Threatened by Israeli Airstrikes, Lebanon’s Cultural Sites Get Increased Protection from UN

Rubble lies at the site of the historic “Al-Manshiya” building damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, near the Roman ruins of Baalbek, in the eastern city of Baalbek, Lebanon November 7, 2024. (Reuters)

05:47-19 November 2024 AD ـ 18 Jumada Al-Ula 1446 AH

Threatened by Israeli Airstrikes, Lebanon’s Cultural Sites Get Increased Protection from UN

A specialized United Nations agency granted on Monday provisional enhanced protection to 34 cultural properties in Lebanon, including the World Heritage sites of Baalbek and Tyre, following recent Israeli strikes near them.

“Non-compliance with these clauses would constitute serious violations of the 1954 Hague Convention and would constitute potential grounds for prosecution,” the UN cultural and scientific agency UNESCO said in a statement. The decision also includes financial and technical assistance to safeguard Lebanon’s heritage.

The decision was made during an extraordinary session of the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property that was held in Paris on Monday, at the request of Lebanese authorities.

This move comes amid mounting threats to Lebanon’s cultural sites. On Nov. 7, an Israeli airstrike destroyed an Ottoman-era building near the UNESCO-listed Roman temples of Baalbek in eastern Lebanon.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said: “UNESCO has a deep and long-standing cooperation with Lebanon. We will spare no effort to provide all the expertise and assistance needed to protect its exceptional heritage.”

In addition to legal protections, UNESCO said it has been implementing measures such as satellite monitoring, risk management training and emergency relocation of movable artifacts.

Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)

09:10-19 November 2024 AD ـ 18 Jumada Al-Ula 1446 AH

Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

A drone view of ready handmade pieces in Kouvdis’ family pottery workshop in Agios Stefanos village, near Mandamados on the Greek island of Lesbos, Greece, September 23, 2024. (Reuters)

In his seaside workshop on the Greek island of Lesbos, Nikos Kouvdis uses ancient techniques to create pottery pieces that have recently been honored with inclusion in UNESCO's National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Kouvdis, 70, and his family have kept an old technique alive near the once humming pottery hub of Mandamados, just as the slow and careful methods of the past have been largely eclipsed by factory machines.

Their pottery is among the last in the Mediterranean to be produced from clay in local soil, using a traditional kiln with olive pits as fuel, with the pieces painted with natural lime.

"It's an honor for me," Kouvdis said with regard to the UNESCO recognition of his work.

He said a mechanized press can work at 10 times the speed of an individual potter. "There’s no continuity. There’s no space for (our) method to continue."

Still, he continues to produce individual pots on an outcrop of land overlooking the Aegean Sea.

"Above all, it’s a passion - trying to create something that fulfils you," he said.

Threatened by Israeli Airstrikes, Lebanon’s Cultural Sites Get Increased Protection from UN

Threatened by Israeli Airstrikes, Lebanon’s Cultural Sites Get Increased Protection from UN

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Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

Greek Potter Keeps Ancient Ways Alive, Wins UNESCO Recognition

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