Yakushiji in Nara, one of Japan's oldest temples, was constructed by Emperor Tenmu in the late 7th century for the recovery of his sick wife. It is one of the country's most famous imperial and ancient Buddhist temples, and is part of the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara" UNESCO World Heritage site. Yakushiji's layout is symmetrical, with two main halls and two three-storey pagodas.
Horezu Monastery, founded in 1690, is located in the town of Horezu in Wallachia, Romania. It is famous for its architectural purity and balance, the richness of its sculptural detail, the treatment of its religious compositions, its votive portraits and painted decorative works. The school of mural and icon painting established here in the 18th century was famous throughout the Balkan region.
Historical landmarks in Gaza destroyed in Israeli attacks
In the al-Daraj neighborhood, Israeli air raids decimated the al-Basha Palace, constructed during the Mamluk era in the 13th century. The building also housed a museum displaying artifacts spanning the Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Islamic eras.
On December 12th, #SaveStonehengeWHS will be taking the #UKGovernment to court over the unlawfulness of the Stonehenge Tunnel Proposal, which will cause 'permanent and irreversible damage' to the #WorldHeritage site.
If this tunnel goes ahead, which is intended to 'solve traffic problems', #UNESCO would take away world heritage status from both #Stonehenge & #Avebury.
Zunächst dachte ich, das wäre doch mal ein nettes Foto zum #FensterFreitag. Aber es passt natürlich ebenso für die KW 2023/47der #52WochenFotoChallenge, denn natürliches Restlicht und strahlende Scheinwerfer sorgen für eine stimmungsvolle #Beleuchtung und setzen den #Förderturm Schacht 13 auf #Zollverein wirkungsvoll in Szene.
At first I thought this would be a nice photo for #WindowFriday. But of course it's just as suitable for week 2023/47 of the #52WeekPhotoChallenge, because natural residual light and bright spotlights provide atmospheric #lighting and effectively set the scene for the winding #tower of Shaft 13 at #Zollverein.
The #UNESCO#WorldHeritage site of Bhimbetka is located in central India, Madhya Pradesh. Its renowned for its #rockart within its many rock shelters (more than 750!) , and it also has continuous occupation from the #Palaeolithic to the #Historical period. Its interesting to see the dense jungle(s) surrounding the area, and also the various springs. How do you think this #landscape would have affected the choice of the site by past populations?
「But there is more to China’s efforts through Unesco [#worldheritage status] than increasing tea sales and tourism. The Communist Party claims that present-day China, which has dozens (perhaps hundreds) of ethnic minorities, is a single nation with a continuous history stretching back thousands of years. National identity is conflated with that of the Han, the ethnic group accounting for more than 90% of the population. China’s heritage laws aim to maintain “the unification of the country” and foster “social harmony”. In practice, this often means distorting history so that it aligns with the party’s view of the past and reinforces its vision of nationhood.」
The actual imperial military occupations and settler colonialism of both Tibetan and Uyghur homelands only began soon after Chinese communists had overthrown the Republic of China (the losing Kuomintang nationalists fled to Taiwan...). Chinese had no foothold on the previously nearly inaccessible Tibetan plateau so Mao sent entire 'PLA' armies there, equipped with modern foreign weaponry and gear. Besides all the massacres that followed — an estimated one million Tibetans were killed — the Chinese invaders looted and destroyed as much of Tibet's invaluable heritage as they could. While major monasteries (functioning as the key places of religion and learning in the Buddhist society) were looted, ransacked, defaced and partially destroyed, in total almost all of the country's 3,000 places of worship were simply destroyed; some were used for... artillery target practice.
The more accessible East Turkestan (ch: '#xinjiang') was targeted for settler #colonialism by establishing a new paramilitary settler corps, #Bingtuan. Those (ex-)soldiers were not only provided with Han Chinese brides but they were allowed to keep their AK-47s... You can guess what happened to the Uyghur homeland next. (links to background in the post below)
One of the UK’s most photographed trees has been “deliberately felled” in an apparent act of vandalism.
A 16 year old teenager has been arrested for allegedly cutting down the Sycamore Gap tree next to the historic UNESCO World Heritage site Hadrian’s Wall, built 1,900 years ago to guard the furthest northwestern frontier of the Roman Empire.
"...All over #Europe, our shared #CulturalHeritage is faced with increasing threats: natural and human-made disasters, climate-change impacts, conflicts, neglect... If you know of important heritage in Europe that is endangered, nominate it for the "7 Most Endangered" programme 2024! Both tangible and intangible heritage are eligible.."
THE CONSERVATION OF CAVE 85 AT THE MOGAO GROTTOES, DUNHUANG by Lori Wong and
Neville Agnew (editors, 2013).
"The Mogao Grottoes, a World Heritage Site in northwestern China, are located along the ancient caravan routes—collectively known as the Silk Road—that once linked China with the West. Founded by a Buddhist monk in the late fourth century, Mogao flourished over the following millennium, as monks, local rulers, and travelers commissioned hundreds of cave temples cut into a mile-long rock cliff and adorned them with vibrant murals. More than 490 decorated grottoes remain, containing thousands of sculptures and some 45,000 square meters of wall paintings, making Mogao one of the world's most significant sites of Buddhist art."
Threat to the 40,000 year-old rock art sites at #Murujaga National Park, W Australia from #petrochemical industry emissions. This is 'the most important rock art site in the world' says Michel #Lorblanchet
Art is a universal language that all peoples of the world understand and speak. We pay tribute to some of those artists, performers and defenders of #HumanRights who animate the European Spaces of Culture across the world #WorldHeritage