishop's palace. Restoration work began in 1919, under the direction of Henri Deneux, a native of Reims and chief architect of the Monuments Historiques; the cathedral was fully reopened in 1938, thanks in part to financial support from the Rockefellers, but work has been steadily going on since. The three portals are laden with statues and statuettes; among European cathedrals, only Chartres has more sculpted figures. The central portal, dedicated to the Virgin Mary, is surmounted by a rose window framed in an arch itself decorated with statuary, in place of the usual sculptured tympanum. The "gallery of the kings" above shows the baptism of Clovis in the centre flanked by statues of his successors. The facades of the transepts are also decorated with sculptures. That on the North has statues of bishops of Reims, a representation of the Last Judgment and a figure of Jesus (le Beau Dieu), while that on the south side has a beautiful modern rose window with the prophets and apostles. Fire destroyed the roof and the spires in 1481: of the four towers that flanked the transepts, nothing remains above the height of the roof. Above the choir rises an elegant lead-covered timber belltower that is 18 m (about 59 feet) tall, reconstructed in the 15th century and in the 1920s. The inside of cathedral is 138.75 m (about 455 ft) long, 30 m (approx. 98 feet) wide in the nave, and 38 m (about 125 feet) high in the centre. It comprises a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles, a choir with double aisles, and an apse with ambulatory and radiating chapels. It has interesting stained glass ranging from the 13th to the 20th century. The rose window over the main portal and the gallery beneath are of rare magnificence. The cathedral possessed fine tapestries. Of these the most important series is that presented by Robert de Lenoncourt, archbishop under François I, representing the life of the Virgin. They are now to be seen in the former bishop's palace, the Palace of Tau. The north transept contains a fine organ in a flamboyant Gothic case. The choir clock is ornamented with curious mechanical figures. Marc Chagall designed the stained glass installed in 1974 in the axis of the apse. The treasury, kept in the Palace of Tau, includes many precious objects, among which is the Sainte Ampoule, or holy flask, the successor of the ancient one that contained the oil with which French kings were anointed, which was broken during the French Revolution, a fragment of which the present Ampoule contains. Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral, the former Abbey of Saint-Remi, and the Palace of Tau were added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1991. Coordinates: 49°15′13″N 4°02′03″E / 49.25361°N 4.03417°E / 49.25361; 4.03417	Department of Marne, Champagne Ardenne Region	cultural		Department of Marne, Champagne Ardenne Region		[Cathedrale-reims.com|http://www.cathedrale-reims.com]#[Reims Cathedral|http://eng.archinform.net/projekte/71.htm]#[Photos|http://kunsthistorie.com/galleri/index.php?album=Frankrike%2FReims&sortby=name&order=asc]#[360 degrees panoramas|http://jcm2044.net/PhotosHome/QTVR/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reims_Cathedral		[i],[ii],[vi]	FR	45100.0	Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims	France	601	1991	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/601
46	Sacred City of Caral-Supe	-10.891667	-77.521389	Caral is a large settlement in the Supe Valley, near Supe, Barranca province, Peru, some 200 km north of Lima. Caral is the most ancient city of the Americas, and is a well-studied site of the Caral civilization or Norte Chico civilization. Caral was inhabited between roughly 2600 BC and 2000 BC, enclosing an area of more than 60 hectares. Caral was described by its excavators as the oldest urban center in the Americas, a claim that was later challenged as other ancient sites were found nearby. Accommodating more than 3,000 inhabitants, it is the best studied and one of the largest Norte Chico sites known. Paul Kosok discovered Caral (Chupacigarro Grande) in 1948, but it received little attention until recently because it appeared to lack many typical artifacts that were sought at archeological sites throughout the Andes at the time. Archaeologist Ruth Shady further explored the 5,000 year-old city of pyramids in the Peruvian desert, with its elaborate complex of temples, an amphitheater and ordinary houses. The urban complex is spread out over 150 acres (607,000 m²) and contains plazas and residential buildings. Caral was a thriving metropolis at roughly the same time that Egypt's great pyramids were being built. The main pyramid (Spanish: Pirámide Mayor) covers an area nearly the size of four football fields and is 60 feet (18 m) tall. Caral is the largest recorded site in the Andean region with dates older than 2000 BCE and appears to be the model for the urban design adopted by Andean civilizations that rose and fell over the span of four millennia. It is believed that Caral may answer questions about the origins of Andean civilizations and the development of the first cities. Among the artifacts found at Caral are a knotted textile piece that the excavators have labeled a quipu. They argue that the artifact is evidence that the quipu record keeping system, a method involving knots tied in rope that was brought to perfection by the Inca, was older than any archaeologist had previously guessed. However, the artifact is orders of magnitude simpler than later Inca quipu, and it is thus doubtful that it was produced as part of a robust accounting system. Indeed, many archaeologists have actually questioned whether or not it is a recording device at all. No trace of warfare has been found at Caral; no battlements, no weapons, no mutilated bodies. Shady's findings suggest it was a gentle society, built on commerce and pleasure. In one of the pyramids, they uncovered 32 flutes made of condor and pelican bones and 37 cornets of deer and llama bones. One find revealed the remains of a baby, wrapped and buried with a necklace made of stone beads. They also found evidence of drug use and possibly aphrodisiacs. One theory suggests that the coca they found may be evidence that Caral sprung up as an organized coca growing and distribution centre. Caral spawns 19 other pyramid complexes scattered across the 35 square mile (80 km²) area of the Supe Valley. The find of the quipu indicates that the later Inca civilization preserved some cultural continuity from the Caral civilization. The date of 2627 BCE is based on carbon dating reed and woven carrying bags that were found in situ. These bags were used to carry the stones that were used for the construction of the pyramids. The material is an excellent candidate for dating, thus allowing for a high precision. The site may date even earlier as samples from the oldest parts of the excavation have yet to be dated. The town had a population of approximately 3000 people. But there are 19 other sites in the area (posted at Caral), allowing for a possible total population of 20,000 people for the Supe valley. All of these sites in the Supe valley share similarities with Caral. They had small platforms or stone circles. Shady (2001) believes that Caral was the focus of this civilization, which itself was part of an even vaster complex, trading with the coastal communities and the regions further inland – as far as the Amazon, if the depiction of monkeys is any indication. Coordinates: 10°53′37″S 77°31′13″W / 10.89361°S 77.52028°W / -10.89361; -77.52028	S10 53 30 W77 31 17	cultural		S10 53 30 W77 31 17		[Official website|http://www.caralperu.gob.pe/index.html]#[Caral quipu|http://archaeology.about.com/od/ancientwriting/a/caralquipu.htm]#[Transcript of BBC Horizon program about Caral|http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2001/caraltrans.shtml]#[Moseley, Michael. "The Maritime Foundations of Andean Civilization: An Evolving Hypothesis"|http://www.hallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Articles&file=article&sid=85]#["The mother of all civilisations"|http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthScience/The_mother_of_all_civilisations/articleshow/2625053.cms]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caral		[ii],[iii],[iv]	PE	6260000.0	Sacred City of Caral-Supe	Peru	1269		http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1269
47	Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila	20.863056	-103.778611	Santiago de Tequila is a town and municipality located in the state of Jalisco about 60 km from the city of Guadalajara. Tequila is best known as being the birthplace of the drink that bears its name, “tequila,” which is made from the blue agave plant, native to this area. The heart of the plant contains sugars and had been used by native peoples here to make a fermented drink. After the Spanish arrived, they took this fermented beverage and distilled it, producing the tequila known today. The popularity of the drink and the history behind it has made town and the area surrounding it a World Heritage Site. It was also named a "Pueblo Mágico" (Magical Town) in 2003 by the Mexican federal government. The name “Tequila” is derived from Nahuatl and means “place of tribute.” The coat of arms of the municipality was officially adopted on 31 December 1983 by the municipal council. It contain the Latin phrase ALMA LAETA NOBILIS, meaning “great and noble soul.”Its representative symbols include the tower of the main church in the town of Tequila, the chimneys of the distilleries, the agave plant and Tequila Mountain. The first peoples to live in this area were the Chichimecas, the Otomí the Toltecs and the Nahua. However, the major pre-Hispanic settlement was not where the town of Tequila is today, but rather in a place called Teochtinchán. After the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Spanish moved west and this region became part of what was known as Nueva Galicia during the colonial period. Initial resistance to Spanish domination was brief. Local people fortified their major town, but in the end decided to surrender peacefully. The village of Santiago de Tequila was founded in 1530 by Franciscan monks, who moved many of the local people here from Chiquihuitillo Mountain (now known as Tequila Volcano). In 1541, indigenous people in various parts of Nueva Galicia revolted against Spanish rule. Locally, The Tecoxines and Caxcanes in the towns of Tlaltenango, Xochipila, Nochictlán and Teocaltech rebelled first, with those in Tequila joining later. These rebels made their stand on Tequila Mountain. Friar Juan Calero of the monastery near Tequila went to try and pacify the situation, but he was killed by a barrage of arrows and rocks. This body was stripped of its robes and hung on the local stone idol. Another monk who died trying to negotiate a settlement was Friar Antonio de Cuellar of the Etzatlan monastery. In October of 1541, the situation in Nueva Galicia was so serious that the viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, arrived from Mexico City. Rebel chief Diego Zacatecas went to meet with the viceroy, but was immediately taken prisoner by the Spanish. The price for his release was the end of the rebellion and for the chief to convert to Christianity. In 1600, Pedro Sánchez de Tagle decided to build a large scale distilling operation based on a local fermented beverage made with the local agave plant. He also introduced the idea of cultivating this plant, native to the region, on a mass scale. At the beginning of the 19th century came another rebellion in the Tequila area, this time led by a man only known as “The Gold Mask.” This rebellion was suppressed by the governor of Nueva Galicia, José Fernando de Abascal y Sousa, for which he was subsequently promoted to viceroy of Peru. Shortly after this came the Mexican War of Independence. Rafael Pérez, under orders from José María Mercado, came to Tequila with 200 men to take over the town from royalist forces. After Independence, the town to Tequila was made the seat of one of the departments of the new state of Jalisco. When these departments were reorganized into municipalities, the town of Tequila was made the seat of the municipality of the same name. In 1874, the town of Tequila was given the official status of city. This was in recognition of an event in 1873, when Sixto Gorjón, about 50 police and citizens of Tequila fought off a group of bandits headed by Manuel Lozada, known as “The Tiger of Alicia.” The town of Tequila has a population of 26,809, accounting for about 73% of the municipality’s inhabitants. It contains the main parish church, Our Lady of the Purísima Concepción, built in the 18th century by Martín Casillas. The church has a stone facade, a bell tower and inverted truncated pyramid (estipite) pilasters that flank the main portal. The portal has two levels and a crown. The first level contains the door arch with has moulding and a seal and is supported by two Doric columns. The upper portion contains a window with moulding with Doric columns in each side, decorated with curves and vegetable motifs. The crown at the top contains a sculpture of the Archangel Michael in a niche flanked by Doric columns. The side portal is an arched entrance with Tuscan columns and cornice and a cross in relief at the midpoint. Inside are one nave and a Neoclassical main altar. Also inside is a statue of Or Lady of the Conception which dates from 1865. Notable secular structures include the Quinta Sauza built in the 1830s and the La Perserverancia distillery which was built in 1873. The Quinta Sauza has a large exterior garden with elaborate stone fountains. In the atrium, there are carvings with scenes from the passion of Christ. The facade of the house has reliefs of plants in which there are several entrances. Inside, there is a courtyard with a decorated fountain in the center and the entrance to the chapel in the back, which is decorated with plant and serpent motifs. In La Perseverancisa there is a huge work painted by Gabriel Flores in 1969 depicting the making and drinking of tequila. The distillery has guided tours. This distillery also has a museum in front of the municipal palace, containing paintings, photographs, sculptures and the machinery of the La Perservancia distillery and a room dedicated to regional crafts. The National Museum of Tequila (MUNAT) is located in the town of Tequila on land that was purchased and set aside by Cipriano Rosales at the beginning of the 20th century for cultural and/or educational activities. The Eduardo González Primary School was established first in 1933, which became a vocational high school in 1979. This was closed in the 1980s due to the deterioration of the building. After extensive remodeling, it reopened as the Casa de Cultura Tequilense (Tequila Cultural Center) and remained so until 2000, when it was converted into the National Museum of Tequila. It is the first museum in the world dedicated to this liquor. Just10 km outside the town of Tequila proper is the Sanctuary of Saint Toribio Romo González on the road that leads to the Balneario La Toma, in a community called Agua Caliente. Toribio Romo was recently canonized by John Paul II. The Sanctuary is located in the place where Romo was apprehended and shot during the Cristero War. The National Festival of Tequila is held every year from the end of November to the middle of December. During this event, a Tequila Queen is crowned and the main distillers in the area all have a presence with samples of their tequila. There are also charreada events and a parade with floats, cockfights, mariachis, fireworks and rides. This festival coincides with the feast of Tequila’s patron saint, Our Lady of the Purisíma Concepción. A surprising tradition for those not from Tequila is the nightly blessing of the town by the parish priest. At 9pm every night, the priest exits the church and offers a blessing by ringing a bell three times. At this moment, everyone in the town stops what they are doing, including turning off things like the television or radio and stands for the blessing. The beverage called tequila is really a variety of mescal, made wholly or mostly from the blue agave plant. This plant is native to the Tequila area so this version of mescal was named after the town. Use of the agave plant goes far back into the pre-Hispanic period. The “piña” (lit. pineapple) or heart of the plant was used by the indigenous peoples cooked as a sweet, and as the base for a fermented alcoholic beverage. This beverage was called mescal by the native people and was much like what is called pulque today. By the time the Spanish arrived, the natives had begun to cultivate the plant. The Spanish first considered taking the plant back to Spain but decided to develop it and its product in Mexico. The Spanish introduced distillation to turn the native fermented mescal into what is now known as tequila. The first large-scale distillery was created in 1600 and over the colonial period demand for the drink resulted in some of the oldest, still-operating enterprises in this area such as: “La Riojeña”, fundada en 1795; “El Tigre” (now La Constancia) founded in 1823; Destiladora de Occidente (now “Tequila D’Reyes”) founded in 1840; La Perseverancia (now