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25 June 2014 09:36
The Gate to Makkah in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has been added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites
Twenty sites around the world have been added to UNESCO's updated World Heritage List.
The new additions mean the UNESCO list now covers more than 1,000 sites worldwide.
Tourists wanting to tick the new natural and cultural sites located in Europe, South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East off their bucket list will need good worldwide travel insurance to ensure they are covered while away.
Sites added in Europe include the Van Nellefabriek factory, which was built in Rotterdam in the Netherlands in the 1920s, as well as five wine-growing areas in Italy.
A cave featuring prehistoric drawings at the Pont d'Arc in France has also been added to the UNESCO list as has the Carolingian Westwork and Civitas Corvey in Germany, a sculpture which dates back to the ninth century.
The Okavango Delta in Botswana is bound to attract more visitors after being the only new African addition to the list while the sole new US site is the earthworks at Poverty Point in the lower part of the Mississippi valley.
Covering some 30,000km between the peaks of the Andes in Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia, the Qhapaq Nan road system is another newcomer to the list of World Heritage sites.
Asian sites added to the list include the Grand Canal in China, Myanmar's Pyu ancient cities, Japan's Tomioka Silk Mill and the silk roads running between Chang'an/Luoyang in China and the Zhetysu region.
The addition of sites in Bursa and nearby Cumalikizik in Turkey have been added to the list to recognise the birthplace of the Ottoman Empire while another Turkish site, the Pergamon acropolis and surrounding area, has also been given the honour.
Meanwhile, in the Middle East, the Erbil Citadel in Iraq, historic Jeddah and the Gate to Makkah in Saudi Arabia, Iran's mud brick city Shahr-I Sokhta and the 'city' caves beneath Bet Gurvin and Maresha in Israel have also been given UNESCO World Heritage status.
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