Tanzania's Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara Removed from List of World Heritage in Danger

Doha, June 17 (QNA) - The World Heritage Committee meeting, which being hosted by Qatar under the Chair of HE Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of Qatar Museums Authority Sheikha Al Mayassa Bint Hamad Al-Thani, has found that management and safeguarding of the Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara in the United Republic of Tanzania have improved to the point where the site can be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Located on two islands close to each other just off the Tanzanian coast about 300km south of Dar es Salaam, Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara were Swahili trading cities. Their prosperity was based on control of Indian Ocean trade with Arabia, India and China, particularly between the 13th and 16th centuries, when gold and ivory from the hinterland was traded for silver, carnelians, perfumes, Persian faience and Chinese porcelain. The site was inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2004, because of deterioration and decay leading to the collapse of the historical and archaeological structures for which the property was inscribed. The 38th session of the World Heritage Committee began on 15 June and will continue through to 25 June. (QNA)