Tequila Sauza) founded in 1873; El Llano (now Tequila Azteca) founded in 1876; La Mexicana (now Tequila Orendain) founded 1879. In 1873, the "Mezcal wine" (previous name used when referring to Tequila the drink) from the region of Jalisco is officially named "Tequila", this in order to distinguish it from Mezcal spirits produced in the south of Mexico, such as those produced in Oaxaca. The name “Tequila” has protected by the Mexican government since 1974 and its use is limited to products distilled from agave grown in certain regions of Mexico. These regions are Tequila and surrounding municipalities as well as parts of the State of Tamaulipas. The lands in Tamaulipas were added later as the need to cultivate blue agave grew, and these lands and the agave grown on them were certified by the Mexican government for quality. The term is also limited to fifteen production facilities such as Tequila Sauza, Tequila Orendaín, and Jorge Salles Cuervo. Long-established distilleries here produce between 500 and 1000 liters a day but this is not enough to meet the international demand for the product which has skyrocketed since the 1980s. The town and the surrounding areas attract thousands of visitors each year to see the fields, distilleries, Museo Nacional de Tequila (National Museum of Tequila), the Barraca de Tequila and to ride the Tequila Express, which is a train that runs from Guadalajara to tequila country. The train has 4 cars with a capacity of 68 people and usually requires that tickets be bought a month in advance. The history and worldwide popularity of the drink has led to the town of Tequila and the vast agave fields surrounding it to be declared a World Heritage Site. It encompasses 34,658 hectares between the foothills of the Tequila Volcano and the valley of the Rio Grande River, which is covered in fields of blue agave. For over 2,000 years, this plant has been used to make fermented drinks and cloth and since the 16th century has been used to make the distilled liquor with the name of Tequila. Both the drink and the culture associated with making it has become absorbed into Mexican identity. Within these fields are the towns of Tequila, Arenal, Amatitan and Teuchitlán with large tequila production facilities. This site contains an inventory of fields, distilleries and factories (active and inactive) as well as “tabernas” (illegal tequila facilities during the Colonial period), the towns and the Teuchitlán archeological sites. Many of the tequila-making facilities are located on large haciendas which date back as far as the 18th century. Most distilleries and haciendas are made of brick and adobe, which stucco walls with an ochre lime-wash, stone arches, quoins and window frames. Most are decorated with Neoclassical or Baroque ornamentation. The production of tequila represents the fusion of the pre-Hispanic tradition of making alcohol with agave with European distilling techniques. The Teuchitlán archeological site is of one of the first cultures here that first produced an agricultural society here. The Tequila Route (Ruta de Tequila) and the Tequila Express were created with the aim of promoting the tourism of Tequila into the neighboring municipalities of El Arenal, Amatitan, Magdalena and Teuchitlan, which also contain important tequila facilities, as well as cultural and archeological attractions. Both also go through the vast blue agave fields that were recently named a World Heritage Site. The Tequila Route was created and is supervised by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila, which regulates the production and authenticity of the liquor produced here. Other attractions on the route include archeological sites, old mansions and opal and obsidian mines. The archeological sites primarily belong to a culture known as the Guachimontones located in the municipalities of Teuchitlan and Magdalena. In a number of the old hacienda/distilleries, visitors are invited to try their hand at some of the aspects of tequila making, such as cutting the spines off the agave plant. Most of these haciendas also have tasting rooms and restaurants. Along the route is the Tequila Volcano. The Tequila Express is a train for tourists which has been in operation since 1997. On Saturdays and Sundays this train takes passengers through tequila country, accompanies by live mariachi music and bilingual guides to the Hacienda San José del Refugio. Another guided tour is Tequila Adventure, which shuttle people in vans to the distilleries of la Cofradía and Mundo Cuervo. Tequila is one of the 124 municipalities of Jalisco, located just west of the center of the state. Its territory extends for 1689.11km2, with elevations that vary between 700 and 2,900 meters above sea level. The municipality borders with the main metropolitan region of Guadalajara to the east (Zapopan), and the State of Zacatecas to the north. All of the neighboring municipalities surrounding Mount Tequila conform the greater region of 'Tequila'. These include the adjacent municipalities of Amatitlán, Magdalena, San Juanito de Escobedo, San Martin de Bolaños, San Cristóbal de la Barranca, Hostotipaquillo and, south of Tequila Volcano: Teuchtilán and Ahualulco de Mercado. The original land-subdivision of the region was delineated by the Agave-growing haciendas that are found throughout (see 'Haciendas of Tequila', below). After Independence, the state of Jalisco was originally divided into 26 departments, with Tequila being one of the seats of these departments. After modern municipalities were created, Tequila remained a seat, but of the municipality that bears its name. This municipality contains 207 communities with the most populous (outside of the town of Tequila) being El Salvador, San Martín de las Cañas, Santa Teresa and Potrero de la Rivera aside from the municipal seat. The total population of the municipality is 38,534, 73% of which lives in the municipal seat of Tequila. The municipality is located on rugged terrain with little flat space except in some valleys. The Santiago y Chico River constitutes the low points of the municipality at 700 meters while the high peaks are located in the south. The highest mountain is Tequila Volcano or Tequila Mountain at 2,900 meters. This as an inactive volcano, not having had an eruption in more than 220,000 years, and dominates the landscape in the center of the municipality. Hiking and other ecotourism is possible here but infrastructure such as roads, security and signs are minimal. The eastern part of the municipality is dominated by the Sierra de los Balcones. The climate is semi-arid with a dry season in the winter and spring and a rainy season in summer and fall. Temperatures do not vary greatly between summer and winter and average about 23.2C. The higher elevations have pine and oak forest while the lower elevations have mesquite, nopal, and other vegetation. The municipality has 28,430 hectares of mostly pine forest in the higher mountain areas. The major rivers of the municipality are the Santiago, El Chico and Bolaños and a large number of small streams. Most of the municipality’s economy is still based on agriculture, employing about 47% of its people. Despite the very visible growing of the blue agave plant, most acres here are still devoted to corn. Other crops include sorghum, beans, mangos, oranges, avocados and squash. Livestock includes beef cattle, dairy cattle, pigs, goats, horses, fowl and bees. The making of tequila employs about 25% of the municipality’s population, but brings in the most money. It accounts for almost all the municipality’s industrial base. Tourism, such as that related to tequila and ecotourism sites are a growing part of the economy. One example of ecotourism here is the Balneario La Toma, which is located on very rugged terrain with cliffs, promoting rappelling, paragliding and other similar sports. There is some mining here, mostly of opals, gold and silver. A brief definition of the Mexican Hacienda: As reward for services offered during the conquest of Mexico, some Spaniard colonists received parcels of land used for raising animals, particularly horses. These original gifted properties were known as ‘Estancia’, and, besides horses, their owners also raised mules and livestock. At the same time, they planted corn for sale and to feed local workers (as well as agave, in the region of Tequila). In order to maintain control over the indentured servants of the hacienda, the owners isolated haciendas by making them into self-sufficient town-like entities. Apart from housing for workers, haciendas also had public plazas, a chapel, school, medical center, local stores, graveyard, and prison. The public spaces served for gathering all the workers and assigning daily tasks, as well as for public punishments, and religious festivals. Three centuries ago, this hacienda was formerly known as the ‘Hacienda de Santa María de Miraflores’ and in due course, this was the hacienda that founded the 'Convento del Carmen' in downtown Guadalajara, in 1722. Today, this 17th-century hacienda has been transformed into a beautiful hotel. The building has been in owner Monica Baeza's family since 1959 and they've done a great job of retaining its charm. Sitting under its arches, nursing a margarita and watching peacocks strut through the immaculately-kept gardens, it's easy to see why the tourist board has come to the conclusion that "Jalisco is Mexico". The earliest information to be had regarding these lands dates to 1569, when, by royal decree, some 6000 acres were allotted to Don Francisco Merodio de Velasco. In 1574 the hacienda was left to his heirs, until owned by Ms. Francisca de Figueroa, wife of Juan de Águila; Ms. Francisca is left a widow and marries Mr. Juan González in 1715. Two years later they purchase new land at Mount Tequila from the local Jesuits. In May of 1728 they leave all to the Order of Carmelites, in exchange for a monthly allotment. It is in this period that the name of the hacienda is changed, from Hacienda de Santa María de Miraflores to Hacienda El Carmen de Miraflores, which through profits from products and businesses, would found the Convent and Church of el Carmen in Guadalajara. By 1837, the Carmelite Fathers send part of the property to Dolores Camarena, and the rest of the property to Rafael Ignacio Tapia in 1856 (period of the Juárez Reformation). Mr. Tapia then leaves the hacienda to his niece, Ms. Inés Echauri. In 1862, General Manuel M. Doblado, Governor of Jalisco, declares void the transaction between the Carmelites and Tapia, transferring the property to Florentino Cuervo Flores and Pedro A. Galván. In 1863, Galván transfers all rights to Cuervo. Tapia sues the government, but nothing is accomplished by this, and the owner remains Ms. Nicolasa Ramírez (widow of Mr. Cuervo). In 1883, Ms. Nicolasa sells all the horse properties to Mr. Luciano Gómez Romero (including ‘Cerro de Tequila’, ‘Iglesias’, ‘Tepopote’, ‘Tacote’, ‘Potrero nuevo’, ‘Mesitas’, ‘Coloradas’, ‘El Casco’, and others). To Mr. Jerónimo Gómez Romero are sold the agave fields and land for cattle. In 1903, Mr. Luciano Gómez sells some of his land to Flores Elizalde and to the Hacienda de la Labor de Rivera. The rest he leaves in will to his grandchildren Francisco and Luis L. Corcuera Gómez (Francisco later gives all to his brother Luis). At that time, some of the land is taken by the government to create various ejidos (‘El Carmen’, ‘El Amarillo’, ‘La Peña’, ‘San Ignacio’, and ‘Chapulimita’, among others). In 1938, Luis L. Corcuera Gómez leaves all to his son, Don Rafael L. Corcuera Schaffino, who also purchased those lands sold to Flores Elizalde, in 1944. These lands were then left to his son, Rafael L. Corcuera Simancas, who is their current owner. In 1953 he sells the house and adjacent properties to Mr. Abelardo Buenrostro. In 1956 Buenrostro sells to Don Manuel González Albuerne, who then sells to Pablo Serrano Estrada in 1959; 2 years later, Mr. Pablo sells to his daughter Martha Serrano Zermeño and her husband, Dr. Joaquín Baeza del Monte. Tequila maintains sister city relations with Cathedral City, California and La Quinta, California which are both located in Southern California's Coachella Valley. Tequila Council members, business promoters and Rotary Club officials have attended Mexican Independence Day celebrations hosted by the two California cities. Another sister city is Jelenia Góra, Poland. Coordinates: 20°52′58″N 103°50′12″W / 20.88278°N 103.83667°W / 20.88278; -103.83667	Valles Region, Jalisco State	cultural		Valles Region, Jalisco State			http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila,_Jalisco		[ii],[iv],[v],[vi]	MX	350190000.0	Agave Landscape and Ancient Industrial Facilities of Tequila	Mexico	1209	2006	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1209
48	Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi	21.039444	105.837222	Imperial Citadel of Thang Long (Vietnamese: Hoàng thành Thăng Long) is a term referring to the cultural complex comprising Thăng Long Imperial City during the Lý, Trần, Lê dynasties and Hanoi citadel during the Nguyễn Dynasty. The remains are roughly where the Hanoi Citadel stands today. The royal palaces and most of the structures in Thang Long were destroyed in the late 19th century, and today the ruins of the Thang Long Imperial City are still being excavated. The central sector of the imperial citadel was lised in UNESCO's World Heritage Site on July 31, 2010 at its session in Brazil. Remains were found on the site of the former Ba Đình Hall, which was ripped down in 2008 to make way for a new parliament building. Various archaeological remains were found, artefacts were brought to the National Museum to be exhibited. It is assumed that just a very small fraction of Thăng Long has actually been excavated. The Flag Tower of Hanoi (Cột cờ Hà Nội) is a tower in Hanoi, Vietnam, which is one of the symbols of the city. Its height is 33.4 m (41 m with the flag). Built in 1812, the tower, unlike many other structures in Hanoi, was not destroyed during the French administration (1896–1897), being used as a military post.	N21 2 22 E105 50 14	cultural		N21 2 22 E105 50 14			http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Citadel_of_Thang_Long		[ii],[iii],[vi]	VN	180000.0	Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi	Viet Nam	1328		http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1328
49	Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks	-14.005694	-47.684611	Brazil's Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park is located in the Chapada dos Veadeiros, an ancient plateau with an estimated age of 1.8 billion years. Based in the Brazilian state of Goias, the Park was created on January 11, 1961 by President Juscelino Kubitscheck, and listed as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001. It occupies an area of 655 square kilometres and is maintained by IBAMA. The average yearly temperature is 24-26 degrees Celsius, ranging from a minimum of 4-8 degrees Celsius and reaching a maximum of 40-42 degrees Celsius. With altitudes between 600 and 1650 meters, it is the highest plain in Central Brazil. The highest point of the park and of the state of Goiás is Serra da Santana, at 1691 meters above sea level. Its rock formations are one of the oldest on the planet. There are quartz with outcrops of crystals. These rocks are exported and appreciated in Japan and England, where for some decades they were used for industrial work. Nowadays therapists and nature lovers seek energies and the power to cure from the crystals and from places like Alto Paraiso. Rock crystals are present in the soil of the rich Cerrado, or open pasture. Forest growth is also still found in the region, where more than 25 species of orchids can be found, besides other Brazilian species such as Pau d'Arco Roxo, Copaíba (Copa Tree), Aroeira (California pepper tree), Tamanqueira (Cork Tree), Jerivá (a variety of Palm Tree), Buritis (Wine-palm) and Babaçu (Babassu). The main river in the park is the Rio Preto, a tributary of the Tocantins River. Along its course, there are many waterfalls, such as the Rio Preto Falls (120 meters high, 80 meters at the base) and the Cariocas Falls. The canyons are just as beautiful, with walls of up to 40 meters high and valleys of up to 300 meters. In the National Park there are the 120 m Waterfall, the 80 m Waterfall, the Corredeiras, Cannyon I, Cannyon II, the Carioquinhas Waterfall and the Jardim de Maitréya. In properties with controlled access: Águas Quentes, Morada do Sol, Banho das Crianças and Vale das Andorinhas, Salto do Raizama and Cannyon do Rio São Miguel, Vale da lua, Cachoeiras Almécegas I and Almécegas II, Cachoeira de São Bento, Cataratas do Rio dos Couros, Cachoeira do Rio Cristal, Cachoeira dos Anjos e dos Arcanjos, Água Fria, Cachoeira do Rio das Almas, Poço Encantado, Sertão Zen, Cachoeira do Rio Macaco, Território Kalunga, Lago Serra da Mesa, Bocaina do Faria, Cachoeira das Neves, Mirante do Pouso Alto, Alpes Goianos, Cachoeira do Santana, Cachoeira da Ave Maria, Morada do Sol, Pedra Escrita, Cachoeira das Pedras Bonitas, and Ponte de Pedra. The rich fauna of the region includes species threatened by extinction such as the pampas deer (locally known as veado campeiro), marsh deer (cervo do pantanal), maned wolves (lobo guará), jaguar, and others like the rhea (ema), seriema, tapeti, giant armadillo (tatu canastra), anteater (tamanduá), capybara (capivara), tapir (anta), green-beaked toucan (tucano de bico verde), black vulture (urubu), and the king vulture (urubu rei). Many endangered species are found within the park's boundaries, such as the maned wolf, capybaras, rheas and others. Coordinates: 14°05′S 47°40′W / 14.083°S 47.667°W / -14.083; -47.667	Central Brazil Plateau, State of Goiás	natural		Central Brazil Plateau, State of Goiás		[Complete and updated info about Chapada dos Veadeiros in 42 languages|http://www.chapadadosveadeiros.info/]#[website with turistic info about Chapada dos Veadeiros|http://www.portaldesaojorge.com.br/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=14]#[Chapada dos Veadeiros in Portuguese|http://www.chapada.com/]#[Chapada dos Veadeiros in English|http://www.chapada.com/english/chapadaeng.htm]#[Info on the Chapada|http://brasiliabsb.com/veadeiros.htm]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapada_dos_Veadeiros_National_Park		[ix],[x]	BR	3673560000.0	Cerrado Protected Areas: Chapada dos Veadeiros and Emas National Parks	Brazil	1035	2001	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1035
