cultural heritage

Syria hopes tourists will return to Palmyra, a World Heritage Site ravaged by war

11:41am April 17, 2025

Before 2015, Palmyra was considered one of the world's most intact ancient Roman sites. ISIS blew up many key monuments of this storied Silk Road city. Syrians hope restoration can begin now.

Palestinians search the destroyed annex of the Church of Saint Porphyrius, damaged in a strike on Gaza City on Oct. 20.

More than 100 Gaza heritage sites have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks

6:00am December 03, 2023

by Chloe Veltman

The nonprofit group Heritage for Peace's preliminary findings show 104 historic religious buildings, museums and archaeological sites have been destroyed or damaged.

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The flooded St. Mark's Square on Nov. 15, 2019, in Venice, two days after the city suffered a high tide.

Arts

Venice may be put on the endangered list, thanks to human-created climate change

5:25pm September 12, 2023

by Chloe Veltman

The impacts of climate change including related disasters, such as wildfires and sea level rise, are increasingly raising a question about how best to save cultural heritage.

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The Huallamarca pyramid sits in Lima's upscale San Isidro neighborhood, surrounded by homes, embassies and high rises.

World News

In Peru, discovery of ancient ruins outpaces authorities' ability to care for them

5:01am July 29, 2023

by John Otis

"Everywhere you dig, you will find something — because Lima was home to great civilizations," says a museum director in the capital. "But it's impossible to save everything in a poor country."

Fragile Cargo recounts Chinese curators' efforts to rescue priceless artworks ahead of and during war with Japan in the 1930s. It's the first time the story has been told in English.

'Fragile Cargo' chronicles the quest to save China's Forbidden City treasures from war

5:00am July 15, 2023

by Vincent Ni

A book recounts how precious works of art thousands of years old were taken to safety as Japan began its invasion of China in the 1930s — a part of China's history largely unknown outside Asia.

A view inside what was the dome of the historic Habib-i Najjar Mosque in Antakya.

Turkey's Antakya is in ruins after the quake, erasing cultural and religious heritage

9:48am February 25, 2023

The city of Antakya, known in antiquity as Antioch, was at the crossroads of civilizations for centuries. After the Feb. 6 earthquake, many of its centuries-old monuments and sites lie in ruins.

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Bakery owner Florence Poirier smells a baguette fresh from the oven Thursday as Mylene Poirier stands next to her at a bakery, in Versailles, west of Paris.

World News

The baguette enters the upper crust as it's added to the U.N. cultural heritage list

2:44pm November 30, 2022

by The Associated Press

The humble but versatile French loaf is recognized by UNESCO as a tradition worthy of preservation by humanity. French officials have warned that closure of traditional bakeries put the bread at risk.

Taliban guards stand at the entrance of the National Museum of Afghanistan after it reopened under Taliban control in Kabul in December.

The Taliban now guard Afghanistan's National Museum, where they once smashed objects

9:00am September 01, 2022

When the Taliban returned to power, cultural heritage advocates worried history might repeat itself and the group would destroy objects it found offensive. The museum is open now but has few visitors.

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Vitaliy Kulyk, who used to run Lviv's tourist office, has been working 12-hour days, trying to protect the city's statues.

Ukraine scrambles to protect artifacts and monuments from Russian attack

3:05pm March 15, 2022

by Lauren Frayer

On top of the humanitarian crisis, Ukrainians worry about Russian destruction of cultural heritage sites. In Lviv, they're wrapping statues in fireproof material to protect them from Russian bombs.

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Visitors with the Bil Weekend tourism company take photographs inside the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon, in the area around the Ishtar gate. The animal on the walls ins a dragon-like creature associated with the Babylonian god Marduk.

World News

'It Was Like Magic': Iraqis Visit Babylon And Other Heritage Sites For 1st Time

2:44pm February 23, 2021

by Alice Fordham

Domestic tourism has been strong in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, but sites in more impoverished, insecure areas tend to be visited less. A few Iraqi tourism companies are trying to change that.

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