Iran’s Bam Citadel crossed off UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger

TEHRAN,June 19(MNA) -- The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO removed Iran’s Bam Citadel from its List of World Heritage in Danger. The decision to cross out the citadel from the list was made during the 37th session of the committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Monday, Xinhua reported. The city of Bam and its cultural landscape were registered on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2004. At the same time, the historical complex was added to UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, due to the severe damage to the city and its historical citadel caused by a devastating earthquake in December 2003. “The committee has now noted that remains of the desert citadel had been sufficiently stabilized and its management was sound enough for the site to be declared safe,” a UN spokesman, Eduardo del Buey, told reporters in New York on Monday. Groups of Italian and German experts have carried out restorations on the site over the past decade. Covering an area of 180,000 square meters, the Bam Citadel is located 200 kilometers south of the city of Kerman. The citadel was the world’s largest adobe building. It is not clear exactly when the Bam Citadel was built, but it is widely believed that it was originally constructed during the Sassanid era (224-651 CE). While some surviving structures date to the 12th century and before, most of what remains was built during the Safavid era (1502-1722). The 37th session of the World Heritage Committee opened in the Cambodian capital on Sunday. New sites from various countries are scheduled to be registered on the World Heritage List during the meeting, which will run until June 27. The committee will also mull over proposals to inscribe some historical sites of Mali and Syria on the List of World Heritage in Danger.