50	Chan Chan Archaeological Zone	-8.1	-79.08333	Coordinates: 8°6′40″S 79°04′32″W / 8.11111°S 79.07556°W / -8.11111; -79.07556 The largest Pre-Columbian city in South America, Chan Chan is an archaeological site located in the Peruvian region of La Libertad, five km west of Trujillo. Chan Chan covers an area of approximately 20 km², and had a dense urban center of about 6km². Chan Chan was constructed by the Chimor (the kingdom of the Chimú), a late intermediate period civilization which grew out of the remnants of the Moche civilization. The vast adobe city of Chan Chan was built by the Chimu around AD 850 and lasted until its conquest by the Inca Empire in AD 1470. It was the imperial capital of the Chimor until it was conquered in the 15th century. It is estimated that around 30,000 people lived in the city of Chan Chan. Chan Chan was added as a Unesco World Heritage Site in 1986. The city is severely threatened by tornados from El Niño, which causes heavy rains and flooding on the Peruvian coast. It is in a fertile, well-watered section of the coastal plain. The city's ruins are additionally threatened by earthquakes and looters. Present-day visitors to Chan Chan can enter the Tschudi Complex, believed to be one of the later citadels built in the city. There are also several other Chimú and Moche ruins in the area around Trujillo. This site was discovered by the Conquistador Francisco Pizarro. The city is composed of ten walled citadels which housed ceremonial rooms, burial chambers, temples, reservoirs and some residences. Chan Chan is a triangular city surrounded by walls 50-60 feet high. A distinguishable aspect of Chan Chan is that there are no enclosures which open to the north. The tallest walls shelter against south-westerly winds from Peru's coast. Northern-facing walls gain the greatest exposure to the sun, serving both to block the wind and absorb sunlight where fog is frequent. The numerous walls throughout the city create labyrinth of passages. The walls themselves were constructed of adobe brick and were then covered with a smooth surface into which intricate designs were carved. There are two styles of design present in these carvings: one is a ‘realistic’ representation of subjects such as birds, fish, and small mammals; and the other is a more graphic, stylized representation of the same subjects. The carvings at Chan Chan depict crabs, turtles, and nets for catching various sea monsters. Chan Chan, unlike most other coastal ruins in Peru, is located extremely close to the Pacific Ocean. In 1998, The "Master Plan for Conservation and Management of the Chan Chan Archeological Complex" is drawn up by the Freedom National Culture Institute of Peru with contributions from the World Heritage Foundation - WHR, ICCROM and GCI. The Plan is approved by the Peruvian Government, with involvement at the highest levels up until today. As the world's largest adobe city, the ancient structures of Chan Chan are today threatened by erosion due to changes in weather patterns - heavy rains, flooding, strong winds.	District of Huanchaco	cultural	Natural erosion	District of Huanchaco	1986	[UNESCO World Heritage Center: Chan Chan|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/366]#[History Channel Classroom: Chan Chan|http://www.historychannel.com/classroom/unesco/chanchan.html]#[Chan Chan information|http://www.chanchan.gob.pe]#[Chan Chan - Chimu's Desert City (Flash)|http://www.tiwanakuarcheo.net/7_flash/chan/chanchan_I.html]#[Heavy Rains Threaten Ancient City in Northern Peru|http://www.peruviantimes.com/heavy-rains-threaten-ancient-city-in-northern-peru/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chan_Chan		[i],[iii]	PE	6000000.0	Chan Chan Archaeological Zone	Peru	366	1986	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/366
51	Chartres Cathedral	48.4475	1.487222	The medieval Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), a Latin Rite Catholic cathedral located in Chartres, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples of the French High Gothic style. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1193 and 1250, is one of at least five that have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century. What makes the cathedral special from an art historical viewpoint is its exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires — one, a 105 metre (349 ft) plain pyramid dating from the 1140s, and the other a 113 metre (377 ft) tall early 16th century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great facades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives. Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for travellers - and remains so to this day, attracting large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the Sancta Camisa, said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists who come to see this Unesco World Heritage Site. As with any medieval bishopric, Chartres Cathedral was the most important building in the town - the centre of its economy, its most famous landmark and the focal point of many activities that in modern towns are provided for by specialised civic buildings. In the Middle Ages, the cathedral functioned as a kind of market-place, with different commercial activities centred around the different portals, particularly during the regular fairs. Textiles were sold around the north transept, while meat, vegetables and fuel sellers congregated around the south porch. Money-changers (an essential service at a time when each town or region had its own currency) had their benches, or banques, near the west portals and also in the nave itself. Wine sellers plied their trade in the nave, although occasional 13th century ordinances survive which record them being temporarily banished to the crypt to minimise disturbances. Workers of various professions gathered in particular locations around the cathedral awaiting offers of work. Although the town of Chartres was under the judicial and tax authority of the Counts of Blois, the area immediately surrounding the cathedral, known as the cloître, was in effect a free-trade zone governed by the church authorities, who were entitled to the taxes from all commercial activity taking place there. As well as greatly increasing the cathedral's income, throughout the 12th and 13th centuries this led to regular disputes, often violent, between the bishops, the chapter and the civic authorities - particularly when serfs belonging to the counts transferred their trade (and taxes) to the cathedral. In 1258, after a series of bloody riots instigated by the count's officials, the chapter finally gained permission from the King to seal off the area of the cloître and lock the gates each night. Even before the Gothic cathedral was built Chartres was a place of pilgrimage, albeit on a much smaller scale. During the Merovingian and early Carolingian eras, the main focus of devotion for pilgrims was a well (now located in the north side of Fulbert's crypt), known as the Puits des Saints-Forts, or the 'Well of the Strong Saints', into which it was believed the bodies of various local Early-Christian martyrs (including saints Piat, Cheron, Modesta and Potentianus) had been tossed. The widespread belief that the cathedral was also the site of a pre-Christian druidical sect who worshipped a 'Virgin who will give birth' is purely a late-medieval invention. In c.876 the cathedral acquired the Sancta Camisa, believed to be the tunic worn by the Blessed Virgin Mary at the time of Christ's birth. According to legend, the relic was given to the cathedral by Charlemagne who received it as a gift from Emperor Constantine VI during a crusade to Jerusalem, however this legend was pure fiction (Charlemagne never went to the Holy Land) - probably invented in the 11th century to authenticate some relics at the Abbey of St Denis. In fact, the relic was a gift to the cathedral from Charles the Bald and there is no evidence for its being an important object of pilgrimage prior to the 12th century. By the end of the 12th century however, the church had become one of the most important popular pilgrimage destinations in Europe. There were four great fairs which coincided with the main feast days of the Virgin: the Presentation, the Annunciation, the Assumption and the Nativity. The fairs were held in the area administered by the cathedral and were attended by many of the pilgrims in town to see the cloak of the Virgin. Specific pilgrimages were also held in response to outbreaks of disease. When ergotism (more popularly known in the Middle Ages as "St. Anthony's fire") afflicted many victims, the crypt of the original church became a hospital to care for the sick. Today, Chartres continues to attract large numbers of pilgrims, many of whom come to walk slowly around the labyrinth, their heads bowed in prayer - an entirely modern devotional practice but one which the Cathedral authorities accommodate by removing the chairs from the nave once a month. There have been at least five cathedrals on this site, each replacing an earlier building damaged by war or fire. Nothing survives of the earliest church, which was destroyed during an attack on the city by the Danes in 858. Of the Carolingian church that replaced it, all that remains is a semicircular chamber located directly below the centre of the present apse. This chamber, known as the Lubinus Crypt (named after the mid-6th century Bishop of Chartres), is lower than the rest of the crypt and may have been the shrine of a local saint, prior to the church's rededication to the Virgin. Another fire in 962 is mentioned in the annals, though nothing is known about the subsequent rebuilding. A more serious conflagration occurred in 1020, after which Bishop Fulbert (bishop from 1006 to 1028) began the construction of an entirely new building. Most of the present crypt, which is the largest in France, dates from that period. The rebuilding proceeded in phases over the next hundred years or so, culminating in 1145 in a display of public enthusiasm dubbed the "Cult of the Carts" - one of several such incidents recorded during the period. It was claimed that during this religious outburst a crowd of more than a thousand penitents dragged carts filled with building supplies and provisions including stones, wood, grain, etc. to the site. In 1134 another fire damaged the town, and perhaps part of the cathedral. The north tower was started immediately afterwards - the south tower some time later. Initially these towers were built as free-standing structures to the west of a central porch or narthex. The two towers were completed fairly quickly and, between them on the first level, a chapel constructed to Saint Michael. Traces of the vaults and the shafts which supported them are still visible in the western two bays. Although there are still arguments over the chronology and about the various changes in the design, it is generally accepted that a new western facade, incorporating the towers, was begun around 1145 - possibly coinciding with the 'Cult of the Carts' incident mentioned earlier. The stained glass in the three lancets over the portals date from some time between 1145 and 1155, while the south spire, some 103 meters high, was also completed by 1155. The sculpture of the Royal Portal was installed during this period, probably just before 1140. Opinion amongst art historians is still divided over whether all of this sculptural programme was originally intended for its present setting or for some other context - for example the sizes and styles of the figures vary and some elements, such as the lintel over the right hand portal, have clearly been cut down to fit the available spaces. Either way, most of the carving is of an exceptionally high standard for the period and exercised a strong influence on the subsequent development of gothic portal design. On 10 June 1194 another fire caused extensive damage to Fulbert's cathedral. The true extent of the damage is unknown, though the fact that the lead cames holding the west windows together survived the conflagration intact suggests contemporary accounts of the terrible devastation may have been exaggerated. Either way, the opportunity was taken to begin a complete rebuilding of the choir and nave in the latest style. The undamaged western towers and facade were incorporated into the new works, as was the earlier crypt, effectively limiting the designers of the new building to the same general plan as its predecessor. In fact the present building is only marginally longer than Fulbert's cathedral. One of the unusual features of Chartres cathedral is the speed with which it was built - a factor which helped contribute to its consistency of design as there appear to have been relatively few changes in plan as it proceeded. Australian architectural historian John James, who made a detailed study of the cathedral, has estimated that there were about 300 men working on the site at any one time, although it has to be acknowledged that our knowledge of working practices at this time is severely limited. The order of construction remains controversial. Normally medieval churches were built from east to west so that the choir could be completed first and put into use (with a temporary wall sealing off the west end) while the crossing and nave were completed. At Chartres however it appears that the building work started at the crossing and proceeded outwards from there, the eastern bays of the nave being the oldest and the ambulatory bays of the choir the newest parts. It had been argued that the original scheme was for an entirely new western facade but that plans were subsequently changed to incorporate the surviving west-work (which is why the westernmost bay of the nave is narrower than the rest) and the elements which had been prepared for its replacement were relocated to the south transept portal. It is important to remember that the builders were not working on a clean site but would have had to clear back the rubble and surviving parts of the old church as they built the new. Nevertheless, work progressed rapidly. The south porch with most of its sculpture was installed by 1210, and by 1215 the north porch had been completed and the western rose installed. The high vaults were erected in the 1220s, the canons moved into their new stalls in 1221, and the transept roses were erected over the subsequent two decades. Each arm of the transept was originally meant to support two towers, two more were to flank the choir, and there was to have been a central lantern over the crossing - nine towers in all. Plans for a crossing tower were abandoned in 1221 and the crossing was vaulted over. Work on the remaining six towers continued at a slower pace for some decades, until it was decided to leave them without spires (as at Laon Cathedral and elsewhere). The cathedral was consecrated in 1260, in the presence of King Louis IX. Compared with other medieval churches, relatively few changes have been made to the cathedral since its consecration. In 1323 a substantial two story construction was added at the eastern end of the choir, with a chapel dedicated to Saint Piat in the upper floor accessed by a staircase opening onto the ambulatory (the chapel of St Piat is normally closed to visitors, although it occasionally houses temporary exhibitions). The chamber below the chapel served the canons as their chapter house. Shortly after 1417 a small chapel was placed between the buttresses of the south nave for the Count of Vendôme. At the same time the small organ that had been built in the nave aisle was moved up into the triforium where it remains, though some time in the sixteenth century it was replaced with a larger one on a raised platform at the western end of the building. To this end some of the interior shafts in the western bay were removed and plans made to rebuild the organ there.