Arab News    July 08,2008   Angelo Young - JEDDAH: The World Heritage Committee of the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has approved Saudi Arabia’s first site of universal cultural value. The northern ancient Nabatean city of Madain Saleh (also known as Al-Hijr Archeological Site) is now on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

“This is an international recognition of the huge historic value of this global heritage site,” said Prince Sultan bin Salman, secretary-general of the General Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, in a statement.

He said the UNESCO’s decision would contribute to the preservation and development of Madain Saleh. “Saudi Arabia has presented a comprehensive plan to the UNESCO for the management, protection and rehabilitation of the site, and it has started implementing the plan on the ground.”

Such a plan is a pre-requisite for admission to this list of over 800 cultural and environmental sites. The advantages of attaining World Heritage status for sites include greater cooperation among global experts in preservation efforts. Additionally, World Heritage status plays a promotional role, increasing a site’s profile that leads to greater tourism traffic.

Saudi Arabia has recently embarked on comprehensive efforts to promote tourism with a strong emphasis on domestic travelers. The approval of the site was made on Sunday during a conference of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee in Quebec City. Two other sites were also inscribed: China’s Fujian Tulou earthen houses and the Morne Cultural Landscape of Mauritius. About 40 other sites will be reviewed during the conference, which ends Thursday.

Prince Sultan reiterated Saudi Arabia’s efforts to get the historic centers of Jeddah and Riyadh put on the list.

Ziyad Al-Drais, the Kingdom’s permanent representative at UNESCO, said the unique cultural and heritage value of Madain Saleh made it easy for the site to get registered with the international body.