Jessie KohHere’s to another World Heritage Site worth visiting! Battir, a Palestinian Village in the West Bank, is the newest addition to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Where is it? Battir resides in the Middle East, squeezed between Israel and Lebanon in the southwest of Jerusalem.
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The highly esteemed World Heritage List catalogues sites of cultural or natural significance that are of outstanding value to humanity, so when the Palestine state put forward Battir as an emergency nomination, UNESCO came to the rescue.
Battir’s ancient agricultural terrace is significant for its irrigation system, built since the Bronze Age over 4000 years ago – long before you were born! Man-made terraces are used in this unique irrigation system, and to find such an old and traditional method of irrigation in this fast advancing world is truly one in a million.
Sadly, Battir has been under threat from Israel’s plans to build a separation barrier through the area. This not only threatens to damage the terraces, but also puts the village residents’ homes and livelihoods at risk. Consequently, these plans have been highly contested, and the emergency nomination by Palestine was a bid to persuade the Israeli government to abandon the building of the barrier.
With this nomination approved and its new status as a World Heritage Site, efforts to preserve this ancient village will definitely receive a much needed boost!
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Inspired? Here’s how you can enjoy the wonders of the Middle East:
TripZilla packages to the Middle East