[citation needed] In the event, this plan was abandoned, the glass in the western lancets was retained and the old organ was replaced with the present one. In 1506 lightning destroyed the north spire, which was rebuilt in the 'Flamboyant' style by local mason Jehan de Beauce (who also worked on the abbey church in Vendôme). It is 113 meters high and took seven years to construct. After its completion Jehan continued working on the cathedral, and began the monumental screen around the choir stalls, which was not completed until the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 1757 a number of changes were made to the interior to increase the visibility of the Mass, in accordance with changing religious customs. The jubé (choir screen) that separated the liturgical choir from the nave was torn down and the present stalls built (some of the magnificent sculpture from this screen was later found buried underneath the paving and preserved, though sadly is not on public display). At the same time some of the stained glass in the clerestory was removed and replaced with grisaille windows, greatly increasing the illumination of the High Altar. In 1836 the old lead-covered roof, with its complex structure of timber supports (known as 'the forest') was destroyed by fire. It was replaced with a copper-clad roof supported by a network of cast iron ribs, known as the Charpente de fer. At the time the framework over the crossing had the largest span of any iron framed construction in Europe. The cathedral has been fortunate in being spared the damage suffered by so many during the Wars of Religion and the Revolution, though the lead roof was removed to make bullets and the Directorate threatened to destroy the building as its upkeep, without a roof, had become too onerous. All the glass was removed just before the Germans invaded France in 1939, and was cleaned after the War and releaded. Since then the fabric has seen an almost continuious programme of cleaning and restoration. In recent years a major project has been underway to clean all the stone vaults of the choir and nave and repaint them in emulation of the thirteenth century polychromy. The cathedral is still the seat of the Bishop of Chartres of the Diocese of Chartres, though in the ecclesiastical province of Tours. The cathedral was damaged in the Revolution when a mob began to destroy the sculpture on the north porch. This is one of the few occasions on which the anti-religious fervour was stopped by the townfolk. The Revolutionary Committee decided to destroy the cathedral via explosives, and asked a local architect to organise it. He saved the building by pointing out that the vast amount of rubble from the demolished building would so clog the streets it would take years to clear away.[citation needed] However, when metal was needed for the army the brass plaque in the centre of the labyrinth was removed and melted down - our only record of what was on the plaque was Felibien's description. The Cathedral of Chartres was therefore neither destroyed nor looted during the French Revolution and the numerous restorations have not diminished its reputation as a triumph of Gothic art. The cathedral was added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. The plan is cruciform. A two bay narthex at the western end opens into a seven bay nave leading to the crossing, from which wide transepts extend three bays each to north and south. East of the crossing are four rectangular bays terminating in a semicircular apse. The nave and transepts are flanked by single aisles, broadening to a double-aisled ambulatory around the choir and apse (see plan). From the ambulatory radiate three deep semi-circular chapels (overlying the deep chapels of Fulbert's 11th-century crypt) and four much shallower ones. Of the latter, one was effectively lost in the 1320s when the Chapel of St Piat was built. The elevation of the nave is three-storied, with arcade, triforium and clerestory levels. By eschewing the gallery level that featured in most early Gothic cathedrals (normally between arcade and triforium), the designers were able to make the richly glazed arcade and clerestory levels larger and almost equal in height, with just a narrow dark triforium in between. Although not the first example of this three-part elevation, Chartres was perhaps the first of the great churches to make a success of it and to use the same design consistently throughout. The result was a far greater area of window openings. These windows were entirely glazed with densely coloured glass, which resulted in a relatively dark interior - but one which accentuated the richness of the glass and the coloured light that filtered through them. Increasing the size of the windows meant reducing the wall area considerably, something which was made possible only by the extensive use of flying buttresses on the outside. These buttresses supported the considerable lateral thrusts resulting from the 34m high stone vaults, higher and wider than any attempted before in France. These vaults were quadripartite, each bay split into four webs by two diagonally crossing ribs, unlike the sexpartite vaults adopted in many earlier Gothic cathedrals such as at Laon. Another architectural breakthrough at Chartres was a resolution to the problem of how to arrange attached columns or shafts around a pier in a way that worked aesthetically - but which also satisfied the desire for structural logic that characterised French high gothic. The nave at Chartres features alternating round and octagonal solid cored piers, each of which has four attached half-columns at the cardinal points, two of these (on the east-west axis) support the arches of the arcade, one acts as the springing for the aisle vault and one supports the cluster of shafts that rise through the triforium and clerestory to support the high-vault ribs. This pier design, known as pilier cantonné was to prove highly highly influential and subsequently featured in a number of other high gothic churches. Although the sculpture on the portals at Chartres is generally of a high standard, the various carved elements inside, such as the capitals and string courses, are relatively poorly finished (when compared for example with those at Reims or Soissons) - perhaps an indication that the masons knew how dark the interior was designed to be. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Chartres Cathedral is the extent to which architectural structure has been adapted to meet the needs of stained glass. The use of a three-part elevation with external buttressing allowed for far larger windows than earlier designs, particularly at the clerestory level. Most cathedrals of the period had a mixture of windows containing plain or grisaille glass and windows containing dense stained glass panels, with the result that the brightness of the former tended to diminish the impact and legibility of the latter. At Chartres, nearly all of the 176 windows were filled with equally dense stained glass, creating a relatively dark but richly coloured interior in which the light filtering through the myriad narrative and symbolic windows was the main source of illumination. The majority of the windows now visible at Chartres were made and installed between 1205 and 1240, however four lancets preserve panels of Romanesque glass from the 12th century which survived the fire of 1195. Three of these are located beneath the rose in the west facade; the Passion window to the south, the Infancy of Christ in the centre and a Tree of Jesse to the north. All three of these windows were originally made around 1145 but were restored in the early 13th century and again in the 19th. The other 12th century window, perhaps the most famous at Chartres is the so called Belle Verrière, found in the first bay of the choir after the south transept. This window is actually a composite; the upper part, showing the Virgin and child surrounded by adoring angels, dates from around 1180 and was probably position at the centre of the apse in the earlier building. The Virgin is depicted wearing a blue robe and sitting in a frontal pose on a throne, with the Christ Child seated on her lap raising his hand in blessing. This composition, known as the Sedes sapientia ('Throne of Wisdom'), which also appears on the Portail Royale, is based on the famous cult figure kept in the crypt. The lower part or the window, showing scenes from the Infancy of Christ dates from the main glazing campaign around 1225. Each bay of the aisles and the choir ambulatory contains one large lancet window, most of them roughly 8.1m high by 2.2m wide. The subjects depicted in these windows, made between 1205 and 1235, include stories from the Old and New Testament and the Lives of the Saints as well as typological cycles and symbolic images such as the signs of the zodiac and labours of the months. Most windows are made up of around 25-30 individual panels showing distinct episodes within the narrative - only the Belle Verrière (see above) includes a larger image made up of multiple panels. Several of the windows at Chartres include images of local tradesmen or labourers in the lowest two or three panels, often with fascinating details of their equipment and working methods. Traditionally it was claimed that these images represented the guilds of the donors who paid for the windows. In recent years however this view has largely been discounted, not least because each window would have cost around as much as a large mansion house to make - while most of the labourers depicted would have been subsistence workers with little or no disposable income. Furthermore, although they became powerful and wealthy organisations in the later medieval period, none of these trade guilds had actually been founded when the glass was being made in the early 13th century. A more likely explanation is that the Cathedral clergy wanted to emphasise the universal reach of the Church, particularly at a time when their relationship with the local community was often a troubled one. Because of their greater distance from the viewer, the windows in the clerestory generally adopt simpler, bolder designs. Most feature the standing figure of a saint or Apostle in the upper two-thirds, often with one or two simplified narrative scenes in the lower part, either to help identify the figure or else to remind the viewer of some key event in their life. Whereas the lower windows in the nave arcades and the ambulatory consist of one simple lancet per bay, the clerestory windows are each made up of a pair of lancets with a plate-traceried rose window above. The nave and transept clerestory windows mainly depict saints and Old Testament prophets. Those in the choir depict the kings of France and Castille and members of the local nobility in the straight bays, while the windows in the apse hemicycle show those Old Testament prophets who foresaw the virgin birth, flanking scenes of the Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity in the axial window. The cathedral has three large rose windows. The western rose, made c.1215 and 12m in diameter shows the Last Judgement - a traditional theme for west facades. A central oculus showing Christ as the Judge is surrounded by an inner ring of 12 paired roundels containing angels and the Elders of the Apocalypse and an outer ring of 12 roundels showing the dead emerging from their tombs and the angels blowing trumpets to summon them to judgement. The north transept rose (10.5m diameter, made c.1235), like much of the sculpture in the north porch beneath it, is dedicated to the Virgin. The central oculus shows the Virgin and Child and is surrounded by 12 small petal-shaped windows, 4 with doves (the 'Four Gifts of the Spirit'), the rest with adoring angels carrying candlesticks. Beyond this is a ring of 12 diamond-shaped openings containing the Old Testament Kings of Judah, another ring of smaller lozenges containing the arms of France and Castille, and finally a ring of semi-circles containing Old Testament Prophets holding scrolls. The presence of the arms of the French king (yellow fleurs-de-lis on a blue background) and of his mother, Blanche of Castile (yellow castles on a red background) are taken as a sign of royal patronage for this window. Beneath the rose itself are five tall lancet windows (7.5m high) showing, in the centre, the Virgin as an infant held by her mother, St Anne - the same subject as the trumeau in the portal beneath it. Flanking this lancet are four more containing Old Testament figures. Each of these standing figures is shown symbolically triumphing over an enemy depicted in the base of the lancet beneath them - David over Saul, Aaron over Pharaoh, St Anne over Synagoga, etc. The south transept rose (10.5m diameter, made c.1225-30) is dedicated to Christ, who is shown in the central oculus, right hand raised in benediction, surrounded by adoring angels. Two outer rings of twelve circles each contain the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, crowned and carrying phials and musical instruments. The central lancet beneath the rose shows the Virgin carrying the infant Christ. Either side of this are four lancets showing the four evangelists sitting on the shoulders of four Prophets - a rare literal illustration of the theological principle that the New Testament builds upon the Old Testament. This window was a donation of the Mauclerc family, the Counts of Dreux-Bretagne, who are depicted with their arms in the bases of the lancets. On the whole, Chartres' windows have been remarkably fortunate. The medieval glass largely escaped harm during the Huguenot iconoclasm and the religious wars of the 16th century although the west rose sustained damage from artillery fire in 1591. The relative darkness of the interior seems to have been a problem for some. A few windows were replaced with much lighter grisaille glass in the 14th century to improve illumination, particularly on the north side and several more were replaced with clear glass in 1753 as part of the reforms to liturgical practice that also led to the removal of the jubé. The installation of the Vendôme Chapel between two buttresses of the nave in the early 15th century resulted in the loss of one more lancet window, though it did allow for the insertion of a fine late-gothic window showing the donor (Louis de Bourbon) and his family with assorted saints witnessing the Coronation of the Virgin. Although estimates vary (depending on how one counts compound or grouped windows) approximately 152 of the original 176 stained glass windows survive - far more than any other medieval cathedral anywhere in the world. Like most medieval buildings, the windows at Chartres suffered badly from the corrosive effects of atmospheric acids during the Industrial Revolution and subsequently. The majority of windows were cleaned and restored by the famous local workshop Atelier Lorin at the end of the 19th century but they continued to deteriorate. During World War II most of the stained glass was removed from the cathedral and stored in the surrounding countryside to protect it from damage. At the close of the war the windows were taken out of storage and reinstalled. Since then an ongoing programme of conservation has been underway and isothermal secondary glazing is gradually been installed on the exterior to protect the windows from further damage. The cathedral has three great facades, each equipped with three portals, opening into the nave from the west and into the transepts from north and south. In each facade the central portal is particularly large and was only used for special ceremonies, while the smaller side portals allowed everyday access for the different communities that used the cathedral One of the few elements to survive from the mid-12th century church, the Portail Royale was integrated into the new cathedral built after the 1194 fire. Opening onto the parvis (the large square in front of the cathedral where markets were held), the two lateral doors would have been the first entry point for most visitors to Chartres, as it remains today. The central door was only opened for the entry of processions on major festivals, of which the most important was the Adventus or installation of a new bishop. The harmonious appearance of the facade results in part from the relative proportions of the central and lateral portals, whose widths are in the ratio 10:7 - one of the common medieval approximations of the square root of 2. As well as their basic functions of controlling access to the interior, portals were the main locations for sculpted images on the gothic cathedral and it was on the west facade at Chartres that this practice began to develop into a visual summa or encyclopedia of theological knowledge. The three portals each focus on a different aspect of Christ's role; his earthly incarnation on the right, his second coming on the left and his eternal aspect in the centre. Above the right portal, the lintel is carved in two registers with (lower) the Annunciation, Visitation, Nativity, Annunciation to the Shepherds and (upper) the Presentation in the Temple. Above this the tympanum shows the Virgin and Child enthroned in the Sedes sapientiae pose. Surrounding the tympanum, as a reminder of the glory days of the School of Chartres, the archivolts are carved with some very distinctive personifications of the Seven Liberal Arts as well as the classical authors and philosophers most