Myanmar nominates historic sites for UNESCO world heritage

Myanmar nominates historic sites for UNESCO world heritage

Published on Friday, 19 July 2013 17:10

The ancient cities of Bagan and Innwa in the Mandalay region will be submitted for inclusion to UNESCO's World Heritage List, according to officials from Myanmar's Department of Archaeology.

"If they are included in the UNESCO list, the world will become more interested in our historical and cultural heritages and more tourists will visit Myanmar," said an official.

Bagan is situated on the misty plains next to the Ayeyarwaddy River in central Myanmar and is home to over 2200 temples and pagodas that survive from the Kingdom of Pagan. At it's height between the 9th and 13th century, Pagan was the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. The archeological site of old Bagan, with it's panoramic views of hundreds of ancient stupas, is one of Myanmar's main tourist attractions.

The government has also submitted three ancient Pyu cities of Beikthano, Hanlin and Tharekhittra to UNESCO. The government's previous attempts to have Bagan registered as a world heritage site have failed due to the unauthentic restoration of some of its ancient pagodas and temples by the previous military government. Last month, a stone inscription from Kuthodaw Pagoda in Mandalay was included in the UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. Myanmar has been a member of the World Heritage Convention since 1994 but none of its sites have yet been included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Source: http://www.news.myanmaronlinecentre.com/2013/07/20/myanmar-nominates-historic-sites-for-unesco-world-heritage/