Iraq, Saudi Arabia cooperate to enlist “Old Pilgrimage Road” on World Heritage List

The Iraqi Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities announced that it has prepared a plan with the Saudi Heritage Authority to manage the Old Pilgrimage Road, as part of the requirements for nominating the road to the World Heritage List. The ministry said that the nomination file is the first cross-border file in the Arab countries.

In a press statement to Shia Waves Agency, Iyad Hassan Abdul-Hamza, director general of maintenance and preservation of antiquities in the ministry, explained that the plan included “close cooperation with stakeholders, represented by the governor of Najaf Ashraf, Majed al-Waili, who assigned his advisor Hussein al-Shabli to be part of the team, in order to complete the nomination and preserve the archaeological sites located within the road from various violations.”

He added that “there was close cooperation with the relevant ministries to rehabilitate buildings, wells, and pools within the nominated sites, which are: Umm al-Qurun, Sharaf, Al-Talhatah, and al-Uqab, and develop the sites, construct road networks and services, and rehabilitate them to receive visitors and researchers.”

Abdul-Hamza added that “Iraq held two workshops, the first in Bahrain in cooperation with the regional center, and the other in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to discuss this project,” noting that “the two sides agreed that Iraq would rehabilitate 4 stations while the Kingdom would rehabilitate the other nine stations on the road.”

He stressed that “after the completion of the file, it will be submitted to UNESCO to send experts from the World Heritage Council (ICOMOS) to inspect the project, and then vote on it.”

According to some historical sources, the length of the Old Pilgrimage Road is about (1400 kilometers) from the holy city of Kufa in Iraq to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, and is considered one of the most important pilgrimage and trade routes during the Islamic era.

It should be mentioned that in 2022, the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities announced the inclusion of Darb Zubaida on the (tentative list) of UNESCO’s World Heritage.