associated with them. The left portal is more enigmatic and art historians still argue over the correct identification. The tympanum shows Christ standing on a cloud, apparently supported by two angels. Some see this as a depiction of the Ascension of Christ (in which case the figures on the lower lintel would represent the disciples witnessing the event) while others see it as representing the Parousia, or Second Coming of Christ (in which case the lintel figures could be either the prophets who foresaw that event or else the 'Men of Galilee' mentioned in Acts 1:9-11). The presence of angels in the uper lintel, descending from a cloud and apparently shouting to those below, would seem to support the latter interpretation. The archivolts contain the signs of the zodiac and the labours of the months - standard references to the cyclical nature of time which appear in many gothic portals. The central portal is a more conventional representation of the End of Time as described in the Book of Revelation. In the centre of the tympanum is Christ within a mandorla, surrounded by the four symbols of the evangelists (the Tetramorph). The lintel shows the Twelve Apostles while the archivolts show the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. Although the upper parts of the three portals are treated separately, two sculptural elements run horizontally across the facade, uniting its different parts. Most obvious are the jamb statues afixed to the columns flanking the doorways - tall, slender standing figures of kings and queens from whom the Portail Royale derived its name. Although in the 18th and 19th century these figures were mistakenly identified as the Merovingian monarchs of France (thus attracting the approprium of Revolutionary iconoclasts) they almost certainly represent the kings and queens of the Old Testament - another standard iconographical feature of gothic portals. Less obvious than the jamb statues but far more intricately carved is the frieze that stretches all across the facade in the sculpted capitals on top of the jamb columns. Carved into these capitals is a very lengthy narrative depicting the life of the Virgin and the life and Passion of Christ. In northern Europe it is common for the iconography on the north side of a church to focus on Old Testament themes, with stories from the lives of the saints and the Gospels being more prominent on the physically (and hence, spiritually) brighter southern side. Chartres is no exception to this general principle and the north transept portals, with their deep sheltering porches, concentrate on the precursors of Christ, leading up to the moment of his incarnation, with a particular emphasis on the Virgin Mary. The overall iconographical themes are clearly laid-out; the glorification of Mary in the centre, the incarnation of her son on the left and Old Testament prefigurations and prophecies on the right. One major exception to this scheme is the presence of large statues of St Modesta (a local martyr) and St Potentian on the north west corner of the porch, close to a small doorway where pilgrims visiting the crypt (where their relics were stored) would once have emerged blinking into the light. As well as the main sculptural areas around the portals themselves, the deep porches are filled with myriad other carvings depicting a range of subjects including local saints, Old Testament narratives, naturalistic foliage, fantastical beasts, Labours of the Months and personifications of the 'active and contemplative lives' (the vita activaand vita contemplativa). The personifications of the vita activa (directly overhead, just inside the inside of the left hand porch) are of particular interest for their meticulous depictions of the various stages in the preparation of flax - an important cash-crop in the area during the Middle Ages. If the north transept portals are all about the time leading up to Christ's incarnation and the west facade is about the events of his life and Passion, then the iconography of the south transept portals addresses the time from Christ's death until his Second Coming. The central portal concentrates on the Last Judgement and the Apostles, the left portal on the lives of martyrs and the right on confessor saints (an arrangement also reflected in the windows of the apse). Just like their northern counterparts, the south transept portals open into deep porches which greatly extend the space available for sculptural embellishment. A large number of subsidiary scenes depict conventional themes like the labours of the months and the signs of the zodiac, personifications of the virtues and vices and also further scenes from the lives of the martyrs (left porch) and confessors (right porch). In the Middle Ages the cathedral also functioned as an important cathedral school. In the early 11th century Bishop Fulbert established Chartres as one of the leading schools in Europe. Although the role of Fulbert himself as a scholar and teacher has been questioned, perhaps his greatest talent was as an administrator, who established the conditions in which the school could flourish, as well as laying the foundations for the rebuilding of the cathedral after the fire of 1020. Great scholars were attracted to the cathedral school, including Thierry of Chartres, William of Conches and the Englishman John of Salisbury. These men were at the forefront of the intense intellectual rethinking that culminated in what is now known as the twelfth-century renaissance, pioneering the Scholastic philosophy that came to dominate medieval thinking throughout Europe. By the early 12th century the status of the School of Chartres was on the wane. It was gradually eclipsed by the newly emerging University of Paris, particularly at the School of the Abbey of St Victoire (the 'Victorines'). By the middle of the century the importance of Chartres Cathedral had begun to shift away from education and towards pilgrimage, a changing emphasis reflected in the subsequent architectural developments. Orson Welles famously used Chartres as a visual backdrop and inspiration for a montage sequence in his film F For Fake. Welles’ semi-autographical verse spoke to the power of art in culture and how the work itself may be more important than the identity of its creators. Feeling that the beauty of Chartres and its unknown artisans/architects epitomized this sentiment, Welles, standing outside the cathedral and looking at it, eulogizes: Joseph Campbell references his spiritual experience in The Power of Myth: In the film Two for the Road, Mark Wallace (played by Albert Finney) says to his wife, Jo (Audrey Hepburn): Joris-Karl Huysmans includes detailed interpretation of the symbolism underlying the art of Chartres Cathedral in his 1898 semi-autobiographical novel La Cathédrale. Chartres was the primary basis for the fictional Cathedral in David Macaulay's Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction and the animated special based on this book. Chartres was a major character in the religious thriller Gospel Truths by J. G. Sandom. The book used the Cathedral's architecture and history as clues in the search for a lost Gospel. The cathedral is featured in the television travel series The Naked Pilgrim; presenter Brian Sewell explores the cathedral and discusses its famous relic - the nativity cloak said to have been worn by the Virgin Mary. Restoration of the west portal is underway and, according to a local billboard, will continue until summer 2011. One of the attractions at the Chartres Cathedral is the Chartres Light Celebration, where not only is the Cathedral lit, but so are many buildings throughout the town. It is to celebrate the success of light-making in this town. Coordinates: 48°26′50″N 1°29′16″E / 48.44722°N 1.48778°E / 48.44722; 1.48778	Department of Eure-et-Loire, Centre Region	cultural		Department of Eure-et-Loire, Centre Region		[University of Pittsburgh photo collection|http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?c=chartres&page=index]#[Chartres Cathedral at Sacred Destinations|http://sacred-destinations.com/france/chartres-cathedral]#[Details of the Zodiac and other Chartres Windows|http://www.paradoxplace.com/Photo%20Pages/France/Chartres/Zodiac_Window/Chartres_Zodiacs.htm]#[Chartres Cathedral on the Corpus of Medieval Narrative Art|http://www.medievalart.org.uk/Chartres/Chartres_default.htm]#[Description of the outer portals|http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/chartreswest/centralportal.html]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartres_Cathedral		[i],[ii],[iv]	FR	10600.0	Chartres Cathedral	France	81	1979	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/81
52	Chavin (Archaeological Site)	-9.592773	-77.178454	Coordinates: 9°35′33.99″S 77°10′42.43″W / 9.592775°S 77.1784528°W / -9.592775; -77.1784528 Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological site containing ruins and artifacts constructed beginning at least by 1200 BCE and occupied by later cultures until around 400-500 BCE by the Chavín, a major pre-Inca culture. The site is located 250 kilometers (160 mi) north of Lima, Peru, at an elevation of 3,180 meters (10,430 ft), east of the Cordillera Blanca at the start of the Conchucos Valley. Chavín de Huántar has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Some of the Chavín relics from this archaeological site are on display in the Museo de la Naciónin Lima and the Museo Nacional de Chavín in Chavin itself. Occupation at Chavín de Huántar has been carbon dated to at least 3000 BCE, with ceremonial center activity occurring primarily toward the end of the second millennium, and through the middle of the first millennium BCE. While the fairly large population was based on an agricultural economy, the city's location at the headwaters of the Marañón River, between the coast and the jungle, made it an ideal location for the dissemination and collection of both ideas and material goods. This archeological site is a large ceremonial center that has revealed a great deal about the Chavín culture. Chavín de Huántar served as a gathering place for people of the region to come together and worship. The transformation of the center into a valley-dominating monument had a complex effect; it became a pan-regional place of importance. People went to Chavin de Huantar as a center: to attend and participate in rituals, consult an oracle, or enter a cult. Findings at Chavín de Huántar indicate that social instability and upheaval began to occur between 500 and 300 BCE, at the same time that the larger Chavín civilization began to decline. Large ceremonial sites were abandoned, some unfinished, and were replaced by villages and agricultural land. At Chavín de Huántar, no later than 500 BCE, a small village replaced the Circular Plaza. The plaza was occupied by a succession of cultural groups, and residents salvaged building stones and stone carvings to use in house walls. Multiple occupation floors indicate the village was continuously occupied through the 1940s. The Chavin civilization was centered on the site of Chavin de Huantar, the religious center of the Chavin people. The temple is a massive flat-topped pyramid surrounded by lower platforms. It is a U-shaped plaza with a sunken circular court in the center. The inside of the temple walls are decorated with sculptures and carvings. Chavin de Huantar was constructed over many stages starting prior to 1200 BCE, with most major construction over by 750 BCE. The site continued in use as a ceremonial center until around 500 BCE, but prior to 400 BCE its primary religious function had ceased, and the site was occupied by casual residents of the highly distinct cultural tradition, Huaraz. During its heyday, Chavin de Hunatar was used as a religious center for ceremonies and events, perhaps a home for an oracle. The site contains a number of major structures, including Temples A, B, C and D, and areas and buildings designated as the Major Plaza, the Circular Plaza, the Old Temple and New Temple, although the latter two designations are no longer accurate in light of recent research advances. The architectural design of Chavín de Huántar changed over time as an old temple development was added to with a new temple. Changes were more complex than in one stage of renovation. Smaller renovations happened consistently over the Chavín horizon ending by about 500 BCE when the new temple was completed. With the simpler design of the old temple, Chavín de Huántar followed the U-shaped ceremonial center design accompanied by a sunken circular plaza. After the new temple was complete, Chavín de Huántar still embodied a U-shaped ceremonial center design. The renovations enlarged the site considerably and added a larger sunken rectangular plaza. The main objective of the renovations appears to be based on enabling more people to gather in one place, as the site in general expanded. Excavation of burial sites gave evidence of a small elite class whose tombs contained elaborate burial goods, consisting of precious metals, colorful textiles, and other valuables. Most burials were simpler, with bodies interred in shallow pits with cotton clothing and a simple tool kit. Local style in art and decoration included scrolls, simple curves, straight lines, and images of wild animals. Chavín sculpture is usually of white granite and black limestone. Carved stone mortars and pestles, conch-shell trumpets, bone tubes and spatulas, and metal spatulas and spoons were found decorated in Chavín style as were various textiles including tapestries. Pottery was found in a wide variety of forms, including bottles and bowls, decorated with a wider range of distinctive elements. This site holds a large amount of geographical and religious significance which may be one of the reasons why the location was used as a large ceremonial center and a center of power for the Chavín culture. Chavín de Huántar is located north of modern day Lima at the merging of two rivers: the Mosna river and the Huanchecsa river. As a result this site allows for easy transportation and, at the same time, limited access to outsiders. Chavín de Huántar itself is located on a lowland valley where the two rivers merge and high altitude valleys are located nearby. Consequently, the people at Chavín de Huántar were able to cultivate lowland crops such as maize and high altitude crops such as potatoes. The people were also domesticating llamas in the high altitude areas for food and as a means to carrying heavy loads on the steep slopes of the hills. The religious significance of Chavín de Huántar depends upon the geography of the site. The merging of two large rivers has shown religious significance in past cultures, and thus it makes sense that the location of Chavín de Huántar was utilized as a religious ceremonial center. The convergence of two rivers is referred to as tinkuy, which can be defined as the harmonious meeting of opposing forces. It has been suggested that Chavin de Huantar served as the meeting place of the natural and cosmic forces The area is known to have natural hot springs as well as an awe-inspiring view of the Huantsan peak which could both add to religious significance of the site. Beginning in 2004, Global Heritage Fund (GHF) began conservation work at this UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to GHF, their work has involved:	Ancash Department, Huari Province, Chavin District	cultural		Ancash Department, Huari Province, Chavin District		[Chavin de Huantar: Organ World's largest and oldest?|http://www.santosjaimes.org/Chavineng.html]#[Exploring Chavín de Huántar|http://www.stanford.edu/~johnrick/chavin_wrap/chavin/]#[Chavín de Huántar Digital Media Archive|http://archive.cyark.org/chavin-de-huantar-info]#[Chavín de Huántar project summary|http://globalheritagefund.org/what_we_do/overview/current_projects/chavin_de_huantar_peru]#[Explore Chavín de Huántar|http://ghn.globalheritagefund.org/?id=3]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav%25C3%25ADn_de_Huantar		[iii]	PE		Chavin (Archaeological Site)	Peru	330	1985	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/330
53	Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with	45.465889	9.1705	Santa Maria delle Grazie ("Holy Mary of Grace") is a church and Dominican convent in Milan, northern Italy, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list. The church contains the mural of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci, which is in the refectory of the convent. The Duke of Milan Francesco I Sforza ordered the building of a Dominican convent and a church in the place where a small chapel dedicated to St. Mary of the Graces was. The main architect was Guiniforte Solari, the convent was completed by 1469 while the church took more time. The new duke Ludovico Sforza decided to have the church as the Sforza family burial place and rebuild the cloister and the apse which were completed after 1490. Ludovico's wife Beatrice was buried in the church in 1497. The apse of the church is widely believed to be by Donato Bramante. However, there's no real evidence of the fact, but that Bramante lived in Milan at the time, and he is once quoted in the acts of the church (a marble delivery in 1494). He continued the gothic style from the first part, but mixed with Romanesque influence. In 1543, the Holy Crown chapel received a painting by Titian, The Crowning with Thorns. This was carried away by French troops in 1797, after their conquest of Milan. During World War II, the night of 15 August 1943, bombs dropped by British and American planes hit the church and the convent. Much of the refectory was destroyed, but some walls survived, including the one that holds the Last Supper, which had been sand-bagged for protection. Coordinates: 45°27′57″N 9°10′16″E / 45.46583°N 9.17111°E / 45.46583; 9.17111	Province of Milano, Lombardy	cultural		Province of Milano, Lombardy		[Official website (English version)|http://www.cenacolovinciano.net]#[Leonardo's Last Supper: QTVR|http://milan.arounder.com/da_vinci_last_supper/fullscreen.html]#[360degree panorama inside the church|http://milan.arounder.com/da_vinci_last_supper/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Maria_delle_Grazie_(Milan)		[i],[ii]	IT	15000.0	Church and Dominican Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie with	Italy	93	1980	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/93
