DUSHANBE, August 2, 2010, Asia-Plus -- The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the archeological site Sarazm in northern Tajikistan as a cultural site on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

UNESCO reported on August 1 that the World Heritage Committee meeting in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia has inscribed new cultural sites in Viet Nam, China, Tajikistan, France, the Netherlands, on the UNESCO World Heritage List.  The Committee also agreed to the extension of two cultural properties in Germany, Norway.

These new sites are in addition to ten other mixed and cultural sites inscribed during the current session of the Committee in Sri Lanka, the United States, Tanzania, Saudi Arabia, Australia, India, Republic of Iran (2), Marshall Islands and Republic of Korea.

Sarazm is an ancient town and jamoat in northern Tajikistan.  It is located in Panjakent district in Sughd province.  The archaeological site of the ancient city of Sarazm is located in the Zarafshon Valley in the Sughd province.  The ancient city of Sarazm is believed to have been founded as a mining point to collect from nearby sources of turquoise.  Established no later that 1500 BC, the city also served as an important regional agricultural and copper production center.

Sarazm, which means “where the land begins”, bears testimony to the development of human settlements in Central Asia, from the 4th millennium BCE to the end of the 3rd millennium BCE. The ruins demonstrate the early development of proto-urbanization in this region.  This center of settlement, one of the oldest in Central Asia, is situated between a mountainous region suitable for cattle rearing by nomadic pastoralists, and a large valley conducive to the development of agriculture and irrigation by the first settled populations in the region.  Sarazm also demonstrates the existence of commercial and cultural exchanges and trade relations with peoples over an extensive geographical area, extending from the steppes of Central Asia and Turkmenistan, to the Iranian plateau, the Indus valley and as far as the Indian Ocean.

The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee is being held under the chairmanship of the Minister of Culture from Brazil, Joao Luiz da Silva Ferreira.  The meeting opened on July 25 and will continue through August 3.  A total of 39 sites are being considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.

We will recall that Tajikistan has also put forward Mountains of the Pamirs of the National Park in the Natural category.

At more than 12,000 square kilometers in size, the Tajik National Park takes up almost a tenth of the area of Tajikistan.  According to the Natural Heritage Protection Fund, it is the largest protected area in Central Asia.  It includes Somoni Peak, which at 7,495 meters is the highest mountain in the post-Soviet area.  Other unique features include Fedchenko Glacier, one of the largest mountain valley glaciers on earth; Sarez Lake, one of the world’s highest lakes; and more than 100 endemic and endangered plants and animals, including the snow leopard.