Nalanda Mahavira makes it to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites

• Exciting news for India, Nalanda Mahavihara, a large Buddhist monastery in Magadha was announced one of the 9 New World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
• Interestingly, this would be the second world heritage site in the country after Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya.
• The committee is also reviewing 27 sites of cultural significance which have been nominated for the World Heritage List.

UNESCO has declared the much awaited Nalanda ruins in Bihar as a world heritage site. The decision came during the UN cultural agency's ongoing session in Istanbul, Turkey on July 15.

The cultural agency UNESCO also tweeted on this matter:

Nalanda University is located in Rajgir, near Nalanda, Bihar, India and was established during the Gupta Dynasty. It was earlier an acclaimed large Buddhist monastery in the ancient kingdom of Magadha. Interestingly, this would be the second world heritage site in the country after Mahabodhi temple in Bodh Gaya.

The Nalanda site that comprises of the archaeological remains of a monastic and scholastic institution from the 3rd century B.C. to the 13th century A.D. is in fact one of the ancient seats of learning in the world.

Another interesting addition to the list has been the old city of Ani, in the Turkish province of Kars. Ani, near Turkey's now closed border with Armenia, once served as the capital of the Armenian kingdom in the 10th century. Mostly abandoned after a devastating earthquake in the 14th century, the ruins include a relatively well-preserved cathedral and hold major significance for Armenians.

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Other sites announced on Friday include China's Zuojiang Huashan rock art cultural landscape, Iran's ancient aqueducts known as Qanat. A trans-boundary site located in Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, and heritage sites in Greece, Spain and Gibraltar have also made it to the list.

The World Heritage Committee also zeroed upon Micronesia's artificial islets of Nan Madol and simultaneously placed it on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Made of basalt and coral boulders, the 99 artificial islets of Nan Madol are home to ruins ranging from temple to tombs between A.D. 1200 and 1500.

Dating back to the 5th century B.C., Zuojiang Huashon rock art cultural landscape straddles steep cliffs in southwest China and represent the only trace left of the Luoyue people.

Iran's Qanat system tapped into alluvial aquifer and transported water underground across vast valleys helping sustain agricultural life and settlements in arid areas.

The medieval tombstones and graveyards, known as stecci, combine 30 sites in Bosnia, central and southern Croatia, western Montenegro and western Serbia. Carved from limestone, they feature decorative motives and inscriptions.

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The Greek archaeological site of Philippi, founded in 356 B.C. by the Macedonian King Philip II, lies in the present-day region of eastern Macedonia and Thrace. It later became an important Christian site, following the visit of Apostle Paul, UNESCO said.

The Antequera Dolmens site, in Andalusia, southern Spain, is comprised of three megalithic monuments as well as two natural mountainous formations.

The natural sea caves – or Gorham's Cave Complex – in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, also made the list, and provide evidence of Neanderthal occupation over a span of more than 125,000 years.

Gathered from July 10-20 in Istanbul, the committee is reviewing 27 sites of special cultural or natural significance which have been nominated for the World Heritage List. (With input from VOA)