54	Historic Centre of Telč	49.18333	15.45	Telč (Czech pronunciation: [tɛltʃ]; German: Teltsch) is a town in southern Moravia, near Jihlava, in the Czech Republic. The town was founded in 13th century as a royal water fort on the crossroads of busy merchant routes between Bohemia, Moravia and Austria. Besides the monumental 17th century Renaissance chateau with an English-style park (a rebuilding of original Gothic castle), the most significant sight is the town square, a unique complex of long urban plaza with well-conserved Renaissance and Baroque houses with high gables and arcades; since 1992 all of this has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Gothic castle was built in the second half of the 14th century. At the end of the 15th century the castle fortifications were strengthened and a new gate-tower built. In the middle of the 16th century the medieval castle no longer satisfied Renaissance nobleman Zachariáš of Hradec, who had the castle altered in the Renaissance style. The ground floor was vaulted anew, the facade decorated with sgraffito, and the state apartments and living quarters received stucco ornamentation together with trompe l'oeil paintings and chiaroscuro in 1553. The counter-reformation brought the Jesuits to the town, who built the church, Name of Jesus, in 1666-1667, according to the plans of Domenico Orsi. The column of the Virgin and the fountain in the centre of the square date from the 18th century. Prior to the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia after World War II, Telč had, as did its neighbor Jihlava, a principally German-speaking population. In 1979 Werner Herzog filmed the movie Woyzeck in Telč.	Vysocina Region	cultural		Vysocina Region		[Municipal website (in Czech, German, English and French)|http://www.telc-etc.cz/telc/]#[Telc|http://www.discoverczech.com/telc/index.php4]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel%25C4%258D		[i],[iv]	CZ	360000.0	Historic Centre of Telč	Czech Republic	621	1992	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/621
55	Churches of Moldavia	47.778333	25.712778	The painted churches of northern Moldavia are seven Romanian Orthodox churches in Suceava County, Romania in northern Moldavia, built approximately between 1487 and 1532. Since 1993, they have been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Church of the Resurrection Suceviţa Monastery was added to the site in 2010. Other remarkable churches in the area are:	N47 46 42 E25 42 46	cultural		N47 46 42 E25 42 46		[Churches of Moldavia|http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/598]#[Cultural Heritage and Religious Tourism in Bucovina and Moldavia|http://www.centruldepelerinaj.ro/index.php?&lang=en]#[The Painted Wonders of Bucovina|http://www.romanianmonasteries.org/allchurches.html]#[Monasteries of Bucovina|http://www.manastiri-bucovina.go.ro/bukovina.htm]#[Ten Wonders of Bucovina|http://www.rounite.com/2008/06/26/bucovina-monasteries/]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_churches_of_northern_Moldavia		[i],[iv]	RO		Churches of Moldavia	Romania	598	2010	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/598
56	Venice and its Lagoon	45.434306	12.338944	Venice (Italian: Venezia [veˈnɛttsja]  (listen), Venetian: Venesia) is a city in northern Italy known both for tourism and for industry, and is the capital of the region Veneto, with a population of about 272,000 (census estimate 1 January 2004). Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area (population 1,600,000). The name is derived from the ancient tribe of Veneti that inhabited the region in Roman times. The city historically was the capital of an independent city-state. Venice has been known as the "La Dominante", "Serenissima", "Queen of the Adriatic", "City of Water", "City of Masks", "City of Bridges", "The Floating City", and "City of Canals". Luigi Barzini, writing in The New York Times, described it as "undoubtedly the most beautiful city built by man". Venice has also been described by the Times Online as being one of Europe's most romantic cities. The city stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy. The saltwater lagoon stretches along the shoreline between the mouths of the Po (south) and the Piave (north) Rivers. The population estimate of 272,000 inhabitants includes the population of the whole Comune of Venezia; around 60,000 in the historic city of Venice (Centro storico); 176,000 in Terraferma (the Mainland), mostly in the large frazioni of Mestre and Marghera; and 31,000 live on other islands in the lagoon. The Republic of Venice was a major maritime power during the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and a staging area for the Crusades and the Battle of Lepanto, as well as a very important center of commerce (especially silk, grain and spice trade) and art in the 13th century up to the end of the 17th century. This made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period. Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. While there are no historical records that deal directly with the obscure and peripheral origins of Venice, tradition and the available evidence have led several historians to agree that the original population of Venice consisted of refugees from Roman cities near Venice such as Padua, Aquileia, Treviso, Altino and Concordia (modern Portogruaro) and from the undefended countryside, who were fleeing successive waves of Germanic invasions and Huns. Some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae ("lagoon dwellers"). The traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Jacopo at the islet of Rialto (Rivoalto, "High Shore"), given a conventional date of 421. The last and most enduring irruption in the north of the Italian peninsula, was that of the Lombards in 568, leaving the Eastern Roman Empire a small strip of coast in the current Veneto, and the main administrative and religious entities were therefore transferred to this remaining dominion, centered upon the Exarchate of Ravenna, the local representative of the Emperor in the East. The Venetian tradition of the islanders' aid to Belisarius was reported in early histories to explain the largely theoretical link to Ravenna, and to the Eastern Emperor. New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, dated from c. 568. The Venetians offered asylum to the Exarch Paul, who was in flight from the Lombard Liutprand. Byzantine domination of central and northern Italy was subsequently largely eliminated by the conquest of the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751 by Aistulf. During this period, the seat of the local Byzantine governor (the "duke/dux", later "doge") was situated in Malamocco. Settlement on the islands in the lagoon probably increased in correspondence with the Lombard conquest of the Byzantine territories. Sometime in the first decades of the eighth century, the people of the lagoon elected their first leader Ursus, who was confirmed by Byzantium and given the titles of hypatus and dux. He was the first historical Doge of Venice. In 775-76, the bishopric seat of Olivolo (Helipolis) was created. During the reign of duke Agnello Particiaco (811-827) the ducal seat was moved from Malamocco to the highly protected Rialto, the current location of Venice. The monastery of St. Zachary and the first ducal palace and basilica of St. Mark, as well as a walled defense (civitatis murus) between Olivolo and Rialto were subsequently built here. Winged lions which may be seen in Venice are a symbol for St. Mark. In 810, an agreement between Charlemagne and Nicephorus recognized Venice as Byzantine territory and recognized the city's trading rights along the Adriatic coast, where Charlemagne had previously ordered the pope to expel the Venetians from the Pentapolis. In 828, the new city's prestige was raised by the acquisition of the claimed relics of St. Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, which were placed in the new basilica. The patriarchal seat was also moved to Rialto. As the community continued to develop and as Byzantine power waned, it led to the growth of autonomy and eventual independence. From the ninth to the twelfth century Venice developed into a city state (an Italian thalassocracy or Repubblica Marinara, the other three being Genoa, Pisa, and Amalfi). Its strategic position at the head of the Adriatic made Venetian naval and commercial power almost invulnerable. With the elimination of pirates along the Dalmatian coast, the city became a flourishing trade center between Western Europe and the rest of the world (especially the Byzantine Empire and the Islamic world). In the 12th century the foundations of Venice's power were laid: the Venetian Arsenal was under construction in 1104; the last autocratic doge, Vital II Michele, died in 1172. The Republic of Venice seized a number of places on the eastern shores of the Adriatic before 1200, mostly for commercial reasons, because pirates based there were a menace to trade. The Doge already carried the titles of Duke of Dalmatia and Duke of Istria. Later mainland possessions, which extended across Lake Garda as far west as the Adda River, were known as the "Terraferma", and were acquired partly as a buffer against belligerent neighbours, partly to guarantee Alpine trade routes, and partly to ensure the supply of mainland wheat, on which the city depended. In building its maritime commercial empire, the Republic dominated the trade in salt, acquired control of most of the islands in the Aegean, including Cyprus and Crete, and became a major power-broker in the Near East. By the standards of the time, Venice's stewardship of its mainland territories was relatively enlightened and the citizens of such towns as Bergamo, Brescia and Verona rallied to the defence of Venetian sovereignty when it was threatened by invaders. Venice remained closely associated with Constantinople, being twice granted trading privileges in the Eastern Roman Empire, through the so called Golden Bulls or 'chrysobulls' in return for aiding the Eastern Empire to resist Norman and Turkish incursions. In the first chrysobull Venice acknowledged its homage to the Empire but not in the second, reflecting the decline of Byzantium and the rise of Venice's power. Venice became an imperial power following the Venetian-financed Fourth Crusade, which in 1204 seized and sacked Constantinople and established the Latin Empire. As a result of this conquest considerable Byzantine plunder was brought back to Venice. This plunder included the gilt bronze horses from the Hippodrome of Constantinople which were originally placed above the entrance to St Mark's cathedral in Venice, although the originals have been replaced with replicas and the originals are now stored within the basilica. Following the fall of Constantinople the former Roman Empire was partitioned among the Latin crusaders and the Venetians. Venice subsequently carved out a sphere of influence in the Mediterranean known as the Duchy of the Archipelago, and seized Crete. The seizure of Constantinople would ultimately prove as decisive a factor in ending the Byzantine Empire as the loss of the Anatolian themes after Manzikert. Though the Byzantines recovered control of the ravaged city a half century later, the Byzantine Empire was terminally weakened, and existed as a ghost of its old self until Sultan Mehmet The Conqueror took the city in 1453. Situated on the Adriatic Sea, Venice always traded with the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world extensively. By the late thirteenth century, Venice was the most prosperous city in all of Europe. At the peak of its power and wealth, it had 36,000 sailors operating 3,300 ships, dominating Mediterranean commerce. During this time, Venice's leading families vied with each other to build the grandest palaces and support the work of the greatest and most talented artists. The city was governed by the Great Council, which was made up of members of the noble families of Venice. The Great Council appointed all public officials and elected a Senate of 200 to 300 individuals. Since this group was too large for efficient administration, a Council of Ten (also called the Ducal Council or the Signoria), controlled much of the administration of the city. One member of the great council was elected "Doge", or duke, the ceremonial head of the city, who normally held the title until his death. The Venetian governmental structure was similar in some ways to the republican system of ancient Rome, with an elected chief executive (the Doge), a senate-like assembly of nobles, and a mass of citizens with limited political power, who originally had the power to grant or withhold their approval of each newly elected Doge. Church and various private properties were tied to military service, though there was no knight tenure within the city itself. The Cavalieri di San Marco was the only order of chivalry ever instituted in Venice, and no citizen could accept or join a foreign order without the government's consent. Venice remained a republic throughout its independent period and politics and the military were kept separate, except when on occasion the Doge personally headed the military. War was regarded as a continuation of commerce by other means (hence, the city's early production of large numbers of mercenaries for service elsewhere, and later its reliance on foreign mercenaries when the ruling class was preoccupied with commerce). The chief executive was the Doge, who theoretically held his elective office for life. In practice, several Doges were forced by pressure from their oligarchical peers to resign the office and retire into monastic seclusion when they were felt to have been discredited by perceived political failure. Though the people of Venice generally remained orthodox Roman Catholics, the state of Venice was notable for its freedom from religious fanaticism and it enacted not a single execution for religious heresy during the Counter-Reformation. This apparent lack of zeal contributed to Venice's frequent conflicts with the Papacy. In this context, the writings of the Anglican Divine, William Bedell, are particularly illuminating. Venice was threatened with the interdict on a number of occasions and twice suffered its imposition. The second, most famous, occasion in 1606, by order of Pope Paul V. Venetian ambassadors sent home still-extant secret reports of the politics and rumours of European courts, providing fascinating information to modern historians. The newly invented German printing press spread rapidly throughout Europe in the fifteenth century, and Venice was quick to adopt it. By 1482 Venice was the printing capital of the world, and the leading printer was Aldus Manutius, who invented the concept of paperback books that could be carried in a saddlebag. His Aldine Editions included translations of nearly all the known Greek manuscripts of the era. Venice's long decline started in the 15th century, when it first made an unsuccessful attempt to hold Thessalonica against the Ottomans (1423–1430). It also sent ships to help defend Constantinople against the besieging Turks (1453). After the city fell to Sultan Mehmet II he declared war on Venice. The war lasted thirty years and cost Venice much of her eastern Mediterranean possessions. Next, Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. Then Portugal found a sea route to India, destroying Venice’s land route monopoly. France, England and Holland followed them. Venice’s oared galleys had no advantage when it came to traversing the great oceans. She was left behind in the race for colonies. The Black Death devastated Venice in 1348 and once again between 1575 and 1577. In three years the plague killed some 50,000 people. In 1630, the plague killed a third of Venice's 150,000 citizens. Venice began to lose its position as a center of international trade during the later part of the Renaissance as Portugal became Europe's principal intermediary in the trade with the East, striking at the very foundation of Venice's great wealth, while France and Spain fought for hegemony over Italy in the Italian Wars, marginalising its political