Sara
Joined: 05 Sep 2008
Posts: 41
Location: USA
Wed Sep 24, 2008 12:10 am |
 Post subject: Another attempt to boost tourism in Iraq |
 |
|
For those who can't be lured to Iraq by the recent proposal for a new Ferris wheel, how about status as a world heritage city - would that entice you? You've got to admit, someone in Iraq's Tourism Ministry is really trying..................but
World heritage status for Iraq's bombed shrine city: government
9/23/08
BAGHDAD (AFP) — The central Iraqi Sunni city of Samarra which houses a revered Shiite mosque that was bombed by Al-Qaeda has been selected as a world heritage site, the government said on Tuesday.
"The Universal Heritage Committee of UNESCO has agreed to add the city of Samarra to its list of world heritage sites," a statement said.
Samarra, north of Baghdad in Sunni Salaheddin province, gained prominence after the Shiite Al-Askari shrine there was bombed on February 22, 2006, by Al-Qaeda fighters.
That attack sparked nationwide brutal sectarian violence which killed tens of thousands of people, mostly in Baghdad.
Iraq's tourism and archaeology ministry on Tuesday welcomed the UNESCO move.
"Adding Samarra to the UNESCO list means it will get international attention," ministry spokesman Abdel Zahra al-Talqani said. "Such archaeological sites should be restored by UNESCO."
|
|