influence. However, the Venetian empire was a major exporter of agricultural products and, until the mid-18th century, a significant manufacturing center. By 1303, crossbow practice had become compulsory in the city, with citizens training in groups. As weapons became more expensive and complex to operate, professional soldiers were assigned to help work merchant sailing ships and as rowers in galleys. The company of "Noble Bowmen" was recruited in the later 14th century from among the younger aristocracy and served aboard both war-galleys and as armed merchantmen, with the privilege of sharing the captain's cabin. Though Venice was famous for its navy, its army was equally effective. In the 13th century, most Italian city states already were hiring mercenaries, but Venetian troops were still recruited from the lagoon, plus feudal levies from Dalmatia (the very famous Schiavoni or Oltremarini) and Istria. In times of emergency, all males between seventeen and sixty years were registered and their weapons were surveyed, with those called to actually fight being organized into companies of twelve. The register of 1338 estimated that 30,000 Venetian men were capable of bearing arms; many of these were skilled crossbowmen. As in other Italian cities, aristocrats and other wealthy men were cavalrymen while the city's conscripts fought as infantry. By 1450, more than 3,000 Venetian merchant ships were in operation. Most of these could be converted when necessary into either warships or transports. The government required each merchant ship to carry a specified number of weapons (mostly crossbows and javelins) and armour; merchant passengers were also expected to be armed and to fight when necessary. A reserve of some 25 (later 100) war-galleys was maintained in the Arsenal. Galley slaves did not exist in medieval Venice, the oarsmen coming from the city itself or from its possessions, especially Dalmatia. Those from the city were chosen by lot from each parish, their families being supported by the remainder of the parish while the rowers were away. Debtors generally worked off their obligations rowing the galleys. Rowing skills were encouraged through races and regattas. Early in the 15th century, as new mainland territories were expanded, the first standing army was organized, consisting of condottieri on contract. In its alliance with Florence in 1426, Venice agreed to supply 8,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry in time of war, and 3,000 and 1,000 in peacetime. Later in that century, uniforms were adopted that featured red-and-white stripes, and a system of honors and pensions developed. Throughout the 15th century, Venetian land forces were almost always on the offensive and were regarded as the most effective in Italy, largely because of the tradition of all classes carrying arms in defense of the city and official encouragement of general military training. The command structure in the army was different from that of the fleet. By ancient law, no nobleman could command more than twenty-five men (to prevent the possibility of sedition by private armies), and while the position of Captain General was introduced in the mid-14th century, he still had to answer to a civilian panel of twenty Savi or "wise men". Not only was efficiency not degraded, this policy saved Venice from the military takeovers that other Italian city states so often experienced. A civilian commissioner (not unlike a commissar) accompanied each army to keep an eye on things, especially the mercenaries. The Venetian military tradition also was notably cautious; they were more interested in achieving success with a minimum expense of lives and money than in the pursuit of glory. After 1100 years, the Republic lost independence when Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice on 12 May 1797 during the First Coalition. The French conqueror brought to an end the most fascinating century of its history: during the 18th century Venice became perhaps the most elegant and refined city in Europe, greatly influencing art, architecture and literature. Napoleon was seen as something of a liberator by the city's Jewish population, although it can be argued they had lived with fewer restrictions in Venice. He removed the gates of the Ghetto and ended the restrictions on when and where Jews could live and travel in the city. Venice became Austrian territory when Napoleon signed the Treaty of Campo Formio on 12 October 1797. The Austrians took control of the city on 18 January 1798. It was taken from Austria by the Treaty of Pressburg in 1805 and became part of Napoleon's Kingdom of Italy, but was returned to Austria following Napoleon's defeat in 1814, when it became part of the Austrian-held Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia. In 1848-1849 a revolt briefly reestablished the Venetian Republic under Daniele Manin. In 1866, following the Third Italian War of Independence, Venice, along with the rest of the Veneto, became part of the newly created Kingdom of Italy. During the Second World War, the historic city was largely free from attack, the only aggressive effort of note being Operation Bowler, a precision strike on the German naval operations there in 1945. However the industrial areas in Mestre and Marghera and the railway lines to Padua, Trieste and Trento were repeatedly bombed. On 29 April 1945 New Zealand troops under Freyberg reached Venice and relieved the city and the mainland, which were already in partisan hands. The city is divided into six areas or "sestiere". These are Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro (including the Giudecca and Isola Sacca Fisola), Santa Croce, San Marco (including San Giorgio Maggiore) and Castello (including San Pietro di Castello and Sant'Elena). Each sestiere was administered by a procurator and his staff. These districts consist of parishes — initially seventy in 1033, but reduced under Napoleon and now numbering just thirty-eight. These parishes predate the sestieri, which were created in about 1170. Other islands of the Venetian Lagoon do not form part of any of the sestieri, having historically enjoyed a considerable degree of autonomy. Each sestiere has its own house numbering system. Each house has a unique number in the district, from one to several thousand, generally numbered from one corner of the area to another, but not usually in a readily understandable manner. At the front of the Gondolas that work in the city there is a large piece of metal intended as a likeness of the Doge's hat. On this sit six notches pointing forwards and one pointing backwards. Each of these represent one of the Sestieri (the one which points backwards represents the Giudecca).[citation needed] The buildings of Venice are constructed on closely spaced wood piles, which were imported from the mainland. (Under water, in the absence of oxygen, wood does not decay. It is petrified as a result of the constant flow of mineral-rich water around and through it, so that it becomes a stone-like structure.) The piles penetrate a softer layer of sand and mud until they reach the much harder layer of compressed clay. Wood for piles was cut in the most western part of today's Slovenia, resulting in the barren land in a region today called Kras, and in two regions of Croatia, Lika and Gorski kotar (resulting in the barren slopes of Velebit). Most of these piles are still intact after centuries of submersion. The foundations rest on the piles, and buildings of brick or stone sit above these footings. The buildings are often threatened by flood tides pushing in from the Adriatic between autumn and early spring. Six hundred years ago, Venetians protected themselves from land-based attacks by diverting all the major rivers flowing into the lagoon and thus preventing sediment from filling the area around the city. This created an ever-deeper lagoon environment. During the 20th century, when many artesian wells were sunk into the periphery of the lagoon to draw water for local industry, Venice began to subside. It was realised that extraction of the aquifer was the cause. This sinking process has slowed markedly since artesian wells were banned in the 1960s. However, the city is still threatened by more frequent low-level floods (called Acqua alta, "high water") that creep to a height of several centimetres over its quays, regularly following certain tides. In many old houses the former staircases used by people to unload goods are now flooded, rendering the former ground floor uninhabitable. Some recent studies have suggested that the city is no longer sinking, but this is not yet certain; therefore, a state of alert has not been revoked. In May 2003 the Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi inaugurated the MOSE project (Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico), an experimental model for evaluating the performance of inflatable gates; the idea is to lay a series of 79 inflatable pontoons across the sea bed at the three entrances to the lagoon. When tides are predicted to rise above 110 centimetres, the pontoons will be filled with air and block the incoming water from the Adriatic Sea. This engineering work is due to be completed by 2011. In 1604, to defray the cost of flood relief Venice introduced what could be considered the first example of what became elsewhere a 'stamp tax'. When the revenue fell short of expectations in 1608 Venice introduced paper with the superscription 'AQ' and imprinted instructions which was to be used for 'letters to officials'. Initially this was to be a temporary tax but in fact remained in effect to the fall of the Republic in 1797. Shortly after the introduction of the tax Spain produced similar paper for more general taxation purposes and the practice spread to other countries. According to the Köppen climate classification, Venice has a Humid subtropical climate (Cfa), with cool winters and very warm summers. The 24-hour average in January is 2.5 °C (36.5 °F), and for July this figure is 22.7 °C (72.9 °F). Precipitation is spread relatively evenly throughout the year, and averages 801 millimetres (31.5 in). Venice's economy has changed throughout history. In the Middle-Ages and the Renaissance, Venice was a major centre for commerce and trade, as it controlled a vast sea-empire, and became an extremely wealthy European city, a leader in political and economic affairs and a centre for trade and commerce. This all changed by the 17th century, when Venice's trade empire was taken over by other countries such as Portugal, and its naval importance was reduced. In the 18th century, then, it became a major agricultural and industrial exporter. The 18th century's biggest industrial complex was the Venice Arsenal, and the Italian Army still uses it today (even though some space has been used for major theatrical and cultural productions, and beautiful spaces for art). Today, Venice's economy is mainly based on tourism, shipbuilding (mainly done in the neighbouring cities of Mestre and Porto Marghera), services, trade and industrial exports.Murano glass production in Murano and lace production in Burano are also highly important to the economy. Venice is one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, due to the city being one of the world's greatest and most beautiful cities of art. The city has an average of 50,000 tourists a day (2007 estimate). In 2006, it was the world's 28th most internationally visited city, with 2.927 million international arrivals that year. Tourism has been a major sector of Venetian industry since the 18th century, when it was a major centre for the grand tour, due to its beautiful cityscape, uniqueness and rich musical and artistic cultural heritage. In the 19th century, it became a fashionable centre for the rich and famous, often staying or dining at luxury establishments such as the Danieli Hotel and the Caffè Florian. It continued being a fashionable city in vogue right into the early 20th century. In the 1980s, the Carnival of Venice was revived and the city has become a major centre of international conferences and festivals, such as the prestigious Venice Biennale and the Venice Film Festival, which attract visitors from all over the world for their theatrical, cultural, cinematic, artistic and musical productions Today there are numerous attractions in Venice, such as St Mark's Basilica, the Grand Canal, and the Piazza San Marco, to name a few. The Lido di Venezia is also a popular international luxury destination, attracting thousands of actors, critics, celebrities and mainly people in the cinematic industry. However, Venice's popularity as a major worldwide tourist destination has caused several problems, including the fact that the city can be very overcrowded at some points of the year. It is regarded by some as a tourist trap, and by others as a 'living museum'. Unlike most other places in Western Europe, and the world, Venice has become widely known for its element of elegant decay. The competition for foreigners to buy homes in Venice has made prices rise so highly, that numerous inhabitants are forced to move to more affordable areas of Veneto and Italy, most notably Mestre. Venice is built on an archipelago of 117 islands formed by 177 canals in a shallow lagoon, connected by 409 bridges. In the old centre, the canals serve the function of roads, and almost every form of transport is on water or on foot. In the 19th century a causeway to the mainland brought a railway station to Venice, and an automobile causeway and parking lot was added in the 20th century. Beyond these land entrances at the northern edge of the city, transportation within the city remains, as it was in centuries past, entirely on water or on foot. Venice is Europe's largest urban car free area, unique in Europe in remaining a sizable functioning city in the 21st century entirely without motorcars or trucks. The classical Venetian boat is the gondola, although it is now mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Many gondolas are lushly appointed with crushed velvet seats and Persian rugs. Less well-known is the smaller sandolo. The main transportation means are motorised waterbuses (vaporetti) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city's islands, and private boats. The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges. Azienda Consorzio Trasporti Veneziano (ACTV) is the name of the public transport system in Venice. It combines both land transportation, with buses, and canal travel, with water buses (vaporetti). In total, there are 25 routes which connect the city. The Venice People Mover (managed by ASM) is a cable operated public transit system connecting Tronchetto island with Piazzale Roma. Water taxis are also active. Venice is served by the Marco Polo International Airport, or Aeroporto di Venezia Marco Polo, named in honor of its famous citizen. The airport is on the mainland and was rebuilt away from the coast; however, the water taxis or Alilaguna waterbuses to Venice are only a seven-minute walk from the terminals. Some airlines market Treviso Airport in Treviso, 30 km from Venice, as a Venice gateway. Some simply advertise flights to "Venice" without naming the actual airport except in the small print. Venezia Lido, a public airport suitable for smaller aircraft, is found on the NE end of Lido di Venezia. It has a 1000m grass runway. Venice is serviced by regional and national trains, which can connect the city to Rome in 3.5 hours away and to Milan in 2.5 hours. Treviso is thirty-five minutes away. Florence and Padua are two of the stops between Rome and Venice. The St. Lucia station is a few steps away from a vaporetti stop. The station is the terminus and starting point of the Venice Simplon Orient Express from or to London Victoria and Paris. The maritime portion of Venice has no roads as such, being composed almost entirely of narrow footpaths, and laid out across islands connected by staired stone footbridges, making transportation impossible by almost anything with wheels. Cars can reach the car/bus terminal via the Ponte della Libertà bridge. It comes in from the West from Mestre. There are two parking lots which serve the city: Tronchetto and Piazzale Roma. A ferry to Lido leaves from the parking lot in Tronchetto and it is served by vaporetti and buses of the public transportation. In 2009, there were 270,098 people residing in Venice, of whom 47.4% were male and 52.6% were female. Minors (children ages 18 and younger) totalled 14.36 percent of the population compared to pensioners who number 25.7 percent. This compares with the Italian average of 18.06 percent (minors) and 19.94 percent (pensioners). The average age of Venice residents is 46 compared to the Italian average of 42. In the five years between 2002 and 2007, the population of Venice declined by 0.2 percent, while Italy as a whole grew by 3.85 percent. But the population in the historic old city declines at a significantly faster rate: from about 120,000 in 1980 to about 60,000 in 2009. As of 2009, 91.14% of the population was Italian. The largest immigrant group comes from other European nations (Romanians, the largest group: 3.26%, South Asia: 1.26%, and East Asia: 0.9%). Venice is predominantly Roman Catholic, but because of the long standing relationship with Constantinople there is also a perceptible Orthodox presence, and due to immigration it now has some Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist inhabitants. There is also a historic Jewish Community in Venice. The Venetian Ghetto was the area of in which Jews were compelled to live under the Venetian Republic. It is from its name, in the Venetian language, that the word "ghetto", used in many languages, is derived. William Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, writtian ca. 1595 features Shylock, a Venetian Jew and his family. Venice also has an eruv, built for and still used by the Jewish community. Venice's City Council is composed by 45 members. Of six boroughs into which Venice is divided, five are governed by centre-left coalition and one by centre-right coalition. The current mayor of Venice, Giorgio Orsoni, has been elected in March 2010. He has been also Assessore since 2000 to 2005 and councilior of the Venice Biennale since 2000 to 2003. Venice has been the setting or chosen location of numerous films, novels, poems and other cultural references. The city was a particularly popular setting for several novels, essays, and other works of fictional or non-fictional literature. Examples of these include Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice and Othello, Ben Jonson's Volpone, Voltaire's Candide, Casanova's autobiographical History of My Life, Anne Rice's Cry to Heaven, and Philippe Sollers' Watteau in Venice, to name but a few. The city has also been a setting for numerous films and music videos, such as the James Bond series From Russia with Love, Moonraker, The Tourist, Casino Royale, Katharine Hepburn in Summertime, Death in Venice, Fellini's Casanova, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, A Little Romance, The Italian Job, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Siouxsie and the Banshees "Dear Prudence" and Madonna's Like a Virgin (song). Also, the series five episode of Doctor Who, Vampires in Venice was also set in Venice. On addition to that, numerous video games such as Tomb Raider 2, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 and Assassin's Creed II feature Venice in their games. Venice has a rich and diverse architectural style, the most famous of which is probably the Gothic style. Venetian Gothic architecture is a term given to a Venetian building style combining use of the Gothic lancet arch with Byzantine and Arab influences. The style originated in 14th century Venice where the confluence of Byzantine style from Constantinople met Arab influence from Moorish Spain. Chief examples of the style are the Doge's Palace and the Ca' d'Oro in the city. The city also has several Renaissance and Baroque buildings, including the Ca' Pesaro and the Ca' Rezzonico. The city of Venice in Italy has played an important role in the development of the music of Italy. The Venetian state—i.e. the medieval Maritime Republic of Venice—was often popularly called the "Republic of Music", and an anonymous Frenchman of the 17th century is said to have remarked that "In every home, someone is playing a musical instrument or singing. There is music everywhere." During the 16th century, Venice became one of the most important musical centers of Europe, marked by a characteristic style of composition (the Venetian school) and the development of the Venetian polychoral style under composers such as Adrian Willaert, who worked at St Mark's Basilica. Venice was the early center of music printing; Ottaviano Petrucci began publishing music almost as soon as this technology was available, and his publishing enterprise helped to attract composers from all over Europe, especially from France and Flanders. By the end of the century, Venice was famous for the splendor of its music, as exemplified in the "colossal style" of Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, which used multiple choruses and instrumental groups. Venice was also the home of many famous composers during the baroque period, such as Antonio Vivaldi, Ippolito Ciera, Giovanni Picchi, and Girolamo Dalla Casa, to name but a few. Venice arguably produced the most unique and refined Rococo designs. At the time, Venice was in a state of trouble. It had lost most of its maritime power, was lagging behind its rivals in political importance and society had become decadent, with nobles wasting their money in gambling and partying. But without a doubt, Venice remained Italy's fashion capital, and was a serious contender to Paris in terms of wealth, architecture, luxury, taste, sophistication, trade, decoration, style and design. Venetian Rococo was well-known for being rich and luxurious, with usually very extravagant designs. Unique Venetian furniture, such as the divani da portego, or long Rococo couches and pozzetti, objects meant to be placed against the wall. Venetian bedrooms were usually sumptuous and grand, with rich damask, velvet and silk drapery and curtains, a beautifully carved Rococo beds with statues of putti, flowers and angels. Venice was especially famous for its beautiful girandole mirrors, which remained amongst, if not the, finest in Europe. Chandeliers were usually very colourful, using Murano glass to make them look more vibrant and stand out from others, and precious stones and materials from abroad were used, since Venice still held a vast trade empire. Lacquer was very common, and many items of furniture were covered with it, the most famous being lacca povera (poor lacuqer), in which allegories and images of social life were painted. Lacquerwork and Chinoiserie were particularly common in bureau cabinets. In the 14th century, many young Venetian men began wearing tight-fitting multicoloured hose, the designs on which indicated the Compagnie della Calza ("Trouser Club") to which they belonged. The Venetian Senate passed sumptuary laws, but these merely resulted in changes in fashion in order to circumvent the law. Dull garments were worn over colourful ones, which then were cut to show the hidden colours resulting in the wide spread of men's "slashed" fashions in the 15th century. Today, Venice is also a major fashion and shopping centre in Italy, not as important as Milan, Florence, or Rome, but par to Turin, Vicenza, Naples and Genoa. Roberta di Camerino is the only major Italian fashion brand to be based out of Venice. Founded in 1945, it is renowned for its innovative handbags featuring hardware by Venetian artisans and often covered in locally woven velvet, and has been credited with creating the concept of the easily recognisable status bag. Many of the fashion boutiques and jewelry shops in the city are located in the Rialto Bridge and the Piazza San Marco. Currently, there are Louis Vuitton and Ermenegildo Zegna flagship stores operating in the city. Venetian cuisine is characterized by seafood, but also includes garden products from the islands of the lagoon, rice from the mainland, game, and polenta. Venice combines local traditions with influences that are distant from millennial business contacts. These include sarde in saor, sardines marinated in order to preserve them for long voyages; risi e bisi, rice and peas; fegato alla veneziana, Venetian-style liver; risotto with cuttlefish, blackened from the ink; cicchetti, refined and delicious tidbits (akin to tapas); antipasti, appetizers; and prosecco, an effervescent, mildly sweet wine. In addition, Venice is famous for bisàto (marinated eel), for the golden, oval-shaped cookies called baicoli, and for different types of sweets such as: pan del pescatore (bread of the fisherman); cookies with almonds and pistachio nuts; cookies with fried Venetian cream or the bussolai (butter biscuits and shortbread made in the shape of an "S" or ring) from the island of Burano; the crostoli also known as the chatter, lies, or galani; the fregolotta (a crumbly cake with almonds); milk pudding called rosada; and cookies of yellow semolina called zaléti. Venetian or the regional form Venetan is a Romance language spoken as native language by over two million people, mostly in Venice, but also the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometime spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia Giulia, Istria, and some towns of Dalmatia, an area of six to seven million people. The language enjoyed substantial prestige in the days of the Venetian Republic, when it attained the status of a lingua franca in the Mediterranean. Venice has long been a source of inspiration for authors, poets and playwrights as well as being at the forefront of the technical developing of printing and publishing. Two of the most famous Venetian writers were Marco Polo in the Middle Ages and later Giacomo Casanova. Polo (1254–1324) was a merchant who voyaged to the Orient. His series of books, co-written by Rustichello da Pisa, titled Il Milione provided important knowledge of the lands east of Europe; from the Middle East, to China, Japan and Russia. Giacomo Casanova (1725–1798) was a prolific writer and famous adventurer who is best remembered for his autobiography, Histoire De Ma Vie (Story of My Life), which links his colourful lifestyle to the city of Venice. Venetian playwrights followed the old Italian theatre tradition of Commedia dell'Arte. Ruzante (1502–1542) and Carlo Goldoni (1707–1793) used the Venetian dialect extensively in their comedies. Venice has also inspired writers from abroad. Shakespeare set Othello and The Merchant of Venice in the city. Thomas Mann authored the novel Death in Venice, published in 1912. Venice inspired the poetry of Ezra Pound, who wrote his first literary work in the city. Pound died in 1972 and his remains are buried in Venice's cemetery island of St. Michael. The French writer Philippe Sollers spent most of his life in Venice and published A Dictionary For Lovers Of Venice in 2004. Ugo Foscolo (1778–1827) born in Zante, an island which at the time belonged to the Republic of Venice, was also a famous poet and revolutionary who wanted to see a free republic established in Venice following the fall to Napoleon. The city features prominently in Henry James' The Wings of the Dove and is also visited in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited and Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time. Venice is also linked to the technical aspects of writing. The city was the location for one of Italy's earliest printing presses, established by Aldus Manutius (1449–1515).[citation needed] From this beginning Venice developed as an important typographic center and even as late as the 18th century was responsible for printing half of Italy's published books.[citation needed] Venice, especially during the Middle-Ages, Renaissance and Baroque, was a major centre of art and developed a unique style known as the Venetian School. In the Middle-Ages and the Renaissance, Venice, along with Florence and Rome, became one of the most important centres of art in Europe, and numerous wealthy Venetians became patrons of the arts. Venice at the time was a rich and prosperous Maritime Republic, which controlled a vast sea and trade empire. By the end of the 15th century, Venice had become the European capital of printing, being one of the first cities in Italy (after Subiaco and Rome) to have a printing press after those established in Germany, having 417 printers by 1500. The most important printing office was the Aldine Press of Aldus Manutius, which in 1499 printed the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, considered the most beautiful book of Renaissance, and established modern punctuation, the page format and italic type, and the first printed work of Aristotle. In the sixteenth century Venetian painting was developed through influences from the Paduan School and Antonello da Messina, who introduced the oil painting technique of the van Eyck brothers. It is signified by a warm colour scale and a picturesque use of colour. Early masters where the Bellini and Vivarini families, followed by Giorgione and Titian, then Tintoretto and Veronese. In the early 16th century, also, there was rivalry between whether Venetian painting should use disegno or colorito. Canvases (the common painting surface) originated in Venice during the early renaissance. These early canvases were generally rough. In the eighteenth century Venetian painting had a renaissance because of Tiepolo's decorative painting and Canaletto's and Guardi's panoramic views. Venice is famous for its ornate glass-work, known as Venetian glass. It is world-renowned for being colourful, elaborate, and skilfully made. Many of the important characteristics of these objects had been developed by the thirteenth century. Toward the end of that century, the center of the Venetian glass industry moved to Murano. Byzantine craftsmen played an important role in the development of Venetian glass, an art form for which the city is well-known. When Constantinople was sacked by the Fourth Crusade in 1204, some fleeing artisans came to Venice. This happened again when the Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453, supplying Venice with still more glassworkers. By the sixteenth century, Venetian artisans had gained even greater control over the color and transparency of their glass, and had mastered a variety of decorative techniques. Despite efforts to keep Venetian glassmaking techniques within Venice, they became known elsewhere, and Venetian-style glassware was produced in other Italian cities and other countries of Europe. Some of the most important brands of glass in the world today are still produced in the historical glass factories on Murano. They are : Venini, Barovier & Toso, Pauly, Millevetri, Seguso. Barovier & Toso is considered one of the 100 oldest companies in the world, formed in 1295. One of the most renowned types of Venetian glasses are made in Murano, known as Murano glass, which has been a famous product of the Venetian island of Murano for centuries. Located off the shore of Venice, Italy, Murano was a commercial port as far back as the 7th century. By the 10th century it had become a well-known city of trade. Today Murano remains a destination for tourists and art and jewellery lovers alike. The Carnival of Venice is held annually in the city, starting around two weeks before Ash Wednesday and ends on Shrove Tuesday. The carnival is closely associated with Venetian masks. The Venice Biennale is one of the most important events in the arts calendar. During 1893 headed by the mayor of Venice, Riccardo Selvatico, the Venetian City Council passed a resolution on 19 April to set up an Esposizione biennale artistica nazionale (biennial exhibition of Italian art), to be inaugurated on 22 April 1895. Following the outbreak of hostilities during the Second World War, the activities of the Biennale were interrupted in September 1942, but resumed in 1948. The Venice Film Festival (Italian Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica di Venezia) is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice, Italy. Screenings take place in the historic Palazzo del Cinema on the Lungomare Marconi. It is one of the world's most prestigious film festivals and is part of the Venice Biennale. For people from Venice, see People from Venice. Others closely associated with the city include: Venice has cooperation agreements with the Greek city of Thessaloniki, the German city of Nuremberg, signed on 25 September 1999, and the Turkish city of Istanbul, signed on 4 March 1993, within the framework of the 1991 Istanbul Declaration. It is also a Science and Technology Partnership City with Qingdao, China. The City of Venice and the Central Association of Cities and Communities of Greece (KEDKE) established, in January 2000, in pursuance of the EC Regulations n. 2137/85, the European Economic Interest Grouping (E.E.I.G.) Marco Polo System to promote and realise European projects within transnational cultural and tourist field, particularly referred to the artistic and architectural heritage preservation and safeguard. The name is connected with the people known as the Veneti, perhaps the same as the Eneti (Ενετοί). The meaning of the word is uncertain. Connections with the Latin verb 'venire' (to come) or (Slo)venia are fanciful. A connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning 'sea-blue', is possible. Several cities have been compared to Venice: The city of Nantes, France, has been called The Venice of the West, many places have been named Venice of the East, while equally as many have been called Venice of the North.	Province of Venezia, Veneto Region	cultural		Province of Venezia, Veneto Region		[List of "Vere da Pozzo di Venezia"|http://www.venise-serenissime.com/home/planinteractif/puits_venise/puits_venise1.htm]#[UNESCO Venice Office|http://www.unesco.org/venice]#[Venice European Capital of Culture 2019|http://www.nordest2019.eu/]#[Venipedia|http://venipedia.org/index.php?title=Main_Page]#[Official Site of the City of Venice|http://www.comune.venezia.it/flex/cm/pages/ServeBLOB.php/L/EN/IDPagina/1]	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice		[i],[ii],[iii],[iv],[v],[vi]	IT		Venice and its Lagoon	Italy	394	1987	http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/394

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